Your cooking 'personality type'
In today's New York Times there is an article in the "Well" column about how there are different types of cooks: Giving, Methodical, Competitive, Innovative and Healthy. The article talks about how you are one type of cook and how your style of cooking impacts the health of your family. I thought it was over generalizing and a somewhat silly bit of sociology. My style of cooking, for example, is dependent on the day of the week, how tired I am, how hungry I am, if I have seen a good recipe recently, how my clothes are fitting and what my bf wants to eat, etc. I think that people's cooking styles are influenced by what's available in the grocery store, what they can afford, did they see some tempting food item on TV or the internet, how far away the store is, how many children do they have, do they work, etc. It's simplistic, I think, to take a person's ideal style of cooking and apply it to their lifestyle without taking other factors into account.
What is your cooking style, if any, and how does it apply to your real life? What do you think of this article and quiz?
I put the link here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/health/17well.html
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15 Comments:
I don't think I fit into any of those categories, but draw pieces from each one. Sometimes, I follow a recipe exactly because I want to replicate something or it's a technique or application I am unfamiliar with and need some practice before going into "experimental" phase.
I couldn't pick a favorite ingredient---I change my mind every 5 minutes when I'm grocery shopping. Maybe it's the indecisive libra in me? Some days I want to impress and go all out, but during the work week -- well, just be lucky you got something to eat in between work, school, dance classes, homework, yada yada. During those times, I'm more on the healthy side just because it's easier to cook with fewer ingredients and I don't have to clean the grill...much.
jcrisco at 2:55PM on 03/17/09
hmmmm I'm definitely not 'competitive' but I am a little bit of all the others..
NanaJoie at 3:12PM on 03/17/09
I think I am a healthy methodical cooker. I love to cook delicious, healthy foods for my family, but I prefer to follow a recipe when doing so. I always assume that following someone else's recipe decreases the chance of it turning out horribly. (Which tends to happen if I try to be creative with my cooking!)
KatomRS at 3:38PM on 03/17/09
Half my answers ended up as giving, the other half as innovative. I think it depends on what mood I'm in, who I'm cooking for, what ingredients I have on hand, etc. In reality, I fit into all of the above.
Embackus at 3:43PM on 03/17/09
The survey asks,
"In my spare time I like to:"
and none of the options was "cook"!
Silly survey...
soozm32 at 3:47PM on 03/17/09
@ soozm32 - LOL. The survey is pretty stupid. You don't expect the NYT to post quizzes like you would find in Seventeen or Cosmo...
laurelie at 3:53PM on 03/17/09
I like to cook by the seat of my pants. About 1/2 the time I don't know what I'm going to end up with until it's done! About 1/4 of the time it's cooking something new and with a purpose. The other 1/4 of the time it's the tried and true, cooking by rote, things I have cooked many times and are favorites. How I cook depends on what's in the fridge/freezer and my mood. Today DH is grillling pork chops and I'm making Potatoes Anna and a salad....rote,baby,rote.
finsbigfan at 5:33PM on 03/17/09
I'm all of them or none of them...it really depends. I don't think they're all mutually exclusive. I mean, I care a lot about how food tastes, but I also care that it's good food as opposed to junk.
Labeling food as healthy kind of annoys me because it depends on a lot of factors. What's healthy for one person could be terrible for another. And what's good for you in a reasonable quantity can be bad for you in excess. So I tend not to label any particular food as inherently good or bad.
Some days I follow recipes and other days, or with other foods, it's all whim. And baking isn't just about comfort food.
AND, what I cook isn't necessarily what we eat. I give a lot of food away, so just because I bake a lot of cookies some weeks, it doesn't mean that we're floating around on a sugar high.
dbcurrie at 7:14PM on 03/17/09
When I actually cook, I think I fall mostly into the healthy category, though I have some methodical in me, since I definitely don't have enough experience to cook without a recipe (but I definitely do healthy substitutions). Taste is still important though. And every so often I crack and make some horrible for you but delicious comfort food. And where's the convenience cook? You know, the one who opens the fridge, says, "I'm hungry and lazy," and throws together something based on whatever they find around the kitchen?! Because that's totally me most of the time...
cycorider at 11:09PM on 03/17/09
a) Giving: Friendly, well-liked and enthusiastic, giving cooks seldom experiment, love baking and like to serve tried-and-true family favorites, although that sometimes means serving less healthful foods.
somehow, i fit into this catagory..... for me it depends on what i feel like cooking, how tired i am and what's in the apartment.... and what my fiance wants, she usually wants something with meat in it.
dozertx at 11:05AM on 03/18/09
Such judgmental replies! Either we're haranguing ourselves or haranguing other people! I cook to eat, and I love to eat good foods, so I cook what suits the mood of both of us that day. Since we are 40 miles from the nearest decent market, this takes some planning, but we have a surprisingly varied menu, and I take great pleasure in whatever I am able to bring to the table.
fewteeth at 12:50PM on 03/18/09
@laurelie - Thanks for making this post! Well done; I liked the article as well.
hungryChristel: c) Healthy: Optimistic, book-loving, nature enthusiasts, healthy cooks experiment with fish, fresh produce and herbs. Health comes first, even if it means sometimes sacrificing taste. -- I could have told you that without the quiz because the questions related to how you "prioritize" your meal choices but I'm not much of a book-lover.
But I agree; that my "style" of cooking is definitely dependant on the day of the week, WHAT KIND of hungry I am, if I have seen a good ingredient combination recently (either on SeriousEats or foodTV),
how my clothes are fitting and what my OH wants to eat,--usually are the FINAL determining factors. I HATE feeling full and bloated and my OH usually starts the meal before I get home during the week...
hungrychristel at 2:39PM on 03/18/09
Healthy, possibly also innovative if I went with a second option to one of the questions.
CanadianFoodieGirl at 3:58PM on 03/18/09
There was a quiz like this in the last Food Network Magazine and I thought it was ridiculous. I just love to cook. Sometimes it's from a recipe, sometimes it's based on what delicious fresh veggies I found, if I'm having a party of course I'm going to try and impress, and when I find a specialty food/sauce that I get hooked on, I make up whatever I can just to find new ways to have it. I think the Food Network quiz said that I was a comfort cook, that I just focused on getting food on the table. But when my boyfriend comes home from work and is hungry (you know he's starving when he walks in and says "are we ever going to eat again", : ) slightly dramatic), I throw together the best that I can in half an hour.
coltsfanchris at 7:44AM on 03/23/09
Healthy and Innovative here! I am the gatekeeper in what gets prepared an eaten in our house! Our fridge is stocked full of healthy meats and seafood, and fresh, odd veggies - along with the basics!
dharmon at 6:52AM on 04/01/09