One in four Brits have never boiled an egg, a Waitrose survey has found.
In the supermarket chain’s annual Cooking Report, it was found that more than a quarter of UK adults have never boiled an egg and do not know how to.
It was also found that fewer than a fifth of people have made a salad dressing.
Of the 4,000 UK adults surveyed, 27 per cent had never boiled an egg, while (45 per cent) had not baked a Victoria sponge cake.
The report also found more than a third of people (35 per cent) rate themselves as “very good” or “excellent” cooks.
Other findings include:
- Almost two-fifths (39 per cent) wish they could spend more time in the kitchen than they actually do
- One-fifth (20 per cent) say they are now entertaining more at home rather than going out due to the cost-of-living crisis
- While 34 per cent think the term “dinner party” is old fashioned
- Four in 10 (40 pe cent) are happy to choose cheaper cuts of meat and more affordable ingredients to economise when entertaining and seven per cent will ask friends to bring a dish or course.
- Microwaves have topped a list of 24 kitchen gadgets that most adults said they could not live without.
- Almost three times as many people said they could not live without their microwave as those who said the same about air fryers, at 32 per cent and 12 per cent respectively.
Martyn Lee, executive chef for Waitrose, said: “Food is a daily joy and the cost-of-living crisis has hastened a change in how we cook.
“For too long we’ve been looking down on microwaves. You can do so much more in them than heat a cup of coffee.
“I make a great sponge in mine. I think it’s time to remember the enjoyment we get from the anticipation of their pinging.
“When you reheat a stew, or a slice of lasagne in your microwave after the flavours have had time to develop, you enjoy what’s known as the sixth taste sensation ‘kokumi’ — which is lesser known than the other five tastes — sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami.”
