Everyone can become a cook...
Imagine yourself in the following situation. You are at a party, enjoying the company of some of you good friends. The host's daughter, who has been taking piano lessons for some time, has just entered the room to greet the guests, and naturally, someone asks her to play something on the piano. After some coaxing she agrees to play "Mozart's Turkish March." One of your favorites!
She plays this beautiful little jewel without even one wrong note, the tempo is just right, and she has followed all the dynamics exactly as marked on the score, yet it sounds dry and mechanical, somewhat like a scale or exercise. But you know that, in time, the young lady will be able to perform this piece with feeling, after she learns something about music in general, and about who Mozart was, and what motivated him to create some of the most beautiful music ever written. You understand that it takes more than being able to read and play notes and having a fancy piano to make real music.
Similarly, someone may go out and buy all kinds of appliances and gadgets and high priced cookbooks that are nothing but a collection of recipes; then they are disappointed when the dish that took the whole day to prepare does not turn out as if it had been prepared by a master chef.
There is nothing wrong with recipe books or appliances; in fact, they are indispensable and it is fortunate that we have such a wide variety to choose from. However, you cannot expect to be able to cook well just because you have a set of nickel-lines copper pots and the collection of recipes anymore than you can expect to be able to play a Beethoven sonata just because you can read the score and have a perfectly tuned grand piano.
Perhaps carrying this analogy between food and music a bit farther will allow you to look at cuisine from a different perspective. Music and eating both stimulate you sensually.
Let's look at an important difference between eating and some other sensual activities. We all have to eat; I still have not heard of a good substitute. But we don't have to hear music, or look at art, or smell perfumes, or touch fine fabrics; I do not know of anyone dying from lack of these things. So, as long as we have to eat, why not eat the best available to us.
The amount of time and knowledge required to be able to do good cooking is only a fraction of that required to become proficient at music. This is good! Most of us cannot afford to, and probably would not want to have someone else cook for us all the food we eat. And as long as we have to cook some times, why not learn how to do it correctly?
How is it done?
The cardinal rule for good cooking is: Use the finest quality ingredients available and cook in a manner that will preserve the integrity of those ingredients.
Be patient! You are undertaking the learning of something that will be useful and a joy to you all your life, and when you realize that it is not as mysterious as you may have been led to believe before, you will wonder if "convenience" and "fast" foods are really the easy way. The bonus: when you get spoiled by all the goodies within your grasp, you will not care to eat just anything to fill up. And your higher standards will tend to keep you healthier. Another good thing to do is to get exposure to new foods and cuisines. Go out to lunch or dinner once in a while and order something you've never had before. The worst thing that may happen is that you have to pay for something you didn't like. But maybe not - and you may be pleasantly surprised.
The more you are exposed to different food, both cooked and raw, the more you will know about it. When you are at the point at which you are eager to start experimenting, perhaps with a simple recipe, you are on your way. And, the day you do it, and have the first taste of your cooking...........
Oh! one more thing. Most of us tend to use the refrigerator much too much. Things like tomatoes and most fruit should be allowed to ripen outside the refrigerator to preserve the flavor. Potatoes, onions and garlic do not need to be refrigerated at all.
Carlos (Timo) Corredor