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Knowledge about cooking and food is not always innate. While some of us seem to be born knowing how to dice an onion and having recipes from our ancestors baked into our brains, others are lucky to prepare a frozen pizza without burning it. There’s no shame in being inept in the kitchen, but if you’re looking to improve your cooking skills, we’ve got you covered.
We’ve compiled some of the most informative graphics about cooking and food from the Cool Guides subreddit to give you a crash course in culinary knowledge. So grab your apron and chef’s hat and dig into the informative list below, which even features an interview with a professional chef and the host of interactive culinary events, Chef Egg.
Don’t forget to upvote the guides you find most tasty, and be sure to share any delicious cooking tips or fun food facts you know in the comments section below. Then, if you’re looking for even more knowledge to add to your cooking arsenal, check out this Bored Panda piece next.
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#1
The Life Cycle Of A Strawberry Is Neat
DuchessDegu 2 years ago
My wild strawberries are just in flower/losing petals. Soon I'll have some strawberries, if I'm faster than the squirrels, to harvest them!
Everyone feels differently about cooking. Some people find it to be a relaxing, enjoyable act of love, while others consider it the bane of their existence and avoid it at all costs. Often someone’s opinion on cooking depends on how they grew up and what they are used to. If you were never shown an example as a child of making a home cooked meal using fresh produce, you’re not likely to venture out to the farmer’s market on Saturday morning to pick up ingredients for dinner.
Traditionally in most cultures, women have been expected to take the lead in the kitchen, and it seems some things never change. According to the World Cooking Index, women still cook meals twice as often as men. But culture also plays a role in how developed our culinary skills become. A 2018 survey in the United Kingdom found that one in four Brits can only cook three recipes from scratch. Meanwhile, in India, the average person spends 13.2 hours a week cooking. These stats aren’t particularly surprising though, as most people I know are much more fond of Indian food than British cuisine. And suddenly, I have an intense craving for curry…
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#2
How To Pick The Right Watermelon
The United States is also not among the countries where people tend to spend many hours laboring in the kitchen. In 2017, Eddie Yoon, a researcher for the Harvard Business Review, conducted a survey that found that 90% of Americans don’t like cooking, with half of those people saying they outright hate it. Lucky for them, it’s pretty easy to avoid making meals at home these days. Yoon credits the rise of restaurant culture and convenience foods for America’s distaste for cooking. The average US household spends over $3,000 on dining out each year, while the same meals prepared at home typically cost around half the price. While the temptation to hit up your favorite Italian restaurant or order sushi on Doordash becomes greater over time, it’s important to be aware of the financial implications of eating out.
#3
Macaroon Or Macaron?
We reached out to Chef Egg, professional chef, culinary instructor and host of interactive cooking events, to hear from an expert why it's important to know how to cook. The first reason Chef Egg notes is the financial benefit. "Restaurants charge 3x4 times the cost of the food," he told us. Next, he stressed how enjoyable cooking can be. "I like food…a lot. It tastes great. Once you have the basic fundamentals down you can literally create any recipes with good results." He notes that cooking can also be a good way to squeeze in more nutritious meals. "You will naturally eat more healthfully. Restaurant food can be awful for your health. Regulate salt, fat and carbs by cooking yourself."
Preparing your own food can also get you more in touch with your body. Chef Egg told us that cooking can "improve small motor skills, strength, patience, health, wellbeing as well as your sense of smell and taste". Lastly, he told us expanding our cooking skills can help "increase [our] knowledge of the world and different cultures". "Your food journey will enlighten the way you think about your fellow humans and the world in which we live. We are all connected."
