Written by Menswear Style in Food & Drink on the 8th February 2021

Cooking has never been easier to learn thanks to the wonders of the internet and all the resources that can be found online. However, there's still a lot of people shy away from learning this basic skill. Regardless of whether it’s because of the lack of time or motivation, a lot of people simply don’t know how to start cooking, especially if they are in their middle-age years. But, that shouldn’t stop anyone from at least trying! So here’s how to easily improve your cooking skills in no time.

Equipment matters 

So you want to start cooking and be the best you can possibly be at it, right? Not everyone is born to be a master chef, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use their useful tips. Having the right equipment is the key that will take your cooking level to the next step. It’s all about understanding the tools you are using and how they can help you out in the process. Just like Knives Advisor said, there is a lot more to a knife than just the blade and the handle. Once you figure this out, your outlook on kitchen equipment will change, and you’ll use them better to achieve greater results.

The right ingredients 

Regardless whether you are a student or a worker, groceries can be extremely expensive - but that doesn’t mean you should opt for the cheapest options out there. You will soon realise the importance of nutrition and how that correlates with cooking better. Toning down on the grease, salt and sugar is the right way to go, and introducing healthier alternatives is a must. Not only will it taste better, but it’s way healthier in the long run. Comfort foods might be easier to make, but if you truly want to learn how to cook proper food you need to get used to using the right ingredients that are good for you. The sky's the limit when it comes to cooking, but keep in mind that quality goes above anything else. 

Spice it up 

If you want your meals to look and taste as they came out of a restaurant, you need to act like a real chef in the first place. This obviously means adding different spices for more flavour - it will totally transform the taste of your meals. It all depends on what you like - you don’t want to overdo it and end up with inedible food - but bland isn’t the way to go either. Using spices is basically a trial and error process, but once you get a hang of it, it will become second nature for you. Just feel free to experiment and see what combination of spices works with what meal and keep adding more to your liking.

Learn about different foods 

Once you grab your ingredients, spices, knives, and pans, it’s time for the actual cooking part. Before you jump into it, it’s important to understand how food works. You can’t just put all your ingredients together and hope for the best, it’s all about knowing how to cook them properly. This will help you out to avoid uncooked or overcooked meals. Start with learning what vegetables are better steamed, and what tastes better being boiled, fried or roasted - the same goes for different kinds of meats. Not everything can be cooked on a stove, but don’t let that scare you. Eventually, you’ll be unfazed with cooking, so much so that you’ll use everything in your kitchen for making only one meal - and that’s the magic of cooking. 

Practice makes perfect 

There’s a reason why people like to say that practice makes perfect. It’s totally true and it can be applied to cooking as well. Beginners often tend to be shy and extremely cautious while cooking, but over time they’ll get more comfortable with the whole process. From picking the right ingredients to the actual cooking, everything has to flow, and the only way to achieve this is to simply get used to it. So cook every day, cook multiple times a day if you have the time. The more you do it, the more you’ll learn and do it without any setbacks. At the end of the day, you don’t have to be extremely talented to be a good cook. It’s fine to make mistakes. Cooking can be extremely fun, and not to mention useful - so don’t be discouraged and give up if your first meal doesn’t taste any good. Just do a lot of researching, practice cooking as much as you can, and feel free to experiment with your craft.

We provide tips such as why equipment matters, the right ingredients, learn about different foods, and practice makes perfect in this guide on How to Easily Improve Your Cooking Skills.