TY - JOUR

T1 - Hybridity and change in cooking skills in everyday life

T2 - Conceptual contributions from a study of cooking with meal-box schemes

AU - Halkier, Bente

PY - 2021/10/1

Y1 - 2021/10/1

N2 - In a sizeable amount of public health and nutrition food research there seems to be an assumption that there has been a decline in cooking and cooking skills alongside an increase in the consumption of convenience-based meals. However, existing empirical sociological research on food in everyday life does not tend to support this picture. Instead, cooking and cooking skills in current everyday life are characterized by hybridity and change, rather than mere decline. Thus, it is necessary to draw upon an understanding of cooking skills that takes this empirically based understanding of cooking skills into account. In the article, four elements of skillfulness in cooking are suggested that can improve the analytical understanding of cooking skills in all kinds of food research. The four suggested cooking skills elements are the following: Balancing rules and improvisation; handling planning and organizing flexibly; assembling meals from different sources; and handling normative food issues. The analysis and conceptual suggestions of the article is based upon an empirical qualitative study of use of meal-box schemes in Denmark, and is informed by a practice theoretical perspective.

AB - In a sizeable amount of public health and nutrition food research there seems to be an assumption that there has been a decline in cooking and cooking skills alongside an increase in the consumption of convenience-based meals. However, existing empirical sociological research on food in everyday life does not tend to support this picture. Instead, cooking and cooking skills in current everyday life are characterized by hybridity and change, rather than mere decline. Thus, it is necessary to draw upon an understanding of cooking skills that takes this empirically based understanding of cooking skills into account. In the article, four elements of skillfulness in cooking are suggested that can improve the analytical understanding of cooking skills in all kinds of food research. The four suggested cooking skills elements are the following: Balancing rules and improvisation; handling planning and organizing flexibly; assembling meals from different sources; and handling normative food issues. The analysis and conceptual suggestions of the article is based upon an empirical qualitative study of use of meal-box schemes in Denmark, and is informed by a practice theoretical perspective.

KW - Cooking

KW - Cooking skills

KW - Meal-box schemes

KW - Everyday life

KW - Practice theory

KW - EATING PRACTICES

KW - FOOD PRACTICES

KW - HOME COOKING

KW - CONVENIENCE

KW - CONSUMPTION

KW - HEALTH

U2 - 10.1016/j.appet.2021.105311

DO - 10.1016/j.appet.2021.105311

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 34029672

VL - 165

JO - Appetite

JF - Appetite

SN - 0195-6663

M1 - 105311

ER -