> we no longer expect everyone to sew their own clothes or bake their own bread - why do we still demand that everyone cook for themselves
And yet a lot of cultures do expect you to know basic sewing (eg reattaching a button is expected from every recruit in the military) and I assume everyone who was a scout has made his own bread.
> I wish we could move away from every individual cooking for themselves and towards socially acceptable communal kitchens or something.
You have that everywhere where life and work is mixed: Small, cheap breakfast joints and inexpensive roadside kitchens that have a very limited menu and serve traditional, local food.
As someone who loves cooking, the idea of real communal kitchens does not sound good - been there, done that and the countless hours spent cleaning before I dared to handle food did not fill my pension fund... (You don't need "cyber"-laws to shut down a hackerspace, just send hygiene inspectors.)
My troop had a Heavy Cream Patrol which prided itself on making gourmet food in the backcountry. This usually meant carrying extra equipment, learning to cook well with both backpacking stoves and live fire (more than just boiling water), and spending extra time cooking at night. After hiking all day you are going to sit around the campfire anyway, why not make it a productive period? Plus there is nothing better than a stellar meal and dessert while sitting in a beautiful spot.
Cooking is still a way I relax and one way I show affection to friends and family. There is a certain satisfaction from having a meal where you raised and/or made every item on the table from raw materials. For instance this morning I made my wife and I egg sandwiches with sourdough bread we baked yesterday morning, red pepper jelly we put up last year, onions we grew and stored over winter, bacon we smoked from a hog we helped raise, eggs from some chickens we help take care of, and microgreens we grew in the basement. We (clearly) live in a rural-ish setting so I realize what is possible for us is not possible for those living in a major metro area (except maaaaybe Portland), but aspects of this are possible almost anywhere if you want to try.
Then there is the nerd factor where you can get into the science of cooking a la modernist cuisine and that takes it to a whole other level in engaging with my engineering side....
_Nice_. I tried a cheesecake once and the cooking time in the dutch oven was about 8 hours longer than expected (gave up waiting at 10p and left it in the coals overnight to finish). At least it was a nice breakfast.
I have an idea on how I would do it but do you care to share your method?
And yet a lot of cultures do expect you to know basic sewing (eg reattaching a button is expected from every recruit in the military) and I assume everyone who was a scout has made his own bread.
> I wish we could move away from every individual cooking for themselves and towards socially acceptable communal kitchens or something.
You have that everywhere where life and work is mixed: Small, cheap breakfast joints and inexpensive roadside kitchens that have a very limited menu and serve traditional, local food.
As someone who loves cooking, the idea of real communal kitchens does not sound good - been there, done that and the countless hours spent cleaning before I dared to handle food did not fill my pension fund... (You don't need "cyber"-laws to shut down a hackerspace, just send hygiene inspectors.)