Forum Thermomix
Welcoming Center, Management and General Chat => Chit Chat => Topic started by: cathy79 on September 20, 2009, 03:52:13 am
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My DD is 4.5 and loves to cook muffins, or anything she can get her hands in. I want to teach her the cooking basics (sift, stir, measure etc) without TMX so she learns the skills and to follow instructions etc. And not be reliant on a machine.
Any tips on teaching the joys of cooking? What age should I introduce knives (scary) for cutting, dicing?
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yes, it is nice sometimes to cook the 'traditional' way :) i wouldn't stress too much over that now though, personally i reckon a 4yo gets more valuable skills from the numbers and associated values (time, weight, speed etc) that the thermomix has than actual skills like sifting etc - i think those probably can come after when they can actually put it together and udnerstand the whole process - does that make snese? not sure i've expressed it the way it is in my head lol
we let our kids use butter knives but no sharp knives so far. the 6 yo is probably still a little way off it, but not too far i'd think.
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Dunno sorry - no kids. But you may look at Stephanie Alexander's book http://www.penguin.com.au/lookinside/spotlight.cfm?SBN=9781920989491&Page=Details (http://www.penguin.com.au/lookinside/spotlight.cfm?SBN=9781920989491&Page=Details)
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I have a knife for #1 that is specifically for children (bought it at an expo but I am pretty sure you can buy them in the shops) that is serrated but not sharp. He uses that to chop/cut food, but also loves to put in butter or flour or whatever might be going into the TMX to get the right number on the scales. He is 3 next month :o and loves cooking too ;D
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DD helped me cook from about 2 or so. As soon as she could stand on a chair and help. She would often make her own 'cakes' and then we would put them in the microwave to cook as she invented as she went along. It was only ever a spoon of this and a spoon of that so not much was wasted. She never seemed to demand that we eat them-fortunately.
As soon as she was old enough she mixed etc, licking as she went.
When she was old enough to cook alone I insisted that she clean up the mess. But once she started washing dishes I'd usually dry them for her. She's now a great cook, very inventive still but they are edible now.
She used to get to DH's sandwiches for work after I'd made them and add sprouts which he hates. He often found raw carrots and things in his lunch box. I think it became quite a laugh at school for the guys to see what she'd added each day.
I should get him to return the favour to her lunch box.
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I think this will be the knife that you are talking about Meagan, my kids have these and much younger than the 3 years they recommend ;) ;) Totally safe and will cut raw carrots etc. I love them
http://www.kiddiefoodkutter.com/ (http://www.kiddiefoodkutter.com/)
Mine have been in the kitchen since they were old enough to stand on a stool or chair and my teens can cook a full meal for the whole family unassisted - they had a night a week each that they prepared the family meal, until we hit senior school, exams etc and jobs. The younger two spend ages in the kitchen with me now and they just love it. Not everything in my kitchen is TMX (probably about 80% is) so they still get the best of both worlds but I look on the reality that when they move out of home it will probably be the way that they know how to cook ;D
Funny that this topic should come up as one of our team members gave her Go-Getters talk this month and it was on kids in the kitchen. I will need to check about being able to post it here (sure I would) She is an ex teacher, home schooling mum and it is really interesting.
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oohh will have to check out that knife, sounds great!
i loved to cook as a kid and i was cooking meals for the family by about 8 or 9 i think, maybe 10 at the latest
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We have cooking classes with our homeschool group for the little ones, and they are really enjoying learning the basics - like different ways of cooking eggs, and potatoes, and making pancakes, and spaghetti bolognese, and things like that. They chop up the apples, etc, and do all the stirring and cooking with supervision, and really learn heaps. The teacher is an ex-chef, and she thinks they should learn the basics before they learn the Thermomix way, so that's what we're doing with them. But I also teach mine to use the Thermomix at home, of course. It is handy for them to know the basics though, so if the power goes off (which it does up here now and then) or they're not at home, or the TMX is being used for something else, they can still cook.
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but I look on the reality that when they move out of home it will probably be the way that they know how to cook ;D
Does that mean they'll want one when they move out of home as a house warming present!
I'll check out those knives. Thanks to everyone for those great ideas.
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she thinks they should learn the basics before they learn the Thermomix way, so that's what we're doing with them. But I also teach mine to use the Thermomix at home, of course. It is handy for them to know the basics though, so if the power goes off (which it does up here now and then) or they're not at home, or the TMX is being used for something else, they can still cook.
