One-third of Americans almost burned their kitchen down trying to cook

Most Americans are trying to create healthier versions of their favorite dishes — and are almost burning down their kitchens doing it, according to new research.

A survey of 2,000 individuals looked at how they get creative when cooking, but found that many believe it’s no easy feat.

One-third of Americans have almost burned down their kitchen by cooking a dish they had no clue how to make — but that hasn’t stopped home chefs from being creative and getting healthy in the kitchen.

Seventeen percent try to create healthy versions of their meals every time they step in the kitchen, and 35% report doing this very often.

Seven in 10 said cooking is one of their favorite ways to express their creativity (72%).

And although a similar number said their first attempt at a new dish usually goes well (70%), most people are still likely to stick as closely to the recipe as possible so they don’t mess up (76%).

By far, people think dinner is the most creative meal of the day (43%) and find American (43%) or Italian (34%) cuisines the easiest to get creative with.

Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of GreenPan, the survey found that 65% of respondents feel more chef-like when creating unique food combinations.

People get their inspiration to try new recipes or experiment with their creativity by going online (41%), reading cookbooks (35%) or asking their families for advice (33%).

Home chefs were most likely to get creative in the kitchen during the holidays (42%), birthdays (39%) or when they’re having guests over (32%).

When they’re feeling creative, 35% said they'll visit a specialty grocery store for exciting ingredients, while another 32% like to browse around fresh options at a farmers’ market.

Three in five also think the quality of their cookware makes a difference, citing that cooking would be easier if they had better utensils (62%).

And while creating healthy versions at home was a priority for many, only 30% reported knowing what poly-fluoroalkyl substances or PFAS chemicals were, which are found in many daily household products and packaging.

Americans would be eager to switch to a different cookware brand if they discovered PFAS were in them, with 37% being “very likely” to swap.

“Home cooks should have great nonstick cookware that makes cooking easy and fun, but is also healthy for you and your family,” said Jacob Maurer, CEO of Americas at The Cookware Company. “Choosing high-quality, toxin-free cookware is the easiest healthy swap people can make in the kitchen.”