Knowledge, skills, and household food preparation practices in the North of Pretoria-Gauteng Province, South Africa.

Abstract

The food preparation method is one of the critical food security dimensions. Food may be available in a household. But still, the preparation method used for cooking food items may be detrimental to nutrient intake if the person responsible does not have appropriate cooking skills. Therefore, this study aims to assess the knowledge, skills, and household food preparation practices in the North of Tshwane, Gauteng Province to develop relevant intervention strategies to improve the community’s cooking skills. A quantitative study design was used. Data was collected from 490 households using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were analyzed using STATA 13.1. A Pearson chi-square was used to test for association between demographic variables, and the knowledge, skills, and household food preparation practices. Most households (64%) cook daily, 58% cook one main meal daily, 45% never eat food not prepared in a household, and 48% do not eat meals prepared away from home and do not opt to eat any meal out. Most households (51%) reported that they have food-cooking skills. Most households (65%) indicated that they use the boiling cooking method when cooking vegetables, 19% indicated that they use other methods, and 8% indicated that they use the frying method. There was an association between age, and how many main meals the households prepared at home (P-value = 0.013); age, and how often the households ate out (P-value = 0.026). An association was found between adults employed in a household, and how the household acquired cooking skills (P-value = 0.029); adults employed in a household and the cooking methods normally used by households when cooking meat (P-value = 0.050). Although most households indicated that they have cooking skills, there is a slight difference between them, and those who indicated that they don’t, as most households indicated they use the boiling method for cooking vegetables. This denotes a cooking skills gap, which demands intervention. Also, cooking skills should be improved to reduce food wastage thus addressing household food security.