The myth of easy cooking
November 30, 2015 by Darcie
Elizabeth G. Dunn writes about food for a living, so she sees more cooking advice and recipes than most people. Many of the articles she reads promise gourmet meals that are simple and easy to prepare. Those articles are lying to us, says Dunn in a recent story in The Atlantic.
She notes that Amazon’s ‘quick and easy’ section contains over 8,000 titles, cookbooks promising artisanal breads in minutes are bestsellers, and Jamie Oliver’s most recent cookbook shaved the time commitment for his recipes from 30 minutes to just 15. Says Dunn, “Everywhere, there are magazine features proclaiming that making and freezing my own chicken stock is a “no-brainer”; homemade Calabrian chili oil is an “easy” way to add big flavor; the secret to making effortless breakfast granola is to simply do it in big batches. The problem is that none of this actually easy.” Not only are the preparation times unworkable, says Dunn, many of the recipes require exotic ingredients that take time to find and get home.
Why, then, do we keep getting innundated with the promise of ease and simplicity? Dunn believes that these concepts continue to be promoted because real “easy” cooking cannot sustain the cookbook and magazine industry. Books, magazines, and websites tell people fanciful tales – that a truly gourmet meal can hit the table in minutes – because that’s what sells.
So what does Dunn think should be done about this deception? She posits that “we should talk more realistically about what’s involved in from-scratch cooking, the sacrifices it entails, and the fact that little of the complexity offered by today’s published recipes is really essential to cooking a delicious meal.” Do you agree with Dunn that today’s recipes over promise (and under deliver) on speed and ease?
Photo of Quick and easy cioppino from Gourmet Magazine, October 2007: The Restaurant Issue by Ian Knauer
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