In recent years there have been small movements towards finer eating, with craft beer and homemade foods gaining a following among a small section of people. But, the time and dedication needed to learn these skills just isn’t there for most young people today.
Cooks today have a shortage of time in which to practice their skills compared to someone like a housewife 100 years ago whose only job was running the household.
4) Making Cordials and Wines
Time was that both liqueurs and non-alcoholic cordials were often in supply at people’s homes. Even wine was made at home. The closest some get to this today is to infuse liquor with flavors since the process is fairly simple.
3) Making Butter
Our grandmothers knew how to make butter and even cheese, but this skill is largely only used by farmers today. Cottage cheese, farm cheese, and buttermilk were all made at home with unpasteurized milk and a lot of skill.
2) Substitutions
If an ingredient is missing then often the whole recipe is scrapped or else a trip to the store is made. But, getting creative in the kitchen is sometimes half the fun. It takes a certain level of self confidence in order to make those kinds of decisions and that’s something that only comes from lots of experience with cooking and baking.
1) Basic Skills
Unfortunately even the most basic techniques like making gravies, poaching eggs, and making cake batter and pie crust from scratch are dying out with each generation. Even if you couldn’t make your own wine or butter or grow your own vegetables, knowing how to make these basics in the kitchen was absolutely essential back in the day.
