Can you cook?

People are often asked "Can you cook?" to which most people say either they can or they can't. The ones who say they can't usually mean that they are unable (or haven't tried) to follow a recipe or cook something from a batch of ingredients. Cooking usually means they throw something in the microwave, pop a ready-made meal in the oven or stick some toast in the toaster.


I decided to look up 'cook' in the dictionary:

verb

• 1 [with object] prepare (food, a dish, or a meal) by mixing, combining, and heating the ingredients: shall I cook dinner tonight? [with two objects]: she cooked me eggs and bacon (as adjective cooked) a cooked breakfast
• [no object] (of food) be heated so that the state required for eating is reached: while the rice is cooking, add the saffron to the stock
• (cook something down) heat food and cause it to thicken and reduce in volume: cooking down the chutney can take up to 45 minutes
  Judging by that description I reckon most people can 'cook'. Even if it's just scrambled eggs or beans on toast it's all 'cooking'.

  

Judging by that description I reckon most people can 'cook'. Even if it's just scrambled eggs or beans on toast it's all 'cooking'.

So there you have it; you can cook. The next step is to decide what you want to cook...