10 ms·

The more I try to cook, the deeper respect I have for historical cooks. The things that we have for granted now, like thermometers, stoves where one could set t

by galkk 6y ago

The more I try to cook, the deeper respect I have for historical cooks. The things that we have for granted now, like thermometers, stoves where one could set the level of heat were unavailable and cooking almost anything besides very simple dishes was quite hard.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
wiz21c 6y ago
If you cook a lot, you'll soon realize that cooking without all the technological advances is actually easier. After some time one develops an instinct of how things should be be (based on color, taste, size, even sound !). For example, if one wants too cook onions, choosing between butter and oil, checking the colour, checking if it's cooked or not, deciding to add some water at some point, or additional stuff to induce better Maillard's reaction, etc. All of that you'll be able to do it without resorting to technology. That's what I find so gratifying about cooking. After 20 years, I can now make things that taste much better than in the past I'm not always sure of why :-) But lots of practice sure make a difference and it's rewarded. Plus additional bonus : you make many better moments in your life that don't cost much ! But granted, technological advances makes somethings better. For example cooking under vacuum allows you a incredible level of control on what you do plus much healthier result.
- schwartzworld 6y ago
  I think he's talking about more basic technology. For example, cooking eggs in a non-stick pan is significantly easier, and even regular pans have uniform surfaces that heat evenly. Things like silicone cooking tools, food professors, even just ovens where you can set a temperature are all miracle breakthroughs compared to how cooking was done in the past.
  - YeGoblynQueenne 6y ago
    I remember both my grandmothers cooking and I don't remember either of them speaking about food processors or say pressure cookers in terms of "miracles". Both grew up and learned to cook at a time when such niceties where not available. I myself cook most of my food in simple pots and pans with simple utensils no different than what would have been available even a thousand years ago. Ovens are another matter- but even there, the variation between different modern ovens (e.g. how quickly they reach a certain temperature) means that experience with a particular oven is much more important than precision. So I think "miracle breakthroughs" is an exaggeration. Those are things that are more "nice to have" than "absolutely indispensible". If I wanted to admit to an exception- I've made mayonnaise by hand and by hand mixer. The former is a pain in the ass and takes a lot longer. Even so, having made it by hand I understand how the ingredients work together so I know what to do with the hand mixer. Which is not something you can know if you've always made it with a mixer. So you're actually losing something with too much technology in cooking, so I think anyway.
    - Jtsummers 6y ago
      > So you're actually losing something with too much technology in cooking, so I think anyway. Somewhat OT: You're talking about cooking, but the same is true for many other activities and systems. Our technology level permits us to ignore many details and so we fail to learn the underlying mechanisms, processes, etc. In cooking: learning details of the cooking process, why you can make it with a hand or stand mixer versus by hand and what settings are appropriate in those cases. In driving: automatic transmissions hide the details of the different gears, so people driving in mountains and certain other conditions for the first time don't understand why they'd use a lower gear, whereas someone driving a manual transmission all the time would understand more easily. Examples can be found from any field, but they all demonstrate a common theme: Sometimes you have to do things by hand to understand what's happening before you can apply the higher technology tooling effectively.
      - YeGoblynQueenne 6y ago
        Agreed. My other example is animation. I studied classical animation (in another life, another career...) and then I learned how to do 3d computer animation. I was never very good at 3d animation (I preferred modelling) so I can't brag about it but it's very clear to see who hasn't learned to do it the traditional way first, e.g. when you look at character animations in games vs. animated movies.
- YeGoblynQueenne 6y ago
  >> If you cook a lot, you'll soon realize that cooking without all the technological advances is actually easier. Another thing it's important to realise is that a cooking recipe, unlike a computer program, is not a set of precise instructions that are necessary and sufficient to produce the same result always, but a template that can be modified at will. For the majority of cases you don't need to create precise chamical conditions to reproduce a certain dish with perfect accuracy -and that's just boring anyway. Also, despite appearances, people who publish recipes (as books or websites, or what have you) are usually not trying to communicate with you how to cook a dish, because that is something you can easily find out for free (e.g. on wikipedia). Instead, they 're trying to, well, add value - by using an uncommon ingredient or revealing some "secret" of the dish, etc. So there's no reason to try and follow most recipes to the letter, because they're not really meant to be followed at all. The majority are only there to make you buy a book or click on some link etc. For me the best way to cook is to know what you like to eat. The rest comes on its own. It takes some time and you have to start out with simple, boring stuff like boiling rice or frying eggs, but eventually you get to the point where you taste a dish once and you know what to do to cook it yourself. Without any need for a thermometer or a precision scales!
- macinjosh 6y ago
  I agree that, once you figure it out, the sense based instincts is an easier way to cook. I would argue though, that modern cooking tools make learning those instincts much easier because you can use the tools to fly by instruments, so to speak, so you can get a feel for what looks, smells, sounds, and feels right.
macinjosh 6y ago
On a smaller timescale this has happened over the last 4-6 decades as well. My parents and grandparents didn't learn to cook with an instant read thermometer, digital scale, microwave, instant pot, sous vide machine, etc. I am not a talented cook but I am decent at RTFM and taking measurements so I can make decent meals some times. It makes cooking in a consistent way very easy compared to the learning curves they would had to have gone through.

