I hope that — on the whole — I am able to maintain a generally objective tone here at The Pop View. I have my attitude, as any good blog should, but I should also be able to keep things in perspective.
But this truly shocked me Saturday morning:
Basic cooking terms that have been part of kitchen vocabulary for centuries are now considered incomprehensible to the majority of Americans. Despite the popularity of the Food Network cooking shows on cable TV, and the burgeoning number of food magazines and gourmet restaurants, today’s cooks have fewer kitchen skills than their parents — or grandparents — did.
Okay, we’re a busy society. More mothers work outside the home. Home economics courses are often no longer mandatory in middle school. So, how bad could it be?
…Stephen W. Sanger, chairman and chief executive of General Mills Inc., noted the sad state of culinary affairs and described the kind of e-mails and calls the company gets asking for cooking advice: the person who didn’t have any eggs for baking and asked if a peach would do instead, for example; and the man who railed about the fire that resulted when he thought he was following instructions to grease the bottom of the pan — the outside of the pan.
Now, that’s just sad.
I’ve been cooking since the age of 13. I probably learned more from Julia Child than I did my parents (not that they didn’t teach me a few tricks). I’m always a little astonished when someone tells me they can’t cook. I always ask, “Have you tried?” I’m not talking Crepes Suzette or a Big Night-style timbale. These are people who don’t cook at all.
If you click on the news story , you’ll find a short quiz to test your knowledge of basic cooking terms. I had it read to me and I found it so easy that I didn’t even need to hear the multiple choice answers.
This state of culinary illiteracy is truly tragic. C’mon people! It takes a little effort! There’s a food section in your local paper every week. There’s a 24-hour network. Your grandmother probably still remembers how to cook — ask her. Discover the joy of cooking.
Tags: The Washington Post, Cooking 101, Candy Sagon, Food Network