Cooking kids

Tots to teens can learn skills to help in kitchen


(Karen Fernau/The Arizona Republic)


Kids who know their way around the kitchen can help their busy families sit down to a home-cooked meal. Teaching children to cook also can help a family save money by eating at home, instead of the more expensive option of grabbing dinner at a drive-through window or restaurant.

But at what age should kids begin chopping vegetables, planning meals and following recipes? We asked Linda Hopkins, owner of Les Petites Gourmettes Children's Cooking School in Scottsdale, to suggest age-appropriate cooking tasks for 2-year-olds to teenagers. Children mature differently, so weigh her recommendations against your child's capabilities. No matter the age, however, Hopkins recommends supervising children in the kitchen.

Ages 2 to 5

• Toddlers love to measure, mix and stir. If they are able, ask that they count every stroke out loud. This helps make sure they are not stirring too much or too little. And counting is one of the first steps in developing math skills.

• Let kids level off a cup of flour or teaspoon of sugar with a dull-edged dinner knife.

• With baking, toddlers are capable of using cookie cutters or cutting dough strips into slices with a dull knife.

• For safety, invest in a stool that locks in place, and insist that small children stand while cooking. Sitting on a countertop and standing on chairs, which can tip over easily, are invitations for accidents.

• Teach them to use the back of a teaspoon to spread peanut butter, mayo, butter and other toppings on bread.

• Allow kids to cut soft fruit, like bananas, with a kitchen knife.

• Begin teaching kids to clean up after themselves, a lesson that must be reinforced at every age. If a 3-year-old spills milk, give the child a cloth and teach how to mop up the mess.

Ages 6 and 7

• Allow the child to use a peeler to remove skins from vegetables and fruit, and to shred cheese with a grater.

• At this age, kids can use a hand mixer.

• Teach them to crack eggs by gently tapping the egg on the counter, not the edge of a bowl. In Hopkins' cooking classes, kids enjoy cracking eggs more than any other activity.

Ages 8 to 12

• Begin involving kids in menu planning and meal preparation. Ask them to select a simple recipe to make one night a week for dinner. Meal planning also includes writing a shopping list for ingredients.

• It's time to cook, following simple recipes.

• Teach them how to prep food for a recipe. In other words, learning to read the recipe from beginning to end and preparing the ingredients in advance.

• Kids can begin using the microwave; be sure they always remove food with a potholder or glove. A dish that initially feels cool enough to touch can turn scalding in a few seconds.

• This age group can use a sharp chef's knife for chopping. Remember, a sharp knife is safer than a dull knife; the latter forces a cook to be more aggressive.

• Kids can practice chopping skills by making a fresh salad for dinner.

• Teach kids that if they accidentally drop a knife, plate or hot pot, to let it hit the floor. Trying to catch any of these can cause serious injuries.

Ages 13 and older

• These kids should be able to plan, prepare, cook and serve a meal.

• Teenagers are busy, but most are capable of being responsible for at least one meal a week.

• Teach them the concept of clean-as-you-go. For example, to wash the bowl used to mix the hamburger with onions and spices for a meatloaf while the meal is baking. Teenagers and their parents can be overwhelmed if faced with cleaning up all the cooking and dining dishes after the meal.

• Cooking requires concentration, so discourage teenagers from talking on the phone or becoming engrossed in a television show while preparing dinner.

• Remember, even accomplished chefs occasionally botch a meal. If this happens, encourage the young chef to identify what went wrong. Let him or her learn a lesson, then call for pizza delivery.