If your only other choice for learning to cook is from recipes then YES, cooking shows can help. Because the biggest lesson is that cooking is not just a collection of ingredients but rather about technique.

It’s weird to think that there are so many ways to mix flour and liquids. What you use and the process you follow can result in muffins, cookies, breads and pastries. But use a technique that doesn’t match what you’re making and the result won’t be as great as you’re expecting.

I echo the vote for Good Eats — Alton Brown takes a humorous and scientific look at cooking that’s a real eye-opener (while being entertaining).

Also good (though less entertaining) is the America’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Country series. I find the Cook’s Illustrated magazine from the same company a much better source for technique.

More than anything else, the way to become a better cook is to realize that there’s all sorts of things to learn about ingredient choices and how applying heat or agitation causes marvelous things to happen. I still remember the first time I heard about the Maillard reaction (what happens when food browns): it’s just cool to realize that chemical and physical changes result in such yummy things to eat.