Are Millennials Really as Food-Focused as We Think?

A new study commissioned by Porch.com found that just over half of millennials surveyed were able to identify a garlic press and a salad spinner, and knew how many teaspoons are in a tablespoon. 

Three-quarters don't know how to peel a potato with a knife, 80% don't know how to melt chocolate and 91% say they'd have difficulty following a recipe.  

An article in The Washington Post blames the lack of food knowledge and skills partly on the rise of technology. They say that “with the internet so easily accessible, young people don't have to learn kitchen skills as thoroughly as previous generations did. Young people may be cooking, but they're not retaining knowledge of the skills they are using.” 

Benjamin Storm, Ph.D., an associate psychology professor at the University of California at Santa Cruz, told The New York Post, "Blame it on a factor called 'cognitive offloading'—relying on Google or Pinterest to remember a recipe or technique for you, rather than committing it to heart. Offloading robs you of the opportunity to develop the long-term knowledge structures that help you make creative connections, have novel insights and deepen your knowledge. The unappetizing result: rote, uninspired dishes that would make your granny scoff.'" 

So in this era where YouTube and Instagram seems to be driving more and more interest in food, you have to question, is this a bad thing? For the true foodie, of course, it is decimating. But to be able to raise food consciousness to the highest level it's ever been, to have people experimenting with different cuisines and caring about where their foods come from, I think that’s a good thing.