For people starting from zero
This is not a recipe collection. It is what you actually need to learn a technique: what to buy, why, what happens at which temperature, and where things usually go wrong. Written for someone who has never cooked before.
From choosing thickness to internal temperature, from the equipment list to the rules of marinating — all on one page. Written for your first steak, structured so you can come back to the tables for your second.
No guide here tells you to buy a particular brand. It tells you "base at least 4 mm, one-piece cast handle" — information that stays true when the brands change.
Timings are a guide; temperature makes the decision. Every guide gives measurable thresholds: °F and °C, grams, inches, minutes.
Price lists go stale within a month. We publish budget bands with the date they were compiled, and shop links go to search results rather than a single listing.
Every guide has a "later" and a "never" section. The biggest expense for a beginner is equipment they did not need.
The four guides link to each other: technique guides point at equipment, equipment guides point back at technique. Start anywhere.
Searing means cooking a dry-surfaced steak at least 1 inch thick in a fully preheated pan without moving it, then deciding when to pull it using an internal thermometer.
Salt meat either immediately before it goes in the pan or at least 40 minutes ahead; in the window between, the surface stays wet and no crust can form.
For most beginners the right choice is a 10–12 inch cast iron skillet with a base at least 4 mm thick: it stores heat, holds temperature when meat goes in, and can move to the oven.
Most home kitchens need only an 8-inch chef’s knife, a small paring knife and a serrated bread knife; what keeps them sharp is a honing rod, the right board and hand washing.
This site is written for someone discovering cooking as a hobby, or cooking for themselves for the first time.
Terms are explained: searing, dry brining, carryover cooking, fond. No step assumes you already know.
A kitchen can be built from three pans and three knives. What is essential, what can wait and what you never need are listed separately.
A dish that works sometimes and fails other times almost always hides one unmeasured variable. These guides point at that variable.
A collection of cooking technique guides for beginners, published in Turkish and English. Each guide covers one subject — a technique or a group of equipment — from start to finish.
Everything is free and no account is required. You are never asked to sign up, and no comments or email addresses are collected.
We recommend specifications rather than brands: size, material, thickness, hardness — criteria you can verify. Shop links go to a retailer search rather than a specific listing. There are no affiliate links and no sponsored content on this site.
Exact prices become misinformation within weeks. We publish budget bands instead, and state the date on which they were compiled.
For red meat the figures are a matter of preference. For chicken (165 °F / 74 °C) and ground meat (160 °F / 71 °C) they are safety thresholds and not optional. When in doubt, cook to the higher temperature.
Guides are written one at a time and in depth; the point is not how many there are but that each one goes all the way. Next up: cooking chicken, pan sauces and using the oven.