"My Roommates Would Laugh at me": Young Males Reveal Embarrassment over Lack of Food Skills.

Purpose: This descriptive qualitative study explored young males' perceptions of food skills in 3 domains: food selection and planning, food preparation, and food safety and storage.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method.

Results

Forty-four young men (aged 17-35) reported varying levels of food skills, from little/no confidence to very confident and skilled. Most participants learned food skills from their mothers. Greater involvement in food selection and planning at a young age appeared to be related to parental influence and encouragement, exposure to food skills at school, and interest in food-related activities, which, in turn, provided a solid foundation for being confident cooks as young adults. Most notable was the lack of knowledge about, or confidence in, food safety and storage. Young men with low self-perceived food skills were deeply embarrassed about this deficiency in front of peers who had higher levels of confidence and skills.

Conclusions

Future interventions or curricula should emphasize food safety and storage. This research also illustrates the importance of the home environment in teaching food skills to youth and ensuring that food skills are taught well before young adults begin living independently.