Teaching Your Kids To Cook

Cooking lies somewhere between art and science.  Ti's a way to sustain our bodies and our souls all at once.  It meets our daily necessity to eat and provides us with comfort.  What a wonderful thing to share with your children!  Take a look at some of the best fundamental cooking lessons you can teach your kids today.

Getting The Kitchen Ready

Sure, you want to dive into the ingredients and kitchen gadgets right away.  But do you even have a clear spot on the counter?  One of the most important aspects of cooking is being prepared to do the task.  You need to consider food safety, work space, cleanliness (aprons), and equipment.  Also, you might consider having some good music quietly playing in the background.

Understanding Your Recipe

Reading recipes is a bit like learning a new language.  They have abbreviations, fractions, and terms that many kids aren't familiar with.  Take this opportunity to tell them what those unfamiliar words and numbers mean.  Even it it's not a task they can do, be sure they know the name of what you are doing.  This will help them understand these skills down the road.

Following Directions

This is a great way to teach your kids how important it is to follow directions.  Chances are very good you'll hear them ask you, "Why did you do that?", or "What will that do?".  Again, an excellent opportunity to help them see the process of taking raw ingredients and turning them into something wonderful.  Some recipes are more flexible than others, so be sure they understand which kind you are working on.

Measuring Cups and Spoons

No matter what kinds of recipe you make, you will almost certainly have to do some basic measurements.  Even if it is just one of this and two of that, you need to be sure you have the right amounts.  Dry and liquid measuring are two different skills, and can be done by even young children.  Have them practice measuring flour over an extra bowl or measuring water in the measuring spoons.  When they practice a little, they'll feel more confident when it's their job for a real recipe.

Have Fun Cooking

Most importantly, have fun with your kids as you cook.  Even if they can't do some of the tasks, find  away to include your kids in your daily cooking.  Ask them to get some measuring cups for you.  Have them be a taste tester.  Get them to read the recipe for you and lay out some of your ingredients.  No matter how you do it, you can instill a love of cooking by letting them take part.  Enjoy your kids and your food together.