[mercer]

A friend of mine once remarked that I would probably love baking, and that I might want to start with that before I move on to cooking. Why? Because, at least according to him, baking is more like chemistry, where doing it right means doing things exactly right, whereas cooking is generally more improvisational and free-form. For 'programmer types' he figured the former would be easier.

I took his advice, and baked a really good cheesecake. I would like to say I was hooked and kept going, but I didn't. But it was the first time I started to see the fun of making food, and I'm sure I'll pick it up again soon.

[andy_wrote]

I agree with that distinction. Also, making food for many people is much more rewarding than making food for just yourself. (When I do the latter, it's lots of work for 5-10 minutes of payoff, and I often find myself wishing I'd ordered instead.)

Many baked goods are easy to toss in a box and bring to the office or to friends' places. You're not going to bring a tureen of polenta to work and tell your colleagues to dig in for a midday snack.

[vonmoltke]

> Many baked goods are easy to toss in a box and bring to the office or to friends' places. You're not going to bring a tureen of polenta to work and tell your colleagues to dig in for a midday snack.

A nine-pound pork butt on the other hand...