British women an egg, great british women

Believe it or not, one in 20 British women doesn't know how to boil an egg or prepare a breakfast.

This is according to a survey which has also revealed that the typical woman can cook only seven dishes from scratch half as many as their mums were able to serve up -- and more than half saying their husband is a better cook.

The poll of 2,000 men and women commissioned by the Good Food channel also found more than one in five women struggles with a basic curry, one in six cannot bake a cake and one in ten has never cooked a roast.

One in 20 even messes up boiling an egg or preparing a cooked breakfast. Around half admitted that their mothers would have easily fixed up any of those dishes. One in 10 women can cook fewer than three meals without looking at a recipe book or asking for help, the survey found.

But for those who do venture into the kitchen, eight in 10 admitted cooking the same meals over and again and only two per cent said they have picked up a recipe book and had a crack at something different.

Fussy children, hectic lifestyles and keeping costs down were blamed for them being "stuck in a rut".

Good Food spokesman Roopa Gulati was quoted by 'Daily Mail' as saying, "The research shows how busy lifestyles and a lack of culinary know-how are impacting on the dishes we feel confident to cook.

"Everyone is increasingly pushed for time, and women in particular are finding it harder than ever to balance work and home lives. Many are resorting to quick fixes in the kitchen, rather than cooking from scratch."