Is It True That People Don't Cook Anymore?

A recent story by Michael Pollan in the New York Times magazine implied that the problem with Americans is that we actually don't cook anymore -- we just watch it on TV. He blamed it on the usual suspects, including our disconnection from where our food comes from, the corrupting influence of television, and a food industry that conspires to make us dependent on their processed products.

But then I thought about my own life and cooking arc, and can't I help but wonder if there is a different cause for this trend -- and, frankly, whether it's even true that people don't cook.

I grew up eating the yummy foods my mother cooked -- although more often or not she was angry about something by the time we all got to the table. But who can blame her, since she had to have dinner on the table every night for a minimum of seven people (my father usually didn't call in advance if he brought guests home for dinner) at 5:30 sharp.

When I grew up and moved out and started cooking on my own, I'll never forget when my father said: "Of all three of my daughters' cooking, I would rank yours the last." It didn't matter that I was the youngest of them by 7 years; that comment stuck with me (as you can clearly see).

So at the same time I was learning to cook, and trying to feed one of the pickiest-eating children on earth (no cheese, no tomatoes, no peanut butter, no bananas, no cooked fruit of any kind, and definitely no sandwiches), I started to look for outside help in books, magazines, and newspapers.

What struck me most back then was how inadequate I felt. Martha Stewart constantly shamed me with perfection that I could never achieve. The New York Times always made me feel like the foods I enjoyed weren't exotic, elite, or expensive enough. And every source I searched out made my local food specialties, cooked with love by big-armed ladies at church festivals (pierogies, haluski, and shoefly pie) seem like an embarrassment to humanity.

As a result, cooking for me became a private joy -- an underground pleasure. I was afraid to share it with anyone other than my family and expose myself to their judgment. Slowly but surely, I learned to cook things that my family and I loved to eat, and to enjoy sharing it with them. I learned the old ways of cooking from my Italian in-laws. I studied food and went to local markets wherever I traveled -- deconstructing tastes from my senses alone. I learned all on my own that simply prepared, fresh, local, and organic foods taste best.

Today, just looking at the popularity of recipe websites (including our own Rodale Recipe Finder), and even other people's shopping carts at the local supermarket -- and the consistently big crowds at my local farmers market -- I have to disagree with Michael Pollan. People in America do still cook. They just do it below your radar, because they don't want to feel judged. They do it for their families, for picnics, for Super Bowl parties and holidays. They do it for love, not prestige. They may not do it all from scratch, and it may not be perfect -- but why squelch our tender souls with criticism when we are all just constantly learning and trying to improve?

If my Dad were still alive, I know he would love my food. He would definitely be angry about the lard issue, but I wouldn't have a problem disagreeing with him. At the end of the day, my kids and husband love my cooking and that's really all that matters to me.

Do you think Americans still cook? Leave a comment below.

For more from Maria Rodale, go to Maria's Farm Country Kitchen.

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Comments

[PhilipB]

When i was laid off from my job I had all kinds of plans of what i would do. What I ended up doing mostly was cooking! I had never really done much cooking in our home before.
What I found was that I loved to shop in the morning. Everyone is in a good mood in the morning. Produce people, butchers, the people in the Italian deli are very hearty before 11:00. Everyone shared all kinds of info like how to purchase a good eggplant, what was on sale, etc.. Having only shopped in a market after work if I shopped at all, I was amazed by the difference in the shopping experience. 6:30 PM after work there are no people placing out vegetables and chatting with customers, only harried impatient shoppers like myself. Clearly morning shopping is the way to go!
Also, I found that I am just too tired to cook after 4:00. I want to sit down and relax. My most productive time for cooking is from 11:00 to 3:00. I found that chopping and sauteing and browning were quite pleasurable, especially while listening to NPR on the radio.

It was because of this experience i can am now working from home!
I found that cooking changed my life!

[HalfBakedSushi]

My husband and I both cook (we used to own a restaurant). When preparing the grocery list, we sit down with several cookbooks and each pick out 3 or 4 recipes. We add whatever ingredients we need to our grocery list and then are prepared for almost 2 weeks of cooking rotation. (We eat leftovers a lot, too.) Sometimes we simply jazz up a boxed dish, like adding spinach & tomatoes to macaroni & cheese, or carrots & red bell peppers to a tuna casserole. Additionally, we always plan to have Meatless Mondays. But we nearly always have fresh produce (either from the farmer's market or our backyard garden) and we buy organic and local as often as possible. Additionally, we both carry our lunches to work 4 days out of 5.

Eating out is a once-per-week treat and fast food is more like a once-per-month treat.

[Rob Rosenthal]

This American cooks all his family's meals and the data shows that I'm representative of a lot of fathers who are increasingly making the meals at home. We may be under the radar, but not for long.

Robert Rosenthal
The Short Order Dad®

[booker52]

When I was growing up getting a fast food meal was a once in a great while treat. No super size stuff, most came from Mom & Pop stands. When I married I found it cheaper to cook real meals, plus they taste better. My kids took cooking in high school and share the cooking with their wives. Frozen or processed doesn't appeal to me or my family.

[newtom]

Of course people still cook. But we can't be snobs about what defines "real" cooking versus "convenience" feeding -- or whatever you'd like to call it. There are days when getting something in your family's stomachs is more important than the fact that you grew the ingredients in your back yard all by yourself -- organically (lol).