That's exactly what I was thinking. I don't want my girls to not know how to "whisk" something. Imagine if they think they're fabulous cooks, and then enter a kitchen without a thermomix. They'd be lost
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I never cooked as a child (Mum hated the extra mess children invariably make) but my girls were allowed to do things with me and both are great cooks. Now it is the turn of the GD and I've had her in the kitchen with me since she could stand on a stool and it is so much fun to teach her. She's off to school next year and then, a bit further down the track, GS will be taught in the same way. His Dad does very little in the kitchen and I aim to make GS a good catch for some young lady further down the track! I agree with Jo, they should learn to cook the conventional way too, not just with the TMX but I can see all children from families with TMX machines, wanting one when they leave home or get married. It will be a required item in their kitchen just like the Mixmaster was to me 40 years ago.
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i just don't think it's an issue for little kids lol teenagers yes, good idea for them to know the basics, but not little ones. but i'll just beg to differ ;)
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Just ordered 2 knives on line. Thanks for the link!
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Yes that is the knife we have Kathryn :) I also saw a lettuce knife in the kitchen shop the other day and it was like a chefs knife but plastic with a slight serration. Not sure how sharp it was but might also be suitable for kids :)
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Tupperware used to have those plastic serrated edged knives ( I think that was where my mother got it from) and it was very safe for little fingers. Think that it was for cutting lettuces as not having contact with metal is supposed to prevent the lettuce browning.
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Miss 3 has a lettuce knife from one of those kitchen ware shops - it's quiet large and serated but not sharp. She loves it for play dough, which I think is good practise for controlling the knife.
On the topic of teaching young ones cooking traditional method vs tmx, I find that Miss 3 isn't that keen on cooking in the tmx and losses interest fairly quickly, but LOVES being more hands on and mixing in a bowl.
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Update - this morning DD and I baked muffins from EDC cookbook. She got her bowl, spatula and apron from the cupboard. I thought she'd help me using the TMX but she had other ideas.
For each ingredient I added to TMX, she got a smaller version and stirred. So she got to "measure" and stir. When we both had our muffin mix, I did a quick taste test. Her's tasted fine, so I added mine to it. And together we filled the muffin pans.
This was a great way of getting DD to help as she really participated with her smaller version of what I was doing. Then we proudly delivered to little sister, daddy, and even drove some over to Nana, Granddad and "nana in the chair" (nursing home nana).
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"nana in the chair" (nursing home nana).
Gotta love it ;) ;)
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Yes, we have two nana's in town, one is 60 and one is 84. So to distinguish, DD calls her great nana "nana in the chair". Not too her face, but when referring to her.
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I taught my 2 children to read through cooking. A basic recipe for scones or even [ oh horror !] a cake mix from the supermarket, got them started. I now cook with my Grand children and they love it . The three of them would each stand on a stool, and do what was their part of the process. It is important that the task is age appropriate. Mine started when they were 2, 3, and 5. The 3 year old decided he liked washing up the best. At this time we had several workmen to provide morning tea for. They set the table and handed around the food they had cooked. A lesson in manners with lots of positive feed back from the workers. Last weekend a grand daughter who is now 5 wanted to cook. I decided that she should be introduced to TM. We made the 'Buttermilk scones' form the book . We read what we could recognize and she took it all in her stride. A positive learning experience. The 7 year old now writes her own recipes and reads them back and makes them. I think she is now ready for TM.
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Well done Grandma. We have so much more time to spend cooking with the kids than their parents who are always in a rush. Mine loves to help too as we started cooking together when she was around 2 years old. I love the fact that one of yours likes to do the washing up - now that is rare ??? ???. They love to make a mess but clean it up - never ;D ;D ;D It is nice to know that the tradition of cooking looks like it is going to continue with the next generation so we have done our bit and can soon sit back with a smile on our face and wait for food to be delivered.
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The 7 year old now writes her own recipes and reads them back and makes them. I think she is now ready for TM.
Maybe even a job with Tenina developing recipes?
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i just don't think it's an issue for little kids lol teenagers yes, good idea for them to know the basics, but not little ones. but i'll just beg to differ ;)
That's my view too. I do the odd thing with DD (6 yrs) the traditional way, but mainly I do stuff with the TMX with her. I figure that there's time enough to convert what she's learnt to the traditional way later. Right now it's all about concepts. The concept of weighing and watching the numbers. Of what combines with what, and what comes out at the other end, etc. Getting the general 'feel' and working on her number skills while we're at it ;D
Later she'll need to know how to cook regardless of what she has available to her, so we'll do the mechanics then. But she'll already have the foundations of what makes good food, which is the biggest hurdle (to my mind, anyway).
At the end of the day, I think that either approach works. Just that this way fits better with my including her more often. ;) (request by DD - who's sitting next to me - to add a winking icon ;D )
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my 2 weeks sans thermomix made me even less interested in cooking with them the old fashioned way LOL bleh!