by galkk 6y ago

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

wiz21c 6y ago

If you cook a lot, you'll soon realize that cooking without all the technological advances is actually easier. After some time one develops an instinct of how things should be be (based on color, taste, size, even sound !). For example, if one wants too cook onions, choosing between butter and oil, checking the colour, checking if it's cooked or not, deciding to add some water at some point, or additional stuff to induce better Maillard's reaction, etc. All of that you'll be able to do it without resorting to technology. That's what I find so gratifying about cooking. After 20 years, I can now make things that taste much better than in the past I'm not always sure of why :-) But lots of practice sure make a difference and it's rewarded. Plus additional bonus : you make many better moments in your life that don't cost much ! But granted, technological advances makes somethings better. For example cooking under vacuum allows you a incredible level of control on what you do plus much healthier result.

schwartzworld 6y ago
I think he's talking about more basic technology. For example, cooking eggs in a non-stick pan is significantly easier, and even regular pans have uniform surfaces that heat evenly. Things like silicone cooking tools, food professors, even just ovens where you can set a temperature are all miracle breakthroughs compared to how cooking was done in the past.
- YeGoblynQueenne 6y ago
  I remember both my grandmothers cooking and I don't remember either of them speaking about food processors or say pressure cookers in terms of "miracles". Both grew up and learned to cook at a time when such niceties where not available. I myself cook most of my food in simple pots and pans with simple utensils no different than what would have been available even a thousand years ago. Ovens are another matter- but even there, the variation between different modern ovens (e.g. how quickly they reach a certain temperature) means that experience with a particular oven is much more important than precision. So I think "miracle breakthroughs" is an exaggeration. Those are things that are more "nice to have" than "absolutely indispensible". If I wanted to admit to an exception- I've made mayonnaise by hand and by hand mixer. The former is a pain in the ass and takes a lot longer. Even so, having made it by hand I understand how the ingredients work together so I know what to do with the hand mixer. Which is not something you can know if you've always made it with a mixer. So you're actually losing something with too much technology in cooking, so I think anyway.
  - Jtsummers 6y ago
    > So you're actually losing something with too much technology in cooking, so I think anyway. Somewhat OT: You're talking about cooking, but the same is true for many other activities and systems. Our technology level permits us to ignore many details and so we fail to learn the underlying mechanisms, processes, etc. In cooking: learning details of the cooking process, why you can make it with a hand or stand mixer versus by hand and what settings are appropriate in those cases. In driving: automatic transmissions hide the details of the different gears, so people driving in mountains and certain other conditions for the first time don't understand why they'd use a lower gear, whereas someone driving a manual transmission all the time would understand more easily. Examples can be found from any field, but they all demonstrate a common theme: Sometimes you have to do things by hand to understand what's happening before you can apply the higher technology tooling effectively.
    - YeGoblynQueenne 6y ago
      Agreed. My other example is animation. I studied classical animation (in another life, another career...) and then I learned how to do 3d computer animation. I was never very good at 3d animation (I preferred modelling) so I can't brag about it but it's very clear to see who hasn't learned to do it the traditional way first, e.g. when you look at character animations in games vs. animated movies.
YeGoblynQueenne 6y ago
>> If you cook a lot, you'll soon realize that cooking without all the technological advances is actually easier. Another thing it's important to realise is that a cooking recipe, unlike a computer program, is not a set of precise instructions that are necessary and sufficient to produce the same result always, but a template that can be modified at will. For the majority of cases you don't need to create precise chamical conditions to reproduce a certain dish with perfect accuracy -and that's just boring anyway. Also, despite appearances, people who publish recipes (as books or websites, or what have you) are usually not trying to communicate with you how to cook a dish, because that is something you can easily find out for free (e.g. on wikipedia). Instead, they 're trying to, well, add value - by using an uncommon ingredient or revealing some "secret" of the dish, etc. So there's no reason to try and follow most recipes to the letter, because they're not really meant to be followed at all. The majority are only there to make you buy a book or click on some link etc. For me the best way to cook is to know what you like to eat. The rest comes on its own. It takes some time and you have to start out with simple, boring stuff like boiling rice or frying eggs, but eventually you get to the point where you taste a dish once and you know what to do to cook it yourself. Without any need for a thermometer or a precision scales!
macinjosh 6y ago
I agree that, once you figure it out, the sense based instincts is an easier way to cook. I would argue though, that modern cooking tools make learning those instincts much easier because you can use the tools to fly by instruments, so to speak, so you can get a feel for what looks, smells, sounds, and feels right.

macinjosh 6y ago

On a smaller timescale this has happened over the last 4-6 decades as well. My parents and grandparents didn't learn to cook with an instant read thermometer, digital scale, microwave, instant pot, sous vide machine, etc. I am not a talented cook but I am decent at RTFM and taking measurements so I can make decent meals some times. It makes cooking in a consistent way very easy compared to the learning curves they would had to have gone through.