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How do you learn how to cook? Well, it’s really a simple matter of assembly.
A lot of newbie cooks, or people looking to learn the art of cooking, think that you have to be born with it. They think that you have to have an eye for certain flavors or a special set of taste buds so you can immediately know if you are on the right track.
Some even say that you have to have a nose for it because you’re going to have to smell the different aromas of the kitchen so you can know which goes with which and you can create the right combination to produce the best flavors.
Thankfully, none of this is 100% true. Even if the professional chef that you’ve been watching on cable TV seems to have a knack or an inborn talent for cooking, please understand that they just make it look easy. Most cooks are not born.
They are made. That’s right-if you want to be a good cook or a professional chef, you can! You just need to put in the time, effort and energy to learn what you need to learn to cook.
So, how exactly do you become a cook? Let’s just start with the beginning.
I’m not even talking about becoming some sort of Iron Chef contender or some top-notch Master Chef here. I’m just talking about learning your way around the kitchen so you can produce the most decent recipes.
Watch Others Cook
The first thing that you need to do is to understand that the old saying of “monkey-see-monkey-do” is 100% correct. If you want to learn something, observe it first. Pay attention to Master Chefs on TV.
As much as possible, don’t watch chef competition shows because they make it easy and they operate a very high rate of speed. Instead, go watch cooking shows that are intended for beginners or have a slower pace.
These cooking shows really step you through the complete process. They show you the ingredients, they process the ingredients by hand in front of you and then they combine ingredients and all the time they would show the recipe at the side.
This way, you can piece everything together. You can see the whole process take place so you can have a good understanding of what needs to happen before, what needs to happen during the cooking process and what you need to do to ensure that you get the proper taste profile and flavor of the dish that you are cooking.
Here are a few cooking tips from the world`s most chef, Gordon Ramsey:
Go To Cooking Demonstrations
This is crucial because you can watch a million in one YouTube cooking channel and all sorts of cable TV culinary shows and still be a lousy cook.
How can that be? You know how to cut up the ingredients. You know how to combine them in the pan. You know how to set the right heat temperature. You have access to the right ingredients. So, what’s going on?
Well, that’s all well and good. But the problem is, until and unless you know what a specific dish has to taste like, then you’re just combining stuff. That’s really the bottom line.
You may have a great understanding and command of all the cooking techniques like stewing, steaming, braising, searing, sautéing, grilling, roasting, baking and all that. That’s well and good.
But the problem is, if you don’t know the taste of the final product, you’re not a cook. You’re not even a chef. Far from it.
So, you need to go to the demonstration shows. Better yet, go to the nearby restaurants that offer the cuisine that you’re trying to learn how to cook and just taste the final product. This way you can train your tongue to understand the unique range of flavor combinations that you are gunning for. It all boils down to taste.
Invest In The Right Equipment
Now you may be thinking to yourself “Okay, now that I understand how to assemble all these ingredients and I know what the final product is supposed to taste like, I’m going to have to use the stuff I have at home”. Wrong.
If you’re serious about becoming a really good cook, regardless of the fact that you’re a beginner, you have to have the right tools.
Now, let me ask you, would you hammer a nail to put up painting in your room’s wall with your shoe? You probably would think “That’s crazy. Normally I would get a hammer”. You’re absolutely correct.
If you have something that you need to do, you need to use a tool that is designed to get the job done right the first time around. The problem is, a lot of people think that they can just use whatever they have lying around the house is far as cookware is concerned and they would pretty much be able to do a great job cooking.
It doesn’t work that way. If you’re really serious about cooking and producing the very best dishes for yourself and your family, you have to invest in the right equipment.
Now, this does not necessarily have to burn a hole through your pocket. You don’t necessarily have to max out your credit card to do this. There are all sorts of sales at specialized cookware and kitchenware shops.
Also, there are all sorts of online stores that specialize in this kind of equipment. Find those stores, get discounts and buy entry-level yet high-quality specialized equipment. This way, you know you’re serious. This way you can get the job done the right way the first time around.
Just as you wouldn’t want to use a shoe to nail a painting on a wall because it’s going to leave all sorts of smudge marks on your wall, you want to go and use your regular pan or kettle for what you need to do.
Practice Makes Perfect
Finally, if you are a beginner cook, get to it! Seriously. Just jump in with both feet and keep repeating the same dish over and over.
For example, if you always wanted to cook Pad Thai, chances are the first ten (10) times you do it, something going to be off. It’s not going to be as good as you thought.
Of course, the first time you do cook that dish, it’s probably going to be awful. But the more you repeat, the better you get. Then before you know it, you will be able to produce the very best Pad Thai among your friends.
That’s how you make progress and once you do that, you move on to the next dish and then the next dish after that. This is cooking the right way for beginners.