Bigger Isn't Always Better
By Marie Anne
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
United States
January 14, 2009 9:03am CST
... and higher isn't either.
What is is about men and cooking?
I have never seen a man that didn't think everything had to be cooked on 'high'.
If it goes in the microwave, they put it on high for 10 minutes. Doesn't matter what it is, that's where they start and of course the end result is lousy texture at best and no doubt splattered all over the microwave.
If they cook on the stove, the burner gets set to high and off we go! The food is cooked until it bears little resemblance to anything I'd even think of eating, it's stuck to the pan, and of course has bubbled over and left a mess on the stove.
Does your husband/father/brother/son do this?
Guys, what is it about cooking on high? Is is a testosterone thing that revs up with more horsepower?
12 people like this
49 responses
@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
14 Jan 09
that's it, for the men everything has to be big or it's not worth it!
My ex is a chef but he too had those tendencies UNTIL I got a set of those pans which retain the heat and cook by themselves with no heat aftet they reach a certain level. He couldn't work those so I took over in the domestic kitchen 
1 person likes this
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
14 Jan 09
Wow, he was a chef and still had issues? That adds credibility to my theory, then!
2 people like this
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
14 Jan 09
Oh yes, I forgot to add that those who are chefs or otherwise spend a lot of time in the galley are exempt from my comment.
I do know there are men who love to quick and do it well. My post is more about the Average Joe.
2 people like this
@koalatbs (2229)
• United States
14 Jan 09
Quick... cook... same difference. LoL! You mis-typed. ;) Yes, the average joe... "Joe the plumber" included, I'm sure do cook everything on HIGH! LoL... I made a funnyyy! Men usually want their food fast & right NOW... I think that's why they try to cook everything on high. Either that or they're just dumb.
@MagicGuy (157)
• United States
15 Jan 09
I can't believe the sexist comments you WOMEN are making. Most of the best chefs in the world are male. Besides, it's the opposite in my house, I have to teach my women to cook (teenagers and mother). I can't believe you are being sexist in this day and age. "Equal created He them" Take a long look around, and you'll see that too many women can't cook, as well as too many men.
@roniroxas (10560)
• Philippines
14 Jan 09
this is so true. to the fact that it is so true that i cant believe it. we see a lot of good, and wonderful (and handsome lol) chefs and cooks on tv whoare male and then we see males who cooks lousy in our own kitchen. my first born wanted to be a culinary expert but he always wanted to but the burner on high then walks away. so far he is okay already but still does it every now and then. they are so in a hurry that they want it to happen for a sec so they do this. it is irritating plus it is not easy to wash the pots when they are burned arrg
lol. Mine does it every time. Must be a guy thing.
Nothing is right unless it is bigger, excessive, or more powerful.
And of course not any good unless it is over priced.
Are they all alike?
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
14 Jan 09
I think so!
Like I said above, there are a few that are exempt, but for the 'typical' male, it seems to be the norm. Drives me nuts!
1 person likes this
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
15 Jan 09
Hey LdyJ! You are so right! I don't know why men insist on
turning up the flame to the highest no matter what they are
cooking! I tell my boyfriend this everytime he is cooking!
No matter what it is the flame is on high! And he always
ends up burning the pan! I tell him when he is cooking his
eggs to turn the flame down! The same with burgers! He just
still continues to turn the flame up the next time. If I
walk into the room and he's cooking I know what I'm going to
find and then he has the nerve to leave the pan for me to
clean! I just can't get it through to him no matter how
many times I tell him! So it must be a testosterone thing
and a brain thing too!
1 person likes this
@nielbullock (54)
• United States
15 Jan 09
That is not me... Well, I don't read the directions and I make a mess. My family eats the stuff, so it can't be that bad.
@p3halliwel2005 (3156)
• Philippines
14 Jan 09
My husband and children does cook but they know how to limit the fire when they're cooking. I think people tend to cook on high when they just want to get over with the cooking or are very hungry..lol.
@enola1692 (3323)
• United States
14 Jan 09
you must know my hubby he thinks cooking it on high will make it cook faster then he wants to know why is it dried out or why did it blow up
1 person likes this
@ladym33 (10979)
• United States
14 Jan 09
LOL, perhaps the word simmer is not in most men's vocabulary. Actually my husband was once a cook at a restaurant. He actually began cooking at age 16 and continued cooking till he graduated from college at 22. So he actually knows how to cook really well. He does not do it that often any more since that is now my job in the household, but every once in while he will cook, he is really careful and concise about everything. His food is always really good when he cooks.
