It’s easy to think of traditional recipes as tricky, or fiddly, but many were designed to be easy recipes that anyone could make using everyday techniques and ingredients. If you’re a beginner, traditional recipes are a great place to start, and can help you to learn about the different styles of food, as well as boosting your cooking confidence. In this article, we’ll show how some of the easiest traditional recipes can help to get you started with key techniques, ingredients, and cultural insight.
The classic recipes are perfect for a beginner.
Most classic recipes were invented to be useful, to be healthful and to be repeated. They depend on common ingredients, simple preparations, and tried-and-true tools rather than fancy gadgets. They are lessons in chopping, seasoning, simmering and patience. For the novice cook, they offer a sense of guidance and confidence, and a guaranteed finish.
Simple Traditional Dishes: What Do They Have in Common?
Many traditional, everyday dishes from around the world have certain features in common. They often feature a central grain like rice, bread, or pasta, and are supplemented with vegetables, beans, or small amounts of meat. They might incorporate spices, but they’re not drenched in spice. Knowing these tendencies makes it easier for new cooks to see that cooking global foods isn’t as foreign as they might think.
Like stew or chili, one-pot meals are simple, easy, and delicious. These classic dishes can be customized with whatever ingredients are on hand.
One-pot meals have been the foundation of classic recipes across many cultures. From soups and stews to casseroles, there are versions in most European, African, and Asian cuisines. Not only do they ease cooking with their staggered additions and natural reduction of flavors, but they’re also perfect for those just starting out as they eliminate some of the pressure, a lot of the cleaning, and offer a comfortable framework to master fundamental cooking skills.
Unleavened Flatbreads and other Grains
One of the easiest types of traditional dishes to make are flatbreads or other grain dishes. Whether it’s a simple rice recipe or a basic type of bread, these recipes tend to have fewer ingredients and require that you learn the basics of mixing, kneading, and applying heat. Mastering grains and dough is a great place to start if you want to move on to other recipes.
Classic Vegetable Dishes
There are many recipes from around the world that center around vegetables. It’s easy to cook vegetables by sautéing, roasting, or boiling them, and then seasoning them. You can learn a lot about flavor, cooking time, and proportions with a vegetable recipe. Moreover, most traditional recipes with vegetables involve substitutions depending on what’s in season.
Simple High-Protein Favorites
These classic protein recipes typically involve basic cooking techniques such as grilling, braising, or pan-frying. Marinades and cooking time will tenderize and flavorize the ingredients. These recipes will give new cooks a chance to practice food safety, temperatures and proper cooking methods while delivering delicious results.
The Importance of Repetition in the Learning Process
Most classic recipes are intended to be cooked multiple times. The more you make them, the more comfortable you’ll become with the ingredients, the timing, the tweaks to make them taste just right, and the less intimidating they will be.
Converting Recipes for Your Home Kitchen
What I mean by this is that home kitchens all differ: we all have different tools, ingredients and tastes. Simpler, more traditional recipes are highly adaptable. In fact, that’s why they exist. So don’t be afraid to make a few tweaks to recipes, especially if you’re just starting out. It won’t ruin them, and it will make international cooking much more fun and rewarding.
Essential Cooking Skills
Simple traditional recipes are a great way for beginners to learn basic cooking skills, broaden their cultural understanding and build their cooking confidence. These recipes offer home cooks today a taste of what has been working for their grandmothers and their grandmothers’ grandmothers. Armed with a handful of tried-and-true traditional recipes from around the world, beginners can approach global cooking with curiosity and confidence.