Baking has been the chosen pastime and hobby for many people over hundreds of years. While people started out simply baking to survive and not starve, things have changed quite a bit thanks to the development of better agricultural structures and more economically advanced societies. Nowadays, no one really needs to bake to survive. In fact, most people avoid baking altogether because it can be strenuous and is not really necessary for most people to do in their everyday lives. However, baking has always been a huge passion of mine for as long as I can remember. It was something that I started doing at a very young age with my mom. Not only was it a crucial part of my development and my relational well being regarding my mother, but baking offered me an opportunity to really get involved with something productive from a very young age. 

Baking is great because it can be something you do with your loved ones and the people who are close to you. I used to help my mom out in the kitchen many days when she would be busy baking, because she spent a lot of time in the kitchen preparing meals and whatnot. I started out doing more menial tasks like stirring or mixing that did not involve much competency in the baking world. However, as I got more used to being in the kitchen, my mom would let me take on more responsibilities like adding ingredients, measuring, shaping, and all sorts of other things that I feel too lazy to try to mention in this article. I also did a fair share of eating when I was in the kitchen. Whether there was spare candy left in candy boxes, cookie dough, cake batter, fruits, nuts, and the like – I was always snacking my way through the bake. My mom would jokingly scold me, but she pretty well did the same exact thing as me so she couldn’t be too mad.

We baked all different kinds of pastries and cookies, cakes and pies, and other sweet or savory treats. There were always specific occasions in which we would bake particular treats, especially around the holidays. We always baked a cake that was shaped like a lamb to have on Easter, as this was a tradition for my mom when she was growing up. The lamb would be made of white cake and covered in white buttercream with coconut shavings. It was seriously a real treat to have every year, but was definitely hard to make. My least favorite part of baking was always the cleaning up – I hated trying to wipe down the counters, and throwing away all the unused ingredients and candy boxes was sometimes a pain in the neck. But it was worth it in the end to be able to have some delicately crafted and baked good that we could then share with the people around us.

The best part of baking is definitely getting to eat whatever you make afterwards. It is a supreme display of instant gratification – eating cookies that are hot out of the oven and feeling them melt in your mouth is probably one of the best experiences a human can enjoy. It is also nice to have something that you can bring to your friends, neighbors, family, or community so that other people can enjoy the fruits (or cookies) of your labor as well.