For some people, eating is just a chore to fuel their bodies. For others, it's the meaning of life. Among other responsibilities, we have to balance our diet for the cost, convenience, and healthiness:
This scenario is what people inexperienced with cooking might fear. To address this, there are two mindsets:
1. Enjoy the process: Make the time spent cooking both productive and relaxing
If positive emotions (relaxation, satisfaction) can be derived from a productive activity (cooking), then we have a win-win situation. I personally enjoy cooking very much. When I have a dish in mind, I get excited to go shopping for all the ingredients. I look forward to following the recipe, and appreciate each step that contributes towards the final product. The individual flavors, colors, and textures of the ingredients are combined together to form a harmonious dish. It's a very personal gesture to cook a meal for someone; it's a sign of hospitality that everyone appreciates.
2. Optimize the process: Minimize the time and resources required to produce satisfactory finished goods
The 2nd mindset seeks to engineer cooking as a process. Each recipe requires specific materials, equipment, and work instructions to produce the desired product to the customer (you). And like any process, they can be optimized to minimize time and money spent (LEAN), while maximizing satisfaction and nutrition (Six Sigma).
I transcribe my recipes like manufacturing procedures; which they essentially are. The procedures instruct which ingredients, steps, and equipment are essential (critical requirements), what can be substituted (“or equivalent”), and what is unnecessary (waste). The recipes give inspection steps to verify the process is being followed correctly, as well as warnings to prevent scrap material (ruined food!).
- Buying fast food is cheap and convenient, but not healthy
- Buying healthy food from a restaurant is still convenient, but expensive
- Cooking healthy food can be cheap, but not convenient
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| I like this scene from Ratatouille. It visually depicts how flavors can be assembled into something greater than the sum of its parts |
After a long workday, it’d easy to have fast food or frozen meals for dinner, rather than cooking for an hour. But if I committed to cooking, it’s possible I'd produce a horrible dish, thus wasting my time, money, and dinner. This worsens my mood and overall life.
This scenario is what people inexperienced with cooking might fear. To address this, there are two mindsets:1. Enjoy the process: Make the time spent cooking both productive and relaxing
If positive emotions (relaxation, satisfaction) can be derived from a productive activity (cooking), then we have a win-win situation. I personally enjoy cooking very much. When I have a dish in mind, I get excited to go shopping for all the ingredients. I look forward to following the recipe, and appreciate each step that contributes towards the final product. The individual flavors, colors, and textures of the ingredients are combined together to form a harmonious dish. It's a very personal gesture to cook a meal for someone; it's a sign of hospitality that everyone appreciates.
2. Optimize the process: Minimize the time and resources required to produce satisfactory finished goods
The 2nd mindset seeks to engineer cooking as a process. Each recipe requires specific materials, equipment, and work instructions to produce the desired product to the customer (you). And like any process, they can be optimized to minimize time and money spent (LEAN), while maximizing satisfaction and nutrition (Six Sigma).
I transcribe my recipes like manufacturing procedures; which they essentially are. The procedures instruct which ingredients, steps, and equipment are essential (critical requirements), what can be substituted (“or equivalent”), and what is unnecessary (waste). The recipes give inspection steps to verify the process is being followed correctly, as well as warnings to prevent scrap material (ruined food!).
- Parts: Which ingredients can be substituted or excluded?
- Can I substitute white mushrooms with brown mushrooms
- Steps: Have processes with long cook times been started before others?
- If sauce takes 1 hour to cook, but pasta only takes 10 minutes, which should be started first?
- Equipment: Is the cooking pot size appropriate for the recipe?
- Would a pan be appropriate for making a soup?
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