Then there are those occassions when a you put your heart and soul into as great a meal as your skills and budget can produce. You invite the whole family or your friends -- or the neighborhood. The joys of cooking are compounded by the enjoyment you witness as others eat.

And with stories like this: "When I grew up and moved out and started cooking on my own, I'll never forget when my father said: "Of all three of my daughters' cooking, I would rank yours the last." It didn't matter that I was the youngest of them by 7 years; that comment stuck with me (as you can clearly see)." it's no wonder that some people hesitate to claim to be cooks. We do our best with what we have.

[odyssey58]

I have always cooked. My mother traveled for her job 4 days a week when I was in high school. I learned to cook so I could eat. Plus I enjoyed it. In college I cooked for roommates. When I stayed home with my son I spent most of my time cooking and gardening. Now that I'm working my meals are much simpler. We usually have burgers or baked chicken, a vegetable, usually frozen, and a salad. Sometimes I'll make stir-fry and in the summer I use fresh vegetables. I so admit to using canned soups and chili.
I'm lucky because my husband and son aren't picky and they can both prepare meals. What stops me from doing more elaborate cooking is the lack of a dishwasher, but that should change soon.

[Whatevah]

Thanks for the column on an important topic. I learned how to cook in mid-life, and it is an enduring joy.

However, I think Pollan is largely correct. There are many, many people who never cook at all. They survive on take-out, microwave meals and drive-through food.

The reason this is a new development is obvious. We are the first generation that had access to fast, cheap food prepared by others. It's not all that surprising that more people than ever rely on this food. After all, the option didn't exist a few years ago.

I previously worked at a newspaper where the food writer discovered that the music critic never, ever cooked. She produced a delightful series of stories about her efforts to teach that poor guy how to cook SOMETHING. It was amazing - and revealing of a real development. .

[Budokan]

We cook at our house all the time. We much prefer it to eating out.

[organicthemepark]

Thank you Maria for your insightful post! Yes, being a "locavore" and an organic foodie, I have seen and felt a tremendous change in my body and energy levels. Years ago, I cut out all processed food, red-meat and increased by intake of fresh organic local fruits and veggies. What happped? My skin cleared up (no more bovine growth stimulant hormones in my food) ; my energy levels zoomed and my sense of taste and smell became more fine-tuned ! I share your "soapbox" for this lifesyle and pleasure of simple, local organic food.

[TucsonEd]

Just wondering how old you were when happened and how old you are now.

[GomboMan]

Yeah, I think 'cook' needs to be defined. I have an admittedly vain habit of observing the contents in other people's baskets in the local grocery stores. I see a dearth of fresh foods and a plethora of pre-packaged foods and food mixes.

Do these people consider the application of heat to Hamburger Helper, cooking? I think they do (I do not). And I don't blame them for thinking so. It's hard to not think of this as cooking when the Food Network has become an assemblage of busy homemaker shows such as those by Rachael Ray and Sandra Lee, where the emphasis is no longer on cooking, but on feeding.

[chiffonade]

That's absurd. There is still a good chunk of the population who cook and you can count me among them. I cook just about every night. I worked for 21 years on Wall Street, most of it as a single parent, and even THEN I cooked just about every single night. I feel sorry for people who live on takeout and even sorrier for those who think 4 star restaurants are their personal snack lounges. Nothing is special to them anymore. Give me a good meat loaf or roast chicken - or better yet, let me make YOU one.

[DCgal]

Not true as far as me and all my friends. I cook from scratch every day, and I did so even when I was working 80 hours a week. Now that I'm unemployed I cook because it is FAR more frugal than buying prepared, "convenience", or take-out food. I think Pollan relied far too much on one industry insider's POV because it let him make the point he wanted to make - that we would be healthier if we cooked more. But here's the thing - everyone I know cooks.. And what are all those many, many people who are buying out the farmers' markets every week doing with the food, if not cooking?

[daryapino]

Most of my peers can barely boil water and microwave. But there is a huge range of talent in the kitchen, so I think it is dangerous to make too broad of generalizations.

[NickDearth]

To answer the question of if people cook anymore, I will say very few really do cook on any type of regular basis and I use the success of the food industry to back up that assertion.

[NickDearth]

I don't think it can be agreed on as to what it means to cook. If we aren't using the same definitions then how are we to really know who cooks?
I can assume from listening to and reading much from Michael Pollan that he (and myself) would classify cooking as making a meal from scratch, or as close to scratch as relatively possible. Take for example mac and cheese, a very simple dish. You can buy single serving premade packs which require nothing but a microwave. You can make the pasta from scratch, grate your own cheese, and bake it as a casserole. You can do everything in-between. At what point does it become cooking, though? Is the blue box variety cooking because you have to heat water and add milk and butter to the powdered cheese product? I say no, but others could disagree. Cooking macaroni and cheese, to me, must involve handling of the macaroni (whether premade or homemade) and actual cheese.
We also have to ask what does Mr. Pollan mean when he asserts that people "don't cook anymore". Obviously you can't take this literally, but how are we to take it? Again, from what I gather, he means something along the lines of cooking (as I have described it) several times a week. I doubt very much he, or myself, would include people who bake cookies for a bake sale, make a dip for a Superbowl party, or any other "special" occassion cooking.