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I bought a book, and taught myself.

They used to have Home Ec but I think it was elective and I don't remember any guys in it.

It's also difficult when the parents work all day. Another thing that isn't taught is food management. Lots of food gets wasted because we don't give it the proper storage, or we don't use it because we don't have all of the ingredients.

cooking makes one less productive while working at home? Do these people know how to plan meals for a week.... a DAY? Know what a crock-pot is? Ever eat leftovers? Pack a lunch for their kid -- same transferable skills. sigh...

I'm a reasonably competent cook. But I live alone, and it's SO hard buying food for just 1 person. So much is packaged for families of 4+, & you waste a lot or get sick of eating the same thing over and over. I end up buying packaged meals, even though they're "expensive," b/c there's less waste.

OR we're so used to mom cooking that we're too lazy to chop veggies- especially in a world of door-dash & drone-delivery take-out. We were just the dishwashers anyway.

Nonsense - there’s a wealth of information at your disposal on the device you’re using if you have the least bit of interest and intellectual curiosity to learn the basics of most life skills.

I grew up in a time we rarely went out to eat. Good wholesome meals were a daily.

makes me wonder, if "productivity" is the excuse, how productive is your working time if you can't spare 20-60min of your day to prepare a proper meal. which can turn into future meals during the week if enough is made.

My dad burned water and didn’t know how to work the microwave. My mom hated having people in the kitchen while she cooked. I think the fact that I’m a guy meant, in their minds, someone would always cook for me. My sister, though, didn’t learn how to cook until she got married.

You led them by example. They didn't see you picking up the phone to order dinner every night.

I learned how to cook by watching Great Chefs on PBS... long before there was a FoodTV.

Fewer people, actually.

A bit of both. We also have an epidemic of people who think organic and high end grocery stores are the best because it’s “quality”. I have had people scuff at the idea of shopping at Aldi for common groceries. The idea of having to stop by two stores is too much for people.

But I do wonder if they go to grocery stores? I get not liking cooking -- but people talk like it's either Uber Eats or hauling out a cookbook. Grocery stores will sell you plenty of things you can keep in the fridge/freezer and heat up in a quarter the time a delivery order takes.

Pre-microwave Gen X here. This post was a great way to start my morning. Burrito Taxi? Bha ha ha. You are all awesome.

Look it up online. Or check out of library for free. Or follow accts online Reddit - dollar tree meals, for example - having teachers is much more accessible than you think.

A pound of the best lean ground beef could cost as much as $8 and still be less expensive than 2 qtr. lb. greasy burgers from a fast-food joint. And you'd obviously have enough for 4 qtr. lb. burgers. A dozen eggs could cost $6 and still easily provide enough for 6 breakfasts costing a buck each.

you can learn cooking from books my mom taught me to bake but she wasn't much of a cook. plus, I'm vegan and she definitely is not. I learned from books and practice you can learn it from a book from your local library. give it a try

Buy the ingredients and you can make more than one.

With the internet, there really isn't an excuse for not being able to cook at least a little bit. There is an endless supply of ideas and recipes. I do think it can be more difficult to meal plan and shop in an efficient way that doesn't end up with a bunch of waste.

AMEN!

It’s their health that concerns me. Fresh salad, made at home, is clean of additives, dirty prep water and the cook’s head cold.

Hey I resemble that remark

Nah. I'm just gonna live my life, instead. I'm not trying to convince anyone that my POV is right. Just pointing out my reality. I'm not gonna change. Especially not just because some rando on the internet thinks I should.

It’s reality, nothing wrong with that. It drives me crazy all the self righteous ppl coming down so hard on “young ppl today” for their habits, it doesn’t impact them & it’s none of their business. It’d be way more beneficial to offer actual usable advice rather than judgement.

I addressed your “wasting half” part, not your “hate cooking” part.

I'm a food blogger, so I have to say there are a ton of resources out there for anyone who wants to learn to cook. Find someone to follow that you enjoy reading their blog or watching their videos.

So, you could have made ten burritos for twelve dollars and froze eight or nine of them. $1.20 apiece.

When things got expensive I figured that I could save quite a bit by buying my own ingredients and using my kitchen. It really helped.

Want to know why restaurant food is often "tastier"? Ask any chef: lots of salt and fat. One (ugh, for other reasons) Chik Fil Ay chicken sandwich contains 2/3 of the maximum sodium you should eat in a day, and more fat. Trader Joe's should reduce the salt in its prepared entrees too.

