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Are cooking videos making us better cooks?

nytimes.com

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Re: Are cooking videos making us better cooks?

#71

Post by dagw »

mabbo wrote: post #25

The absolute pinnacle of cooking video chefs today has to be J. Kenji Lopez-Alt[0], in large part because of his use of first person view. He straps a go-pro to this head and you see what he sees while he cooks. There's no cuts or retakes (unless he's waiting for something to cook or gets interrupted by his kids). There's no swaps. And it's all real- he's cooking dinner for his family. And it doesn't always go perfec…

While I'm a huge fan of J. Kenji Lopez-Alt and Serious Eats is my go to web site before cooking just about anything, nothing I've seen before or since beats Alton Brown and Good Eats when it comes to video based cooking education.

Re: Are cooking videos making us better cooks?

#72

Post by [deleted] »

marginalia_nu wrote: post #44
theshrike79 wrote: post #5

Most cookbooks tend to be like the meme about drawing an owl [0]. Mostly because the people making the instructions make assumptions about Stuff One Should Just Know and skip those bits in the instructions. On video you can actually see the consistency of things as they are cooked and maybe even hear what the process sounds like (frying spices in oil has a distinct sound if the oil is at the correct temperature). You…

A lot what separates good and bad cooking is tacit understanding that can't be explained in words. You need to practice to detect the nuances in flavor. It's really basic and doesn't make good edutaninment content. I'd say 90% of being a competent chef is just down to knowing how to balance the basic flavor components; and to figure out how these things change during the cooking process. With practice and experimenta…

[deleted]

Re: Are cooking videos making us better cooks?

#73

Post by misterflibble »

prpl wrote: post #69

I think some Jacques Pepin videos, especially old ones, helped me to the next level, more than anything else. I have a 70s print of La Methods and, while I was fairly advanced before getting it, it is pretty thorough on methods for cooking. The thing I love about his later stuff especially is that it is practically freestyle. Ming Tsai has a bit of that too.

He is masterful, and I regularly use some of his simple dinners for my weekly rotation recipes. Like Anthony Bourdain said "if Jacques Pepin shows you how to roast a chicken, that's how you roast a chicken!"

Re: Are cooking videos making us better cooks?

#74

Post by dagw »

matsemann wrote: post #36

What I often miss is "the basics". After reading a recipe or following a video, I perhaps know how to make exactly that dish. But that's like a bootcamp programmer learning a single framework. I want to learn the concepts, how to apply them, how and when to break the rules, how to modify it and experiment with what I got. When I follow a recipe, and the result isn't pristine, how do I fix it? Should I add more salt?…

You want Good Eats by Alton Brown! Each episode is built around an ingredient or technique and he then goes deep on that one topic and explain all the how/why/when you should use it. While the episodes do generally demonstrate how to make a dish, the dish is more of the framing used to explain the underlying techniques and concepts.

Re: Are cooking videos making us better cooks?

#75

Post by giraffe_lady »

glogla wrote: post #6

I think especially the videos that show the process, like J. Kenji's, are pretty good (don't expect to be as fast as him when making things, though). But you still have to try it and practice, not just watch. The part of cooking I'm struggling with right now, and would love some guides and content on, is how to prepare a menu and plan groceries. It's a lot of work, but I'm sure there are ways to make it easier.

When people ask me to teach them how to cook I definitely set expectations that we will be talking and shopping first. By the time you're in the kitchen with your knife out 2/3 of the work is already done.

Re: Are cooking videos making us better cooks?

#76

Post by sublinear »

psukhedelos wrote: post #46

Is there any cooking content that takes into account cleaning up after? In my limited viewing experience the focus often seems to be prep and the cooking, ignoring the reality of the inevitable clean up. Is there anyone focusing on recipes and how to cook that minimises / reuses cookware and through to a reset clean kitchen? When I cook I enjoy getting into a flow where I’m ordering the prep or modifying the recipe s…

> Ideally the clean up of the cooking is essentially done by the time food is being served.

Yes. Watch chef Jean-Pierre. I wouldn't say he minimizes the clean up, but he cleans as he goes and gives tips and general remarks on the overall process beyond just the recipe.

Re: Are cooking videos making us better cooks?

#77

Post by DiabloD3 »

bkovacev wrote: post #27

Here's a few more channels that I personally enjoy and recommend: - Ethan Chlebowski https://www.youtube.com/@EthanChlebowski - Adam Ragusea https://www.youtube.com/@aragusea I tried numerous recipes from both and learned quite a bit about the technique as well.

https://www.youtube.com/@CharlieAndersonCooking is also a good one, and https://www.youtube.com/@FrenchGuyCooking is highly entertaining and sometimes is educational.

Re: Are cooking videos making us better cooks?

#78

Post by wnolens »

mabbo wrote: post #25

The absolute pinnacle of cooking video chefs today has to be J. Kenji Lopez-Alt[0], in large part because of his use of first person view. He straps a go-pro to this head and you see what he sees while he cooks. There's no cuts or retakes (unless he's waiting for something to cook or gets interrupted by his kids). There's no swaps. And it's all real- he's cooking dinner for his family. And it doesn't always go perfec…

Can't stand the mic picking up his chewing.

Re: Are cooking videos making us better cooks?

#80

Post by apienx »

11235813213455 wrote: post #42

There are very few things I cook, only rice and lentils, all the rest of my food I eat it crude (mostly vegetable, or even eggs, for fish I leave it in lemon juice, typically sardines, lemon also work for leek or onions to make them less strong. So cooking mostly happens in my guts now, and for vegetable digestion is incredibly better when outside, under the sun. Cooking destroy vitamins and many things

Glad you found what suits your microbiome. Note that our species probably wouldn’t have developed big brains without “cooking”.
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