quote:

Originally posted by mojojojo:

quote:

Originally posted by bettysnephew:
Take a course together!

This!

Only real answer, but I also love the rest of the responses.

Did she not learn any cooking skills at home growing up?

Yes, agree that trying to teach her coming from a professional background is not the best way to go about this. My background is a chef and I married a girl who is a good cook but I really have to fight the urge many times to “correct” her when she’s cooking. Being that she didn’t learn it from a professional background like me, the concepts of Mise en Place and “clean as you go” are just not natural for her. I’m always trying to show her how to heat the pan first well before scrambling eggs and not starting with a cold pan, but it’s just in one ear and out the other.

Maybe she could take some weekend or summer cooking classes at a local culinary school or college that offers culinary courses if you have that available in your area?

The old school cooking shows are also pretty good, not these new shows that are all flash and drama. I’m talking Graham Kerr and Julia Child.

Good luck and just remember to be patient and realize that she’s just starting out.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Shugart:]My only problem with him is that he talks too fucking much.

Another tidbit of wisdom from Shugart. We need to be thankful the forum has him.

quote:

I’m always trying to show her how to heat the pan first well before scrambling eggs and not starting with a cold pan,

I have bitten my tongue on this one before. It's so hard not to say something.

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Start with something simple: Things she can lick off of your body. A nice whipped cream. Peanut butter. Jelly. Simple syrup...

Agreed. Could go well after pasta & catsup and pigs in a blanket.

That's "pig in a taco."

Why not start her off with one of the mail services that send you all the ingredients and recipes? Should be an easy way to get started, have proper meals, and see if there is interest for more.

quote:

Originally posted by Aglifter:
My gf has mentioned that she wants to start cooking at home, but she’s not sure how.

I know better than to offer to teach her. I might try to help with mise en place and work flow, but I’m a bit wary of even doing that - I do know of one old cook book which mentioned that kind of stuff.

(I think Women’s Home Companion cook books were meant to be snuck into the honeymoon luggage)

Find medieval body armor for starters.

I second this- my wife likes them as well.

quote:

Originally posted by MNSIG:
My wife is a very good cook and really likes America’s Test Kitchen. They have a book and TV show. They document everything so you can follow the recipe exactly and be nearly certain of a good result.

Look for somewhere that teaches classes. There are usually one off classes or a series. Knife skills, soups, apps, different entrees, baking, etc. Hands on with a chef in a group setting can be fun whether she goes with you or alone. Google cooking classes where you are and you’ll find many options. Going together is fun and “let’s do this together” hits much better than “you need to learn”.

America’s Test Kitchen is great. They try all sorts of ways and present what they find works best.

quote:

Originally posted by 45 Cal:
? a women that cant cook,is she very rich,like oil well rich ,house keeper ,maid ,chef etc
Go fer it you lucky man.

been married since 1986

wifes mother cooked the most bland and crappy food imaginable, and wife could not cook
so I did, cause my mom, and both grandma's could and taught me,

come to find out my Father in Law (RIP) may have been Celiac, or IBS, either way he had Digestive issues, and my wife turned out to be Celiac years later,


so I learned to cook GF, and can make a pie or cake that will make you want to smack your mama,,

and since the FiL passed, the Mom in law has became a much better cook,

so, if she, your future wife, has no aptitude, or interest, I suggest you learn,

you and she will eat better, and cooking good food is not a male or female prerequisite,

For those who don’t know me, I make a living, more or less, as a cook.

She said she wants to start cooking breakfast.

Prices for breakfast only went nuts, recently. Usually, you could get bacon, eggs, coffee and potatoes for only a couple dollars more than you could cook them at home.

(I also have Celiacs.)

Why are you apprehensive about offering to teach her? If she is to be your spouse you should be able to do things like that together.

How I learned most of what I know was from trying different things out from youtube videos, cooking shows, and such. Just tried a bunch of new things that I've never cooked before and now I incorporate what I learned into my everyday meal preparations.

quote:

Originally posted by snwghst:
Sign up for one of the meal delivery plans. Food already portioned recipes are like a picture book on flash cards

If my sons mother can make something edible this way. Anyone can. She burns water often

This was my thought, food and portions already setup, all ingredients and instructions will lead to success.

quote:

How to suggest cooking courses to a future wife?

You making it a prerequisite?

quote:

Originally posted by Ryanp225:
Why are you apprehensive about offering to teach her? If she is to be your spouse you should be able to do things like that together.

We're back to your picture-perfect relationship, I see.

Despite what you claim, I'm beginning to wonder if you've ever even met any women, much less, lived with one.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:

quote:

Originally posted by Ryanp225:
Why are you apprehensive about offering to teach her? If she is to be your spouse you should be able to do things like that together.

