I heard Frances Lam (Editor-in-Chief of Clarkson Potter) say that following a recipe forces us to cook in a different way than cooking out of the fridge. We also must be willing to take direction!
What do you like best about following a new recipe? (If you need inspiration, read this.)
I rarely use recipes, but I like to read them. I like to digest them and imagine making them. I learn a great deal about how to cook from just reading recipes and cook books. But, whenever I try to "follow" a recipe, I end up doing it my way. I guess I just don't like being told what to do.
May 25, 2022·edited May 25, 2022Liked by Dianne Jacob
Good question. I love recipes, they are not a hindrance to my creativity in the kitchen, rather they help me build it. Knowing I can rely on shared knowledge and experience is what pushed me to start playing with cooking and baking. I don't bring with me century-old family recipes or culinary wisdom. I may well say that I'm a newbie in the kitchen, to be honest. So, cookbooks give me a solid starting point, take away the anxiety, shame and loneliness. As "someone" said: "no one who cooks cooks alone", right? This is how I use recipes: I pick one that speaks to me, and follow the instructions meticulously. Yes, even when my instinct says there's something wrong with it. I want and need to see the final result so I know what taste and texture that mistake has. I'm curious. Then I re-do it but this time I apply the lessons learnt and follow my intuition. I note down faux-pas and openings for improvement once again and so on. It's a fun process!
Such a great question! I love to bake because of the precision involved, which engages my mind pretty fully, making me live in the moment as I measure, pour, stir, repeat. I do as Sinù does, following directions pretty carefully the first time, then sometimes changing things if I make it again. I’m usually more freeform when it comes to everyday cooking, but often I like to use a recipe as a template, especially for a complicated dish.
Mother sauces, such as Hollandaise and its relative Béarnaise, require recipes to teach you how to make them. It's what you create to serve with them that frees you to experiment. So, yes, recipes for some things are essential.
Recipes are a gateway into how the chef or writer interprets food. Their rhythm and logic of a dish. When learning a new cuisine many times I need to read several cookbooks until I find one that speaks to me as well as teaches me the new cuisine. For new techniques I use YouTube but for unlocking a dish I go to cookbooks
I have a home library of cookbooks from around the world that I read for inspiration. However, I seldom measure ingredients or follow the instructions. Rather, I see the ingredients as pieces of a mosaic that I can arrange to my liking to create an interesting combination of flavors and textures in a bowl or plate.
I tend to improvise a lot, so I read recipes for inspiration and then do it my way. Recipes often open my eyes to new ingredients and combinations of them that I wouldn't have imagined on my own. That's the best!
I started baking way before I started cooking, so as you can imagine I’m a huge fan of recipes! I know some people feel like cooking is calming because it allows them to relax and be creative, and I agree to a point, but honestly after a long day of making decisions sometimes it’s more calming to just follow something step by step!
I love when I can trust a new recipe, even when my instincts (or habits, more likely) are telling me something else. I like when structure gives way to surprise.
I also like hearing something of the writer's voice in the actual text of the recipe and not just the headnote. I associate this with Nigella, though I'm sure she was not the first to do it.
I'm not a big fan of recipes. That's why I don't do that kissing cousin of cooking . . . .baking. Maybe I just like to wing it, to be spontaneous, to be open to new discoveries, to resist rules when I can. And, yes, I've thrown out more than a few dishes I've prepared in my time.
When I trust the author, I like to totally rely on her/his judgment. When I'm testing recipes I'm always taking notes, measuring pans and paying close attention to details, so I feel so relaxing to be able to be guided to a great result by someone else. That's when I love to try new techniques and flavour combinations.
I like to read recipes as well, see what techniques they use, timing, how they write their recipes, maybe discover a new ingredient (like Rose Harissa which I can't live without now from Yotam Ottolenghi), or be inspired to do a recipe my way. etc. but I don't always follow a recipe to a "T". I often adapt for health and nutrition reasons and I'm gluten-fee. I'm like Susan! But I have found a few go-to's, like David Lebovitz's chocolate idiot cake.
This blast has been sitting in my inbox because I wanted to read through the responses of this great question. I saw the mention of Dan Kluger’s book and just uploaded onto my kindle for free w/ prime, so wanted to share that info. Ah recipes. I love reading them and generally follow the recipe, at least the first time when trying something new. Cooking is very forgiving and my day to day cooking is mostly done w/out recipes. However, baking is another story and tend to follow what’s in print. That said, many recipes are not tested, poorly written or simply just wrong especially w/ cooking times. Over the years, as a recipe developer and tester, I’m able to read a recipe and have sense of what’s what. From past work, I also understand how to adapt and change recipes to make them work. All this said, I have a 4-yr old grandson who loves baking and “making concoctions”. He’s learned about dry and wet ingredients and mise en place. I call him a cheap date because he’ll entertain himself making a concoction without my intervention. Often his concoction will get baked and a few times has actually been edible. But he’s a fearless instinctive baker and I imagine will grow up not following recipes.
I find comfort in well-written cookbooks and recipes. My creativity (and fun) comes from being able to find the perfect recipe for any given situation. Kind of what I consider as my own wacky superpower. Nothing better than revisiting cherished cookbooks (and yes I mean in print and not online) to see what I can find. Sometimes I go back to old favourites and at other times, I see what I can find that is completely different from what I would normally cook.
I rarely make a recipe exactly as written. Not to sound like a know-it-all, but when I read a recipe, I know exactly how it would turn out and how it would taste as written. I know when a technique or ingredient isn't going to work as well as another would. That said, I am NOT one of those annoying people who read a recipe, change it completely, then leave a rude comment about how awful the recipe is!
