A survey conducted by Cinch Home Services found that although millennials considered themselves the most adventurous in the kitchen, they knew little about food safety and cooking.
Researchers gathered about 1000 people of all adult ages to determine how the pandemic had changed their cooking habits. They found that 52.6% of the participants cook at home more often, with 28% saying they always cooked at home.
After analysing the results, researchers found that millennials were least likely to cook. They are also the most likely to order food.
Respondents fail cooking quiz
Despite being less frequent cooks, millennials rate themselves at 6.4 out of 10 when it comes to being adventurous in the kitchen. Generation X rated themselves at 6 and boomers at 5.9.
About 60% of the participants failed a quiz testing their kitchen knowledge. The quiz tested them on the right temperature for cooking meat, safety and basic cleaning. Millennials had the worst results. Researchers noticed that results got worse as the participants got younger.
About 2 in 3 millennials failed the quiz. Among Gen X, 58% failed and 48% among boomers. Without considering age as a factor, about 70% of the respondents didn’t know the correct temperature to cook beef, with about half admitting to thawing frozen meat in an unsafe manner. Researchers found that more had a meat thermometer in comparison to a fire extinguisher.
When it came to cleaning, some admitted not throwing out their cleaning sponges frequently (36%). Another 1 in 3 (primarily millennials) believed in the ‘5-second rule’.
Common mistakes made in the kitchen
Researchers also asked about the most common mistakes respondents made in the kitchen. They found that 56.8% put too much salt or seasoning in a dish, 51% did not have enough salt, 51% forgot an ingredient, 50% failed to turn the oven off, and 49% found hair in their food.
Among the respondents, men were more likely to give someone food poisoning with their cooking, while Gen X respondents frequently dropped non-food items in their food. Women and baby boomers were more likely to start a fire in the kitchen.
