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Online cooking classes are hot this time of year. Here are the best ones

You achieve mastery through many small, confident steps forward. If you are a beginner, work on perfecting one technique at a time. As you gain proficiency, you can build upon your culinary skills by adding a new meal each week.

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With new post-holiday cooking toys and the pandemic still keeping people at home, you might be looking for ways to improve your cooking game. Many people also own state-of-the-art appliances but never use them to their fullest potential. An online cooking class can help you get the most out of your appliances and cooking-related gifts. 

Benefits of learning to cook

Once you learn to cook, you will be in full control of your diet and your health. When you create the meals, you know every ingredient that is in the recipe. As you learn more, it equips you with the knowledge needed to tweak meals, so they are even better. Additionally, cooking at home can save you money

Benefits of taking an online cooking class

Taking an online cooking class is one of the best ways to succeed. You can choose what you want to learn and work at your own pace, so there is no stress. However, the most important benefit is you will use your own appliances. You will not only learn how to cook but also how to get the most out of what you already own.

Find an online cooking class that suits your needs

There are so many cooking styles and techniques that it can be overwhelming for a beginner to choose a starting point. The best approach is to search for a course that targets your individual needs — you don’t have to learn everything at once. If you want to cook healthy meals that a child will love, for instance, look for a class that promises to teach these specific skills.

Besides style or technique, you must also consider your skill level and the appliances you own. If you are new to cooking and do not have many cooking tools, you need to find a class that addresses those limitations to meet where you are.

Best online cooking classes

Essential Cooking Skills

This beginner course covers 17 essential techniques that every home chef needs to learn. The course includes 1.5 hours of on-demand video, and you get a certificate of competition when finished.

Sold by Udemy

Cooking for Busy Healthy People

This class teaches you how to build a balanced meal from ingredients found in your kitchen and your region. It is a beginner-level course from Stanford that has flexible deadlines. It takes approximately 12 hours to complete.

Sold by Coursera

Sushi 101: Learn to Prepare Sushi and Miso Soup with Experts in Japan

Amazon’s live online experiences happen in real-time. They feature one-way video and two-way audio. This hourlong class teaches you the basics of Japanese cooking from a home kitchen in Tokyo.

Sold by Amazon

Cook-Along Kit: Snow Day Pancakes

This Cook-Along kit for kids arrives with a 12-step recipe guide, a snowflake pancake mold and a tree pancake mold. After your materials arrive, you can access the online class any time you like.

Sold by Raddish Kids

Cupid’s Whoopie Pies

This Sur La Table cooking class teaches you how to make red velvet whoopie pies with cream cheese filling just in time for Valentine’s Day. The event takes place on Feb. 13 at 4 p.m. ET via a password-protected Zoom session.

Sold by Sur La Table

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Allen Foster writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.