What's the point of cooking at home anymore?
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Date: 2020-02-17
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Comments and reviews: 9
Max
Holy shit, more of this please. I always learn from your food science videos, but as a more social science-humanities-artsish person, hearing yours and the profs' thoughts on the philosophy of cooking is fascinating and moving. There's a lot in here that I'll be stewing (heh) over for a while. So for one thing -- in no insignificant part thanks to your videos, Adam -- I've become a home cook for almost all of the reasons you describe here. - It's really fun. It brings me pleasure to both try to create something I never have before and to develop and master my own versions of the food I love. - It's expressive. I did a lot of theater and creative writing when I was growing up, but nowadays, I don't often have the time or motivation to engage in art the same way. And that's fine with me, but I love being able to cook something at the end of a long day because I'm making something out of nothing and feeding (heh) the need for creativity. Best of all, unlike writing a story or rehearsing a play, it's done once you put it away. You don't have rewrite or re-rehearse, you go to do it and finish doing it all in the span of an hour or two. - It connects me to my family. I've mastered a red sauce for the same reasons you describe at the end of this video. I'm also working on a noodle kugel and a matzo ball soup to connect to my Jewish side. I don't go to synagogue, I don't participate in any Italian cultural traditions, but food makes me feel kinship with those parts of me. - It gives me a way of showing love to the people I love. This one's kinda self-explanatory, I think. And another thing you didn't touch on in the video: it's tactile. I spend a lot of time staring at a computer screen, both for work and play. And that's okay with me, I like my work and my hobbies, but unlike any of that, cooking is by nature _sensory_. You smell, you taste, you listen, you feel the warmth of your stove and the particular texture of your ingredients. Especially as a city-dwelling hyper-online writer, I spend a lot of time in man-made environments or in my own head. Cooking reconnects me to nature, to the beauty and complexity and uniqueness of our earth. That's another thing I love about it.
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Holy shit, more of this please. I always learn from your food science videos, but as a more social science-humanities-artsish person, hearing yours and the profs' thoughts on the philosophy of cooking is fascinating and moving. There's a lot in here that I'll be stewing (heh) over for a while. So for one thing -- in no insignificant part thanks to your videos, Adam -- I've become a home cook for almost all of the reasons you describe here. - It's really fun. It brings me pleasure to both try to create something I never have before and to develop and master my own versions of the food I love. - It's expressive. I did a lot of theater and creative writing when I was growing up, but nowadays, I don't often have the time or motivation to engage in art the same way. And that's fine with me, but I love being able to cook something at the end of a long day because I'm making something out of nothing and feeding (heh) the need for creativity. Best of all, unlike writing a story or rehearsing a play, it's done once you put it away. You don't have rewrite or re-rehearse, you go to do it and finish doing it all in the span of an hour or two. - It connects me to my family. I've mastered a red sauce for the same reasons you describe at the end of this video. I'm also working on a noodle kugel and a matzo ball soup to connect to my Jewish side. I don't go to synagogue, I don't participate in any Italian cultural traditions, but food makes me feel kinship with those parts of me. - It gives me a way of showing love to the people I love. This one's kinda self-explanatory, I think. And another thing you didn't touch on in the video: it's tactile. I spend a lot of time staring at a computer screen, both for work and play. And that's okay with me, I like my work and my hobbies, but unlike any of that, cooking is by nature _sensory_. You smell, you taste, you listen, you feel the warmth of your stove and the particular texture of your ingredients. Especially as a city-dwelling hyper-online writer, I spend a lot of time in man-made environments or in my own head. Cooking reconnects me to nature, to the beauty and complexity and uniqueness of our earth. That's another thing I love about it.
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Daniel
Why I cook at Home as a 19 Year old college student, who still lives with parents who are happy to cook for me if I asked them too: I grew up to be a very picky eater, and as such, I always ate the basic stuff like rolls, fries, chips and queso, etc when we went out to eat. Because I have been the only child of my parents left in the house for most of my life, my parents are always willing to cook something I like for me when im hungry, and they mostly cook rather than ordering out because of tradition and money saving. Being the picky eater that I am, I have ended up making the meals I like myself, because I have found that the only person that can make something taste exactly how you like is yourself. with few exceptions, I find the food that I prepare, cook and season myself to be far tastier than the meals I can get by going out to eat, and even prepared by my parents. Ill still let them cook for me if they insist, but I do prefer to make things myself when I can find the time, and I always like them to try my stuff to tell me what they think. I don't have any desire to be a chef, but I do enjoy cooking things I like, and if I had the time, I could spend all day preparing delicious meals for myself. That is why I cook at home rather than eating out or buying pre-cooked food.
