Valerie Terry is teaching a dozen 4-H students how to make pita bread. As they follow along over Zoom, she throws in a quick food science lesson.
“See the carbon dioxide bubbles? They’re produced by the yeast feeding on the sugars,” says the Kitsap County 4-H leader, who is filming from her kitchen counter. As she punches down the dough, Terry explains that yeast also conditions the gluten so it traps the carbon dioxide, allowing the bread to rise.
Over two hours, students working in their own kitchens prepare a Greek dinner with lamb meatballs, homemade pita bread, and tzatziki sauce. The session includes a review of safe knife skills, accurate measurements, and how to avoid cross contamination of raw meat juices and fresh veggies.
Although Zoom classes are a pandemic-era innovation, teaching kids how to cook has been a staple of Washington State University Extension’s 4-H programs for more than a century. Last year, more than 1,500 Washington 4-H students took part in cooking, baking, food preservation, or related food science and nutrition classes. More than 300 adult volunteers led the classes.
Four siblings from the Hosford family sample pita bread they made. (Courtesy Hosford family)
“Cooking is a foundational part of our curriculum,” says Mark Heitstuman (’87 Ag.), interim state 4-H director. “4-H is about positive youth development, and being able to make meals for yourself and others is an important life skill.”
Besides food preparation, 4-H students learn about meal planning and budgeting, Heitstuman says. “They realize they can put together a nutritious dinner for four people for about $30.”
For Terry and other 4-H leaders, getting kids excited about scratch cooking in the DoorDash era comes with its own rewards.
“If you know how to put together a meal, there’s a confidence that comes with that,” she says. “As the students’ skills grow, they realize, ‘I don’t have to ask Mom or Dad to take me to the store to buy a cake. I am capable of making these things for myself and others.’”
A former line cook and professional baker, Terry answered the call for 4-H cooking instructors in Kitsap County three years ago.
“My three girls are in 4-H livestock projects and archery,” she says. “Other parents were giving my daughters help with raising chickens and breeding rabbits, so I decided to give back by teaching cooking, which is my passion.”
Terry’s Zoom classes are “almost like a cooking show,” says Danielle Foss, the parent of one of the 4-H students. “The kids get a really good look at her step-by-step instructions, but they’re able to cook in the comfort of their own kitchen with their own tools.”
During the Zoom sessions, Terry’s husband, John, runs the camera and acts as a moderator. When students have questions, they hold their mixing bowls, cutting boards, and sauce pans up to the camera for her inspection.
“Zoom allows me to open up the class to more kids and younger kids,” Terry says. “I do ask parents to cook with their children. I tell them, ‘This is your child’s project, but you’re there to make sure everything is safe. You’re acting as my hands because I can’t reach through the screen to adjust someone’s knife grip.’”
Ten-year-old Cassie Barlow started cooking with Terry three years ago. “I wanted to learn how to cook and make stuff by myself,” she says. As her kitchen skills increased, she has developed a go-to list of favorite recipes, including guacamole for parties and shepherd’s pie for family dinners.
“Cassie can go into the kitchen and break out a recipe,” says her mom, Michele Barlow. “She’s a lot more confident and independent.”
Ava Glick, 15, credits Terry’s classes for honing her ability to multitask in the kitchen. Reading through the recipes ahead of time helps her prioritize what should be done first.
“I’m better at time management when I’m cooking,” she says. “I can keep track of what’s happening on the stove while I’ve got something in the oven.”
At the end of two hours, Terry wraps up the meal prep with a flourish. The meatballs come out of the oven while the pita bread is still warm and after the flavors in the tzatziki sauce have had a chance to blend.
“Everyone likes hot food,” she says. “Cooking is a great tool for learning time management. Thinking through the steps to get a project done is a skill that translates to so many things.”
Kitsap County 4-H leader Valerie Terry
(Courtesy Valerie Terry / X)
Web exclusive
Try out the recipes from the 4-H cooking class’s Greek dinner.