Home Cooking During Social Distancing Times

Some people who are spending much more time at home than usual have also increased the amount of cooking they do. For some it is fairly simple to do this but others are finding challenges brought about by side effects of the COVID19 pandemic.

Reasons people are cooking more
People may be spending more time cooking because they -

Challenges faced by some doing home cooking
Home cooking has many positive outcomes. However, social distancing and the COVID19 pandemic are causing specific challenges. These challenges include -


Ways to deal with these challenges
Fancy ingredients
Modern recipes often include a long list of ingredients, some of which may be 'fancy' rather than the type of thing people regularly have on hand. A particular brand may be recommended. Sometimes one can substitute another ingredient. If you don't know what to substitute, look on the internet.

Perhaps recipes with a limited number of ingredients would present fewer problems. Try looking for recipes such as 4 ingredient cake recipes or 5 ingredient main meals.

If you want to find a recipe that makes use of items you have on hand type a list into Google (or other search engine) and see what recipes come up.

Traditional recipes used by your grandmother or great grandmother usually contain staple items, not specialty products. However, at the moment, some staples such as wheat flour can be difficult to obtain. Also you may be shocked to find traditional cake recipes requiring 4 or more eggs.


Staples not readily available
Sometimes you can buy a substitute but you may need to find a recipe intended for use with that product. For example you can't simply swap one cup of coconut flour for the same amount of wheat flour. For more information check out Substitutes For Wheat Flour In Cooking

Again, one can consult the internet to see what can be cooked using products that are currently available from the supermarket.

Limits on how many of a particular item can be bought
For some households, only being able to buy (for example) two packets of frozen vegetables or two tins of canned tomatoes in the one trip to the supermarket may be a bit of a nuisance but for others, especially large households, it can present a major challenge.

You might be able to substitute fresh vegetables for some items you usually buy frozen or tinned. The internet can provide some ideas for products you can use instead. I buy a mixture of fresh, canned and frozen vegetables. Frozen and canned are very convenient and I find there is less risk of wastage. Growing a few of your own vegetables can be helpful.

If you have things at the bottom of the freezer, things that you have almost forgotten about, now might be a good time to use them up.

Kitchen safety
Today I read there has been a recent increase in the number of people going to hospital after sustaining burns brought about by cooking. More people are cooking and perhaps some are getting distracted. They could be forgetting safety as they deal with stress brought on by current circumstances.

More than ever it is important to be careful when using boiling water and cooking with oil. Care should be taken when using sharp knives and these should be stored in a knife block or other safe place. As well as washing hands properly, food needs to be stored correctly to avoid the risk of food poisoning.

Some people will find enjoyment and a sense of pride by doing more home cooking, in spite of the challenges of the current COVID19 situation.


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