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Why I cook at Home as a 19 Year old college student, who still lives with parents who are happy to cook for me if I asked them too: I grew up to be a very picky eater, and as such, I always ate the basic stuff like rolls, fries, chips and queso, etc when we went out to eat. Because I have been the only child of my parents left in the house for most of my life, my parents are always willing to cook something I like for me when im hungry, and they mostly cook rather than ordering out because of tradition and money saving. Being the picky eater that I am, I have ended up making the meals I like myself, because I have found that the only person that can make something taste exactly how you like is yourself. with few exceptions, I find the food that I prepare, cook and season myself to be far tastier than the meals I can get by going out to eat, and even prepared by my parents. Ill still let them cook for me if they insist, but I do prefer to make things myself when I can find the time, and I always like them to try my stuff to tell me what they think. I don't have any desire to be a chef, but I do enjoy cooking things I like, and if I had the time, I could spend all day preparing delicious meals for myself. That is why I cook at home rather than eating out or buying pre-cooked food.
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MarschelArts
The reason why I cook at home changed over the years. First I started when I moved out of my parents house. I only knew some very basic and simple stuff, but nothing like my mother or my grandmother where able to do. After months of, rice with souce, potatoes and take away food, I wanted to have at least one cooked meal like back at home once a week and got going. Needless to say, the start was rough and produced some things that propably fell under a bio weapons ban. I learned by trial and error, then a lot from my grandma ( whose level I still try to reach but propably never will, but also from my mother, father and uncle, who was a butcher. With my skill level rising, it soon became a hobby. I got interested in how incredients and cooking techniques work togehter, what matches, what doesnt etc. With age, skill and budget my reason for cooking changed. From plain old fun to trying to impress girls, to what it is now: pure joy in the process, improvement of my skill and, if I can, cooking for friends. Be it for game night, a weekend hike or anything else. It makes me happy to see them enjoy the fruit of my labour.
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The reason why I cook at home changed over the years. First I started when I moved out of my parents house. I only knew some very basic and simple stuff, but nothing like my mother or my grandmother where able to do. After months of, rice with souce, potatoes and take away food, I wanted to have at least one cooked meal like back at home once a week and got going. Needless to say, the start was rough and produced some things that propably fell under a bio weapons ban. I learned by trial and error, then a lot from my grandma ( whose level I still try to reach but propably never will, but also from my mother, father and uncle, who was a butcher. With my skill level rising, it soon became a hobby. I got interested in how incredients and cooking techniques work togehter, what matches, what doesnt etc. With age, skill and budget my reason for cooking changed. From plain old fun to trying to impress girls, to what it is now: pure joy in the process, improvement of my skill and, if I can, cooking for friends. Be it for game night, a weekend hike or anything else. It makes me happy to see them enjoy the fruit of my labour.
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TheLazyLazer
I really like your videos and have been recommending them too a friend who i often make food together with and this video really summarizes why. You have such a wonderful philosophy about food that mirrors what i think. A change in my cooking i am making as of late due too this philosophy is getting a microwave. I have for a really long time lived without one because i imagined it would force me to be making fresh food every night but i've come to realize i am impressing no one by doing this and having a microwave would work perfectly with my method of preparing food boxes at the beginning of the week. I cook food too have fun with friends and too eat cheaper and healthier, sometimes to impress but only if it's the fun version of that where i can make something delicious for myself and my friends. I do not cook to make myself miserable every night and missing out on other stuff i enjoy and i am starting to practice that.
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I really like your videos and have been recommending them too a friend who i often make food together with and this video really summarizes why. You have such a wonderful philosophy about food that mirrors what i think. A change in my cooking i am making as of late due too this philosophy is getting a microwave. I have for a really long time lived without one because i imagined it would force me to be making fresh food every night but i've come to realize i am impressing no one by doing this and having a microwave would work perfectly with my method of preparing food boxes at the beginning of the week. I cook food too have fun with friends and too eat cheaper and healthier, sometimes to impress but only if it's the fun version of that where i can make something delicious for myself and my friends. I do not cook to make myself miserable every night and missing out on other stuff i enjoy and i am starting to practice that.