We're back to your picture-perfect relationship, I see.

Despite what you claim, I'm beginning to wonder if you've ever even met any women, much less, lived with one.

What benefit is it to you to act this way towards me?

I join in the ATK recommendations, but there are a lot of others offered on TV/Youtube. Alton Brown was/is my go to immediately after ATK but Kenji Lopez-Alt is also fantastic.

I would also recommend your local community college because they will for sure have classes.

Lots of good suggestions have already been made.

As many have already said, look to see if there are any teaching kitchens in your area. Can look for a series of courses or for bonus points, look for a date night cook together type class to start off with. Often these will be through upscale grocery stores or kitchen supply places. Often the vocational or community colleges will have some one-off skill builder classes in cooking that you can sign up for. Farmers markets sometimes offer classes, etc.

The fresh dinner kits that are at grocery stores are often a good place to start as well. Has all of the ingredients (normally) and the instructions.

One thing to keep in mind as she goes through learning is that it will need to remain an interest long enough for her to build the skills before she actually sees that things are improving. Keep it fun and experiment. There will be a lot of flexibility here as there go and she recognizes patterns (similarities between recipes or cooking methods) and can start tweaking based off knowledge (spice substitutions based on personal preferences, etc). But probably best to start with actually following the recipes the first few times she makes a dish.

Is she more inclined to just want to know what to do - or is she the type that would also like to know why things are done the way they are done (science behind it)? Also, how does she like to learn about things? Reading things, viewing videos, or just dive in hands on (hands on will happen eventually in any scenario with cooking). Also, any particular types of food (specific regions / cultures - Italian, Asian, Indian, etc) or cooking methods (stove top, oven, grilled, sous vide, etc) that she likes more so than others that she would enjoy trying to do herself? Don't overlook slow cooker cooking - can help boost confidence in the beginning, but won't exactly build skills that much.

Would recommend that she keep a cooking notebook / journal for notes -- note things that she does / does not like as she goes along. Capture any notes (measurement conversions, common spice mix ratios, quick recipes). A dedicated recipe book/box eventually. Other basic equipment as she goes along if you don't already have that stuff (measuring cups, cutting boards, prep containers, set of knives (can start with some Victorinox or similar kitchen knives and upgrade later), apron, cooking thermometer (I recommend thermoworks)).

If she likes learning from books / vidoes - America's Test Kitche / Cook's Illustrated / Country Kitchen (all 3 under the same umbrella), Alton Brown's Good Eats Series (I think HBO subscription has the full series - but may be another service), SeriousEats.com, KQED PBS has a lot of Jacques Pepin videos. Would also recommend looking up Alton Brown's youtube channel. Same goes for Chef John / Food Wishes's videos. Food52 videos are also pretty good. See what local PBS channels you have available over the air - they have a lot of the Americas test kitchen stuff and milk street available most of the time).

If you have amazon prime, you can have her watch 'Oh Cook' with James May - little more on the comedic side, least in the first season as he doesn't really know how to cook. I'm sure all of the streaming services (assuming you have them) have a lot of options for good cooking shows (not the cut throat or game show bullshit ones - but old emeril lagasse, etc)

Do you know what type of skillets, etc she'll be cooking on? Just bringing this up as sometimes the equipment has caveats that she'll need to know about before cooking. Like you have to preheat stainless. Don't get non-stick too hot or put in the oven (beyond its temp rating). Certain things can't be put under a broiler. Don't put acidic foods (tomatoes, lemon juice, etc) in aluminum or non-enameled cast iron.

Also recommend starting with the basics. Like master cooking eggs different ways. This will help with mastering the fundamentals and temperature control and timing.

Also make it clear that cooking and baking are different - with the latter being more like chemistry with the ingredients amounts, where cooking is more a rough guideline.

I also just remembered that America’s test kitchen has an online cooking school video series. Not sure if that was specifically mentioned yet.

quote:

Originally posted by Ryanp225:
What benefit is it to you to act this way towards me?

I don't care for your holier-than-thou attitude when it comes to male/female relationships, and my comments are intended to get you to stop behaving like normal stuff that's been going on between men and women since there have been men and women, is something for you to scrutinize and question.

This is the second time I've seen you questioning normal stuff that goes on between men and women, or comes about because of innate behaviors by one or the other sex. There's no such thing as a textbook perfect male/female relationship, and in the case of the subject of this thread, it should be understood by any man past the age of 30 that it is sometimes best to tread lightly when approaching certain subjects with the fairer sex, yet you're questioning the man as if this is somehow abnormal.