Ergonomics of cooking

In class this week we looked at our activities that we have chosen and how they fit under the three different headings. These were; Person, Activity and Environment grid. When we are considering ergonomics we must take into account the activity and also the environment and how it fits a person. Our role as the Occupational Therapist is to "make slight invisible adjustments to an activity to adapt to the needs of those taking part and ensure that it continues to work for its intended purpose" (Creek & Lawson-Porter, 2007). In class we had a discussion which we looked at the following concepts.


Person
A person's preferences can have an impact on what you cook. If someone does not like mushrooms you will decide not to make a mushroom pasta dish. Cooking can have a sense of responsibility behind it, if you have children they need to eat and therefore you must cooking them their meals. My grandparents are at the later part of the life timeline and their views on cooking differ greatly on my own. I like things that are cheap, quick and easy, however they prefer to spend more money on more gourmet ingredients claiming they are too old to eat bad foods. They spend a great deal of time in the kitchen working together to form elaborate dishes through recipes both new and old, however they are both retired and have a lot of time to be able to achieve these amazing meals. Because I study and also work my time is very limited and although I would like to spend more time cooking I grab something to eat on the go more often than not.



Activity 
Going beyond following the recipes from cookbooks can be both exciting and daunting at the same time. The guiding steps of the cookbook are hard to ignore but the proud feeling of putting together an amazing meal with what you have in the cupboard is always exciting. Adapting a recipe that you have found to fit you own likes and dislikes is also something that I do often. My friend is allergic to chicken - I know, poor her! however I had this amazing recipe which I loved and wanted her to use. I found out later that it had chicken stock in it and she had replaced it with beef stock as an alternative recipe. Another aspect of ergonomics in cooking is the robustness of the materials you are using- are you able to change the equipment to items more readily available? and the other types of equipment available such as having a blunt knife. Costs of activity- lower socio economic groups have different ideas to what they cook. 


Environment
Equipment available
Spatial organisation
Cultural aspects- how we do things, seasons. 


After we discussed these three concepts we had to relate them to our own activity in more detail. So with my activity of cooking I came up with the following ideas.


Person
Depending on how old you are is what you cook. Whether it is larger amounts or smaller amounts- if you are cooking for yourself or your family. How competent you are; have you been cooking for awhile or are a newbie to cooking. Whether you are cooking for fun or have an obligation to cook for someone. How much time you have to cook a meal- depends on what you cook.


Activity 
Adapt the recipe depending on what ingredients are avaliable. Likes/dislikes eg. take out things that people don't like. How fast you go is depending on the time you have available. How much money you have depends on what you cook as well. 


Environment
What equipment you have available depends on what you cook. For example do you have a microwave or a oven? Can you use strawberries in winter? the cost of strawberries rises so can you afford to purchase them? Can you cook meat for someone who is vegetarian? 


By completing this activity I have now thought about all the different ways that people cook and the reasons in which they cook them. Mince is a cheap meat so it is used a lot to cook for larger families or students who are flatting. It is also a versatile meat and can be used to make many different types of meals. Because it is now readily available to us as we have built up larger and larger societies we are starting to look at it as more than a means of survival. Food is now exciting and is a lot more than something that you eat. It can be an art form. Personally I love experimenting with food and being adventurous and finding out new and exciting meals to make and sweets to bake and feel a sense of accomplishment when they come out of the oven smelling and looking delicious. 


References:
Creek, J & Lawson-Porter. (Eds). (2007) Contemporary issues in occupational therapy. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons Ltd.