Cool Mom Jamie thinks that pizza and burrito places are charities operating at a loss, and that the delivery and tip cost don't count. Change the Cool to Clueless, Jamie.

I guess the algorithm never showed them anyone who know how to cook? This is at the same time a joke/insult/legitimate question.

Rice, soy sauce, frozen veggies or whatever's handy. Spaghetti sauce. Pasta. Tortilla. Cheese. Paper plates if one can't deal with washing dishes. Cheaper food & 15 minutes can approximate cheap restaurant fare.

I think it's a lack of confidence and a lot of cooking videos can feel overwhelming when they give you shit for not chopping your garlic fresh.

Yes but it is easier if it was something you grew up around and were encouraged to do and enjoy as a child. Stoves are frightening devices.

Lately I've learned some more from IG Reels but deleted IG and will be getting that from Tiktok moving forward

I came on here to say exactly this.

They don't cook, they don't read, what else aren't these young people doing (besides not owning homes)?

If you can read you can cook and if you can’t read you can watch.

Then let them eat shite. I'm running out fucks for idiots Actually, I ran out when 2/3 of my AP physics class failed because I nuked their curve, but who's counting?

Taught my son how to cook and shop. He often goes with me to the store. He’ll look at what’s on my list and go get some of it to cut the shopping time down. But there’s nothing wrong with getting something through the drive-thru when you’ve put in a full day and just want to sit down.

Being able to cook for yourself is a practical and creative skill that will improve your daily life

Partially true, but do they not have access to the internet?

Watch food network…

So home economics isn’t a thing anymore in middle/high school?

I proudly bought The Joy of Cooking for my stepchild this Christmas because he asked for it.

I’m thinking cool mama Jamie never actually made a pizza if she thinks it’s cheaper to buy an uber pizza. I can make a pizza and a whole casserole of penne with Italian sausage for what delivery pizza cost. The day my mom walked out on my dad I couldn’t cook squat, but I learned fast.

You can learn to cook yourself and not blame anyone else like a professional victim would for not knowing how. This is a personal responsibility.

Define “how to cook.” If someone has enough brain cells to drive a car, read a subway map, or operate a smartphone, they can boil water for pasta, bake some chicken, grill a burger, or steam some broccoli. Prepare a decent beef wellington? Maybe not. But basic cooking skills ain’t rocket science.

I can teach you... FOR MONEY

If you can read you can cook, cookbooks are step by step in plain English

If you can read, you should be able to cook. It’s not rocket science.

FWIW, brown a 1/2 lb. of lean ground turkey with salt, pepper, and sage into a cast iron skillet on high heat. Plate it and swirl marinara in the pan and pour over the top. Buy ingredients from a club warehouse. Feel like you ate a heavy Italian dinner for $2, 600 cal, and 10 min.

Not only is it not in every high school in America, many newer built school don't have the facilities to teach cooking. There were exactly 15 slots for cooking and home economics available for the entire county when I was in high school, and that closed down after I graduated.

They don’t offer cooking in public high schools in my area or in the area where I grew up. My kids took middle school courses in rooms that had old stoves because there was no $$ to remove them.

agreed …the dude who argued ingredients are more expensive???? they can’t math either

I'm happy enough with making my own noodle bowls lol

Sounds great. I made Nashville Hot chicken sammidges topped with sriracha mayo and jalapeños and Pringles as a side tonight. Yesterday, I smoked a half butt and made Asian slaw to go with it. I’ll turn the leftovers of that into pulled pork nachos tomorrow.

My mom was the best cook. I don't cook. She didn't teach me.

My mother made sure I was not like my father. She made sure before I went off to college I knew how to cook and do laundry. It wasn’t his fault he lacked the skills. He is from a generation when men brought home the bacon, leaving it for women to fry up in a pan.

I totally agree. I have met so many kids who have no idea how to cook a simple meal. How high do you turn on the stove to brown ground meat? How high for chicken? When do you season/ how much? How long do you cook things? All mysteries that we did not solve for the kids that aren't their fault.

no one taught me how to cook but I learned! to the point I earned my living as a cook in a restaurant.

I wish my closest supermarket would price whole raw chicken this way. For some reason their precooked rotisserie chickens are cheaper than raw, so I always wind up buying chicken parts instead :(

Aaron, I think you're absolutely right. I learned 2 make pasta frm scratch, pizza, lasagna, arancini, tiramisu..whole bunch o stuff by watching my mom as she prepared them. Sure, u can learn SOME techniques by watching cooking shows, but it won't match the practicality of learning frm some1 next 2 u

Me too. My parents did cook, so it was a norm I grew up with, but my mom was not great at teaching us to cook, so I picked it up as I went along.