#4
Common Foods Before Humans Domesticated Them
Ivo H 2 years ago
This is just amazing. It never cease to amaze me how the hell someone though 'hey, that bitter, chewy root without taste could be really good with meat after ~1000 years of cultivation'
Wubbleyew 2 years ago
And this is what genetic modified foods are. Not scary, not necessarily packed full of chemicals, just selective breeding
Nino Fernandez 1 year ago
Minus the flounder (or whatever) DNA sequences spliced in by a viral vector
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JJ 2 years ago
I am not sure if it's still the same but "wild carrot" still exists (here in Germany: at least that's what we call it). It grows in my yard in tall grass and funny enough: our guinea pigs don't really like the green bit of domesticated carrots that much but they go nuts over wild carrot green.
Zero 2 years ago
Jumping on this... it grows EVERYWHERE in the midwest US and probably most of the US, along with wild garlic. They're incredibly tough though, so younger ones are easier to eat raw. Older/bigger ones are too woody/tough but can be stewed to get a good nutrients. As Winter said, just look for Queen Anne's Lace, though the rest of it still looks like a normal carrot.
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Shane S 2 years ago
We’ve been GMOing things for centuries. The non-gmo movement is keeping the world hungry. We have to adapt if we are going to feed our overpopulated planet. If I buy something NonGMO, it’s by chance or accident.
Bunzilla 2 years ago
My only issue with GMO is when big corporations do it, and then trap farmers into unfair contracts and whatnot. Or when they've bred all the flavour and nutrition out so that it's more shelf-stable or doesn't need as much pesticides. Other than that, GMO is fine. Just wish there was a way to differentiate.
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Seán Baron 2 years ago
The variety of banana we have now is called the 'Cavendish', named after one of the Dukes of Devonshire who was the first person in Great Britain to grow one in a hot house. Also, the bananas in the supermarkets are all cloned, and in danger of being wiped out by disease. But rest assured, there are over a thousand different varieties of bananas in the Pacific. Where they originate from.
Peter Trudell Jr 2 years ago
And the 'fake' banana taste we have in candy is the flavour of the 'Gros Michel' banana, which was already wiped out (of mass production) by the same fungal infestation that's coming for the Cavendish.
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Daniel Yamada 2 years ago
Contrary to popular belief, monkeys don't eat bananas. Monkeys actually eat banana seeds. They is why they only harvest wild bananas and don't bother cultivated bananas.
Danish Susanne 1 year ago (edited)
But I saw a program from Copenhagen Zoo, where they told, that it was cheaper to buy the monkeys organic bananas though they cost more. Because when they got the organically grown, they ate the whole banana including the peel. But it may be different in the wild.
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Peter Trudell Jr 2 years ago
and people complain about genetic engineering... these are perfect examples of it.
Toddo Colorado 2 years ago
There's a difference between selective breeding and genetic manipulation
Load More Replies... Bad Alchemy 2 years ago
Ahem... this is an excellent backgrounder on genetically modified organisms. Yes, GMOs. This is what happens through selective breeding and hybridization. Virtually none of the edible plants in our modern diets are quite how they started out. So, GMOs are not new, we have been eating them for centuries, and this panic over Frakenfoods is a lot of hooey. Pass the corn on the cob, please.
Hannah Edwards 2 years ago
Really fascinating! The description of the old style banana isn’t selling it to me tho!
Wang Zhuang 2 years ago
Looking at the wild watermelon kinda gives me the heebie jeebies for some reason
msanchezym 2 years ago
I've always wonder how many people we lost finding out what plants were goos, piosonous, hallucinogenic... oh look, Argh is foaming at the mouth, list this one as poisonous...
Peter Trudell Jr 2 years ago
And yet how many foods were eaten on a dare? Garlic? Chile? I dare ya.
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Nikki Sevven 2 years ago
It cracks me up when people complain about genetically modified food. What do you think humans have been doing for thousands of years?
Emmett O'Brian 2 years ago
Now we just have to selectively breed dandelions and world hunger will be a thing of the past.
Lytse Draak 2 years ago
There is a step between the wild carrot and the modern carrot. There was a time carrots had all sorts of colours, like white and purple, but after selective cultivation the orange carrot was created and exported around the world. Now it's the most common one.
