My first memory of cooking anything was with my dad. I was probably about five years old, and we were making biscuits from scratch. Starting then, I learned the art of baking from my parents, grandparents, and even my neighbors. I suppose I was a natural at baking, but my family greatly enhanced and encouraged this aptitude. I have learned so many valuable lessons from cooking, such as gratitude and patience, and I hope I can convince you to make something from scratch today.
Any good Southern family has recipes from their great-grandmothers, and we are no exception. (I love history so I’ve got to connect this to history somehow.) Most of my family’s recipes have been handed down for two or three generations, and I have always felt the ghosts of baked-goods past when I follow the handwritten recipe cards stained with cocoa powder. Handing down recipes is such a great way to preserve your heritage, feel connected to your ancestors, and pass down traditions. Plus, the longer a recipe has been around, the better it tastes, because anything subpar would have been thrown out long ago.
One important aspect of baking I have learned is that dessert can easily be used to manipulate people. Want to make sure your grade gets bumped up at the end of the semester? Casually bring cookies or cupcakes to class one day, and make sure your professor gets one. Want to impress a girl? Men who cook are a rare breed. She will love you. Don’t want to pay for a birthday gift? Give them a homemade cake! Everyone has to eat, so don’t feel bad using that to your advantage.
Let me point something out really quick, though. Baking has NOTHING to do with gender or gender identity. I may happen to be a female who loves to cook, but I cook first and foremost for myself. I don’t bake to get a man, and making a pound cake doesn’t mean I’m an aspiring homemaker (yes, people have actually asked me these two questions.) Everyone should do what makes them happy.
Sometimes I have found that kids don’t think cooking is cool, but did you realize that cooking is basically science? (Raise your hand if you’ve seen that episode of The Magic School Bus!) That’s right, friends, and science is definitely cool! Let me tell you, it is so fun to approach baking a cake as you would a science experiment. So grab your safety goggles and a bow tie, because Bill Nye is making a comeback in the kitchen!
Of course, as my mother told me, the point of cooking anything is always to eat it, which is why I came to specialize in baking. Yes, it’s nice to cook for others, but it’s also nice to treat yourself. Plus, you’ll know for sure there won’t be anything in it you don’t like! Also, if you normally don’t cook, cooking for yourself will really help you appreciate all the work that goes into a dish.
All in all, baking is an amazingly rewarding experience. You can bond with family and friends, learn to be more appreciative, and it’s all very applicable to the real world. Not to mention you get to eat! Today, or tomorrow, or next week, stay in and make something from scratch with someone you love, and I promise you will not regret it.
