The one commercial product that led to the demise of home cooking

[ChrisTaylor]

I merely think that using the Crock Pot is conceptually, a step back from home cooking. When I think of home cooking I think about something that is constructed with my own hands. It's more of a novel idea; using the crock pot reminds me that the meal is a task (Marx...) instead of an art or a craft...there's something about being a part of the process -- whether it is the constant check of a low simmer or the art of prioritizing ingredients -- that really defines home cooking for me.

I just worry that the slow cooker is taking the "easy way out," and I wonder if by constantly turning to it, we will eventually forget, or never learn how to cook.

Also realized I didn't properly introduce myself to this forum...my name is Kristine, and I am quite happy to join and see such wonderful discourse on food.

Surely old Karly would feel it right and proper and such that every person could enjoy food made with fresh ingredients after toiling away in the factory all day. I mean, fresh vegetables plus meat plus etc cooked in a slow cooker is surely better for his well-being--and that of his family--than McDonald's or KFC or some other Big Evil (doubtlessly American) Multinational, right?

We keep coming back to the point of snobbishness. And I'm not singling you out. Not at all. You're not the only one to mention the slow cooker and, honest to God, it's not like the slow cooker is the snobbiest example mentioned in this thread. If people are cooking at home in any way, shape or form--even if they're using slow cookers or pressure cookers, even if they're taking a few shortcuts such as just buying the bread or purchasing their meat from a supermarket--then I think that's a good thing. I think it's a better thing than ready-meals from the freezer section. Better than takeaway. It's not exactly three courses plus an amuse from Heston at Home or, perhaps, a realisation of the food pyramid on a single plate, but maybe that's just a reality and not at all a cop-out.

[Mjx]

I merely think that using the Crock Pot is conceptually, a step back from home cooking. When I think of home cooking I think about something that is constructed with my own hands. It's more of a novel idea; using the crock pot reminds me that the meal is a task (Marx...) instead of an art or a craft...there's something about being a part of the process -- whether it is the constant check of a low simmer or the art of prioritizing ingredients -- that really defines home cooking for me.

I just worry that the slow cooker is taking the "easy way out," and I wonder if by constantly turning to it, we will eventually forget, or never learn how to cook.

. . . .

I'm still not seeing how a slow cooker would make for a step back from home cooking, or an easy way out: As far as I know, they're only used in homes, never commercially, and although using one does mean that once you've put the food in to cook you simply leave it, this is also true of traditional (and very venerable) braising, and prep can be substantial, it's extent inevitably reflecting the cook's disposition, coupled with the time available.

[gfweb]

The demise of home cooking may well have been World War Two. Women were driven into the workforce at least temporarily. Convenience foods were dawning around then too.

[PrivateTim]

It has been a fascinating discussion. It has had its moments of snobbery, of great insights, of very odd observations and more.

I do think there is a bit too much of nostalgia for eras where cooking was not a joy, but drudgery and a necessity. If it is lamented that not enough people know how to breakdown a whole chicken properly, should it not also be lamented that not enough people know how to chop off a chicken's head and then properly gut and defeather it?

Is the automatic bread maker an advancement or regression? I know my grandmother was eternally grateful to Helm's Bakery for not only freeing her from having to bake her own bread, but actually bringing the bread to her. My father revels in the memory the smell of the Helm's truck and the drawer of freshly baked doughnuts that thrilled a five year old. Since Helm's is long gone, my grandmother is equally grateful for her bread maker that allows her to enjoy fresh baked bread without the work that is difficult at her age now.

If some people are dependent on easy food and prepared food so what. It seems there is a boom in the home cooking world. Who would have thought of people taking vacations for cooking lessons in earlier times. I think a true golden age of home cooking is yet to come, not passed.

[gdenby]

The demise of home cooking may well have been World War Two. Women were driven into the workforce at least temporarily. Convenience foods were dawning around then too.

From what I've read, at least some of things developed to serve the huge number of troops such as pre-made cake mixes developed out of military necessity, and found their way into civilian use. There were more conveniences than ever on the shelves.

I suspect the Depression was also partly to blame. Most of my relatives were dirt poor, and even the ones still on the farm were happy to have any food. Not much fancy cooking going on. I don't believe I ever heard my parents, or any of my aunts and uncles reminisce about the food of their childhoods. My mother only ever mentioned 2 things. Fresh lard sandwiches, and egg's cooked in a hole in a piece of bread, which she called "Buck Rogers' Eggs.