Who's the better cook?

[Sam]

Women are better cooks: Myth or Reality?

 

[FinanceDude]

Women are better cooks: Myth or Reality?

Myth............

90% of the top chefs in the world are men......... I think it is widely assumed and commonly stereotyped that women are better cooks.........

All I can say is my wife has 4 aunts that lived on farms, and their cooking is darn good. When they found out I could cook, I was invited to help with the Thanksgiving meal. After 3 hours, they nicely kicked me out of the kitchen, because I was on pace to have the meal ready 3 hours early...........

So now they just bring me liqour, and make me play cards and lose to their husbands, as I've proven my worth in the kitchen.........

 

[youbet]

Please define "conventional married couple" and "better cook."

 

[retire@40]

I enjoy doing the cooking. I consider cooking good meals as one of the fun things to do in retirement (or semi-retirement).

It's fun when you can go shopping for fresh ingredients any time you want or tend to a pot or casserole during the day while being on the computer, reading a book, or listening to music.

My wife fills in as cook when I'm busy doing something else, but otherwise I tend to be the master chef. My son also enjoys helping me cook which results in him eating everything he helps with.

 

[Goonie]

In the kitchen...she's better! BUT....on the charcoal flame thrower out back...I'm the King!!! I haven't found a cow yet, that I can't tame!

 

[Martha]

It looks like Greg is being polite and not immediately jumping on this thread.

There is no question. Greg is a great cook. I am a lousy cook. You probably could count on your digits the number of times I have cooked in the last 20 years.

Greg really has a talent for cooking. For example, we went to an afghan restaurant once and they had some kind of weird cilantro sauce. He asked what was in it and went home and made it even better than the restaurant. He does this regularly.

He rarely uses a cookbook. He just figures out the tastes he wants and makes it. Me, even if I use a cookbook the food just isn't that good.

Plus, he regularly makes thanksgiving dinner for all my relatives.

 

[Sam]

Please define "conventional married couple" and "better cook."

 

[donheff]

I am the cook in my family. DW would say I am a very good cook. But the reality is I am an OK cook. I am not sure if it is a blessing or a curse but when men like to cook everyone describes them as "gourmet cooks." The unearned appellation may seem nice but it does put us under pressure when the company arrives. How does Mr. Gourmet explain a pedestrian meal?

 

[Leonidas]

I'm the cook here - my wife can follow a recipe but has no flair for it. Strange, because she is an artist and her passion and skills are evident in a lot of things she undertakes, except none of it follows her into the kitchen.

 

[janeofalltrades]

Both DH and I love to cook and I think we are equally good at it. However, we cook differently. He cooks with a pressure cooker, BBQ and George Foreman grill. I stir fry or roast when I cook. And only one cook is allowed in the kitchen at a time . That was established early on in the relationship .

 

[Sheryl]

I didn't vote, because We're not conventional. Or married.

I'm a poor cook - mostly because I don't pay attention to timing and burn things a lot. But I try more complicated or creative things. SO can produce a great conventional meal, like grilled salmon, or steak and baked potato, or Tomato Soup and grilled cheese. But he's not interested in anything more complex. So I'm not sure who's "better."

 

[Outtahere]

Sheryl, you sound like my dh and I. He's great at the regular everyday meals, baked chicken, meatloaf or baked fish. I make the "different" things like mexican dishes or something from one of my many cookbooks.

 

[Mr._johngalt]

How does Mr. Gourmet explain a pedestrian meal?

Roadkill I found on the way home?

JG

 

[Mr._johngalt]

It looks like Greg is being polite and not immediately jumping on this thread.

There is no question. Greg is a great cook. I am a lousy cook. You probably could count on your digits the number of times I have cooked in the last 20 years.

Greg really has a talent for cooking. For example, we went to an afghan restaurant once and they had some kind of weird cilantro sauce. He asked what was in it and went home and made it even better than the restaurant. He does this regularly.

He rarely uses a cookbook. He just figures out the tastes he wants and makes it. Me, even if I use a cookbook the food just isn't that good.

Plus, he regularly makes thanksgiving dinner for all my relatives.

You are laying it on pretty thick. This wouldn't be to preserve your position as food critic instead of chief cook? Just wondering..............

JG

 

[astromeria]

My DH doesn't have much in the way of cooking instincts, but he has a couple of "signature dishes" and can reliably turn out anything on the grill or that I've taught him--often slightly simplified for less work. I like to be creative in the kitchen, but I wouldn't call it "gourmet." Myabe "ethnic." When I want to make something new, I read maybe a dozen recipes (or eat it at a restuarnat, like Greg), then go in the kitchen and improvise on the theme. I really like to cook, especially when I don't have to do it every single day (I plan for leftovers, for occasional takeout/eating out, and for DH to cook sometimes). Tonight we had the last of the minestrone I made on Saturday. mmm

 

[haha]

I cook a lot and I cook well. When my wife and I are together, she cooks about 1/4 of the meals. It is ordinarlily fairly bad, because she doesn't really pay attention.

OTOH, she can and will occasionally make a very good meal that is more complex than anything I would try.

My motto is simple plan, excellent execution. I rely heavily on meat, fish, and eggs, plus simply prepared lightly cooked veggies.

Ha

 

[mathjak107]

when i cook our family says their prayers after we eat

 

[audreyh1]

I would say I'm the "better" cook in that I'm the most experienced and most researched and I put an effort in finding new things to try. Plus DH really loves eating my cooking.

But he has his small collection of recipes that he executes to a T. He tends to perfect a particular dish over time. Once he has that down, then it becomes his specialty. He's also ended up becoming the resident baker - so if it's his special oatmeal cookies or cranberry festive bread - everyone directs the "hints" his way.

I once sent DH to a Spanish Cooking class because I couldn't go as it interfered with a business trip. He came back knowing how to make an out-of-this-world gazpacho, and a mean seafood paella. So - it pays off to train DH!

When I say "I'll have to teach you how to make that." he knows that means I'm hoping to delegate a recipe. I can't always convince him to accept it - just occasionally.

I have my "repertoire" of specialties too, but I'm more of an adventurous cook. I like to try a lot of new things.

Audrey

 

[Michael Moore]

There should have been a "it depends" choice, and what is with the husband/wife stuff? Some of us have been happily unmarried for nearly 30 years!

I do the day to day cooking. She is the pastry/confection chef, though I have a specialty or two in that line that I do now and then (with significant acclaim ).

cheers,
Michael

 

[sgeeeee]

Both DW and I can follow almost any recipe. Both of us can execute the required steps. Both of us can go to the market and select quality ingredients. Both of us have done all of the above enough that we can "wing it" with a random set of ingredients available in the kitchen.

She has formal training as a dietician, so she actually creates new and unique dishes based on her knowledge of the food chemistry and food cooking/processing. I suspect very few people have her skills and capabilities in that area.

So I guess she is the better cook. But she doesn't have as much fun in the kitchen as I do unless she is in one of her creative moods.

 

[Donzo]

Since retiring DW and I often work on meals together I am the "meat specialist"(control yourself Mathjac!) - I bought one of those monster BBQ grills from costco($800) that has the rotissery and smoker etc so whether it be fish, tritip or roast...I am your man. DW is the health concious one and makes the side dishes to get in the veggies etc.
My daughter(15) has become a great baker of bread and pies/cakes. She is making 3 pies for Thanksgiving - pumkin, cheesecake pumkin and pecan.

Love Thanksgiving.....