This post occasioned me to coin "dunning-krugerbait". If you think you have cooking sussed in an hour, you're doing it very wrong
OP said "learn" not "master"
You can't learn cooking in an hour. Period.
Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
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Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#872How to cook for yourself, really, really good food. I no longer crave restaurant food, and all of the really important things I learned about cooking take just the time to read it, hear about it and then try it. All without any special hardware. A few examples: 1. Cooking jasmine rice: rinse it first, 1 c. water to 1 c. rice ratio. Bring to boil, turn down heat to lowest setting. Leave lid /the entire time/. Fluff th…
I love cooking and try to only buy foods that I can't make as you say (whether for convenience or lack of skill).
It always surprises me when programmers can't cook. You're just following an algorithm! Sure, the technique takes a little time, but most people can manage. I also think baking suits a logical mind more since it's often more precise with measurements and conditions.
One trick I do is rewrite recipes then print them out. Most start out as wordy fluff. You'll get halfway through a cake recipe and it lists half a dozen things to add to a bowl. I will just rewrite this like: Bowl 1: flour, sugar, baking powder, combine. Bowl 2: oil, egg, whisk. And so on.
Rewriting like this is great for learning and retention and it makes it easier at a glance to not miss anything.
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#873Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is so important. I don't know if you can "learn to cook" in an hour, but you can probably drive to the store, buy some vegetables, come home, and make a great salad with an awesome homemade vinaigrette dressing in less than an hour. I try to eat fairly healthy, but having a salad that's easy to make that I actually crave (oh no, I've turned into an old person) most days at lunch is amazing. It's fast, and I have…
If I only had an hour, i'd focus on a simple intros of really fundamental techniques kinda like the OP indicated, and not necessarily cooking everything in that time. Knife skills. Keep them sharp. Mise en place. The importance of salt and pepper. Searing techniques for cooking meat and how not to do it. Roasting vegetables 101. The basics of finishing pastas and reducing sauces. The fact that you can make your own d…
> Knife skills. Keep them sharp.
Cooking for over 15 years at home and still only learned this recently despite already knowing about it. I had to grind out a chip from one of our knives, and I realised when I was done it was much sharper than I usually get them. I hadn't been doing it quite right all this time.
> Mise en place
Asian wok-based cooking is great for learning this. You don't have time to mess around. It's something I've been trying lately (my frying pan stir-fry was always pathetic so I never made it at home, but now that I have a wok I can do a decent one).
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#874Earlier quoted context omitted.
4. tsp = teaspoon or tablespoon?
Teaspoon. "Tbsb" is usually used as abbreviation for tablespoon
Usually the lower case and capital 'T' is the main difference.
Confusingly also note that UK/US TBsp = 3x tsp (approx 15ml) while Australia is 4 tsp (20ml). It might be relevant for some recipes. I don't know why we are the weird ones this time.
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#875Your true hourly income (something like days worked * average hours - costs of your job) and then automate/outsource anything worth less than that so you can focus on increasing your income/salary. Hypothetical -- 240 days / year , 10hr days ("gotta hustle!") , + 2 hours of commuting, +30 mins of preparation you wouldnt do if it werent for your job ==> 3k hours per year. say you make 90k per year => $30 an hour. * Au…
This should be calculated on the "take home" pay not the pre-tax value
+1 This is a fantastic point! I no longer can edit my post though
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#876Earlier quoted context omitted.
> CPR/Choking/First Aid course is probably close to an hour. What can you teach in only an hour? I work with some people who teach basic first aid, and the shortest course any of them does is 4.5 hours.
Step 0: Tell a specific person to call 911, or do it yourself if you're alone. If the person isn't responding and doesn't appear to be breathing, move them to a hard, flat surface (if possible). Put your hands one on top of the other (both palms facing down) and interlock your fingers. Place your hands in the center of the chest (at approximately the level of the nipples) and push hard and fast, letting the chest rec…
All accurate but you missed the real step 1, which is arguably the most important - Check for danger. It was drilled into us repeatedly in our course because it's extremely obvious but always easy to forget during a situation.
Our first aid teacher told us a lovely story of a child on his bike who got zapped by a downed power line. The next two family members trying to help him also died because they just rushed in. Not a great day for them.
In other situations, something as simple as pulling the park brake in a traffic accident can save a world of problems. Regardless, don't even get close enough to physically check them if you aren't sure it's safe.
DRSABCD (Doctors ABCD) - Danger, Response, Send for Help, Airways, Breathing, CPR, Defibrillator.
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtrea...
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#877Earlier quoted context omitted.
I regularly make my own dressing as well! I have a few basic recipes—most are pretty much the same as yours. One I like in the summer especially is a really simple one: + 2 parts olive oil + 1 part honey (try and make it good wildflower or clover honey) + 1 part squeezed lemon juice (add some zest as well if you're feeling energetic—I hate cleaning graters) + Salt & pepper to taste
I actually started with a bit of honey and removed it after some experimentation. Figure any time I can avoid adding sugar and like the taste as much or more, I should take advantage. ;-) I'm with you the cleaning graters-- too lazy for that... Depending on what's in the salad, I'll adjust the proportions, or even throw in some turmeric, paprika, or sautéed garlic.
Oh I’ll have to try out those last ideas sometime soon. I can see paprika being great
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#878Earlier quoted context omitted.
Binging with Babish has a great series on basic dishes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBGoJUxxRqU He covers the American omelette which is my go-to. Usually with spinach, red bell pepper, red onion and sometimes mushroom filling. Often with some old cheddar and they are monstrously simple to make mediocre and not too difficult to make very well.
I'm a big fan of Babish! I'd also recommend the Bon Appetit Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/BonAppetitDotCom and Chef John from Food Wishes https://www.youtube.com/user/foodwishes
Nice I’ll definitely take a look. Thanks.
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#879Do nothing. Seriously. Allow yourself to become bored and you'll find your brain has suddenly got time to work on all the problems you mentally shelved. There's a good reason why a good number of ideas happen in the shower.
I find it difficult to ever feel bored. I could look out of the window for hours and find infinitely many details to entertain me. Almost as if there is a positive offset to my "exitement" level... On the other hand regular activities (e.g. eating in a restaurant) start stressing me out too much, so those things become less enjoyable. Is this fixable?
I have this too, and as the other posted said it might be ADD-related. My mother and sister were both recently diagnosed, I'm meant to find someone but it's been on my todo list for months now... while I look out the window :)
Re: Ask HN: What's the most valuable thing you can learn in an hour?
#880People think touch typing takes a long time to learn, and getting good does take a while, but it only takes about an hour to memorize the alphanumerics and which finger types what well enough to break the hunt and peck looking at the keyboard cycle forever. Once the cycle is broken just typing casually is enough to eventually achieve mastery. It's only that one or two hours that really suck, and then that week or so…
Our school made a concerted effort to have us play touch typing games during our 'computer hour' or whatever it was. It was a great help.
Though by then myself and all my friends were pretty great from playing those old Sierra adventure games. The on-screen action often didn't wait for you to finish typing. So I guess my point is, you can make it fun too if you want.