The world of cooking has always been in contact with that of the media . For many years, the most prestigious chefs have published their recipes in magazines and in the press, they have explained the secrets of their excellent dishes on the radio, and they have also delighted the viewers by cooking in front of a camera for a television channel. TV. Everyone has in their heads several proper names of recognized chefs.
Today, in the Internet age, things have changed a bit. Although at the same time this cook-media binomial still reaps success, with the arrival of the web and social networks the way of transmitting all this knowledge has been radically modified: there is no longer one-way (from the chef to the audience), but rather multi-way (the audience itself makes the recipes, which are published and shared on all kinds of websites), turning us from taxpayers to extremely active subjects .
According to a study carried out by DaWanda , the leading online store portal for handmade products in Europe, about the habits of Spaniards, 1 in 3 of those surveyed learn to cook every day thanks to the Internet. The accessibility of online content has opened new opportunities to find a new social experience in the kitchen . In this article we will discuss some of the most used resources that can help us the most to become good cooks and, why not, become true experts in the field.
According to the same study, the method most used by Spaniards to learn to cook is, for 32.3%, to consult specialized websites and blogs , while the second is to resort to video tutorials (14.4%). We will talk about these two cases and also about online courses and mobile applications on this subject.
Specialized websites and blogs
Currently we can find countless websites and blogs specialized in cooking topics. Each and every one of them is different but they stand out for presenting the culinary process as something didactic, interesting, attractive and original.
Those responsible for the vast majority of the best-known cooking websites are anonymous citizens with a culinary vocation who have managed to make a name for themselves in this world and have made their blog count with a large number of visits.
Some reference examples may be, for example, Rechupete Recipes , whose author is Alfonso, a Galician based in Madrid who tells us the recipes with simplicity and closeness. Another example of a successful blog is Mikel López Iturriaga, surely the one with the best written texts; Mikel is a journalist and a great cook and runs EI Comidista , which belongs to the newspaper El País. Other sites outstanding could be DRESSING (which began in 2006 , two friends Segovia and currently have more than 5 million page views every month), Lola in the Kitchen , Cooking with Catman , Huilit’s Cuisine (vegan cuisine) or, those who know English, I am a Food Blog and Love and Lemons , among many others.
On the other hand, there are also successful websites run by prestigious chefs , who have found a new window online to show the world their culinary capabilities. We could highlight, from the outset, Cocina con Sergio , by Sergio Fernández, the most famous cook on TVE; the blog called Fill your life with color , led by Samantha Vallejo-Nájera, an Arzak student and jury on the MasterChef television program . Martin Berasategui or the British Jamie Oliver , prestigious authors, have also joined the use of the web to share their knowledge.
Video tutorials
Videos have become the kings of the Internet. The multimedia content is what attracts more people and has more virality. It is for this reason that, within the rise of online cooking, making good video tutorials explaining how to prepare a dish step by step has become a well-known formula.
These audiovisual capsules can be found both within the blogs and specialized websites themselves, and directly on YouTube , where there is a wide range of channels dedicated exclusively to culinary art.
With a simple presentation, a quality image and close explanations, there are some channels that accumulate millions of reproductions.
One of the best is, for example, EI Cocinero Fiel , with 25 million reproductions, visually cared videos and a very pleasant way of counting recipes, with anecdotes and good advice. Another prominent channel is Canal Cocina , with more than 8.5 million views, and which houses the recipes that are broadcast on the famous satellite television channel. We could also highlight the channels Recieps of Cuisine , Yumland , MJ’s recieps or Cupcake Maniacs , focused on baking.
Online courses
The Internet offers us a wide range of websites to study and learn any subject from home, including gastronomy. The offer of online courses is very wide, since they are a flexible and economic way to train and there are no geographical distances.
Typing it in the search engine, we will see that many options will quickly appear. Depending on what we are looking for, we can find courses on well-known platforms such as 68 Grados , Aprendum or AulaFacil . In addition, with this current fever for cooking, other websites have emerged in recent months powered by renowned authors, such as Creative Signatures , a page that offers courses taught by great chefs such as Jordi Roca or Carles Gaig. The popular television show, MasterChef, also has its own online course platform, called Escuela Master Chef and directed by Jordi Cruz.
Applications
The traditional recipe book is falling into oblivion, while the number of apps dedicated to culinary art lovers grows every day. We have selected some of the most outstanding:
– All my recipes : It is a very complete app (45,000 recipes), for Android and for iOS , which allows you to search for them by type, country, ingredients, time, difficulty, etc. Its main feature is that, with a single touch, you can add the ingredients to a personalized shopping list to check it on your mobile when you go to the supermarket.
– What do I cook today? : Available for Android and iOS , this Spanish application collects more than 3,000 cooking recipes for all levels (easy, intermediate, chef) and includes explanatory photos and videos. It offers the possibility of listening to the audio of the recipe to prepare it while cooking.
– Kitchen Channel : It is the application of the popular kitchen channel. We will find more than 20,000 recipes prepared by great chefs in this country, but also recipes made by users, since the tool allows anyone to post them online. Available for Android and iOS .
– Epicurious : It is the app version of the online cookbook that bears the same name. It has a database of almost 30,000 recipes with a clear protagonist: international cuisine. Epicurious, which is for Android and iOS , has reached 30 million downloads worldwide.
As we have seen, the options that exist are very numerous. Learning to cook well only depends on having some time and, above all, on our desire to improve. We just have to choose which method best suits our preferences and get our hands on the dough.