1 person likes this
@gitfiddleplayer (10362)
• United States
14 Jan 09
You found us out! I don't know what excuses other guys want to use but I grew up in the Boy Scouts, we always cooked over a raging fire or a bed of coals. Its the same with grilling outside, I set it on high but then I monitor it so things don't burn. I'm a decent cook and I rarely burn things to the point of no recognition.
1 person likes this
@thebeaddoodler (4262)
• Lubbock, Texas
14 Jan 09
LOL, not all men are guilty of this. My Father was a fantastic cook who could make a tasty meal out of next to nothing and not make a mess doing it. My youngest son is a great cook who almost can rival his wife's cooking. . .without making a mess, but my oldest son is exactly what you describe. Or he was when he was at home. My youngest daughter who is 14 years younger than he is would go spend some time with him and their father in the summer and come home wanting DJ eggs for breakfast. I finally had to ask him how he cooked eggs. He admitted that he cooked them on high and they had that crusty little fringe around the edges. His reason was that he learned to cook when he was in school. I usually worked the morning shift and if he wanted breakfast he cooked it - on high because he always got up too late to do it "right".
1 person likes this
@benhilo (871)
• Tripoli, Libya
14 Jan 09
I am a man, I DO NOT cook everything on high! Maybe you need to get out more. Granted all the things you say about cooking on high is correct and that I was guilty of that When I first learned to cook. But I quickly learned the error of my ways and have not done it for many years. And mind you it did not take long to learn. I would image that those who cook on high dont care about what they are doing. All they want is the food done. A result of our fast pace, fast food society!
@3cardmonte (5098)
•
14 Jan 09
HA! maybe its the heat from their loins makng it cook quicker 
1 person likes this
@worldwise1 (14885)
• United States
15 Jan 09
You'll get no argument from me on that, Ldyjarhead!I remember that my ex used to set off the smoke detector every time he cooked. It got to the point that I was seriously considering banning him from cooking anything at all. I think that men associate a higher temperature with getting it done faster rather than doing it correctly.
I remember that my ex used to set off the smoke detector every time he cooked. It got to the point that I was seriously considering banning him from cooking anything at all. I think that men associate a higher temperature with getting it done faster rather than doing it correctly.
@phoenix25 (1541)
• United States
17 Jan 09
I don't know what it is, but cooking thing on high is a good way to end up with overcooked, rubbery meat. I have learned that cooking things on medium or lower is a safe bet and you end up with tender meat, depending on how slow you cook it. I don't ever use the high setting on my stove. I will only use setting 8 (medium-high) when I boil water. My husband doesn't cook very often. About the only thing he cooks is his home-made spaghetti sauce and he doesn't cook that on high either. His spaghetti sauce is really good, too!
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
14 Jan 09
they are just wired different than woman & not always for the best.lol
@UtopianIdealist (1604)
• United States
17 Jan 09
I think it might be a desire to have food more quickly. 
My partner doesn't do this, though anymore he does not cook as much. I catch myself "warming" something up at a high setting on the stove. I rarely change the power on the microwave.
My partner doesn't do this, though anymore he does not cook as much. I catch myself "warming" something up at a high setting on the stove. I rarely change the power on the microwave.
@TheCasualReporter (283)
• France
14 Jan 09
Boy has the world changed. Chauvanist rants and off-color sexist commentary based on crude stereotypes are now directed towards men by women. A man would be castigated for publishing something like this about a woman's competence driving a car, for example, citing her estrogen level as a cause. I guess equality has finally been achieved! You probably didn't mean to offend, but neither do most men when they blurt out chauvanist stereotypes about women. Interesting, trying the shoe on the other foot.
@TheCasualReporter (283)
• France
14 Jan 09
In truth I don't give a hoot. Honestly. I'm just observing that the wording of your post would offend many women if written by a man and the subject were, for example, how pathetically useless women are at performing routine basic maintenance on their car instead of how pathetically useless men are at cooking. I know it's all in fun, but do you not agree if the tables were turned, even in fun, some women would be offended?
What's also amusing is your response to my comment - "You've got to be kidding". That's exactly the response I would expect from a man if a woman were to express offense at his chauvinistic remarks. And perhaps rightfully so. I think the feminist movement has at times resulted in a level of hypersensitivity from some outspoken women that risks hampering effective inter-gender relations.
You seem a nice woman with a fun sense of humor and I don't want you to feel you should censor yourself, I just thought it an interesting twist, a sign of changed times that it didn't even occur to you that ridiculing the entire male population's cooking skills might be taken as offensive.
Again, I stress: I personally don't give a hoot. Just making an honest observation.
