Okay, so I've been looking for ways on how to start cooking, but couldn't find any good websites. I was wanting to know if any of you could give out stories of how any of you guys started cooking or any pointers on how to cook. Any websites/videos/forum you can direct me to would be nice as well, but I mostly prefer seeing it come from you guys. Oh, and recipes would be nice too, just something that can get me through the day! ^_^ I'm 14, and I'm practically living on my own, so when I'm hungry, I wont have to wait till my roommate gets home or call a food delivery service.

Well, I've mainly learnt how to cook in school, since all year levels until a certain point had to do some home economics. So yeah, I basically started cooking from the age of twelve.

The first thing to know about cooking is mostly theory work. Basically, basic food preparation such as food storage, safety in the kitchen, tidbits of information about nutrition like knowing what a carbohydrate was, and the different methods in cooking like boiling and simmering. Also, get to know your appliances, and learn how to turn them on and off.

When you get started in the whole practical side of things, it's always to choose something nice and easy first. Things such as pasta, omelettes, salads, noodles, etc are simple. After that, what you really make is of your own choice, really, and the key to making your own recipes is to experiment and go along with your own taste.

Sometimes it won't work as well as you'd imagine it to be, but if you become flexible and try to learn from your mistakes, then it shouldn't be hard for you to overcome them. But meh, just as long as it tastes good, it doesn't really matter, lol.

I started helping my mom in the kitchen. Then I went to a vocation school for culinary arts for my lose 2 years in high school. I learned first about sanitation like what temperature meat need to be cook at and food borne illness and knife skills. There are different types of cooking method like dry heat with (sauteing) or without(grilling) fats and oil, wet heat(boiling, simmering) and combination(stewing, braising). there are 2 types of recipes, home and restaurant. Home use more cups in it and restaurant use more ounces. First start with something basic and have your mise em place(get everything out and ready). When cooking something go slow but don't let nothing burn. I wish you good luck.
If you need any more advise I already made a thread for anyone who need cooking or nutrition advise.

DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT be like my friend and cut of part of your finger while cutting apples.

One more thing watching Good Eats might help. It all about what episode you watch.

Make it fun find a resipy(forgive my spelling) make sure it is something small and exparament a bit and maby listen to music but dont get too distracted that could lead to disaster and dont try anything to big at first get to know your battlefield and your arsenal(if ya know what I mean)

https://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=cooking+basics
OR go to youtube, search how to's. I use youtube a lot because I find that visuals help a lot with making food.

>>2 This.
>>1 I started cooking with my mom. We would always cook together for I could remember, and she taught me the basics. Then, I had to go on and teach myself the rest.

I'll give you a few good foods to start with so you've got a good process and know what to look for. You have to look it up or experiment yourself to figure out how to actually make them; I'm not a walking cook book.

The sandwich! Ah, the glorious sandwich! There is so much to do with it, it's like a blank canvas. Raid your cabinets and take out everything you want to use. Those are your paints. Then get to making something.

Grilled bologna and cheese is a great way to start. You learn what order things need to be done in so that everything is melted. You'll figure out what temperature is best, when it sticks, how much butter you'll need, and when to flip it. All these things are the basic essentials to cooking.

Then, move to pasta.

Spaghetti and meatballs are another big deal. By learning to make this, you'll understand boiling, the ratio of pasta to water, how often to stir, when to let it sit, how to tell if it's ready or not. You'll learn how to tell if the meatballs are ready, when to put the sauce and balls into the spaghetti/the effects of doing so, et cetera.

Pancakes and eggs! Pancakes and eggs are great ways to get used to different pans. You'll learn how non-stick they really are, and you'll understand how much butter is needed to save those pancakes. You'll get used to learning the temperatures on different burners the more you make it (since they're both so sensitive), which is good for future reference, as well as how to flip things on the various pans.

As you get better?

Pork chops! They're a great canvas for different flavors. Get used to putting these different flavors together utilizing this cheap yet great food.

Fried Chicken! What temperature should meat be at when it's ready? What oil to food ration should you use? Should it be salted? What flavors show and what flavors disappear after frying? What temperature shold the oil be? These are indespensible lessons with cooking.

Sauteed onions/mushrooms! Practice the dry heat cooking method. See how small mushrooms get. Feel the difference in texture between onions before and after cooking.

Well, good luck!

>>8 Wow, Barabi, that is actually quite a lot of stuff you have there. Impressive.

This is a pretty good site to go to for recipes, I've been using some of her baking recipes and they turn out pretty well, the instructions are pretty fuss free as well, which helps if you're only starting out.

Smitten Kitchen

i started cooking a long time ago, both my parents had worked as cooks in restaurants, so i got a hold of the basics really quick, so then i started enjoying cooking so from there it was practice and the food network. then i worked as a cook in a restaurant myself.

my dad is'nt a cook but my mom loves to kook thats where i lèàrñd