Essential list for teenagers interested in serious cooking and not Instagram food videos.
Walter Potenza
Serious young apprentices during Chef Walters Cooking School “Teen Culinary Boot Camp.”
Buongiorno amici:
How do you entice a teenager to get involved with cooking? Food education, in its totality, can be a confidence booster for young adults. Learning new techniques, flavors, and food knowledge are the necessary ingredients for a healthy lifestyle. Also, food terminology becomes essential in having a solid repertoire of food language. My granddaughters (one of them a teenager) expressed some interest in cooking, but how do I convince them that making chocolate brownies is not cooking but a hobby?
Well, I explained that several cooking methods and techniques exist, with several more in the business of serious cooking. The initial lecture welcomed eye-rolling and annoyed expression. You can imagine the next line: “I know that already.” Sounds familiar?
The list I have compiled is essential; otherwise, I’ll risk the positive momentum to turn into a distraction detachment and back into the screen of a Tik Tok dance if you have teenagers pass the info along. It probably will benefit them, as well.
Good morning teenagers, please log out on Instagram for a few minutes.
1) First, remember that the most rewarding aspect of cooking at home has to be the control factor. You are responsible for what goes into your food and the overall results. Besides the personal taste, you can cook for your family needs and meet nutrition goals. Do not blame the stove, the heat source, or the inaccuracy of the recipe. If food doesn’t taste good, it’s your fault!
2) For safety and efficiency, you need to have good knife skills. When you are cooking whole foods, fresh produce, or stew-like recipes, cutting is often required. Practice safe knife skills every chance you get. Be respectful of the blade, but confident. Keep distance from everyone else. Accidents develop when others bump into you.
3) Please make sure that you sanitize both knives and cutting boards at all times. Trust yourself. You will feel more confident knowing that you are beginning with the proper steps—cleanliness and safety as important as the ingredients. If you spill food on the floor, remove it immediately. Good cooks have organizational skills. Talent does not include sloppiness, considered a culinary detriment.
4) Place a damp kitchen under the cutting board to prevent moving. Cutting boards should always remain clean. When you peel, chop, or any other steps, move the ingredients away from the cutting surface. Do not clutter the cutting space. Body erect, feet together, perfect posture allows geometrical cutting. Ingredients cut in similar size defines good cooks. Precision just as important as flavor.
5) Hold the knife by the handle with fingers wrapped securely around the initial portion of the blade. Controlling the handle and blade offers security and strength on the upper arm. Secure the food with your fingers of the other hand, in a claw position, with the thumb and pinky slightly behind the holding fingers. When gripping the ingredients, you should not see your fingernails. (Here a visual would be better).
6) The knife tips never leave the cutting board. Begin with the most common exercise called the rocking. Practicing often will allow you to slice with security. You can initially practice with vegetables and fruit of softer texture, like tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, melons, avocado, and similar. Eventually, you will graduate to carrots, potatoes, celery, artichokes, fennel, squash, and the most dangerous of the list, the butternut, responsible for most band-aids.
7) Ingredients measurements
Unless you have the recipes memorized, you will have to measure sometimes. It’s essential to be precise and organized. When baking, get into the habit of weighing ingredients for accuracy. Learn the standard and metric systems conversion. Professional bakers and pastry chefs use a scale and not a measuring cup. Since you are just starting, you are allowed a measuring cup.
8) Food Safety & Food Thermometers
Food safety is vital to anything you cook and ingest. If you are working with someone else in the kitchen, you want to ensure that safety procedures are applied. There is nothing more detrimental than simple mistakes such as contamination or foodborne bacteria.
9) To thaw meat, there are three options:
Refrigerator: thaw food overnight in the fridge (best)
Coldwater: immerse food in cold water and leave on the counter (second best)
Microwave food (worst possible Method)
10) Measuring your meat’s temperature with a thermometer helps you avoid overcooking your meat and under-cooking it. Carry one in your apron, and until you familiarize yourself, rely on the thermometer’s precision.
There are several cooking methods used in the kitchen. When learning a new cooking method, choose ingredients that will respond well to the style.
It would help if you began with the following four.
1) The boiling method
Heat water or broths and place food in the liquids to cook. Several types of meats and vegetables can go through the boiling process. Pot roasts, stews, soups, and others require boiling.
2) The baking and roasting
Roasting and baking are methods that cook food using hot and dry air in the oven. Casseroles, roasted vegetables, seafood, muffins, scones, and others cook in the oven.
3) The sautéing Method
The quickest and most-difficult cooking method is using a stovetop. Sauteed foods have the fat of choice, from oils to butter to lard, and the fastest cooking method.
4) The slow cooking Method
When short on time, slow cooking can become a valuable ally. Food simmers for an extended period. Inexpensive cuts of meat require lengthy cooking time to tenderize. Slow cooker equipment allows flexibility, and many families find it convenient. You can begin the process in the morning and leave the cooking unattended until you return from work.
Well, courageous teens, you should have enough to do for the first day.
Are you still here?
