APPETITE
FOODIE FEATURE
WORDS Freya Richardson
How much slower is home-grown, home-cooked food than convenience? And is it worth the wait? Is it a myth that we have been brainwashed into believing the speediest way to cook is a ready meal? There is a trade-off between time spent in the kitchen and spending time with family and friends. You get home from work, starving, and the last thing on your mind is chopping an onion or grinding spices. Making a Fabergé egg would seem less effort to most. Over the past 50 years it seems many factors have contributed to the devolution of home cooking. Women’s rights are ever increasing; women are working more, meaning they are not only found with a wooden spoon in the kitchen. The invention of the microwave and subsequently, ready meals, have led to a nation obsessed with meals ready in a ‘ding’. Supermarket expansion has meant shopping patterns have changed; it is rare people will
make the effort to buy their meat from a butcher and their veg from the local market. Vegetable foams and everything Heston Blumenthal would beg to differ, cooking has undoubtedly evolved rather than devolved in the restaurant sector. Not all hope is lost though; there are still people who enjoy the satisfaction of cooking their meals, and even growing their own food, on a regular
The six degrees of home-cooked meals from slowest to fastest:
basis. But cooking is no longer a necessity for living. Unless you want to be the next Masterchef or Great British Bake-Off champ, why bother? Home cooking may be slower, but it is more nutritious, saves you pounds and enlightens your taste buds. You may also get the satisfaction of photographing your food and Instagraming it!
6. Not even a kitchen is required, only restaurant meals and takeaways allowed.
1. Everything home-grown, home-made and home-cooked. ‘The Good Life’ still trade with produce instead of money and is a full time job. 2. A mixture of shop bought and home-grown. Food is mostly made from scratch. 3. All shop bought (farmers market to support the local economy if possible), mainly home-cooked but jam/pastry/butter can be excused- life is too short. 4. Ready made sauces, pasta and curry paste. An element of cooking involved but really just mixing all ready-made elements together. 5. Nothing home-made, no need for an oven as all food is cooked in microwave or comes out of plastic packaging.
Number 1 is obviously extreme with supporters of this method few and far between. Numbers 5 and 6 are not only costing you a fortune but are not a healthy way of life. Of course everyone is allowed a treat once in a while but somewhere between 2-4 are best depending on what works for you. Time is a commodity and the trade-off for some does lean towards working hard and socialising, rather than cooking. If this is you, my advice is when you do take the time to cook a batch of bolognaise or Thai green curry, even if with a ready made sauce, double or even triple the quantities and freeze the remaining in individual bags. This is especially good if you live on your own as motivation to cook a single meal is tough.
Take-Away Test
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Tricks of the trade that will change your life for good: Peel ginger with a spoon
Store potatoes in a dry dark place
Boil root veg and blanch leafy veg
Microwave lemons and limes for 10 seconds before squeezing
Use egg shell to remove unwanted pieces of shell Leave the root on an onion to prevent crying (or wear swimming goggles)
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Freeze leftover curry paste in an ice cube tray
Do not keep bananas in the fruit bowl (unless you need to speed up the ripening of other fruits) Rinse rice at least three times before cooking to remove excess starch
Dip an ice cream scoop in boiling water before use
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