Three in Ten Americans Love to Cook, While One in Five Do Not Enjoy It or Don’t Cook

From Harris Interactive

New York, N.Y. – July 27, 2010 - Whether it be a soufflé, a spaghetti carbonara or just a perfectly flipped and folded omelet, for many Americans there is that one dish that is their signature one or the one they dream of perfecting. While four in five U.S. adults (79%) say they enjoy cooking, just three in ten (30%) say they love it and almost half (49%) say they enjoy it when they have the time. One in five Americans say they either do not enjoy cooking (14%) or do not cook (7%).

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,503 adults surveyed online between May 10 and 17, 2010 by Harris Interactive.

Certain groups love cooking more than others. Perhaps because they have more time, 33% of Matures (those 65 and older) love cooking, compared to 28% of Baby Boomers (those 46-64), who are possibly being pulled in many directions. Men are more likely to say they love cooking (32% versus 28% of women) perhaps because the daily chore of cooking dinner may not fall on their shoulders.

Frequency of cooking

Many Americans enjoy cooking, but how often do they actually do it? Two in five (41%) say they prepare meals at home five or more times a week and three in ten (29%) do so three to four times a week. One in five (19%) of U.S. adults prepare meals at home one to two times a week and 11% say they rarely or never prepare meals at home.

There is a generational difference in frequency of preparing meals at home. Over half of Matures (52%) cook at home five or more times per week, yet younger Americans do so with less frequency-just 33% of Echo Boomers (those aged 18-33) cook at home five or more times per week. When they are cooking at home, just over one in five (22%) say they often cook only for themselves, while three-quarters (76%) often cook for their family and 22% often cook for friends.

How people cook

Among those who prepare meals at home, four in five (81%) say they cook what they are familiar with very often. There is also the issue of cutting corners to save time; three-quarters of those who prepare meals at home (75%) say they very often or occasionally will use pre-prepped and/or frozen ingredients and kitchen appliances such as microwaves and toaster ovens to both speed up the process and clean-up involved.

Looking at where inspiration is gained, 22% of those who prepare meals at home say they very often look for and use new written recipes to try new foods and techniques while almost half (46%) say they are likely to do so occasionally. One in five (20%) say they often gain inspiration from food-related articles, online postings and cooking shows, but do not follow their recipes exactly, while two in five (41%) say they occasionally do this.

So What?

Given the popularity of cooking shows and Americans not dining out as much to save money, cooking at home has probably increased over the past year or so. But, is it more of a necessity or do people actually enjoy it? Very few hate it, but considering the proliferation of cooking channels and cooking shows, one might expect more people to actually say they love to cook. Maybe this is one of those times where people enjoy watching others do what they themselves cannot do or do not like to do.

TABLE 1

ENJOYS COOKING

“On another topic, how much do you enjoy cooking?”

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 2

PREPARES MEALS AT HOME

“How often do you prepare meals at home?”

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 3

COOKING PRACTICES

“How often do you do the following?”

Base: Prepares meals at home

Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 4

FREQUENT COOKING PRACTICES

“How often do you do the following?”

Percent saying “very often” or “occasionally”

Base: Prepares meals at home

Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 5

COOKS FOR WHOM

“Who do you often prepare food for?”

Base: Prepares meals at home

Methodology

This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between May 10 and 17, 2010 among 2,503 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.

The Harris Poll ^® #93, July 27, 2010

By Regina Corso, Director, The Harris Poll, Harris Interactive

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Geek Baker Stats:

• I’m a woman and 28 years old – apparently an Echo Boomer
• I LOVE cooking/baking.
• I am inspired by food-related articles and online posts – not much of a tv watcher….
• I cook proper full meals) at  home 3 times a week.  (I live alone so I eat a lot of leftovers.)  I eat dinner at home 5-6 days a week.
• As previously mentioned, I cook only for myself.
• I love to try new recipes.  I love expanding my repertoire of foods and techniques.

What are you stats?

I had a great weekend with my parents in town visiting.  We went to a Cubs game, walked around various neighborhoods, attended the Gold Coast Art Festival, and enjoyed a plethora of delicious vegan goodies.  (My parents are both meat-eaters but are always more than willing to eat vegan with me!)

