Teaching Kids to Cook

[I Love Bimby!]

Miss 3 has a lettuce knife from one of those kitchen ware shops - it's quiet large and serated but not sharp. She loves it for play dough, which I think is good practise for controlling the knife.

On the topic of teaching young ones cooking traditional method vs tmx, I find that Miss 3 isn't that keen on cooking in the tmx and losses interest fairly quickly, but LOVES being more hands on and mixing in a bowl.

[cathy79]

Update - this morning DD and I baked muffins from EDC cookbook.  She got her bowl, spatula and apron from the cupboard.  I thought she'd help me using the TMX but she had other ideas.

For each ingredient I added to TMX, she got a smaller version and stirred.  So she got to "measure" and stir.  When we both had our muffin mix, I did a quick taste test.  Her's tasted fine, so I added mine to it.  And together we filled the muffin pans.

This was a great way of getting DD to help as she really participated with her smaller version of what I was doing.  Then we proudly delivered to little sister, daddy, and even drove some over to Nana, Granddad and "nana in the chair" (nursing home nana).

[judydawn]

"nana in the chair" (nursing home nana).

Gotta love it 

[cathy79]

Yes, we have two nana's in town, one is 60 and one is 84.  So to distinguish, DD calls her great nana "nana in the chair".  Not too her face, but when referring to her.

[achookwoman]

I taught my 2 children to read through cooking.    A basic recipe for scones or even [ oh horror !] a cake mix from the supermarket,  got them started.     I now cook with my Grand children and they love it .   The three of them would each stand on a stool, and do what was their part of the process.   It is important that the task is age appropriate.   Mine started when they were  2, 3, and 5.  The 3 year old decided he liked washing up the best.  At this time we had several workmen to provide morning tea for.   They set the table and handed around the food they had cooked.    A lesson in manners with lots of positive feed back from the workers.   Last weekend a grand daughter who is now 5 wanted to cook.    I decided that she should be introduced to TM.    We made the 'Buttermilk scones' form the book .     We read what we could recognize and she took it all in her stride.    A positive learning experience.     The 7 year old now writes her own recipes and reads them back and makes them.    I think she is now ready for TM.

[judydawn]

Well done Grandma.  We have so much more time to spend cooking with the kids than their parents who are always in a rush. Mine loves to help too as we started cooking together when she was around 2 years old.  I love the fact that one of yours likes to do the washing up - now that is rare .  They love to make a mess but clean it up - never   It is nice to know that the tradition of cooking looks like it is going to continue with the next generation so we have done our bit and can soon sit back with a smile on our face and wait for food to be delivered.

[Thermomixer]

   The 7 year old now writes her own recipes and reads them back and makes them.    I think she is now ready for TM.

Maybe even a job with Tenina developing recipes?

[CarolineW]

i just don't think it's an issue for little kids lol teenagers yes, good idea for them to know the basics, but not little ones. but i'll just beg to differ 

That's my view too.  I do the odd thing with DD (6 yrs) the traditional way, but mainly I do stuff with the TMX with her.  I figure that there's time enough to convert what she's learnt to the traditional way later.  Right now it's all about concepts.  The concept of weighing and watching the numbers.  Of what combines with what, and what comes out at the other end, etc.  Getting the general 'feel' and working on her number skills while we're at it 

Later she'll need to know how to cook regardless of what she has available to her, so we'll do the mechanics then.  But she'll already have the foundations of what makes good food, which is the biggest hurdle (to my mind, anyway).

At the end of the day, I think that either approach works.  Just that this way fits better with my including her more often.  (request by DD - who's sitting next to me - to add a winking icon  )

[brazen20au]

my 2 weeks sans thermomix made me even less interested in cooking with them the old fashioned way LOL bleh!