Dave Jones wrote:
> Hi
> I am a single male living on convenience meals at present and I would like
> to start cooking proper meals (like mother used to do). Does anyone know of
> any websites or books which explain cooking right from the basics please.


You can't do better than _Joy of Cooking_, still in print and available
everywhere.


Can you remember a favorite meal that your mother used to make? It will
be easier to search for recipes than for cooking basics.


The trouble with trying to learn cooking conceptually (like you're
asking) is that there are too many places to start that don't offer
edible results.


For example, a basic cooking method is boiling, and if you wanted to
start there, you could start with understanding the different ways of
boiling water (different sorts of containers, different heat sources),
what happens to different sorts of foods when they're boiled, the effect
of altitude on boiling water, the effects of hard and soft water, etc.
All of that would be basic; none of that would be important to making a
meal like mother used to, and none of that would bring you any closer to
dinner.


Better to start with a recipe.


--Lia