Learning How to Cook - By Heart!

Cooking with kids in the kitchen

How many of us learned to cook standing at the side of someone we loved? Kids are mesmerized by kitchen action—the stirring and mixing, the whirring of beaters, the clanking of pots and pans. They are fascinated by the colors and intricacies of fruit and vegetables, and the powdery whites of flour and sugar. They are enthralled by water and fire, and the magical transformations they produce. The kitchen draws them in: the warmth, the movements and, perhaps most of all, the wonderful aromas. They are captivated by the sight of you kneading dough—with the added reward of a warm slice of a delicious-smelling loaf of olive bread, fresh from the oven afterward—or the magic of seeing a foamy zabaione come to life in a matter of moments. Sometimes, they love to stand up on a chair to get a good view of things—to watch their mother or father making a soffritto, for example. They are so excited and eager to be part of the action that you can be sure if you give a spoon to a two-year-old, she or he will immediately begin mixing the big bowlful of melted dark chocolate—stirring it at least once or twice before plunging the spoon into their mouth (or nearby anyway). Kids love to wash things and play with water, and when they are old enough, peeling vegetables can be an absorbing and fulfilling task.

Children are naturally curious creatures and they love to help—it’s built into the DNA—it’s how we learn how to live. Joyful participation in the kitchen in childhood is an essential part of developing a healthy interest and relationship to food in adulthood. Understandably, some parents are scared about the presence of children in the kitchen—the close proximity of hot pots and pans, 400-hundred-degree ovens, and Japanese knives, thinner than razor blades is certainly a concern—but a calm and well-organized parent can be vigilant without conveying fear and annoyance. My personal suggestion for keeping everyone relaxed and creating the right mood when kids are participating is to have some good music on—it really helps. If you are tense and irritable while you’re cooking, or constantly reminding your kids of the dangers or criticizing them, they will probably want to stay away from kitchens for the rest of their lives—relying on others to cook for them, or worse yet, dependent on take-out or junk food.

On the other hand, if you love to cook and feel comfortable around the stove, just allowing your kids to hang out in the kitchen while you’re working will impart more knowledge and wisdom than you’ll ever know. Learning how to cook is best done by observing: watching the movements and rhythms of someone you love (and whose food you love), hearing their secrets—often shared only with you—and picking up tricks and pointers by osmosis. Passing on good cooking habits and practical tips—from how to peel and cut an onion to cleaning up after yourself while you’re cooking, or how to avoid common cooking accidents—is one of the greatest gifts you can give a child. The imprinting of motions, habits, and experience is the secret to keeping culinary traditions alive: the recipes for the most glorious dishes and sauces are best preserved when they are passed along empirically and with love—from generation to generation, friend to friend, or teacher to student—received by an eager child or an open adult who will, as we say in Italy, farne tesoro!—make a treasure out of it!

Share with us your memories of how you learned how to cook?  How old were you when you started to have interest in the kitchen?