“What’s your cooking personality?”
Posted by mike | Filed under Links
I can’t take credit for the title. It comes from of a piece in today’s New York Times Health and Wellness section that I read…well, early this morning when I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t sleep. Actually, the title comes from a related blog post from the author, but this post is all about that question.
The options, which come out of Cornell’s Food and Brand Lab, lie in five main categories…
- Giving
- Methodical
- Healthy
- Competitive
- Innovative
This particular study focused on a single member of a family that serves as the “gatekeeper” to food. Different gatekeepers have different styles and different goals, and they can have a huge impact on the health of their whole family.
It’s all in the categories. To me, the gatekeeper idea is obvious. I was more interested in the categorization, which is further expanded upon in the author’s blog. What struck me is how much I can identify with some of the categories. In general, I think I’m an innovative cook–at least when I’m at home and cooking for close friends. When I have people over or want to bring something to my friends, I turn into a giving cook. Brett, my good friend and housemate (GFAH? GFH?), is most definitely a methodical cook.
Innovative is good. I fall into the category because I try new things. I experiment. I pay much attention to what ingredients I’m using and what I do with them. Innovative cooks tend to be healthy (and help their families eat healthy as wel). They tend to care about the quality and nutritional content of the ingredients they use.
Giving is bad. The giving cook primarily aims to make people happy. He or she will make what people most want to eat. Little attention is paid to how healthy the end result is. Think of the person that prepares a meal without taking advantage of any healthy options–hoping that they can throw in all possible badness and maximize the immediate pleasure of their unhealthy family.
It really depends on my mood. When I’m depressed or feeling unwanted, I become Mr. giving cook himself. That’s not the only reason I might be a giving cook, so don’t feel bad if I’ve ever baked you a cake. I hope that I’m a special occasion giver. I’ll try to bake you a freakin’ amazing cake on your birthday, but, if I invite you over for dinner, I’ll make a concerted effort to at least make sure everyone has a healthy option. Hell, I might even serve that birthday cake with homemade frozen yogurt with minimal sugar content. Maybe that’s just because I’m only thinking of myself. After all, I’ll be eating the food at my party too.
How about you? Which category do you land in? No really, post a comment and let me know.
