how do you even start

[Anonymous No.12198392]

i'm 18 and my parents have just been getting fast food all my life. by some miracle our family is actually a normal weight but this still can't be good for me so I've decided to take the initiative and cook for myself from now on. problem is I've got no idea where to start, all I know is the ultrabasic shit like french toast and spaghetti. where do I even start? what are some things I should get next time we go to the market? what are some basic recipes or principles i need to know? the cholesterol must be clogging my brain because i've no idea where to start.

[Anonymous No.12198394]

>>12198392
Cook food
Eat it
Repeat

[Anonymous No.12198404]

Figure out something you want to make, google a recipe for it, follow it to the letter until you get your own grasp on the hows and whys, repeat until you add more recipes and more importantly techniques to your repertoire

It's that simple, don't overthink it, just cook one meal at a time and don't be afraid to try something out of your comfort zone (like I'm not saying to try to perfect a beef wellington for your first dish, but don't shy away from cooking things that look a little more complex than you're used to)

[Anonymous No.12198410]

start with easy stuff and work your way up.
Fry a proper egg for starters.

[Anonymous No.12198411]

>>12198392
>i'm 18
>spongebob
DROPPED
also
>where do i start
you know to use a computer to ask a question but have no idea how to use a computer to ask a question
HUH

[Anonymous No.12198412]

>>12198392
Start with the basics, pasta, rice, potatoes, steaks, chicken breast, salmon, etc.

[Anonymous No.12198416]

>>12198392
start with spaghetti but make it from scratch

[Anonymous No.12198420]

You can look for a cookbook of simple recipes, or Google some easier foods. Some easy foods would be stuff like roasted vegetables, though it'd depend on what meal you'll be making. If you really have no idea, try MyFridgeFood. Just check off whatever's in your refrigerator and you'll get recipes that use them. All the best, OP.

[Anonymous No.12198427]

>>12198392
Learn what spices taste like. No pretentious shit like saffron or anything just basic shit like garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, white pepper, cumin, chili powder, paprika etc. Also learn your "sweet" spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc

That's how you make food taste good. To make the food itself you need a carb to fill you and a protein (meat, vegans can kys themselves.) to feel satiated. Learn what texture you like things at (rice, pasta, etc) and meat (how thoroughly cooked, methods of cooking etc. I advise against boiling for almost anything.) Learn how you like your eggs.

Add vegetables for colour and flavour

[Anonymous No.12198441]

>>12198427
no this is how you compensate for poor technique and ruin food with sharp superficial flavours

it's absolutely not fundamental and it's not the right place to start
>garlic powder, onion powder
>mfw

[Anonymous No.12198448]

This could help. Fuck it, but different meats and sofas and see what it tells you to make with it.

Supercook.com

[Anonymous No.12198450]

>>12198441
You absolutely cannot get the same taste by cooking fresh onion with meat that you can using onion powder to flavour meat

[Anonymous No.12198455]

>>12198450
yeah you can get a much better taste

[Anonymous No.12198456]

>>12198450
>imagine not rubbing your steaks with fresh onion

[Anonymous No.12198462]

>>12198392
unironically check out chef john

[Anonymous No.12198463]

>>12198456
Steaks dont need onion flavouring retard I'm talking about ground beef or diced chicken

[Anonymous No.12198464]

>>12198456
>onion powder on steak
imagine not only being a shit cook, but actively proselytizing your bullshit

[Anonymous No.12198497]

Iron-Cali check out Rebecca Brand on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/wWR5DaK8m1c

[Anonymous No.12198498]

>>12198420
that myfridgefood thing sounds like a great idea, thanks
>>12198427
I like my food to be completely destroyed by spices, I'll definitely get at least the stuff you listed
>>12198412
thanks, picking up all that
>>12198404
sounds good, I tried this indian shit called kima once and tried to recreate it, actually got it pretty good but burnt it like a retard. since then I've stayed in my comfort zone of foods moms make when they've given up so I'll try to break out a but more
>>12198411
I wanted to get a variety of opinions, like with >>12198441, thought asking you guys would be better than visiting a bunch of random blogs begging me to sign up for their shite newsletter

[Anonymous No.12198560]

>>12198498
well here then fuckface
>library
>youtube
>internet
>cook books
>grandparents
>parents
>recipe blogs
>cooking class

[Anonymous No.12198569]

>>12198560
mate I just said why I'm asking you guys. it's a cooking board, chill

[Anonymous No.12198587]

>>12198560
>chill
i just gave you 8 fantastic resources asshole, if i wasnt chill i would have asked you to sod off you bloody gobshite
i know its 18, but you should have to be 21 to post here

[Anonymous No.12198595]

>>12198587
this is such a weird thing to be angry about. 4chan is on the internet, one of the resources you gave.

[Anonymous No.12198707]

>>12198595
4chan is not on the internet

[Anonymous No.12198882]

the krusty krab pizza is the pizza for you and meeeheeeheee

[Anonymous No.12198910]

>>12198498
get a cookbook for beginners and make most of that stuff, then get a better cookbook and start finding your own recipes and make that stuff

[Anonymous No.12198920]

Go and download yourself all seasons of Good Eats. It's perfect for learning the basics and does not require prior knowledge.

[Anonymous No.12198929]

>>12198882
baste

[Anonymous No.12198942]

>>12198392
Vegetables, particularly roots like carrots and potatoes, are hard to screw up. Even if you bungle the recipe they'll usually still be fine to eat, even when they don't taste the best. Don't be scared to get frozen vegetables if you want something easy; frozen peas warmed up on the stove and flavored with a little butter and pepper are a little bland but decent for you and dead simple as a side for something more complicated (be sure to heat them in some standing water though l, so you dont burn them).