Bunzilla 2 years ago
Watermelons 'may have had' swirls? They absolutely did. And they still do. If you look really carefully at a watermelon, you can still see those swirls. Especially if you've got an under-ripe one. I'm pretty sure that's just the way they grow. Also: Watermelons originated in southern Africa, most likely in the Kalahari desert region. They were prized for their ability to collect water, but were initially bitter.
Mark Munnull 1 year ago
At least we made life better for ourselves and nature 1000 years ago unlike today
The Original Bruno 1 year ago
Wild cat: Violent little a*****e that wants to eat your face. Modern cat: Violent little a*****e that wants to eat your face. Oh well.
The Original Bruno 1 year ago
(disclaimer: I have two adorable little a******s that I just love.)
Load More Replies... Jose Manuel Lopez 1 year ago
This is thanks to OGMs. To all those who are against them, remember that every vegetable or fruit you buy at the produce section is nowhere near the original organic version.
Kraneia The Dancing Dryad 1 year ago
Wild carrots still exist: it's queen Anne's lace. I'm a plant nerd and I approve this message 😁
Carlotta Müller 2 years ago
There is corn in many different colours and carrots in yellow and purple. We only do not use them even if they have a lot of advantages. They are not wild forms, these are rare culture forms. It is a pity!
Nancy Bania 2 years ago
These are all due to Genetic Modification. But don't forget - GMO's are bad......:)
Malinda Washburn 2 years ago
This is why I laugh and roll my eyes when I hear/see the phrase "Non GMO corn" because that's literally impossible with the kinds of corn we cultivate.
Amy Stone-Chandler 2 years ago
I'm sure most of the originals actually had more flavor. You can still find wild carrots, onions, garlic etc if you know what to look for
Elizabeth Calvert 2 years ago
The majority of the changes took place before the Europeans arrival based on the indigenous art work we can see
Anja van de Loo 2 years ago
I have trypophobia and I really can't stand the sight of the wild watermelon and wild banana
🥔SaltyPotato🥔 2 years ago
today's watermelon looks a lot tastier! The older one looks like flesh from a carcass.
Linda R Ryan 2 years ago
Just as info, whenever we alter a plant to produce better fruit, etc., it is technically genetically modified (GMO).
Suzanne Haigh 2 years ago
Old carrot are much more tasty than the modern tasteless rubbish. Ever tried them?
Kathy Wilbourne 2 years ago
There are a huge number of different banana varieties in the world, many of which are much better than the kind you get in the USA. And carrots come in other colors, as do eggplants, which can also be found in different shapes.
Aisling Raye 2 years ago
This is exactly why I get a giggle out of people that say GMOs are bad. Using the literal definition of GMO, a genetically modified organism through selective breeding or lab based genetic engineering, these are quite safe to eat. Yes, Monsanto (that most people relate to when they think of GMO) was awful, but it doesn't represent the field as a whole. I'll link a primary source if you're bored and/or interested https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9120101/
Mozzarella 2 years ago
I think the pattern here is we tried to make them look more appealing? Like some of the older fruits could have been altered to be more appealing to the eye while they were trying to barter.
ItsmeRandy 2 years ago
17th century painter: This watermelon looks so boring on the inside. I will give it some swirls to make it look interesting! 21st century historian: Interesting! Watermelons in the 17th century looked completely different!!
Scott Crowell 2 years ago
Modern Carrots are big, Ha what place is this? The only place I have found Big carrots is the Asian supermarkets.
