In the mad rush to get meals on the table, we parents sometimes forget what a joyous activity cooking can be. Its pleasures are not lost on our children, who immediately appreciate the process of transforming ingredients. They enjoy the assembling, measuring, and chopping tasks that require their deepest concentration, and they like projects that have a beginning (preparation), a middle (messy fun), and an end (happy diners around the table).
If a first attempt at a recipe is a flop, it can be hilarious, but it's never a disaster. When the kids succeed, it's an occasion for feeling very good about themselves.
No chef could be prouder than my young friend Kate, who began perfecting her chocolate chip cookie recipe--now a legendary weakness of the adults in her neighborhood--when she was just ten.
Getting your child to feel competent at cooking pays off for everyone. Begin by inviting him or her into the kitchen during an unrushed moment, when there is time to instruct and share responsibilities.
Next, determine your child's ability level from the categories that follow. (A child's cooking level is mostly a matter of experience and personality.) Choose a recipe you will both enjoy, then start off with lots of supervision and fun. The Fledgling Chef, usually under age five or six, has never cooked or spent learning time in the kitchen. He still wants to be anywhere his parents are and loves to play at doing "work." He requires little equipment, other than a sturdy stool and an apron. Bring him into the kitchen even before you have removed the childproof contraptions from the cupboards.
Skills to Learn
Sifting, washing fresh produce, basic mixing, and using a timer
Safety Rules:
- No touching knives or the stove
- Do not touch any appliances without adult supervision.
- Always wash your hands before handling food.
Kitchen Projects
Sifting
A sifter with a crank is the easiest kind for a child to master. Place it in a large bowl to restrict the range of flying flour. Allow your child to dump in premeasured amounts and sift away.
Washing Fresh Produce
This activity is good fun for little water sprites and helps them remember to wash fruits before snacking. Fill the sink (not too full!) with cool water. Show how the lettuce holds tiny bits of dirt. Drop the leaves into the sink.
After your child has sloshed away, he should shake out the clean leaves and drop them into a salad spinner.
Help him spin the lettuce dry, wrap it in a dish towel, and store it in your refrigerator's crisper. At dinnertime, he can retrieve the lettuce, put it in a salad bowl, and add a measured amount of dressing.
Mixing
Making cinnamon toast introduces kids to basic mixing. Help your child measure into a bowl 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons cinnamon. Let him mix them until the sugar turns evenly brown.
Using a funnel, he can pour the mixture into a shaker and replace the top. Let him then shake his cinnamon/sugar onto buttered toast.
Making Deviled Eggs
This favorite snack has a nice, quick-timing element and teaches a bit about mixing.
Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 tablespoon relish
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Paprika
Directions
Place the eggs in a pan of cold water with a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and have your child set the timer for three minutes. After it rings, turn off the heat. Let the eggs stay in the covered pan undisturbed until the water and eggs are cool.
Then your child can crack the eggs all over by gently tapping them on the counter and peeling off the shells. Cut the eggs in half and drop the yolks into a small bowl.
Using a fork, your child can mash the yolks with premeasured relish and mayonnaise. Help him fill the egg halves with the yolk mixture and sprinkle with paprika. Display proudly on a platter. Makes eight egg halves.
Additional Skills and Projects
Making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cream cheese on toasted bagels, chocolate milk, root beer floats, mixing and freezing fruit juice Popsicles, mashing potatoes, wiping off the counter, and rinsing jars in the sink.
The Chef's Apprentice is accustomed to being in the kitchen and is beginning to read. The best way for her to gain cooking knowledge is by helping out and observing. If she can read, she can assist you by reading recipes aloud as you whisk from cupboard to sink. This will help her learn cooking terms. She also can set out the correct amounts for all the recipe ingredients.
For the most part, the Apprentice can use the same equipment you do, but some tools are best when child-size.
Others, such as aprons, measuring cups, and spoons, make sweet rewards for a newly learned recipe. An index card box works well for storing recipes: The cards are easier to use than books, and the box will serve as a lifelong reference and souvenir for your child.
Skills to Learn
Measuring ingredients, stirring, mixing, beating, and folding
Safety Rules
- No handling knives, the stove, or appliances without adult supervision.
- Wash your hands before handling food.
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