• Friday night included a trip to the Pick Me Up Cafe just down the block.  The three of us sampled and shared a spinach & pesto pizza, a gnocchi dish, and a really tasty falafel sandwich.  Everything tasted great and the price was completely reasonable considering the portion size.  Plus, the laid back retro hipster decor makes everyone feel welcomed.
• Saturday my parents indulged me and we drove to Lincoln Park so I could sample some of the vegan goodies at the famous Bleeding Heart Bakery.  Bleeding Heart is an organic bakery that uses local ingredients as much as possible and has a decent selection of gluten-free and vegan items.  We got the Take a Hike scone, a Banana Walnut Teacake, and a slab of Peanut Butter Chocolate ‘Cheese’cake.  We all gave the first two items 2 thumbs up.  The scone was dense and crumbly and grainy and chewy and perfect for dunking into coffee.  The teacake was incredibly moist and had huge chunks of toasted walnuts.  The ‘cheese’cake was just okay.  I know one shouldn’t expect miracles when the main ingredient for a dessert has to be substituted, but it just wasn’t as creamy as a normal dairy cheesecake.  Yet, we all ate it and thought it was pretty good in its own right and had they called it a Peanut Butter Chocolate Cream Bar instead of cheesecake I may have been able to view it more positively as its own kind of creature.  Overall, I thought the Bleeding Heart Bakery was great.  It has a great mission, great atmosphere, and unique, tasty treats.  Here’s a link to their menu.
• Sunday night brought us to the Chicago Diner.  The Chicago Diner has long been touted as Chicago’s favorite all-vegetarian (and very nearly all-vegan) restaurant.  Its easy to see why: Great location in the heart of Boystown.  Great 50′s decor.  Outstanding service. (Seriously, best waitstaff I’ve had in all of Chicago.)  Tremendous food and drinks.   Chicago Diner is the vegan restaurant your meat-eating friends will actually be excited to go to.  They serve a few naturally vegan dishes (like Avocado Tostadas and Roasted Garlic Gnocchi) but cater more to the crowd looking for that good, heavy, hearty, comfort food meal that can often come few and far between when eating a vegan diet.  This means there’s a lot of ‘fake’ (ie, soy-based) meat on the menu.  Case in point, here are the dishes we chose:  Sweet Potato Quesadilla, Lingine with Artichoke ‘Sausage’ Marinara, and the unhealthiest vegan dish ever created:  The Halfpipe:  A new invention. Inspired by the insane brilliance of Shaun White at The Olympics, The latest, greatest seitan creation from Executive Chef Kim Gracen is a open rustic fresh baked hoagie topped with a crispy country fried seitan steak, piled on french fried onions, lettuce, tomatoes & Twisted Chili Sauce. I’m not going to lie.  I was in the mood for something greasy and delicious.  This. Was. Outstanding.  The fried ‘steak’ was awesome, the french fried onions were piled ridiculously high, and that twisted chili sauce was perfect.  Plus, it was made in honor of Shaun White….and I do love me a cute redhead. 

A great time family seeing interesting sights and eating fabulous food.

I’m fairly certain our world would morph into a peaceful utopia if only everyone could enjoy the amazingness of Berry Chill frozen yogurt.

That is all.

…okay, I have to admit that I’ve put on a couple/few/several pounds in the past 2 months…  A few too many cupcakes (vegan or not), a few too many drinks, a few too many slices of everything…you get the idea.  Its time to get back on the healthy living wagon!

This means there will be very little baking in the house of Geek Baker until I can fit comfortably back into my pants.  I will be sure to post any new dishes but I tend to go back to the tried and true when getting back into healthy living.  Case in point, I’ve once again made Apple Walnut Lentil Loaf with a side a wheatberries for the next 6 or so lunches.  (They are in cute little containers and looking ridiculously organized in my freezer.)  And if you still haven’t made this….why not?

I’ll be sure to post any new dishes I do end up making, though!

Happy Baking!

I have the following on my camera and just haven’t had the time to post about them.  Soon!  I promise!

• Margarita Cupcakes (a great excuse to replenish your tequila supply)
• Hazelnut, Mocha-Mousse-Filled Cupcakes (MOCHA-MOUSSE-FILLED.  Need I say more?)
• Mexican Brownies (cayenne, almonds, dark chocolate…mmmmmmm)

Tonight I’m also making my Honey Cardamon Chicken, Feisty Green Beans and Chocolate Chip Cookies.……