I never thought there would be cooking channels on Youtube that help me destress and retrieve my inner peace until I found them a year ago. Now, watching these aesthetically pleasing cooking videos has become a ritual for me during stressful times, especially during midterm season. If you are trying to experiment with new ways of relieving stress, this may be the right article for you!
Personally, I become super aware of white noises when I am stressed out. Even the slight humming noise from the air conditioning in my dorm room can drive me crazy. I used to plug in my ear phones and immerse myself in music in order to wipe out the white noises. However, music can sometimes be distracting. One day, when I was browsing through Youtube to find baking recipes, I found these Youtubers that devote themselves into making visually stunning cooking videos and creating symphonies from the subtle cooking sounds that we used to ignore. It has been my shrine for destressing ever since. Here are 5 of my favorite channels!
1. Cooking tree
Cooking tree is a South Korea based Youtube channel that excels at creating cute recipes of desserts. Cooking tree creates ASMR audio for each recipe they make. You can hear the stirring sound of the egg yolks and the subtle noise of match powder being tapped into the baking cream as if the green tea tiramisu is being made right beside your ears. An research shows that Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) may have benefits for both physical and mental health. Those who experience ASMR had significantly reduced heart rates while watching ASMR videos. Not only is the audio destressing, but the pure stunning visual created by cooking tree is reassuring and pleasing to the eyes
2. y.na_homecafe
If you are a fan of coffee, then you can not afford to miss y.na_homecafe. Self-evident from its name, this talented Youtuber basically runs a home cafe in her own safe haven. I am always surprised at how creative and artistic she is every time she crafts those adorable animal shape ice balls in her coffee. The visual composition itself is also destressing, where the beautiful coffee cups in various shapes stand out against the white background.
3. HidaMari Cooking
Japan is known for its artistry in desserts and sweets. Here is the perfect Youtube channel if you are craving creamy Japanese cheesecakes. HidaMari Cooking now boasts 1.8 million subscribers. Chocolate mousse cake, no-bake chocolate cheesecake, chocolate cookies…… HidaMari is here to satisfy every chocolate lover. Personally, I am super obsessed with the rhythmic sound when she cuts the stacks of chocolates against the wooden cutting board. The warm lighting and minimalistic design of the bowls presented in the video are my favorite parts of HidaMari.
4. 한세HANSE
Want some cooking sounds AND eating sounds? Hanse is here to satisfy your demands! Most of the time when she makes a cooking video, she also adds some ASMR eating sounds at the end of the video to satisfy our curiosity of what the food tastes like. Not only are her recipes up-to-date with the trends, such as black sugar bubble tea pavlova and vegan dieting, Hanse’s video also reveals her adorable character. There is a section in her Youtube channel where she posts NG cut videos. In those videos, you cannot help but start laughing at those cute mistakes she makes during filming.
5. EJ Recipe
Last but not least, if you are a fan of Korean cuisine like me, please do not miss EJ Recipe! You can find everything you want on this channel, ranging from what I eat in a day videos, food vlogs, desserts recipes, meal prep tutorials, and even eating shows! Even when I am not stressed, I like to go to EJ Recipe just for fun and in search for a culinary journey. Also, EJ Recipe has English subtitles, so don't be intimidated even if you can not read Korean.
There are all kinds of Youtubers crafting their own cooking sound videos now. Watching these videos is not only healing and destressing during the hard times, but they are also good places to find amazing recipes when you are running out of ideas!