Thread by @asuph

Any #recipe for the beginners should, for completeness, also talk about the "cleaning" as well. "While the sauce/gravy is simmering, maybe it's a good time to wash the cutting board, and throw away the discards into wet-bin". "Rinse and dry the knife with a cloth" ... 1/n

"Add some (preferably warm/hot) water to the mixing bowl, so that it will be easier to scrub off the sticky contents" ...

etc. etc.

The thing is, experienced cooks (and specifically women who have learned from their moms) already know all this, but novices don't. 2/n

And that adds to the stress of #cooking. There is also the added dimension: many married men who want to try cooking (and I'm speaking in the Indian context right now) are discouraged by their wives as they "make a mess of the kitchen". Men find it daunting -- the cleanup. 3/n

And they find it daunting because they really have never done it, due to the typical Indian family dynamics. They think of it as something you do "after everything is done". An added ten/fifteen minutes. All of that daunting mess. 4/n

Experienced cooks, on the other hand, avoid making that much mess, because they are discarding off things at the right time. Wiping away surfaces. Rinsing off utensils that don't need scrubbing/dishwasher job. This is done "along with the cooking".

5/n

When you do it that way, and not "something to be done after cooking", it's not stressful at all. It just builds into the cooking habit. And the stress of overall cooking experience goes down drastically, and it's "net" pleasurable activity. People go back to it ...

6/n

Even as stress relief -- I find #cooking extremely de-stressing (and there are more men I know who have expressed the same emotion to me). And I'm sure, if men cook like that -- incorporating the cleanup in the activity, fewer wives will have anything to complain about.

7/n

So be kind to novices when you write recipe blogs. Don't assume your target is some experienced cook. Give them small hints about when is the right time stop looking at the stove/oven, and when one is done with a tool/utensil. Maybe more men will start cooking regularly.

n/n.