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From leftovers, a teachable moment

On the day after Thanksgiving, you have the time - and the food - to start your child's culinary education.

By JANET K. KEELER
Published November 24, 2005

Today, with all its hectic timetables and extra people hanging around the kitchen, is probably not the best time to give your children cooking lessons.

Tomorrow, however, is. Leftover turkey can be made into sandwiches by little hands and older kids can help assemble the ingredients for turkey soup.

Teaching children to cook is a smart thing for many reasons: they practice math and reading, they learn to follow directions, they spend time with family, they acquire skills they'll need as adults, not to mention they make something yummy to eat.

The trick is to emphasize safety while making the experience fun, not always easy if you're pressed for time. Make sure you've scheduled enough.

The kitchen can be a dangerous place because of sharp utensils and hot appliances. Your job is to teach them to respect it without scaring the heck out of them.

Tips for turning your children into young chefs:

Start every lesson by washing hands in warm soapy water.

Give children age-appropriate tasks and supervise them closely, especially when they are younger than 12. Knife skills can be taught using plastic knives for the very young, butter knives for elementary school children and sharper knives for older kids. If you start them early with a plastic knife, you won't be so nervous when they graduate to sharper utensils.

If using a recipe, read it together twice. Decide who will do what. Do not lecture too much about technique or you risk turning them off. Start simple, with a boxed cake mix or scrambled eggs. Save the multistep dishes for later.

Praise the smallest achievement.

Cooking is easier if all the ingredients are gathered before starting. This is called mise en place (pronounced mee zahn PLAHZ), a French term meaning "everything in its place." Won't your 10-year-old feel fancy knowing that?

Do not dictate what will be cooked. Let them select a recipe or pick a dish. You may be surprised at what they'll try if they make it themselves.

Teach how to use the stove, oven and microwave correctly. Some will be frightened, especially of the oven, so don't force them to don pot holders to remove something. The goal is to have fun, not to make them nervous. Always be present when hot appliances are being used. Keep pot handles pointed toward the back of the stove.

Even the youngest children can measure and stir. Use plastic and wooden utensils. Breaking eggs is always a fun exercise for kids. Sort of messy and gross.

Above all, be patient. Young cooks will not hold spoons with the same assurance as you and, yes, it can be frustrating to watch little hands clumsily whisk eggs. Take a deep breath and don't correct everything they do.

Flour and sugar can be cleaned up. Hurt feelings aren't so easily swept away.

- Janet K. Keeler can be reached at 727 893-8586 or krieta@sptimes.com

[Last modified November 22, 2005, 13:16:03]