How do you cook without using recipes?

Some people just have that inherent skill, but I want to learn it. I wish I could just go up to a stove, get random ingredients that I KNOW will taste good together, and make up something out of the blue.How do you cook without using recipes?
Practice, practice, practice. Start cooking from recipes, eventually you develop your own tastes for what you think would go together well.How do you cook without using recipes?
Start with cooking with recipes. Also, sit down and read some good cookbooks. Some of my favorites are the Better Homes %26amp; gardens cookbook, the Pillsbury's Best is great, and I have an old one that's a standard, the New York Times Cookbook by Craig Claiborne. Another old standard is ';The Joy of Cooking'; and the food network chefs have all published cookbooks, too. You'd be surprised how much of a feel for cooking you can get just reading (and trying out) different recipes. Watch the Food Network on TV and watch their videos on their website (www.foodnetwork.com.) After a while, you know what you like and can experiment, and get a ';feel'; for what goes well together. But first you need cooking and baking basics. My Mom taught me, and I'm lucky, I feel like I have ALWAYS cooked. Once you start cooking a lot and especially reading and watching other people cook, you can start experimenting. You might also want to look into taking a brief cooking class in your local community college or some High Schools have night courses.
start by cooking with recipes then eventually you will get the hang of it and used to it !
It's like riding a bike,... practice makes perfect... watch your mom, grandma..not sure how old u are..but... My spagetti/meatballs taste just like my gram's... To die for.... have them teach you...
U have to learn all the fundamets of cooking, then u can experiment by ur own instint... its more easy than u think!!!
one word.......Practice!
Its kind of like playing music, you don't start by writing your own songs and improvising. You get a basic knowledge of music, and once you understand it you can build on it.
I think you just answered your own question, didn't you?
all it takes is practice, some imagination %26amp; a little common sense--the more you cook , the more you'll learn what flavors go well together, how much seasoning you prefer etc.
I pretty much cook with no recipes. My motto is if you put complimentary ingredients into something it has to taste good. Do a little experimenting and season to taste. Don't be afraid to try. Some of the best dishes are made by accident.
The only way you will learn to cook in this fashion is start young and watch and listen.I started as a dishwasher in a busy restaurant and watched the cooks every chance I had and finally when one quit I was asked to try and take his place and I did and went on to own my own restaurant for many years. So watch your mom your grandmother your wife or girlfriend and start by adding a little flavor at a time you can always add more put you can't take it out
You know how to cook without recipes from doing it over and over.As you get older cooking every day it just comes to you.Even the seasoning part, you will just know how much to add.The problem is then you can not tell some one your recipes.Now that sucks.Good question hang in there you'll see what I mean.
You need to cook a lot of recipes first before you know how much of what to use and what tastes good together.
Experience and experimentation. Try different things, learn from your mistakes (and successes!), and make sure you know the basics of cooking. For example if you know the science behind making a basic sauce, you can do all sorts of things to vary it. Recipes limit people, chances are if you think something will taste good, it will, or if you think it tastes good, then other people will too!
JD, that comes with practice, which includes trial and error...many, many errors!





You learn from experience what works well together.


You learn from experience what the best way is to cook your food and for how long.





I love to cook, and I enjoy being creative. I still have disasters in my kitchen (the most recent being setting my kitchen on fire when sauteeing with the wrong oil).





I started cooking by picking up some easy cookbooks from the library. A few years later, I now have a magnificent collection and I still use them very regularly.





www.CookingLight.com





The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American.
just like the rest of us trial and error and it is wise to take notes for yourself on what does work for you i.e. seasoning and spices. always go lite you can add more but you can't take it back once its in.
Think of a casserole, it's fun to taste the outcome of an experiment. Breakfast casseroles are always a hit at my house. Try new herbs -n-veggies vs. salts -n-such.


Start small and before you know it different ingredients will jus fit.
You just think of foods %26amp; flavors you like together %26amp; create a combo of those. Or take a standard recipe %26amp; add to it. truth be told I never make anything the same twice, might come close.
sounds like you can do it. you can always add a little of this or a little of that to make it taste better. yum yum
One way is to memorize recipes. The way I got to be able to do it is by making food a lot, so I know by smelling what something tastes like (usually) Also, don't be afraid to lick your fingers (washing them frequently, of course) But that doesn't help when making raw meat or something :P Also learn to estimate amounts with your eyeball, go with what looks good. It'll take practice. Hopefully your victims--er-- critics will be gracious when you mess up, cuz you''ll prob mess up a couple hundred times ;)
you start with some recipe and and you add you own flavor. i hope you succeed Bonn appetite..
Read a lot of recipes or watch cooking shows so you start understanding and sensing what commonly goes together. Then when you start experimenting, you'll have a basic framework. After that, it's trail and error. Have fun!
It just takes experimentation and time. Play around with different spices and oils. Look at other great recipes and see the different combinations that are used that taste great. Use your imagination. Some great combos are, sweet sauce/spicy seasoning, olive oil seared garlic with lemon zest, bbq sauce with brown sugar. Cooking is so much fun when you can be the creator.
I don't really think it's an inherent skill. I feel that if you cook often enough, you will become really familiar with your ingredients, what compliments, what brings out the flavour and what is good to use to counteract some taste or smell. I also think that you have to love food! If you love food, you will be the sort who will seek out places to try new tastes and smells, and from there you will learn too. :)
I watched my mama, and both grandmamas do it. I do it today a pinch of this, a dash of that etc, and of course always taste testing.Have to feel comfy in the kitchen
I think you just answered your own question...it take years of cooking to be able to cook without using recipes.
I think it just comes down to experience.





You have to experiment a lot and try new things to get an idea of how certain ingrediants are going to interact, etc. It's obviously not a skill you can gain overnight, but if you're interested in cooking it's a fun process. Just jump right in!
Taste Testing, Trial and Error, Process of Elimination, Try,Try Again, plus Years of Experience!
You can do it! I do it alot..especially when we are low on food in the house and we have a week before shopping day. I usually pull some stuff out of my freezer and cupboards and create something.





Sure it take practice...but once you get a hang of it, you will turn into a pro!
Honey, I wish I could tell you. I don't measure because I grew up around GREAT country cooks. I always watched them%26amp; asked a Lot of questions.I had a great desire to cook all these fantastic foods. It just went from there.
go to school and become a chef