Making the Most of Recipes

The ravenous demand for new recipes, created by new cookbooks, lifestyle magazines, and newspaper food sections, often yields instructions that don’t work or deliver the anticipated result. The challenge is to determine, before trying it, whether a recipe will provide the anticipated sensual pleasure, avoiding frustration and wasted time and ingredients. The following provides some tips on both how to initially evaluate a recipe as well as how to follow a recipe successfully.

The primary key to constructing a successful recipe is kitchen testing, often several times. Few publications, though, describe their testing procedures. However, by reading a recipe thoroughly and evaluating certain criteria, a reader can determine how much care has been taken in developing that recipe, indicating a good chance for success.

First, the recipe should be well written without obvious mistakes. Are there grammatical mistakes in the instructions? On a first reading, do the directions make sense? Look for obvious mistakes in measurement and instructions. For example, is a cup of salt called for in a cake, or does the recipe add pasta to cold, not boiling, water. Make certain that the ingredient list matches the directions, e.g. is the egg mentioned in the ingredient list actually used in the directions. See if the ingredients are listed in the order in which they are used.

Next, check to make sure that the recipe is complete. A well-written recipe should have the following elements:

-the title should be descriptive, as well as enticing

-ingredients should be described in a logical preparation order, i.e. “apple: peeled, quarter, and cored”.

-all sizes should be specific, (“32 ounce” can, not “large” can).

-pan type and size should be described, especially for baking.

-oven temperature should be listed and if preheating is necessary, this should be specified.

-presentation should be uniform; any abbreviations, (e.g.. TB for tablespoon) should be standard throughout the recipe.

-yield should be included and described appropriately, either by serving or measurement.

-directions should be detailed and logical; is the pot being put in the oven covered or uncovered?

-two different guidelines, usually time and appearance, should be described to determine whether the dish has finished cooking

Finally, see if the style is appealing. A recipe should have an interesting head note, i.e. a few sentences introducing the recipe, that in some way makes the recipe personal and sets the tone. The recipe should be appropriate to the cook’s style and skill of cooking. If the recipe is presented as a basic cooking lesson, and there are culinary terms that are totally foreign, then the author is writing for the wrong audience. Most importantly, the writer should not be condescending and make the reader feel vaguely ill at ease, (I still remember one cookbook that insisted only homemade butter could be used to guarantee success– that book left me feeling quite insecure).

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