Scrambled eggs are an easy starter breakfast and pretty quick to make. Grits are easy if you live in a place that sells them but they're only as healthy as whatever you flavor them with.

There are plenty of starter recipes/suggestions around YouTube or google if you just search them up.

[Anonymous No.12199710]

>>12198392
As someone who went through a similar problem a few years ago. Overall, most basic cooking after mixing ingredients together involves making sure you didn't burn it more actively than just sticking some fries n the oven and waiting it out, and to make sure it cooks evenly from top to bottom. You would not believe how many people I've met that can't cook and not try to learn, so good on you for asking.

[Anonymous No.12199737]

Just follow a bunch of recipes and keep note of what's going on. These'll be your building blocks. Avoid allrecipes or any user submitted recipe site that bored housewives with shit cooking skills can flood with their trash. Serious Eats is pretty decent for easier stuff and they generally explain why they do certain things in a recipe. Also go to thrift stores like Goodwill and find cookbooks that look interesting. Try to find recipes from (reputable) chefs or restaurants if possible because there's a level of refinement that goes into a dish that's being made hundreds of times a day every day that a hobbyist will never be able to do at home even if they make it for every meal. Also keep notes of mistakes. Like actual notes you can refer to.

[Anonymous No.12199747]

>>12198455
No you literally cannot. There are chemical transformations that happen when dehydrating the onion leading to compounds that simply do not exist in onions.

[Anonymous No.12200260]

start small. Work out how to cook an egg; what makes a good egg from a bad egg? how does temperature change the process? will adding some lube make it not stick to the pan (TINY bit of butter goes a long way).

Basically, experiment and force yourself to eat what you make. cooking for too long isn't as bad as getting food poisoning and the worst you could do is set the house on fire.

160 celcius fan forced is a standard oven temperature.

roasts are usually 30 minutes per 500g. When taking the roast out, leave it on the counter for 5-10 minutes, don't worry it wont get cold. This is called "resting", it lets the meat suck alll the moisture back into itself otherwise when you cut it you end up with dry meat and a bloody puddle.

use vegies. Lots of them. they are cheap and good for you. Many vegies eventually go sweet when cooked; carrots, pumpkin, onions.

don't buy good meat if you don't know how to cook it well. It would be like giving a good bottle of wine to the town drunk.

Have fun

[Anonymous No.12200308]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpXanUgokx0&list=PLbS0HkS8Xsorrdr3pPk4lP80tUAzfyxP1&index=28&t=0s

Good food. Good times

[Anonymous No.12200349]

[Anonymous No.12200796]

>>12198392
Allrecipes.com anything with 500 or more 5 starred reviews is gonna be good.

[Anonymous No.12200803]

cooking is one of the easiest things ever, a recipe is literally just step by step telling you what to do

just follow recipes

[Anonymous No.12201227]

Like others have said, the basics are most important.

Laura in the Kitchen on youtube is a really good channel to learn from. She has really solid technique and even knife skills.

[Anonymous No.12201238]

>>12198392
Whatever you do, just know I was raised by parents that didn't teach me how to cook, do laundry, fucking anything, but now I'm better at all those thing than the average person. Mainly because people who were taught by their parents inherited their flaws. By starting from scratch with no preconceived notions, I actually came out ahead. Hand in there.

[Anonymous No.12201241]

>>12198392
>how do i start
fry egg on pan, salt for flavor, not too much ok? get chicken, use adobo for easy flavor, not too much or you regret it. get rice cooker, make life easy with rice cooker. move up to cooking beef, get cheap cuts of steak and cut them into strips after cooking it. make pasta, make pork, make stew, america test kitchen has easy recipe. they're good people.

[Anonymous No.12201252]

>>12198392
How in the actual fuck do you afford fast food more than two or three times a week max? That’s like $20 a week on food alone, Jesus Christ.

[Anonymous No.12201294]

Roast vegetables, its easy as fuck. Learning how to season and cook meat is pretty easy. Remembering how to make sauces and glazes is hard, but if you follow a recipe its pretty simple.

[Not Audrey No.12201496]

>>12201238
while what you say has credit I have to disagree to an extent. It's like playing an instrument; yes you can teach yourself and maybe even get a knack for it, however there is a certain point where progress is halted/slowed. If you don't have another perspective to guide you and point out your flaws then you will develop bad habits and not realise it. while this analogy may apply more to the likes of say "recipies" and cooking classes, the point remains. teaching yourself at the start can be good, but getting a few pointers from others is better.

I mean lets be honest. How many people do you think have broken their microwaves because no one told them metal is a big nono?

[Not Audrey No.12201507]

>>12201252
1$ Mc meal
twice a day
7 days
14$/week
===============
10kg rice 7$
1/2 cup twice a day
???
PROFIT!

povertymode is a skill in itself

[Anonymous No.12201516]

Started getting more serious about cooking with a subscription to cooks illustrated. They talk about the food Science a little and put it in layman's terms. They also explain the different techniques they tried for each dish, why they failed, or succeeded. Probably one of the better resources out there for something more holistic. Plus the illustrations and graphic design of the magazine is just very aesthetic.

Good for you for taking the initiative though. A mature choice.

[Anonymous No.12201526]

>>12198560
>>12198587
>>12198707
Lol dude why are you being such a dick?!

[Anonymous No.12202155]

>>12201526
because you are an annoying homo

[Anonymous No.12203037]

>>12198427
Saffron ain't pretentious, but it's way too easy to use it pretentiously

[Anonymous No.12203775]

>>12201526
he's doing it cause its 4chan.


on an unrelated note. nigger.

[Anonymous No.12203805]

>>12198392
Chef John on YouTube. All you need.

[Anonymous No.12204067]

There is nothing wrong with eating out all the time.