More than half of adults fear a disaster when cooking

Watch the moment Alex Jones turns kitchen chaos into cooking with confidence in this funny video.

The self-confessed ‘terrible cook’ is the first to laugh at her kitchen mishaps from soggy rice and burnt pans to the occasional pasta meltdown.

But now, she’s proving that even the most accident-prone home cooks can master mealtime with these ‘before and after’ style recipes.

It comes after a poll of 2,000 adults who cook found more than half (55 per cent) fear a cooking disaster and dread the prospect of spilling ingredients, burning food - and forgetting to turn the oven on.

The study found undercooking meat or poultry (32 per cent), making rice too soggy (24 per cent) and leaving a pan to overboil (22 per cent) were also high on the list of cooking disasters that give them nightmares.

Among the other kitchen blunders are charred onions, scorched sauces and the all-too-familiar struggle of burning rice or making enough to feed an army.

While others confessed to trying to avoid burning garlic in seconds, overcooking pasta or getting the rice to water ratio wrong.

It also emerged 43 per cent said preparing weekday dinners and evening meals is one of their biggest cooking stresses.

What’s more, 60 per cent admit they find catering for more than four people daunting.

With 42 per cent admitting to avoiding certain meals completely because they were worried they would mess them up.

The research was commissioned by Ben’s Original which has launched its new microwave family packs and teamed with presenter Alex Jones to take on a cooking challenge and make cooking feel easy, not overwhelming.

The self-confessed terrible cook said: “It’s high time the nation turned cooking chaos into kitchen confidence. 

“Let’s face it, we’ve all had a kitchen disaster, and the more people at the table, the trickier it gets.

“Even simple meals can go sideways, that’s why having quick, reliable staples are a total lifesaver.
“They take the stress out of cooking and give families more time to actually enjoy being together around the table.”

The study also found 30 per cent aren’t confident when it comes to cooking new recipes.

With lack of experience (47 pr cent), fear of making mistakes (37 per cent) and not enough time (25 per cent) among the reasons why.

A further 46 per cent feel embarrassed about their cooking skills, with 33 per cent often feeling overwhelmed when cooking more than one dish at a time.

With timing everything correctly (30 per cent), getting all elements ready at the same time (29 per cent) and having to clean up afterwards (27 per cent) among the biggest stresses.

And as a result of a cooking disaster, 35 per cent have ended up having to throw away burnt food, opened windows to clear smoke (30 per cent) or eaten something they didn’t enjoy (24 per cent).

It was also found baking (26 per cent), desserts (19 per cent) and rice dishes (14 per cent) were among the things adults feel least confident cooking from scratch.

With 42 per cent admitting to avoiding certain meals completely because they were worried they’d mess them up.

But 35 per cent think more practice, clearer recipes (29 per cent) and step-by-step guides (25 per cent) would help them feel more confident in the kitchen.

And of those who took part in the study by OnePoll.com, 42 per cent are likely to find reliable shortcuts to make cooking less stressful.

TOP COOKING DISASTERS ADULTS FEAR:

1. Burning food
2. Undercooking meat or poultry
3. Making rice too soggy
4. Leaving a pan to overboil
5. Overcooking pasta
6. Forgetting something is in the oven
7. Making way too little food
8. Undercooking rice
9. Forgetting a recipe step
10. Burning rice
11. Spilling ingredients
12. Misreading the recipe steps and doing them out of order
13. Getting the ‘rice to water’ ratio wrong
14. Making way too much rice to feed an army
15. Reading a measurement as tablespoons instead of teaspoons (or vice versa)
16. Forgetting to preheat the oven
17. Overcrowding the pan
18. Forgetting to turn the oven on
19. Egg shell left in the pan
20. Not keeping an eye on chips in the oven
21. Not making enough rice for the meal
22. Not tasting as you go
23. Scorching a sauce
24. Using expired ingredients
25. Burning garlic
26. Charring onions
27. Using the wrong type of oil or fat
28. Not drying ingredients properly before frying
29. Chopping an onion too chunkily
30. Using sugar instead of salt