But you had the interest and willingness to learn, either because you just vwanted to be a more functional adult or you didn't have any alternatives. We had drive thrus, but fewer choices & we couldn't order food on an app and have it show up at our door. We had to figure out something. They don't.

A good cookbook that explains technique and offers alternative ingredients is invaluable. Find a few good ones and you're busy for a while

What a fantastic idea. A keeper. How special to have that continuance.

A good basic cookbook and a decent set of knives!

Just picked up a cookbook from the library today for some new years inspo. Easy peasy.

Yes, some people are just pathetic.

No one taught me to cook. I learned from cookbooks I found in used book stores. Some of the old school ones like from the ‘50s even explain how to boil water, which pans to use for what, how to set a table, etc. The basics. But cooking is a science. Much is learned thru trial & error.

It’s sad to me that these kids didn’t learn to cook even the basics.

Apparently they do not know you can make several burritos from purchased ingredients and freeze extra!

Agree Aaron, I’ve seen people in their 50’s that can’t make a thing unless dumped from a can or box. Very expensive way to eat per serving. We do bulk buying, cutting portions, cooking batches to can or freeze several meals for less $$

I didn't learn any of that from my mom and being genx, before the internet, it was hard as a young adult to try to learn that stuff. But now, with the internet? No excuse. You can learn anything on your own. And I have.

It requires an initial investment to buy ingredients. Take out *seems* cheaper because you have something to eat now. Like making bread. If you have limited funds, buying a bag of flour AND salt, oil, yeast, etc. The first loaf is expensive. It's subsequent loaves where the unit cost drops.

This is crazy! There are so many good cooking videos on Youtube. Anytime you are paying a middle man -- whether that is a delivery driver, restaurant cook -- you will pay more. Those folks have to make it worth their while. You will ALWAYS come out ahead financially if you cook at home.

Learn to pasta kids

As a parent I am genuinely proud that all three of my kids love to cook.

With all the cooking videos on YouTube, they can do it.

Works to freeze some foods, but this isn’t a solution for everything. And then when you want to make another burrito, you have to dethaw all of those ingredients??? So time consuming when Taco Bell makes it in 46 seconds.

Again, mass production and freeze portions. Not rocket surgery.

You can’t pick up takeout on your way home when you’re working 80 hour weeks? Do you routinely work 80 hour weeks? That’s insane. Nobody can be truly productive working that much. Employers that expect people to be effective working that much are stupid.

If you can read, you can cook. This is lore.

The people who shame the young because they didn't teach them to cook are right there with the people who brag that they used to have to stomp a button to turn their high beams on and off

I did that with my kids, we would each have a day to plan & prepare the evening meal, the other days would be leftovers or fend for yourself days (I worked 2 jobs & was in school) both my kids are good/creative cooks.

I was (and still am) a picky eater, so growing up (like early teens) i did the shopping and cooking with my mom so that I could control the weekly menu. We never ate anything I didn't like.

It’s almost like an entire system is geared towards making people incompetent in regard to life skills and utterly reckless with their spending. General lack of knowledge is incredibly profitable for corporations. Now add a curated sense of entitlement and boom, rake in the cash!

Even a basic "meat, starch, vegetable" meal takes just 30 minutes. And some stores already sell raw preseasoned meat so you don't even have to do that part. If you can read the box/package, you can cook the food. Then you can move to more complex things.

I come from a long line of very terrible cooks. My daughters are both 10X better than me, mom & my grandma thanks to online how to videos

I was making homemade buttermilk biscuits at 7! Everyone should be brought up to know how to cook!

Disagree. A LOT of people have changed and now order their stuff, either for pickup or delivery, and when you do that, you lose touch with a lot of life-skills: bargain shopping, picking the right produce, etc.

My mom was a creative cook, as in whatever was in the cupboard and fridge, she could make a meal for 10 out of it. She shopped for ingredients, not the specific dinner and I am still in awe of her for that. I need to know what I am going to cook, make a list of those items then go shopping.

Restaurant markup is at minimum 4X the cost of the ingredients.

There is no way eating out or ordering is more expensive than cooking from scratch, including pizza. I save hundreds of dollars a month cooking our meals.