How are some people unable to cook for themselves when a recipe literally tells you what to do step by step
>>7146714
>literally
No.
>following directions means i can cook!!!
And colour-by-numbers means I can paint!!
>>7146726
People had to start from somewhere. First the books, then they branch away and do they're own shit
once you get out into the real world, kid, you'll find that a large portion of the population cannot follow instructions no matter how simple they are.
because most recipes use unclear directions like "medium heat" or "pinch of salt"
>>7146714
American kids aren't tought a shred of a culinary culture nowadays.
>>7146726
I never said anything about being able to cook well
I mean why would someone eat shit like this when there are millions of recipes that are flat out better in every way?
>>7146735
even messing up with arbitrary instructions would still give a decent result
>>7146739
Jesus.............
>>7146716
You literally don't know what 'literally' literally means.
>>7146785
No.
>>7146730
I didn't start from books. I started from watching my mum and aunts cook and my dad and uncles attempting to cook.
The first thing I ever cooked on my own was chicken and corn soup. I was eight years old. Before then, I was cooking, but always under adult supervision. I suppose that if you come from a culture/family that doesn't typically cook, I can understand the need to start with recipe books, I guess.
>>7146745
You know, tbqhwy, other than the slice of American cheese and the fact that the sauce isn't mixed into the pasta, it doesn't look too bad. The sauce might even be homemade and the cheese slice merely a joke. That's how it looks to me, anyway.
In any case, while I stand by my statement: being able to follow a recipe is not the same as knowing how to cook, I apologise for the rather abrasive manner I presented the point.
>>7146790
I'm glad we agree, Anon.
Some people the cooking ad it shows.Bad attention span with time and stove\oven watch. Careless and unthought measurements.Not following the right ingredients.It boils down to not caring OR overthinking the recipe too much to where you add too much of everything it turning it into a mess.
>>7146726
>>7146801
I'm going to argue semantics here, because I think you're putting too much meaning on the word "cook." If you want it to have an elevated meaning, then good for you, but a cook is someone who prepares food. You follow a recipe to prepare food? Then you're a cook. If you want to add qualifiers, then add qualifying words. Talented, good, shit, whatever. OP could have worded his question, "How are there people who can't cook when you can find explicit directions that tell you want to do?" Whether from a recipe or a person.
It's great that you learned from your family, but learning from someone (either from absorbing their knowledge by interpreting their actions, or being told how and why, helping them, or having them help you) isn't miles different from having friendly personality Julia Child write down her directions and steps to follow. Recipes are not the negative, paint-by-numbers things you make them out to be. After all, it's not like your parents know all the ways to cook. You can't look at most food and divine how to make it or get a verbal explanation. You're going to look at a recipe. The difference between a good cook [qualifying word + cook] and a beginner or low-skilled individual who will treat it like paint by numbers is how they incorporate their knowledge. Some will only be able to follow steps exactly. OP was complaining about people too stupid to do even this, but good cooks will use their talent to know when to adjust or that this substitution might be fun or to merely look at a recipe and absorb whatever ideas or knowledge it may offer and then fuck off and do their own interpretation. Recipes aren't what is holding people back. They are a way to share knowledge and explore and examine and communicate with the world around us, and demonizing them does no one any favors. The recipe can be paint-by-numbers or Michelangelo's canvas--depends on how the cook, any cook, interprets it and applies it in their kitchen.
>>7147060
>good cooks will use their talent to know when to adjust or that this
And that's precisely why that learning from someone is indeed very different than reading recipes like Julia Child. A recipe is an inflexible list. A person teaching you will explain how to look for a certain flavor or texture or appearance, etc.
>>7146716
But OP is literally right this time, cookbooks literally have one purpose: to literally tell you how to cook something.
>>7147092
Yes, recipes are inflexible, but only if you insist on directly following it each time. When you make it once, you have a control. Then you can start messing with the recipe, seeing which variables affect what, and slowly build a sense of which flavors go well together and how much of each you need. That's how I learned.
Videos are honestly better for learning because there are a lot of visual cues in cooking. Sure, nothing beats having an actual teacher sitting next to you, but well made video tutorials plus trial and error come damn close.
>>7147060
>>7147092
>>7147149
As I said, guys: I picked up how to cook organically, just from simple observation. No direct instruction, no laundry list of ingredients or steps. Nothing.
Just saw it done a bunch of times and tried my hand at it. The first semi-complex thing I ever cooked with adult supervision, was cheese-stuffed, breaded potato croquettes. And when I say "adult supervision" it was more like mum was in the kitchen just to make sure I didn't burn myself. Or the house down, for that matter.
I just boiled some potatoes, drained them, pressed through the ricer, beat them in a bowl with a rubber spatula until they got cold, added yolk and whole egg, salt, pepper, parsley and flour, then enrobed cheese in it before, finally, coating in breadcrumbs and frying to golden, brown and delicious. I was seven or so at the time.
Before that, it was simple things like poached eggs, fried eggs, boiled eggs and the like.
>watch a video of someone making potstickers
>can't pinch the tops right even though I'm watching someone do it
>steam exactly as they say to and it doesn't even cook the dough
>go back to spaghetti and pork chops
Recipes do teach you how to cook. Now when I'm reading a recipe and it doesn't specify something, I think back to a recipe that did specify it and use that method / measurement if it worked well.
So yea, over time using recipes will teach you so many things, you won't really need recipes anymore.
>>7147251
Cool