I love finding new techniques and flavor combinations in recipes- hidden treasures that I can add to my cooking repertoire for future dishes!
I rarely use recipes, but I like to read them. I like to digest them and imagine making them. I learn a great deal about how to cook from just reading recipes and cook books. But, whenever I try to "follow" a recipe, I end up doing it my way. I guess I just don't like being told what to do.
Good question. I love recipes, they are not a hindrance to my creativity in the kitchen, rather they help me build it. Knowing I can rely on shared knowledge and experience is what pushed me to start playing with cooking and baking. I don't bring with me century-old family recipes or culinary wisdom. I may well say that I'm a newbie in the kitchen, to be honest. So, cookbooks give me a solid starting point, take away the anxiety, shame and loneliness. As "someone" said: "no one who cooks cooks alone", right? This is how I use recipes: I pick one that speaks to me, and follow the instructions meticulously. Yes, even when my instinct says there's something wrong with it. I want and need to see the final result so I know what taste and texture that mistake has. I'm curious. Then I re-do it but this time I apply the lessons learnt and follow my intuition. I note down faux-pas and openings for improvement once again and so on. It's a fun process!
Such a great question! I love to bake because of the precision involved, which engages my mind pretty fully, making me live in the moment as I measure, pour, stir, repeat. I do as Sinù does, following directions pretty carefully the first time, then sometimes changing things if I make it again. I’m usually more freeform when it comes to everyday cooking, but often I like to use a recipe as a template, especially for a complicated dish.
Mother sauces, such as Hollandaise and its relative Béarnaise, require recipes to teach you how to make them. It's what you create to serve with them that frees you to experiment. So, yes, recipes for some things are essential.
Recipes are a gateway into how the chef or writer interprets food. Their rhythm and logic of a dish. When learning a new cuisine many times I need to read several cookbooks until I find one that speaks to me as well as teaches me the new cuisine. For new techniques I use YouTube but for unlocking a dish I go to cookbooks
I appreciate when a new recipe:
* involves a technique that is smart (like many in Dan Kluger's "Chasing Flavor").
* combines flavors/ingredients in a novel way.
* introduces me to a new ingredient and tells me what else I can do with it.
I have a home library of cookbooks from around the world that I read for inspiration. However, I seldom measure ingredients or follow the instructions. Rather, I see the ingredients as pieces of a mosaic that I can arrange to my liking to create an interesting combination of flavors and textures in a bowl or plate.
I tend to improvise a lot, so I read recipes for inspiration and then do it my way. Recipes often open my eyes to new ingredients and combinations of them that I wouldn't have imagined on my own. That's the best!
I started baking way before I started cooking, so as you can imagine I’m a huge fan of recipes! I know some people feel like cooking is calming because it allows them to relax and be creative, and I agree to a point, but honestly after a long day of making decisions sometimes it’s more calming to just follow something step by step!
I love when I can trust a new recipe, even when my instincts (or habits, more likely) are telling me something else. I like when structure gives way to surprise.
I also like hearing something of the writer's voice in the actual text of the recipe and not just the headnote. I associate this with Nigella, though I'm sure she was not the first to do it.
I'm not a big fan of recipes. That's why I don't do that kissing cousin of cooking . . . .baking. Maybe I just like to wing it, to be spontaneous, to be open to new discoveries, to resist rules when I can. And, yes, I've thrown out more than a few dishes I've prepared in my time.
When I trust the author, I like to totally rely on her/his judgment. When I'm testing recipes I'm always taking notes, measuring pans and paying close attention to details, so I feel so relaxing to be able to be guided to a great result by someone else. That's when I love to try new techniques and flavour combinations.
I like to read recipes as well, see what techniques they use, timing, how they write their recipes, maybe discover a new ingredient (like Rose Harissa which I can't live without now from Yotam Ottolenghi), or be inspired to do a recipe my way. etc. but I don't always follow a recipe to a "T". I often adapt for health and nutrition reasons and I'm gluten-fee. I'm like Susan! But I have found a few go-to's, like David Lebovitz's chocolate idiot cake.
This blast has been sitting in my inbox because I wanted to read through the responses of this great question. I saw the mention of Dan Kluger’s book and just uploaded onto my kindle for free w/ prime, so wanted to share that info. Ah recipes. I love reading them and generally follow the recipe, at least the first time when trying something new. Cooking is very forgiving and my day to day cooking is mostly done w/out recipes. However, baking is another story and tend to follow what’s in print. That said, many recipes are not tested, poorly written or simply just wrong especially w/ cooking times. Over the years, as a recipe developer and tester, I’m able to read a recipe and have sense of what’s what. From past work, I also understand how to adapt and change recipes to make them work. All this said, I have a 4-yr old grandson who loves baking and “making concoctions”. He’s learned about dry and wet ingredients and mise en place. I call him a cheap date because he’ll entertain himself making a concoction without my intervention. Often his concoction will get baked and a few times has actually been edible. But he’s a fearless instinctive baker and I imagine will grow up not following recipes.
I find comfort in well-written cookbooks and recipes. My creativity (and fun) comes from being able to find the perfect recipe for any given situation. Kind of what I consider as my own wacky superpower. Nothing better than revisiting cherished cookbooks (and yes I mean in print and not online) to see what I can find. Sometimes I go back to old favourites and at other times, I see what I can find that is completely different from what I would normally cook.
I rarely make a recipe exactly as written. Not to sound like a know-it-all, but when I read a recipe, I know exactly how it would turn out and how it would taste as written. I know when a technique or ingredient isn't going to work as well as another would. That said, I am NOT one of those annoying people who read a recipe, change it completely, then leave a rude comment about how awful the recipe is!