Dragging the concept of Economics to the Kitchen. Have Fun!

   

Kitchen economics helps you to make an inquiry on how the nature of your kitchen should be and reason why it should be that way. It makes you to put into practice what you have learnt about the kitchen in orderly form and render wonder service to your household. Kitchen economics helps in the area of production, thereby; turning the unfinished products into finished ones. It ensures that all services, production and distribution done in the kitchen such as washing and cleaning the dishes, slicing and cutting of beverages, cooking, dishing out of food etc, reaches those who have need for them and satisfies everyone accordingly. It also makes sure that all processed and unprocessed food items are stored for future purposes or consumption. This storing can be done through some preservative processes which are smoking, warming, spicing, freezing, bottling, canning and drying.
      Kitchen economics shows or teaches you how to prepare a nice taste of food even when the ingredients are not much and to distribute them evenly and accordingly to suite the taste of everyone. It makes cooking pleasurable. it encourages division of labour to various kitchen utensils e.g Using the kettle to boil water, the spoon for turning the food, the plate for dishing out the food, the stove for cooking etc. In talking about 'kitchen Economics' we also have to know the full meaning of the word 'Kitchen' it refers to a room or an area equipped for preparing and cooking food. It is being supported with several kitchen utensils, some furniture and pieces of fabrics. while the word 'Economics' is the study of the production and consumption of goods and the transfer of wealth to produce and obtain those goods. It explains how people interact within markets to get what they want or accomplish certain goals and reveals why people, and governments behave in particular ways since it is a driving force of human interaction.

 Some Kitchen Economics Analysis or Reasoning: 

1. Resources: Every good Kitchen woman must reason on how to make effective use of her resources in the kitchen in other to achieve her desired goals and objectives for each production or service done in the kitchen. When their is resource constraints, all the ingredients and food items needed for the preparation of a certain dish will no longer be used nor purchased simultaneously.

 2. Wants: It refers to that which every woman in the kitchen desires to have for the good standard of her kitchen but can't get all due to some certain limitations or that it is not crucial to have it at that point. This wants are of two types, the 'Tangible' and 'Non tangible'. The 'Tangible' ones consists of televisions, food items, chair, transparent pots, aluminum stoves, double boiler, bread knife, wooden tray, mortar, a meat-board, rolling-pin, tea kettle, stainless cups, sink etc. while the 'Non Tangible' consists of the cook, cleaners, the dish server etc. Wants differ from our needs because not all wants are needs but all your needs must also be your wants.

3. Scarcity: When scarcity occurs in the kitchen, the water, food items/stuffs, Kitchen utensils and services will be limited in supply, thereby, not satisfying the household nor meeting it's immediate needs. When there is reference on scarcity, the focus goes to resources. This will make you not to do all you were meant to do at a period of time.

 4. Opportunity Cost: This arises in the kitchen setting when there is a choice to be made between a competing alternative ends due to it's cost e.g Meat and Fish, Water leaf and Bitter leaf, Stove and gas cooker etc. It is also an act of sacrificing one for the other due to lower income. Opportunity cost in the kitchen also reflects the outputs forgone or the negative benefits of making a choice which is giving up for the other. it is also the real cost of every item, utensils or food items used in the kitchen.

5. Scale of Preference: This is a way of ranking orderly or arranging all your wants in a preferred order. This can be arranged from the biggest to the smallest or from the most expensive to the cheapest items.

6. Choice: it is an act of choosing or selecting the most valuable from all other or preferring something to the other, maybe, due to you more comfortable in it or you prefer its taste. Also, if you decide to use your items wisely, choice must be invited for a successful usuage and selection.