Posted on 09/21/2023 4:52:39 AM PDT by daniel1212
I’ve spent two decades consulting extensively for consumer packaged goods companies. Early in my career I gathered some data for a client on cooking. This research found that consumers fell into one of three groups: (1) people who love to cook, and cook often, (2) people who hate to cook, and avoid that activity by heating up convenience food or outsourcing their meals (by ordering out or dining in restaurants), and, finally, (3) people who like to cook sometimes, and do a mix of cooking and outsourcing, depending on the situation. At the time, the sizes of the three respective groups were about 15% who love to cook, 50% who hate to cook, and 35% who are so-so on the idea.
Nearly 15 years later I did a similar study for a different client. This time, the numbers had shifted: Only 10% of consumers now love to cook, while 45% hate it and 45% are lukewarm about it. That means that the percentage of Americans who really love to cook has dropped by about one-third in a fairly short period of time.
Beyond the numbers, it also suggests that our fondness for Food TV has inspired us to watch more Food TV, and to want to eat more, but hasn’t increased our desire to cook. In part, Food TV has raised our standards to discouragingly high levels: How many of us really feel confident in our cooking skills after watching Iron Chef? (My high school chemistry teacher quit the cello in college after playing a semester next to Yo-Yo Ma.) This may be one reason why consumers now spend more on food in restaurants than on groceries.
I’ve come to think of cooking as being similar to sewing. As recently as the early 20th century, many people sewed their own
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When I went to Bible study with a friend, the other moms there were quite intrigued to hear my friend and I discussing the roast she was doing for that night’s dinner. They had no idea how you actually make a roast dinner lol. That was 30 years ago.
I love cooking. Not only can you make what you like exactly how you like it, but you also save a LOT of money if you cook your own meals rather than go to restaurants. Its a lot healthier too since restaurant food tends to be loaded in salt, sugar and saturated fat.
And the crock pot. Chili, chuck roast, stew, meatballs of various nationalities...
All the rest of it the lady does. Casseroles, those things that grow out of the ground in the warmer months, stuff that has to go in an oven or stovetop ('cept bacon - I can do bacon).
I can relate to this from many years ago, but thankfully I kept at it out of the glare of truly gifted people until I could establish my own self. This may be one reason why consumers now spend more on food in restaurants than on groceries.
Interesting concept, and worth considering in an implication concerning household budgets and family size. I’ve come to think of cooking as being similar to sewing.
Another interesting thought. My wife still sews, or at least repairs clothing. AFAIK, only one of our children still keeps a sewing kit available and uses it.
I think that all this is a consequence of our society growing more specialized in everything from the building trades to basic life around home.
And if too many parents used the TV as a babysitter when we were young, now look at how our grandchildren have a hard time surviving without a screen nearby. Now multiply this by an generation entering college and we see the fruits of sowing the wind.
Just as watching weightlifting videos on TY has not improved my cardio nor my strength, teaching children, especially boys via a Zoom call does not help them mature.
absolutely
home cooking is healthier, safer and cleaner
especially if you are a gardener
I put myself through college as a line cook at a steak and seafood house. Probably learned more multi-tasking and time management skills there than in college. And how to cook!
I actually just started to love cooking about a year ago. Most of our dinners (just my wife and me) I prepare. Healthy too. Seafood, greens etc. Just made a dinner that’s now one of our favorites. Creamy Garlic shrimp with sauteed mushrooms, coconut milk and parmesan cheese. Incredible!
If you discount time shopping, storing, cooking and cleaning up the mess. The "savings" IMO is minimal.
When I was a kid I worked at a high end steak house. The meat was fantastic. The manager told me restautants get the best cuts of meat because there is only so much of it to go around. He said the public just can't get US Prime beef.
This is the highest grade of beef with the most fat marbling. This meat is very tender and only accounts for about 2.9 percent of all graded beef. U.S. Prime is usually reserved for high-end dining establishments. Because this grade of beef has such a high level of fat marbling, it is excellent for dry-heatcooking
Same. I took over cooking from my wife when our youngest went off to college.
She still handles the pastries, but I got the rest.
I like the experimenting part of cooking-spices. Then there’s all the different kinds of food worldwide. Plenty of cuisines in the US alone. The standing-up part gets old as one gets older. The slow cooker is a favorite. Prepare the night before, start it up in the morning and forget about it all day. Then there’s the convenience of a toaster oven/air fryer-no bending over.
It’s sad. People are too busy or lazy. Packaged food can be unhealthy. Think obesity. Think economy of motion when cooking. I’ll think ahead when it comes to thawing or shelf life of perishables.
Cooking should be a positive experience.
The way to save money cooking for yourself starts with how you buy.
My wife and I just went out to dinner with friends at a local ‘nothing fancy but good’ place, and the total for the four of us with tip was $192.
I could have done it at home for about $100.
And we saved about 75 miles of driving.
That’s why so many people are so fat and always sick.
They keep eating that trash that’s full of chemicals and drugs.
Buy fresh food and cook it,it’s easy. Teaches you a skill that many people don’t have anymore, and the food tastes better.
You don’t have to love it to do it well.
You don’t have to love it to know how to fix healthy meals, budget properly for food, save money, save time...
Bringing back HomeEc for both sexes in publik skrewls is a great idea.
Especially if parents are clueless themselves and/or can’t be bothered to teach their kids.
I like cooking. My specialty is split pea soup/ My tip on that is to add some frozen peas at the end. I like cooking hamburgers. I use the stopwatch on my Casio watch to time them. 5-7 minutes depending on how cold the meat is and how thick the hamburger is. Lamb-burgers too. I ate one yesterday.
Best split pea soup I ever had was a the once widespread restaurant chain called Pea Soup Andersen’s. Started by a Danish immigrant. California.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pea_Soup_Andersen%27s
It’s nice to be busy in the comfort of one’s own kitchen. Creative too.
Prime beef is sold in places like Costco and Sam’s Club, and lately I’ve seen some, not much, at the local grocery store.
I’m in group 1, and like trying my hand at new recipes. We eat out maybe once every couple of months, about 3 or 4 times a year. It is just the two of us, though.
Raising kids I was in group 3.
Sounds delish!
Ha—the lady would probably be out there clearing the snow off the grill for you if you didn’t do it yourself!
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