Re: Training Centers
This post is probably going to be zero help since you're looking for advice on training centers, and I've never been near one. But here are some tips and things I did when I was leaving home and learning. Many skills only come from practice and experience.
Spacial perception is important. Touch the cold burners of the stove. memorize where they are. Learn your clocks; 3:00 is medium high, 6:00 is medium on the stove dial (generally). Practice pouring a full pot of cold water into a strainer sitting in the sink basin so you can get the feel of the space. Kick everyone out of the kitchen and explore it. Feel up all the appliances. Reach into the cold oven and learn where everything is. Touch the heating elements. Pull the racks in and out. Feel the rack grooves along the sides. Feel the space in between the top and middle rack.
I started out cooking from cold to hot. I'd pour in a little oil (my grandma told me a cap full). I'd cut up the hotdogs, put them in the pan, and only then turn on the stove to medium, or whatever. I knew they were done when I felt them being crispy against my stirring tool. I did a lot of taste testing at first. I probably ate some raw hotdogs. I've tasted undercooked pasta. It taught me what times to use in future.
When using the oven, wear long sleeves. Get an elbow-length oven mit. Pull out the rack, do your thing, and then push it back in and close the door. I blistered my arm once really well before I learned about pulling the rack out.
Let your water cool before straining if you're nervous. Even today, when pouring tea into a pitcher, I'll let the pot cool so I can brace it against my arm and hold the pitcher steady with my other hand so I know where it is.
I was terrified of being burned at first. With practice, I learned how to carefully explore. When looking for the edge of a hot pot, I'll hold out two fingers and aim to hit the edge lower down on my finger , not the tip. Practice with cold pots first. Eventually, fill all four burners with cold full pots until you can find them with relative ease.
You need to become comfortable with the space you're working in. Practice as much as you can safely with cold nine by thirteen baking dishes in and out of the oven. Because you have to use both hands, those can be tricky. Realize that bad things will happen, and it's ok. I get popped on my bare arms by hot grease pretty regularly. Now that it's happened, I'm not nervous about it. I've singed my fingers on pots before, so now it's no big deal. I probably overcook my ground beef, (for ten minutes), but I want to be very sure the texture is good and crumbled so I know it's done. You will rely on exact timing at first. Something may say to bake for twenty minutes. You'll eat it, it won't be done, and you'll know in future to cook it longer.
In summation of the ramble, I love cooking. I love the kitchen. I taught myself to cook by first becoming very familiar with my flat-topped stove and my oven. I worked with cold things first. I think that's an important first step to overcome the fear of being burned. You have to be comfortable and familiar. Learn your kitchen like you know your house. You don't have to flail around to find the fridge. When things are hot on the stove, reach with care, and try not to use your fingertips.
I hope that helped slightly anyway.
URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=166608#p166608
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