Mario Alberto 2 years ago
The modern corn description is wrong; the mesoamerican cultures developed the corn as we know it today, it has been in their gastronomy for a few thousand years, the natural size of a corn today should be the size of the palm of your hand; it has been in the late decades when we have made the major changes by modifying it genetically, making it 1 foot long,
If you’ve always been intimidated by cooking and assumed you lack the innate skills it requires, don’t lose faith yet. On her blog In Good Taste, Maris Callahan has shared four “Reasons Why You Might Think You’re A Bad Cook” to help readers understand that a few simple tweaks can exponentially elevate their kitchen skills. The first mistake Maris notes is beginners trying “to tackle complicated recipes with long ingredient lists”. While it can be exciting to delve into the world of cooking, as with anything else, it’s best to start with baby steps. Maris notes that it can be great to dip your toes into the culinary pool by making “simple one-pot type dishes that are flavorful, relatively hands off and require little cleanup”. Another common mistake people make is overcooking everything out of fear of food poisoning. Maris’ suggestion to resolve this issue is to invest in an oven thermometer. “It doesn’t have to be a fancy one, but it will keep you from eating rubber chicken for the rest of your life,” she notes.
Next, Maris reassures readers that taking longer to prepare a recipe than you originally thought does not mean you’re a bad cook. When a recipe says it takes "just twenty minutes!", that typically means it takes a professional twenty minutes. Allot yourself extra time, and prep ingredients before you get started to help everything run smoothly. Lastly, Maris addresses the misconception that being forgetful in the kitchen translates to being a bad cook. She recommends focusing on one step at a time to avoid chaotically searching for ingredients while your garlic and onions are turning black on the stove.
#5
At A Burger Joint In My Town
#6
Can My Dog Eat This?
The Covid-19 pandemic has inspired some to take up the hobby of cooking. Being home all the time meant that hour we typically spent commuting could now be used to prepare meals, and as our boredom became painful, we had to find something to look forward to. Why not let that be trying new recipes? One 2020 survey found that 54% of Americans started cooking more during the pandemic, and 46% started baking more. These new habits also helped 75% of Americans feel more confident in the kitchen, with 73% of them reporting they even enjoy cooking more than before. While being home in lockdown inspired people to experiment with many new hobbies, learning how to cook is certainly a great choice for our health, our wallets and our overall enjoyment of food.
#7
This Is How To Measure Rice (Asian Style)
#8
Six Vegetables That All Came From The Same Plant
#9
Nestlé Won't Be Leaving Russia. Here's A Guide To The Product Brands That Nestlé Owns
Violet Jensen 2 years ago
This company is…. Truly evil. Like I know y’all hate Amazon but this place is worse. My mother’s favorite example is that they, to sell gerber baby formula, basically send people to tell poor African mothers that breast milk is not sufficient for their baby and that they need formula. And the babies *deep sigh* are uNaLiVeD because the mothers use the water available, which is dirty and unsafe for infants. Nestle is evil.
Daniela Galarza of The Washington Post wrote a piece in 2020 examining the phenomenon of inept cooks suddenly scrambling to learn after being forced to isolate in their homes. Galarza notes that when people slip through childhood and adolescence without learning how to cook, they’re not likely to show interest as adults either. “I can make spaghetti or tacos, but I’m scared of burning rice,” says Amy Myers, a 29-year-old developer based in Chicago. “My mom is a single mom and worked full-time, so she didn’t have time to do a lot of cooking. We ate a lot of takeout.” Once the pandemic hit, however, Amy took interest in learning pantry cooking and how to combine spices. “It’s a whole new world, but it’s becoming easier to understand,” she says.
#10
The Ultimate Banana Guide
#11
Know Your Coffee
#12
Apples On A Scale From Most Tart To Most Sweet
So once you’ve decided you’d like to venture into the world of cooking, where do you even begin? There are countless recipe blogs online, but the unlimited resources can be overwhelming. Thankfully, Elyssa Goldberg at Bon Appétit created a list of “The 7 Essentials of Becoming A Better Cook” to hold your hand through the beginning of your culinary journey. The first thing Elyssa notes that we must understand to be able to cook is different methods like roasting, sautéing, stir-frying, etc. Next, she recommends dedicating some time to understanding various ingredients. Learn which recipes are better with quinoa and which are more suited for rice. Would lentils or chickpeas be more complimentary of this sauce? Have fun and experiment to gain some knowledge. Elyssa notes that after tackling methods and ingredients, she moved onto spices. Understand which spices are appropriate for which cuisines and build up your repertoire. With a few simple tweaks, very similar recipes can be transformed by just substituting a few different spices.
