*This is a partnered post.
If you are an adult with zero cooking skills, then that is nothing to be proud of and it is a shortcoming that could land you in a lot of trouble down the line. Life is unpredictable and you may find yourself in a situation at some point in the future where you will come to regret not learning even the basics of cooking a lot more than you realise right now. Knowing how to make a bowl of Ramen is not going to be enough, in the long run, so read on as we discuss some of the key points regarding why it is essential for everyone to know the basics of cooking, what to start with, and how to get started.
Learning to Cook May Save Your Life!
We are not talking about apocalyptic scenarios where your only option to survive is to hunt and cook your own meals, but very practical, real-life situations where learning to cook might just save your life.
For example, those pork chops you love can give you roundworms known as Trichinella Spiralis, which causes a severe condition known as trichinosis. Trichinosis can be fatal if left untreated or if it remains undetected for even a few days. Unfortunately, the Trichinella Spiralis roundworm is so devastatingly bad for human health that even if you survive the temporary infection, the cysts may enter your muscles and remain active there for years, leading to a bunch of health complications, which once again can cause death. In order to properly kill the roundworms, tapeworms, and a whole range of potentially fatal microbes before the pork can be consumed, it is important to know how to cook pork safely. Keep in mind that this is just one of the many other ways in which raw, regular food can potentially kill you if you don’t know how to cook each item properly.
Cooking is a Must if You Value Fitness
If you are into fitness, then you should know that meals are more than half of what it is all about. The exercise will only be able to keep you fit if you can provide the body with the right type of nutrition.
Unless you know even the basics of cooking, you will always have to depend on others to provide you with multiple nutritious meals throughout the day, which is just not practical. The alternative is to eat junk food on most nights and say goodbye to your fitness goals.
Fortunately for everyone, Superprof makes it super easy to for anyone and everyone to learn not just the basics of cooking, but become a real expert in the culinary arts, if he/she so chooses. Just go to the Superprof website, type in your location in the United Kingdom, and find a cooking class near to your home or a tutor to teach you everything you need to know in person.
In case you would prefer to learn via online cooking classes rather than in person, that is available on Superprof too, which essentially eliminates all geographical limitations. Online classes are perfect for busy professionals who do not have the time to attend cooking classes during work hours.
It Will Improve Your Romantic Life
This may not seem like the most obvious reason to learn cooking, but it certainly is a valid one. The old saying, “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach” is not just true in its own right, but it applies to women as well because most women adore men who know how to cook a good meal.
Just take a few cooking lessons, irrespective of your gender, and it will instantly make you more romantic and improve your personal life significantly. If you have a partner who already loves to cook, this could be a great way to bond as well.
It Will Save You a Ton of Money
Everyone who cooks their own meal at home will invariably save a ton of money, as raw food always costs a fraction of cooked food. When you don’t have to pay a cook or pay for a restaurant’s profits, you save money and eat healthier at the same time; which is a true win-win scenario.
What Should You Start With?
Now that we have discussed the main reasons why learning to cook is essential for everyone and how they can do so easily via the Superprof website, the next question is, what should you learn to cook first?
The choice is completely yours in this regard, but you should definitely start with something easy and make your way up from that. To make a list of must-learn, easy recipes, take note of the following and try to learn as many of them as possible in the next few weeks or months.
Grilled Cheese Sandwich
There are very few things in the world that are as full of taste and health as it is easy to cook than a grilled cheese sandwich. All you need are a few slices of bread, cheese, butter and a bit of salt to make a fulfilling breakfast.
Roasted Chicken
The ingredients and the process will differ quite a bit, depending on which roasted chicken recipe you choose, but Thomas Keller has one of the simplest and tastiest recipes of all time, which requires just the chicken, salt and pepper.
The Steak
Preparing a steak isn’t the most difficult cooking job in the world, but it takes some learning because searing it perfectly is just not easy. Adding butter during the searing is highly recommended.
Roasted Veggies
We know that vegetables are healthy, but to make them actually tasty, you should also learn a bit about how to roast them and serve a plate of delicious and nutritious veggies for a vegan meal. In case you are not feeling particularly vegan, the roasted vegetables go in perfect sync with a roasted chicken.
Sautéed Green Veggies
For this particular dish, we use leafy and green vegetables, sautéed in olive oil (skip the vegetable oil). You will primarily need spinach, kale, mustard greens, collards, onion, garlic and much more, depending on the recipe you decide to follow.
Rice
Cooking rice is super easy, and it is one of the main dishes that can go with just about anything and everything from roasted chicken thighs to plain old chicken broth.
Cookies
Some of us admit it, the rest don’t, but the truth is everyone loves well-made chocolate chip cookies and there are no two ways about it. Bake a batch of these in the oven and bring it to your office to instantly earn the respect and love of your co-workers.
Cooking is a life skill and although we live in a time when it doesn’t feel as necessary as it should, it will always remain one of the basic survival skills for the human race, in general. If by this time you are not convinced of the importance of learning how to cook, then we recommend just trying out a single cooking class and tasting a plate of food that you made with your own two hands. It might just change your whole perspective of the culinary arts.