On the assumption that you need to feed yourself regardless, cooking as a hobby can be really cheap, since worst-case you only spend whatever you’d have spent on food anyway. You might even end up saving money!
I do understand the bit of needing to feed myself and all, but just randomly going up and cooking is sadly not something I can afford
Which is quite f-ed, I like to knead bread loaf
Can you explain? Is it cheaper to eat out / eat processed foods than buy groceries to cook? I’ve never lived in a place with that situation, but I understand it’s a possibility.
Not cheap to eat out (and processed food is… Only one I get is instant noodles but that one is just cuz I’m a lazy bastard XD)
Another user pointed out the difference on what I said, not cooking out of necessity but cooking for fun is what I’m saying is expensive
Cooking for myself is literally how I can make-do with all expenses, but actively randomly going to cook something when I dont have the necessity for it(eg. for fun) is something I can’t spare because the amount of groceries I end up being able to purchase tends to be counted to last for the month/week in quite a tight budget
It isn’t always like that, sometimes I can afford to get some extra eggs and flour to do a small cake, or last time with my mom we tried to make a sourdough(it was a disaster, I fucked up badly lulz), but those are quite hard for me to be able to do enough to call cooking a hobby.
Cooking instructions don’t mesh well with some people. I’m one of them.
Half of the time the instructions are vague (like “golden brown”, which has vastly different definitions based on what you’re cooking) and the measurements are often inexact (“to taste” is completely useless to someone who doesn’t know how the intermediate product is supposed to taste). Plus, you often have to do things during the heating process and if your multitasking isn’t good enough your meal is ruined.
All of this is less of a deal if you have someone with cooking experience in the kitchen. If you don’t, well, good luck.
I consider cooking to be highly stressful even with a recipe. Baking is much better since the measurements tend to be precise to the gram and the heating step happens in isolation.
Thiiis I was struggling to properly articulate this
It isnt that I don’t cook, it’s just that I can’t afford to cook for fun due to tight budget, and cooking always out of necessity makes it hard to call it a hobby
Its like saying drinking water is a hobby, which… Well there are people who are really into drinking water, so scratch what I said XD
Yeah, one of my hobbies is smoking meats. Those meals are more expensive (because we usually don’t have that much meat in one meal) but it brings me more joy (than what the meat cost) to produce some fine smoked ribs than to buy them elsewhere. Also more bang for my buck.
Being more relative to itself from a few years ago doesn’t mean groceries are objectively expensive. Especially if you’re buying ingredients and not premade shit- that’s where most of the increase has gone
“Cooking is a cheap” how costly is groceries at your place?
Were you just not gonna eat otherwise?
On the assumption that you need to feed yourself regardless, cooking as a hobby can be really cheap, since worst-case you only spend whatever you’d have spent on food anyway. You might even end up saving money!
I do understand the bit of needing to feed myself and all, but just randomly going up and cooking is sadly not something I can afford Which is quite f-ed, I like to knead bread loaf
Can you explain? Is it cheaper to eat out / eat processed foods than buy groceries to cook? I’ve never lived in a place with that situation, but I understand it’s a possibility.
Not cheap to eat out (and processed food is… Only one I get is instant noodles but that one is just cuz I’m a lazy bastard XD) Another user pointed out the difference on what I said, not cooking out of necessity but cooking for fun is what I’m saying is expensive Cooking for myself is literally how I can make-do with all expenses, but actively randomly going to cook something when I dont have the necessity for it(eg. for fun) is something I can’t spare because the amount of groceries I end up being able to purchase tends to be counted to last for the month/week in quite a tight budget
It isn’t always like that, sometimes I can afford to get some extra eggs and flour to do a small cake, or last time with my mom we tried to make a sourdough(it was a disaster, I fucked up badly lulz), but those are quite hard for me to be able to do enough to call cooking a hobby.
Assuming that you can cook well enough that your meals are guaranteed to be edible, which is assuming a lot for novices.
The biggest factor to success when starting out is your ability to follow instructions.
Pick a recipe, read through it, buy all the ingredients, and follow the instructions.
It’s not that hard. The reason people struggle is because they ignore the instructions like a dad in the 80’s
Cooking instructions don’t mesh well with some people. I’m one of them.
Half of the time the instructions are vague (like “golden brown”, which has vastly different definitions based on what you’re cooking) and the measurements are often inexact (“to taste” is completely useless to someone who doesn’t know how the intermediate product is supposed to taste). Plus, you often have to do things during the heating process and if your multitasking isn’t good enough your meal is ruined.
All of this is less of a deal if you have someone with cooking experience in the kitchen. If you don’t, well, good luck.
I consider cooking to be highly stressful even with a recipe. Baking is much better since the measurements tend to be precise to the gram and the heating step happens in isolation.
Good point. Some meals are pretty hard to mess up, though. Beans, rice, stews.
there’s cooking to eat and cooking for fun. cooking for fun can get pretty expensive
Thiiis I was struggling to properly articulate this It isnt that I don’t cook, it’s just that I can’t afford to cook for fun due to tight budget, and cooking always out of necessity makes it hard to call it a hobby Its like saying drinking water is a hobby, which… Well there are people who are really into drinking water, so scratch what I said XD
Yeah, one of my hobbies is smoking meats. Those meals are more expensive (because we usually don’t have that much meat in one meal) but it brings me more joy (than what the meat cost) to produce some fine smoked ribs than to buy them elsewhere. Also more bang for my buck.
Cheaper than any other way of eating. Single McDonald’s for me and my partner costs the same as 4 to 5 home cooked meals.
A b s o l u t e l y the same here, which is why I avoid fast food places outright It ain’t cuz its unhealthy, its just costs a buck I can’t spare off
Being more relative to itself from a few years ago doesn’t mean groceries are objectively expensive. Especially if you’re buying ingredients and not premade shit- that’s where most of the increase has gone