Five Benefits of Learning How to Cook

This week in my Japanese class I was assigned to write a short essay on one of my hobbies. Since I wrote the essay in English to get my thoughts out, I figured I’d put it on my blog as well. So here it is:

My new favorite hobby is learning how to cook. The many benefits of knowing how to cook a good meal are a joy to discover. I put down a few of these benefits below with the hope that my readers would enjoy them as much as I do.

1. Most obviously, cooking draws a crowd. If you’re the kind of person who enjoys having company over, knowing how to cook something tasty will open many opportunities to entertain and care for people.
2. Without much trouble cooking can feed you for less money than dining out. Home-cooked meals can stretch and leftovers can be put in the fridge or freezer to be eaten later. I’ve learned from my roommate that cooking something large on the stove-top will often feed you for a week.
3. At home you can easily adjust your diet to eat healthy. Since you’re the cook, choosing healthy ingredients and cutting back on things like sugar and salt is a snap.
4. In the long run cooking may save a busy person time. If you cook often then you probably have more food on hand at any given time which means you can put together more on-the-spot meals and skip the time that may have been spent looking for a restaurant, driving there, and waiting for a seat. If you have it on hand, you can just eat it.
5. Learning to cook new cuisines is a fun way to connect with people from all over the world. While learning how to make Japanese Curry, for example, I connected with Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and people, who all had something to share about curries.

Cooking is a rewarding hobby. I encourage everyone to try it and see its benefits. Of course, the best thing about it is seeing your friends eat what you made.

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