On Teaching Oneself to Cook

How does one teach oneself to cook? That is, assuming that one wasn't raised in the kitchen or isn't ready to commit to culinary school, how does one become a great cook?

I used to think that learning how to cook amounted to learning technique: learning how to use a knife, the difference between sautéing and sweating vegetables, how to roast, how to make use of the fond left after searing proteins, and so on. However, despite the plethora of cookbooks that would lead you to believe otherwise - the excess of titles that include "technique," "know-how," or "skill" - a perfectly diced onion, the right equipment, and a perfectly heated pan don't necessarily lead to a respectable meal, and certainly not what I would call the ability to cook.

Don't get me wrong, a certain amount of technique is necessary to be able to cook at all (without burning down or making a mess of the kitchen), and learning or polishing techniques can be a valuable and fun experience in its own right (the rhythmic swoosh of the knife, like the soft scratch of a fountain pen, is a beautiful thing). But learning how to cook by learning technique is a little like learning martial arts from a book. It somehow doesn't translate into the corresponding skill.

The same can be said of the relatively recent trend of learning food science, à la Alton Brown or Harold McGee. The trouble is that information is useful (and easy to remember) only to the extent that you already know how to cook. And vice versa: I wonder whether the wonderful home bakers of 100 years ago understood the nature of protein and gluten. So, as much as I like Brown and McGee, I think that the trend to learn cooking as a science has led more people astray than it has directed - though I'm sure that it has encouraged  a number of people who might not have otherwise been interested in cooking.

Some say that the best way to learn how to cook, or the only way, is to practice. True enough, but it needs to be qualified; otherwise; it begins to sound a little too close to the phrase "practice makes perfect," which I've also never liked. Does imperfect practice lead to perfection or to confidence in bad habits? (This is a false dichotomy, of course, but it's not something one usually thinks about.) Also, I think this is particularly bad advice because of what counts as practice for most people. Chances are you will practice cooking recipes from cookbooks that are written for people who don't know how to cook or who only have 30 minutes to do it, à la Giada de Laurentiis and Rachel Ray. However, one shouldn't expect to be able to learn how to cook by practicing from these recipes because, if they don't require any special skill, they probably won't result in any either. And besides, though there recipes are generally good, they are rarely great, and they don't do much for improving one's expectations of food. Books like Mastering the Art of French Cooking are more promising, but they are much bigger and border on the commitment required to go to culinary school. I think Mastering the Art of French Cooking was originally supposed to be five or six volumes.

I, of course, don't have the answer on how one goes about teaching oneself to cook. But I am starting to think that there is no formula or curriculum that makes more sense than any other. Learning technique has made cooking a lot more enjoyable and organized, and has improved my confidence, which is a crucial step. But, at best, it is a minimum requirement. Practicing is crucial, which is why hands-on classes are so much more valuable than demonstration-like classes. There really is something to learning how to "hear" that the oil is too hot or "feel" that the meat is still rare. And I do believe that working your way through certain cookbooks helps, but it depends on the cookbook and it depends on the stage you're at. I bought a Giada de Laurentiis book once, which succeeded in encouraging me into the kitchen, if only to justify the price of the book (and the pictures aren't hard to look at either), but now they offer me nothing that a quick google search doesn't. (I'm considering getting Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and would have already if it weren't so French.) Also, I'm sure that I'll eventually get the pizza and pasta dough just right, even if no one shows me how, but I won't be surprised if it takes me another 12 times each.

Though my suggestion so far has been mostly negative, I will say this. I'm starting to think I've underestimated the importance of eating good food as part of the process of learning how to make good food. This is unfortunate for us poor folk who don't have the cash to dine at nice restaurants, but I do think that it is crucial. For example, I've made Chicken Parmigiana several times and I can say that each time it has gotten better. I stopped burning the chicken cutlets, I've learned to reduce my homemade tomato sauce so that it's not too watery, I've figured out how to bread the chicken without making a mess out of the kitchen, etc. But I wouldn't say that it is awesome yet. So, in thinking about how to improve it,  I can't think of any other way than finding an awesome rendition of Chicken Parmigiana and adjusting my own accordingly. Yes, you can look at a variety of recipes to think about what yours might be missing, and of course there is always trial and error, but if you don't have an idea of what counts as "best," I'm not sure how it's possible to envision "better." As Aristotle used to say, there is no better if there is no best.