When kids want to cook, it's a good idea to find recipes that are tailor-made for them. Picking a recipe solely by the delicious-looking picture is not the way to do it. They may find out too late that the recipe is really too complicated and they are in over their heads. This leads to cooking frustration and does not encourage budding chefs.
Here are some tips on how to decide if a recipe is a good one for your child to try:
1. Check out the number of ingredients.
Obviously the fewer ingredients there are, the easier the recipe will be. Look for 5 ingredients or less. Your new cook will generally fair better if the ingredients are ones your family is familiar with? If there are many ingredients, look them over and see if any can be eliminated or substituted to make it easier. For example, can they get by without adding the chopped onions? Or can they substitute a small handful of minced onions for the chopped onions?
2. Take a look at the number of items that need to be chopped, blended, or food processed.
If there is a lot of chopping involved, kids tend to lose interest while they wait for you to do it. A small amount of chopping can be done by kids after teaching them how to do so in a safe manner. You can also buy some vegetables already chopped and ready to go.
3. How do the recipe instructions look?
Are there lots of steps? Will the instructions be hard for your child to understand? Read it through and see if it makes sense to you. Next, ask your child to read it or read it to them if they don't read yet and get a measure of their understanding.
4. Are there pictures?
Some cookbooks will show a picture of the final masterpiece, while others will show pictures of each step. Pictures aren't necessary but they are so helpful to kids who might not understand some of the written instructions.
5. Does your child still want to try the recipe after reading it through?
Then go for it!
Help them when they need help and stand back when they don't. How much you hover will depend on their age, abilities, and previous cooking skills. Kids can pick up cooking know-how quickly if they cook fairly regularly. The key is to find recipes that are easy and quick for kids to do.