#13
A Healthy Snack
#14
How Old Are Your Eggs
Priscilla Wagner 2 years ago
Eggs should be stored pointy side down. This keeps the air bubble at the top and will stay fresher longer. Store bought eggs are at least a month old.
#15
How To Open A Lime!
Next, Elyssa says not to underestimate the power of lemon juice (and all acids actually). A hint of vinegar or citrus can go a long way in a meal to “cut through anything that seems excessively creamy or fatty”. She then notes to learn your cheeses. “There are few things a generous grate of Parmesan or a few hefty slices of feta wouldn’t remedy,” Elyssa notes. She goes on to share how valuable soy sauce is to her. It’s a great swap for plain salt, and aside from the obvious use in stir-frys, it can also be great in salad dressings or on mushrooms and tofu. Lastly, Elyssa recommends having some culinary lifelines you can look to when in need of help. But if you don’t have any loved ones who are chefs, Google can be your best friend too.
#16
When To Boil Water To Cook Vegetables
#17
Spice Combos
#18
Cake
So if you’ve made it this far, and you’re still not inspired, you may be thinking, “what’s the point of learning how to cook?” Well, buying your own ingredients and preparing meals at home can save you a significant amount of money. It also allows you to understand exactly what’s going into your food. And once your palate becomes more evolved, you can prepare foods specifically to your liking, whereas meals you buy out might be aimed at more generic audiences. Cooking is also a rewarding experience. Tasting the fruits of your own labor is more satisfying than being brought a dish that you had no part in creating. Once we open the box of cooking curiosity, we’re likely to want to sharpen our skills even more and continue learning more recipes.
#19
I Would Love To Have This For Afternoon Tea!
#20
A Restaurant Guide For How You Want Your Steak Cooked
Donkey boi 2 years ago
STOP TELLING PEOPLE THEY CANNOT HAVE THEIR STEAK WELL DONE!!!! IT'S THEIR FECKING STEAK!!!! Just because I like mine blue, doesn't meant I'm right or wrong, just that we prefer thigs differently!
#21
Birdy Eggs
Cooking is also a great way to experience and appreciate other cultures. If you grew up in Italy, your parents might not have prepared Mexican dishes very often, but there’s no reason you can’t learn the cuisine. Just open up Google or Youtube and you can find countless recipes and tutorials for street tacos, chilaquiles, tostadas and more. Understanding how a country eats provides great insight into their culture, and it can be a way to feel connected to the world when traveling is not always feasible for our budgets and work schedules. And let's not forget that trying new foods is fun!
#22
British & American Words
#23
How To Test If A Plant Is Edible
#24
A Cheese Melting Guide!
Many people even find preparing and sharing food to be a sort of love language. A delicious home-cooked meal can comfort us when we’re down, remedy us when we’re ill and help us feel relaxed and safe when visiting home. Major holidays and celebrations almost always revolve around food, and breaking bread with others is a wonderful way to bond. According to Belmont University, food sharing can even be a form of intimacy to strengthen our romantic relationships. Men and women tend to view food sharing slightly differently, with women seeing it more as a form of care-taking and men viewing it as a more romantic gesture, but the result is the same in both cases. Bonds are strengthened, and intimacy is increased.
#25
All The Ways To Screw Up A Chocolate Chip Cookie...
