The Cooking merit badge introduces principles of cooking that can be
used both at home or in the outdoors. Scouts who earn this badge will
learn about food safety, nutritional guidelines, meal planning, and
methods of food preparation, and will review the variety of culinary (or
cooking) careers available.
Requirements
- Do the following:
- Explain to your counselor the most likely hazards you
may encounter while participating in cooking activities and what you
should do to anticipate, help prevent, mitigate, and respond to these
hazards.
- Show that you know first aid for and how to prevent
injuries or illnesses that could occur while preparing meals and eating,
including burns and scalds, cuts, choking, and allergic reactions.
- Describe how meat, fish, chicken, eggs, dairy products,
and fresh vegetables should be stored, transported, and properly
prepared for cooking. Explain how to prevent cross-contamination.
- Describe the following food-related illnesses and tell what you can do to help prevent each from happening:
- Salmonella
- Staphylococcal aureus
- Escherichia coli (E. coli)
- Clostridium botulinum (Botulism)
- Campylobacter jejuni
- Hepatitis
- Listeria monocytogenes
- Cryptosporidium
- Norovirus
- Discuss with your counselor food allergies, food intolerance, food-related diseases, and your awareness of these concerns.
- Do the following:
- Using the MyPlate food guide or the current USDA
nutrition model, give five examples for EACH of the following food
groups, the recommended number of daily servings, and the recommended
serving size:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Grains
- Proteins
- Dairy
- Explain why you should limit your intake of oils and sugars.
- Determine your daily level of activity and your caloric
need based on your activity level. Then, based on the MyPlate food
guide, discuss with your counselor an appropriate meal plan for yourself
for one day.
- Discuss your current eating habits with your counselor and what you can do to eat healthier, based on the MyPlate food guide.
- Do the following:
- Discuss the following food label terms: calorie, fat,
saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate, dietary
fiber, sugar, protein. Explain how to calculate total carbohydrates and
nutritional values for two servings, based on the serving size specified
on the label.
- Refer to “How to Read a Food Label” in the Cooking merit
badge pamphlet, and name ingredients that help the consumer identify the
following allergens: peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, wheat, soy, and
shellfish.
- Do the following:
- Discuss EACH of the following cooking methods. For each
one, describe the equipment needed and name at least one food that can
be cooked using that method: baking, boiling, pan frying, simmering,
steaming, microwaving, and grilling.
- Discuss the benefits of using a camp stove on an outing vs. a charcoal or wood fire.
- Discuss how the Outdoor Code and no-trace principles pertain to cooking in the outdoors.
Note: The meals prepared for Cooking merit badge
requirements 5, 6, and 7 will count only toward fulfilling those
requirements and will not count toward rank advancement. Meals prepared
for rank advancement may not count toward the Cooking merit badge. You
must not repeat any menus for meals actually prepared or cooked in
requirements 5, 6, and 7.
- Using the MyPlate food guide or the current USDA nutrition
model, plan a menu for three full days of meals (three breakfasts, three
lunches, and three dinners) plus one dessert. Your menu should include
enough to feed yourself and at least one adult, keeping in mind any
special needs (such as food allergies) of those to be served. List the
equipment and utensils needed to prepare and serve these meals. Then do
the following:
- Create a shopping list for your meals showing the amount
of food needed to prepare and serve each meal, and the cost for each
meal.
- Share and discuss your meal plan and shopping list with your counselor.
- Using at least five of the seven cooking methods from
requirement 4, prepare and serve yourself and at least one adult
(parent, family member, guardian, or other responsible adult) one
breakfast, one lunch, one dinner, and one dessert from the meals you
planned.*
- Time your cooking to have each meal ready to serve at the
proper time. Have an adult verify the preparation of the meal to your
counselor.
- After each meal, ask a person you served to evaluate the
meal on presentation and taste, then evaluate your own meal. Discuss
what you learned with your counselor, including any adjustments that
could have improved or enhanced your meals. Tell how better planning and
preparation help ensure a successful meal.
- Explain how you kept foods safe and free from cross-contamination.
- Using the MyPlate food guide or the current USDA nutrition
model, plan a menu for your patrol (or a similar size group of up to
eight youth, including you) for a camping trip. Include five meals AND
at least one snack OR one dessert. List the equipment and utensils
needed to prepare and serve these meals. Then do the following:
- Create a shopping list for your meals showing the amount
of food needed to prepare and serve each meal, and the cost for each
meal.
- Share and discuss your meal plan and shopping list with your counselor.
- In the outdoors, cook two of the meals you planned in
requirement 6 using either a lightweight stove or a low-impact fire. Use
a different cooking method for each meal.** The same fireplace may be
used for both meals. Serve this meal to your patrol or a group of youth.
- In the outdoors, cook one of the meals you planned in
requirement 6. Use either a Dutch oven, OR a foil pack, OR kabobs. Serve
this meal to your patrol or a group of youth.**
- In the outdoors, prepare a dessert OR a snack and serve it to your patrol or a group of youth.**
- After each meal, have those you served evaluate the meal
on presentation and taste, and then evaluate your own meal. Discuss what
you learned with your counselor, including any adjustments that could
have improved or enhanced your meals. Tell how better planning and
preparation help ensure successful outdoor cooking.
- Explain how you kept foods safe and free from cross contamination.
- Using the MyPlate food guide or the current USDA nutrition
model, plan a menu for trail hiking or backpacking that includes one
breakfast, one lunch, one dinner, and one snack. These meals must not
require refrigeration and are to be consumed by three to five people
(including you). List the equipment and utensils needed to prepare and
serve these meals. Then do the following:
- Create a shopping list for your meals, showing the amount
of food needed to prepare and serve each meal, and the cost for each
meal.
- Share and discuss your meal plan and shopping list with
your counselor. Your plan must include how to repackage foods for your
hike or backpacking trip to eliminate as much bulk, weight, and garbage
as possible.
- While on a trail hike or backpacking trip, prepare and
serve two meals and a snack from the menu planned for requirement 7. At
least one of those meals must be cooked over a fire, or an approved
trail stove (with proper supervision).**
- For each meal prepared in requirement 7c, use safe
food-handling practices. Explain how you kept foods safe and free from
cross-contamination. Clean up equipment, utensils, and the site
thoroughly after each meal. Properly dispose of dishwater, and pack out
all garbage.
- After each meal, have those you served evaluate the meal
on presentation and taste, then evaluate your own meal. Discuss what you
learned with your counselor, including any adjustments that could have
improved or enhanced your meals. Tell how better planning and
preparation help ensure successful trail hiking or backpacking meals.
- Find out about three career opportunities in cooking. Select
one and find out the education, training, and experience required for
this profession. Discuss this with your counselor, and explain why this
profession might interest you.
* The meals for requirement 5 may be prepared on different days, and
they need not be prepared consecutively. The requirement calls for
Scouts to plan, prepare, and serve one breakfast, one lunch, and one
dinner to at least one adult; those served need not be the same for all
meals.
** Where local regulations do not allow you to build a fire, the
counselor may adjust the requirement to meet the law. The meals in
requirements 6 and 7 may be prepared for different trips and need not be
prepared consecutively. Scouts working on this badge in summer camp
should take into consideration foods that can be obtained at the camp
commissary.
Resources
