Men in the Kitchen? That's crazy.

Here's an article from the Trib about men in the kitchen. I'm not sure how I feel about the off-handed sexist comments from the author. Perhaps she could whip us up something in the kitchen for us to critique? I hope she doesn't get paid by the word, this "article" is pretty short...

""Men cooking more, study finds

Posted by Emily Nunn at 3:10 p.m. CDT

There is a greater chance than any time in history that the man of the household will be cooking dinner tonight, according to The NPD Group, a consumer information company that included a helpful bar graph with their recent press release, just in case you don’t believe words alone.

Women still cook 78 percent of the meals prepared at home, says the study, but since 1993 man-made in-home meals have leapt a full 4 percent. The study did not mention whether any of these men were professional chefs, nor did it mention a strict definition of the terms “prepare” or “dinner.”

But one finding was crystal clear: with the increase has also come a rise in year-round grilling. So a lot of men cooking “in the home” are actually cooking “outdoors,” something that has probably been true since beginning of culinary history, i.e., the discovery of fire. (Pardon the sexist attitude, and correct us if we’re wrong.)

We’d love to hear from male home chefs: what’s for dinner 18 percent of the time?""

Link: http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/thestew/2008/04/men-cooking-mor.html

The NPD Group is a market research firm. I remember taking that survey a few months ago. They asked a number of question trying to determine information as to how many meals were cooked at home, by whom and such information that they are probably selling to groceries and other related businesses.

I got the survey as well. For what it's worth, I do 100% of the dinner cooking (on at-home nights). My wife is a talented but very occasional baker, with little time for it, as a very committed public school teacher.

LTH has actually decreased the price and increased the selection of the items I bring home (Freddy's, Cuban sandwiches, Cemitas Puebla, LTH, Birria, Honky Tonk) when we do takeout, but is responsible for raising the price of what I cook from scratch, since I have to have certain ingredients in stock now (from guanciale and aged saba to dried anchos and porcini, and everything in between). On the whole, this probably evens out costwise, while leaving us better fed in all dimensions.

They also aren't considering men who cook meals as part of their jobs: e.g. chefs, cooks, firefighters, etc. (not to say women don't also cook in these instances)

I find funny - most of the guys I work with do the family cooking. I've been to a number of weddings and talking to the bride/groom - the bride doesn't cook. Most of these people are between 25-35.

I'm lucky in that my wife and I both cook - and generally speaking cook together. Been that way since Day 1.

My wife is not much of a cook, couple that with the fact that I get home two hours earlier than her, and it's easy to see why I cook all of the meals.

She is getting much better at baking though, which is great, well maybe not for my belly size.

brandon_w wrote:...couple that with the fact that I get home two hours earlier than her, and it's easy to see why I cook all of the meals.

Makes sense. A couple of the people I know their wives don't work outside of the house....

Strictly anecdotal, not based on research, but it seems to me that the biggest difference in male and female home cooks is motivation.

Of the 78 percent of women who are doing most of the home cooking, a lot of them do it because they perceive getting dinner on the table is their "job," whether they like it or not. That's why women are more likely to be devotees of the "quick and easy" school of cooking.

Men are less likely to feel preparing dinner is an obligation, and either cook or not according to their inclination.

That is, in households where the woman doesn't cook or there is no woman, meals are cooked by men only if the men enjoy cooking. Otherwise, dinner is likely to be restaurant fare or home-meal replacements.