#26
You Want Lots Of Potatoes? This Is How You Get Loads Of Potatoes
Martin Kaine 2 years ago
Please use the wood listed (if using wood). DO. NOT. USE. PRESSURE-TREATED LUMBER. (aka deck lumber-there are poisonous chemicals which will leak into the soil)
#27
Evolution Of Pepsi Bottles
While we’re all required to eat multiple times a day, it’s amazing that we can skate through life with minimal knowledge about what’s going into our bodies. Learning more about the foods we eat and how to prepare them can be great for our health, our social lives and our personal satisfaction (I mean, you get serious bragging rights if you know how to make a soufflé). We hope this list inspires you to dive a little deeper down the rabbit hole of food knowledge. Don’t forget to upvote your favorite charts, and fill us in on any fun food facts you know in the comments below!
#28
Weird Fruits
LagoonaBlueColleen 2 years ago (edited)
Durian is best eaten frozen. Smells like stinky feet. (A coworker said it was jack fruit. He's the one that brought it to work. Said he got it from an Asian specialty store and that it was called Jack Fruit and he said they sold it frozen and that was the best way to eat it. As pungent as that fruit was it was actually good tasting. If I were wrong, he was wrong. Sheesh.)
#29
The Only Wine Chart You'll Ever Need
The Scout 2 years ago
Unfortunately this is not exactly true. The chart is partly correct as it refers to the sugar content naturally occuring in the grapes, but not taking into account the process. The sweetness of wine is not only determined by original grape but by vinification. Riesling, for example, more often than not is vinified as dry, although having much (inherent) sugar to begin with. Dry ports and dry moscato do exist, as do sweet Sangiovese or Sauvignon Blanc. To make matters even more complicated, this variies regionally - some grapes are mostly vinified dry in one country and sweet in another.
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What do you think ?
Queen Jackson. 2 years ago
I love not knowing s**t about food because I can enjoy everything no matter how s**t it is.
Ardrah 1 year ago
Hit the "share" icon and send to your text message or email...🙂
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Weirdest Bi You’ll Ever Meet 2 years ago
Why are y’all downvoting them! It’s a opinion not a fact! Downvoting can literally get then blocked on BP! Leave them alone!
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Janice Roland 2 years ago
somehow i lost the post of the most remarkable birds you didn't know exist...how do i get back there?
censorshipsucks 2 years ago
Just something to be aware of, so no-one uses this vile word ever again. Please. It is a truly truly vomit-inducing disgusting word, even worse than the N-word. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/anti-black-racism-product-waitrose-b1867121.html
Midoribird Aoi 2 years ago
The...er...K one? I was wondering why that word nagged at the back of my mind for some reason, but I couldn't remember till you said something. You are correct, and it is not a word I'd ever say. Our store's never picked up an exotic lime of that nature; the strangest citrus I've seen appear is the Buddah's Hand, and that had to be explained to me by a Hong Kong native who was working in the Chinese department at the time we first picked them up. (I asked after taking a wild guess on if he might know; he knew.)
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Queen Jackson. 2 years ago
I love not knowing s**t about food because I can enjoy everything no matter how s**t it is.
Ardrah 1 year ago
Hit the "share" icon and send to your text message or email...🙂
Load More Replies... Weirdest Bi You’ll Ever Meet 2 years ago
Why are y’all downvoting them! It’s a opinion not a fact! Downvoting can literally get then blocked on BP! Leave them alone!
Load More Replies... Janice Roland 2 years ago
somehow i lost the post of the most remarkable birds you didn't know exist...how do i get back there?
censorshipsucks 2 years ago
Just something to be aware of, so no-one uses this vile word ever again. Please. It is a truly truly vomit-inducing disgusting word, even worse than the N-word. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/anti-black-racism-product-waitrose-b1867121.html
Midoribird Aoi 2 years ago
The...er...K one? I was wondering why that word nagged at the back of my mind for some reason, but I couldn't remember till you said something. You are correct, and it is not a word I'd ever say. Our store's never picked up an exotic lime of that nature; the strangest citrus I've seen appear is the Buddah's Hand, and that had to be explained to me by a Hong Kong native who was working in the Chinese department at the time we first picked them up. (I asked after taking a wild guess on if he might know; he knew.)
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