How to Love Cooking

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: October 25, 2021 References

Virtually everyone loves food, but the process of making it can be a bit harder for us to love. Cooking can be understandably daunting for first timers, but the process can be satisfying, fulfilling and exciting if done the right way.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:
Preparing to Cook

1
Find recipes you would like to cook. There is so much food that anyone can cook in their kitchen that it can be overwhelming. Think about what you'd like to make whether it be sweet or savoury, and research a recipe to make it.
- Nowadays the Internet is full to the brim with recipes for most dishes and meals. Search the BBC Recipes archive (https://www.bbc.com/food/recipes), Allrecipes.com (https://www.allrecipes.com/), or the Jamie Oliver website (https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/category/course/) for a great selection.
- Alternatively, if you prefer, local bookstores will stock cookbooks that will show you pictures of the food and detailed instructions how to make it.
2
Learn basic cooking terminology. Many recipes, whether it be online or in a cookbook, will use similar phrases and words to describe a certain process. You may find yourself confused as to what specific words like 'whip' or 'score' actually mean.
- If you find a word you don't understand, just look it up online or refer to a handy terminology database.^{[1]
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- Common cooking terminology could be 'simmer' (to cook a food just below boiling point), 'sear' (to brown a meat with high heat to seal in juices), 'garnish' (to add visual appeal to the final dish), 'whip' (to beat a food lightly folding air into the mixture), or 'score' (to cut shallow slits on the surface of a food).
3
Buy a new item for the kitchen to get yourself enthused. Nothing brings a bit of energy back into the kitchen like a new piece of gear.^{[2]
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Research source} Whether it be something as simple as a new plate or a fancy new knife, something new will help motivate you to try it out a few times.
4
Buy fresh ingredients. If you've tried cooking before and the end result was underwhelming, this may have been because you didn't use fresh ingredients. Fresh ingredients make all the difference in cooking and the flavor difference between a frozen product and a fresh product is startling.^{[3]
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- If a local farmer's market is situated nearby, check it out. They'll often have a wide variety of meats, fruits, vegetables, and many other foods that you can bring back to the kitchen.
5
Find a variety of recipes. As much as everyone likes chocolate cake, you may burn yourself out if you try and make the same dish repeatedly. Try to find 1 recipe each that would be suitable for breakfast, lunch, dinner, a snack, and a desert. These 5 recipes will be more than enough to get started.
- For example, make blueberry pancakes for breakfast, paninis for lunch, an Indian curry for dinner, some cookies for a delicious snack, and a decadent cherry pie for dessert.
6
Don't worry if it looks difficult. Sometimes looking at a recipe or what the final result is meant to look like can be intimidating. A mistake in the kitchen is the best way to learn a valuable lesson, so don't be afraid that your dish won't be identical to what is in the cookbook.^{[4]
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- Quite often, something that looks difficult can actually be pretty simple when broken down into basic steps.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:
Becoming Comfortable in the Kitchen

1
Take a cooking class. For some, the kitchen can be a completely alien place. If you want to get to grips with the kitchen and what to do with each tool you can join a local cooking class where you can get to grips with the basics of cooking.^{[5]
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- You can search for local cooking classes online or find some at your local community center.
- You can also make friends at these events and maybe organise small dinner parties to motivate each other to cook!
2
Clean your kitchen thoroughly before beginning. A messy kitchen to begin with may make the cooking process more difficult later on. At minimum, put away all other foods apart from the exact ingredients you need and clean the counter tops. However, a deep clean of the kitchen is always a good idea.^{[6]
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- A clean kitchen to begin with can be an accomplishment all on its own.
3
Lighten up the mood in the kitchen through music or light. The kitchen for some can be an intimidating, sterile, or boring place. That's not somewhere you want to be. Open up the curtains, make sure there's plenty of light, light some candles, and turn on your favorite music or podcast before beginning.^{[7]
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- Cooking is fun, but to make it fun you've got to make the kitchen a fun place to be. If you have a TV in the kitchen you can also put on your favorite show.
4
Set aside 1-2 hours to cook, if possible. Cooking can be stressful even for those who love it if they're pushed for time. Try to set aside a solid chunk of time to let yourself relax and take your time as you go. After a while, the process of cooking itself can be relaxing.
- If you you're too busy to set aside the time, try and find some recipes with low-preparation time to cook instead.
- If you're trying a new recipe, setting aside a large chunk of time is a good idea so that you have time to thoroughly read the recipe and try out new techniques.
5
Make cooking an event and bring others in to help. Organise a dinner party, barbeque, or just a night in with some friends. Not only do you now have someone to cook for, but you can also get them involved in the kitchen to make the workload lighter for you.
- If you have kids they make excellent helpers for some of the more tedious jobs such as constant stirring or mixing.^{[8]
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:
Making Meals

1
Be confident. Before you read the first step in a recipe you've got to be confident that you can make something great. Having this confidence in yourself will be the fuel that will get you all the way through the recipe and to a tasty meal on the other end.
- Remember that it's not the end of the world if you mess up. You can always try again.
- Have a replacement frozen dinner that you know you can cook if things don't go well. That way, even if things don't go the way you planned you can still make dinner with little fuss.
2
Experiment with the recipe. If you come to an ingredient in the recipe you don't agree with or you don't have the exact ingredient a recipe is looking for, don't be afraid to experiment. Experimentation is key in the cooking community and each cook has a particular way of doing similar tasks.^{[9]
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- For example, if a recipe says you should serve roasted potatoes on the side feel free to substitute them for baked sweet potatoes, your favourite vegetables, or mashed potatoes instead. Go with what you'll enjoy most.
- Never be afraid to experiment when cooking; it's half the fun.
3
Add a reward at the end. Put a few beers in the fridge or warm a bottle of red wine so that you know when the cooking is done you'll have a rewarding drink to go with your meal. Small rewards like this that you give yourself at the end of a process will motivate you forwards.^{[10]
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4
Take some shortcuts in the ingredients if needed. If you are intimidated by chopping up vegetables or creating a sauce, don't be afraid to simply buy pre-chopped vegetables or a pre-made sauce from the store.^{[11]
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Research source} You're making it for yourself and those closest to you who won't mind if you take a few shortcuts to make them a meal.
5
Take pride in the presentation of a dish. The presentation of a dish can make a so-so meal become excellent simply by looking at it.^{[12]
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Research source} Think about how you are going to present the individual components of a meal on the plate, how the sauce will drip, or what ingredients go well together.
- If you're not sure what to do, read your recipe. A picture will usually be attached that will show one particular way of presenting the meal.
- But, if you wish, do something completely different if you think it will look better. Cooking is about experimentation.
6
Enjoy the final product. Too often when you cook something you don't take the time to enjoy the final meal. Sit down and take your time eating it, thinking about the flavors and what ingredients you chose that made those particular flavors.
- Once finished, think about what you could have added or taken away to make the dish even better so that next time you can iterate upon it.