5 dishes everyone should know how to cook

There are some basic, fundamental recipes that every cook should have in his or her tool belt. As cooks, we learn some of these in college, on a tight budget with limited time. As we get a little older, we start to find our favorite tweaks, substitutions and improvements.

Ideally, by the time we hit 30, we have an arsenal of great recipes that we feel comfortable making anytime.

Meals every man should know how to cook

This way, if you invite someone over for dinner, you don't have to panic and thumb through every cookbook you own (unless you want to).

In our minds, these are the 30 essential recipes every cook should know by the time they turn 30.

If you can master these, you'll have most of the tools you need to learn any other recipe with relative ease. This list is tailored toward an omnivore, but there are plenty of vegetarian-friendly options here as well, in order of relative ease and simplicity.

What do you think is the most important recipe you ever learned?

Basic cooking recipes for students

Let us know in the comments!