reply
Aspen
I cook at home because I have a lot of things that limit what I can eat. I'm allergic to dairy, don't eat seafood, can't handle spicy food, and am just very particular about flavors and textures. Cooking for myself means I take all those factors into account and don't have to rely on someone else, who probably doesn't have the same sensitivities as I do. I also feel way less guilty if I try something new and end up not liking it if I'm at home, because I don't feel like I'm insulting someone else's work. I also really enjoy how cooking combines dull, repetitive tasks (cutting ingredients, measuring, washing dishes) with creativity (coming up with the recipe)
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I cook at home because I have a lot of things that limit what I can eat. I'm allergic to dairy, don't eat seafood, can't handle spicy food, and am just very particular about flavors and textures. Cooking for myself means I take all those factors into account and don't have to rely on someone else, who probably doesn't have the same sensitivities as I do. I also feel way less guilty if I try something new and end up not liking it if I'm at home, because I don't feel like I'm insulting someone else's work. I also really enjoy how cooking combines dull, repetitive tasks (cutting ingredients, measuring, washing dishes) with creativity (coming up with the recipe)
reply
I'm
the best meal I've ever had is a Cajun shrimp scampi recipe that I got from a blog and learned to make myself. no one in my country is selling food that's anything like it, either in a supermarket or in a restaurant, and if I hadn't learned to make it for myself I never would have gotten to try it - my favorite food of all timeEven in a metropolis like New York, there will always be recipes or cuisines that you simply won't be able to find in a restaurant. Learning how to cook for yourself is the only way to be able to taste whatever recipe or type cuisine that you desire, and there's no substituting it from a restaurant.
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the best meal I've ever had is a Cajun shrimp scampi recipe that I got from a blog and learned to make myself. no one in my country is selling food that's anything like it, either in a supermarket or in a restaurant, and if I hadn't learned to make it for myself I never would have gotten to try it - my favorite food of all timeEven in a metropolis like New York, there will always be recipes or cuisines that you simply won't be able to find in a restaurant. Learning how to cook for yourself is the only way to be able to taste whatever recipe or type cuisine that you desire, and there's no substituting it from a restaurant.
reply
Suparockr
The reasons I cook at home: 1. Flavor control. You like your food more acidic than most, I like my food spicier than usual. I can do that at home without having to ask a waiter for a bottle of Tabasco or shaking some very inert pepper onto my plate. 2. Taste. I'm a huge believer that labor adds flavor. I don't like steak very much. I enjoyed the one I seared back last Friday for Valentine's day and I'm willing to bet it wasn't the rosemary-garlic butter baste, it was because I did it. 3. I can make pretty good food in my kitchen for what has to be a third of the calories if I were to go somewhere and get it.
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The reasons I cook at home: 1. Flavor control. You like your food more acidic than most, I like my food spicier than usual. I can do that at home without having to ask a waiter for a bottle of Tabasco or shaking some very inert pepper onto my plate. 2. Taste. I'm a huge believer that labor adds flavor. I don't like steak very much. I enjoyed the one I seared back last Friday for Valentine's day and I'm willing to bet it wasn't the rosemary-garlic butter baste, it was because I did it. 3. I can make pretty good food in my kitchen for what has to be a third of the calories if I were to go somewhere and get it.
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Christopher
To be honest, as a young guy living alone in a city with expensive groceries and good restaurants, I only cook two types of things at home: the economical big batch and more elaborate recipes I learn from the Internet. The former I do for cost. The latter I wish I could say I do for my own pleasure, but I dont. And certainly not for cost. I cook because I want to think that I can be worth something to somebody someday. I want to impress, because of all the things a lonely guy can do to feel better about themselves, I picked this one as the one that maybe makes me feel viable.
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To be honest, as a young guy living alone in a city with expensive groceries and good restaurants, I only cook two types of things at home: the economical big batch and more elaborate recipes I learn from the Internet. The former I do for cost. The latter I wish I could say I do for my own pleasure, but I dont. And certainly not for cost. I cook because I want to think that I can be worth something to somebody someday. I want to impress, because of all the things a lonely guy can do to feel better about themselves, I picked this one as the one that maybe makes me feel viable.
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Max
Is it just me or does Adam's video structure make this pseudo-documentary seem very clumsy? He starts on sociology, then goes on about environmental impacts of mono-crop farming, but only mentions it in passing and then doesn't relate it to the original question, and then he sticks in an Ad halfway through the video. I like his content, but this whole structure is a mess and the Ad in the middle of the video really messed with the continuity of the argument. I understand he need sponsors, but if you're going to have them in a video like this then put them at the end.
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Is it just me or does Adam's video structure make this pseudo-documentary seem very clumsy? He starts on sociology, then goes on about environmental impacts of mono-crop farming, but only mentions it in passing and then doesn't relate it to the original question, and then he sticks in an Ad halfway through the video. I like his content, but this whole structure is a mess and the Ad in the middle of the video really messed with the continuity of the argument. I understand he need sponsors, but if you're going to have them in a video like this then put them at the end.
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