Hannah McLeod, Campus Carrier graphics editor

Put me in a kitchen and tell me I need to bake something from scratch, no recipe, no guidance, I’d be doomed. Completely cooked. Burnt, even. However, put me in the kitchen and tell me to cook a four-course meal, I’d gladly do it. The gratitude that comes from cooking in the kitchen is unmatched. I love it. Yes, both baking and cooking require a certain skill set and creativity, but I strongly believe cooking is superior to baking.

Baking is restrictive. Not being able to bake anything unless I had the exact ingredients with their exact measurements feels too limiting for me. While it does feel like a great accomplishment to successfully pull a perfectly risen cake out of the oven or to see those golden-brown chocolate chip cookies, the actual process of baking feels like a chore. 

When cooking, it’s possible to gather whatever random foods are in the pantry and begin throwing ingredients together. If you’re trying a specific recipe and need certain ingredients, there are always substitutes or replacements that work just as well and may even make you like the dish better! However, when baking, if you don’t have the perfect number of eggs or you’re running low on light brown sugar, every online website will inform you that you better run to the store because there’s no way you’re getting those cookies to rise if you’re missing a pinch of baking soda. 

Cooking is flexible. It’s always possible to adjust the recipe as you’re making it. Need more salt? Just add more. Need less salt? Add something acidic like lemon/lime juice. There are always other options while cooking to make a dish perfect. Everyone has their own food preferences and when cooking, but when baking, you don’t know if it’s even good or not until it comes out of the oven. And if it is bad … time and ingredients are wasted.

My final stab at baking is the color. Yes, the color of baked goods. Imagine yourself walking into the baked goods section in the grocery store. It is full of fresh baked bread, wonderful spelling cookies and muffins, except what do you see? Brown. Beige. Neutrals. There is no color. Okay, there’s some icing on the cupcakes but that’s just to add some bright sugar on top of the loads of carbs you’re about to eat. 

Now, imagine ordering your favorite meal from your favorite restaurant. Really, close your eyes and imagine those chicken tenders or juicy cheeseburger stacked with lettuce, tomato, bacon and a tangy orange sauce. There’s so many colors and flavors that have mixed together to create heaven in your mouth. That’s what cooking is all about. 

So, whether you’re someone who absolutely dreads the kitchen or is a sucker for a homemade chocolate chip cookie, step outside your comfort zone. Try to create the next Gigi Hadid Vodka Pasta or reinvent your favorite dish, but whatever you do, don’t set off the fire alarm.