Researchers in the UK found that even master cooks experience their fair share of dinner disasters over the years, ranging from collapsed souffles and leathery joints of beef to soggy vegetables and under-done eggs.
Confirming that it takes decades to learn all the tricks of the kitchen, the survey found that the average woman does not become a perfect cook until she reaches 55, 'the Telegraph' reported.
Women gather the confidence by that age and experience to throw together baking ingredients without weighing them, make a tasty supper out of random leftovers, put on a dinner party.
Researchers found that women who have reached their mid-50s have a repertoire of more than 15 meals they can quickly rustle up, have mastered the timings for a roast dinner.
The survey of 1,000 women for the Co-operative Food found that 85 per cent of respondents aged 55 and over could confidently cook a perfect fried or boiled egg, and 80 per cent could make a delicious meal from random ingredients.
Half of the respondents said they never used sauces from jars or packets and always made their own, and three-quarters said they regularly baked cakes and biscuits.
Two-thirds of women in this age group can confidently cook bread from scratch and 55 per cent know which herbs should go with which meats to bring out their flavours.
According to the research, women over 55 are more likely to ignore their kitchen scales and throw baking ingredients into the mixing bowl using guesswork.
The survey also found that women tend to experience cooking milestones when they are in their 20s.
It also found that the average woman baked her first cake aged 21, cooked her first roast dinner and first romantic meal at 23, hosted her first dinner party at 26, and made her first Christmas lunch for the whole family at 27.
"It stands to reason that it takes time to master cookery, and confidence comes with age," Helen Nunn, the Co-operative Food's head of marketing, said.
"And there is some truth in the fact that you learn from your mistakes - so women need to endure dinner disasters and mishaps in the kitchen before getting everything spot on," Nunn said.
