The Basics of Cooking Everyone Should Know

While I as someone who has been trained in cooking absolutely support this mentality, doing things until its just good enough is the only thing I care about when cooking for myself, if there is one thing I want people to care about it is a sharp knife. Dull knives are dangerous to handle and frustrating to use. Don't care too much however, you want to keep your knife sharp enough but don't obsess over it. You don't need to hone it every use, but if it can't cut a tomato without squishing it then sharpen it. Get a pull through sharpener, they're not great but they're good enough. You can also get someone who sharpens knives to do it for you but that is a pain for most people since they don't know anyone who does. Also don't buy a bunch of knives, just one decent chef's knife for the same price will help you through at least 90% of what you want to do in a kitchen

Not to be all dramatic but I feel like this is a masterpiece. A manifesto against the ravages of perfectionism. An FU to the haters in our minds (as personified by internet commentators) who say if it’s not perfect don’t even try. I feel like i need to watch this every time I’m too afraid to try something because the perfectionist voices are winning.

I like how this is the most unserious video that Craig has put out in years but it also has the BEST production value.

Extra tip. Frozen veggies. If you're like me fresh produce stops existing as soon as I put it in the fridge and more often than not it rots. Frozen veggies have been a life changer. It keeps longer and it doesn't require any chopping. Frozen broccoli is especially easy. Oil, salt, shove it in the airfryer (or pan). Put some shredded cheese on it if you feel like. Super easy when I'm lazy and it's probably healthier than what I was going to order in.

This is basically exactly how I cook and it's done me well so far. Hardest part is just knowing how to tell when something is done. Once you figure it out, then you get to explore the further steps to make it better.

This man is a genius. I already know how to cook and I don’t drink alcohol or coffee and I’m not addicted to social media but I watch all his episodes cuz he’s hilarious. Counterintuitive haha that was gold

This is legit a whole new series idea right here. I'd suggest a bare basic list of ingredients and how long it takes if you ever did that. Seriously, it would be one of the best easygoing and real instructional cooking video series ever. As is, this video is already wonderful.

I cooked in restaurants for years, I can do fancy cookin’ and I’ve been periodically leaving this comment in cooking videos: It just needs to taste good. To you. It doesn’t have to be instagrammable or complex or complicated. You just need something to eat. Healthy or not as you like. Don’t let cooking channels tell you everything has to be top of the line, very best ingredients, blah blah blah. You cook for you, something you like, you did it. Be fancy when _you_ want. Most of the time, you prolly will just be happy to have food you made, and liked. ✌️😌✨

"Counter intuitive" is the best joke I've heard all day. I'm going to bed now cause it's not going to get better than that, and it can only be downhill from here (plus it's late and I'm tired).

I moved out at 18 with exactly zero live skills. Never worked a dishwasher or a washing machine before, let alone know how to not get scurvy. The first thing I made was ""soup"", also known as "things I found in the fridge, boiled in water". A few years and some bad food poisoning later (I still can't eat eggs anymore) and I'm a Semi-functioning adult, that loves to cook. It only gets better from here, folks!

Buy cookbooks for children! They are way more likely to require a realistic skill level, effort level, and number of ingredients for an average person. And the food still comes out tasting yummy. The Usbourne Children's Book of Baking is my favourtite recipe book for desserts.

Big cook, here -- best advice I can give you is, do chicken THIGHS. The breasts are just too dry, get tough at the drop of a hat, and lack flavor immensely. Chicken thighs will be muuuuuuuch better, tons more forgiving, tastier, and everything. For zero more effort.

Craig...Craig...CRAIG!! This was great. I total think this needs to be a series. Chyna wants you to cook more. We want you to cook more. I think if you make more videos of you cooking, you'll cook more. Win, win, WIN!!

When I moved out at 21, most of my meals consisted of instant noodles or take-away. However, when I turned 28, I bought an air fryer, and cooking has become much more enjoyable and easier. I also started eating more vegetables because I can just toss them in the basket with a piece of chicken breast, fish, or steak. 🥦🍗🥩 This has brought balance to my diet, given me more energy, and helped me maintain a regular healthy lifestyle. I've also saved an incredible amount of money over time. 💰 A little 'life hack,' if you will, for you young people (or older folks) trying to find your way into cooking and looking to make your daily life a bit easier. 💡🤲🏻

Tips: Salt accents existing flavor, pepper adds new flavor. Experimentation is key. Also, don't put food in the oven before it's up to temp. When an over is heating up, it's throwing everything it has to heat up so you'll expose your food to a huge temperature range. Wait for it to come up to temp so it's exposed to the same temp the whole time and is more predictable to figure out when it's done.

A meat thermometer and a meat Temperature chart has been life changing for me. I don’t really need to question how long to cook things anymore I just make sure it gets up to temp.

You can eat all of the stem if it's washed, but personally I think it's gross so instead I tend to put veggie scraps like that in a bag in the freezer and when I have a bag full, put them in boiling water, simmer for however long you can be bothered and you have veggie stock! Add bones for meaty stock.

Tip for avoiding food poisoning: Fish is done when it flakes, chicken must never be red/pink inside, but beef can be (well, maybe not raw). Not sure if it's done? Cut the thickest area. When that's done, the rest is done. And keep trying. You learn better that way.

Speed/ease tip: You can microwave those sweet potato chunks for about 5 minutes to get the cook time down to 20 minutes in the oven to match the broccoli.

As someone with ADHD who has struggled getting themselves to cook, this is *THE BEST* guide I’ve seen on just doing it. Thanks Craig ❤ I hope others will find motivation as well!