I read recipes every day, which means hundreds or maybe even thousands of recipes a year. My experience reading and writing recipes has taught me a lot about how to approach them. Here are some of my tips:
1. Read the entire recipe before proceeding. This is the simplest and most effective way of guaranteeing success. You don't want to find out an hour before your dinner party that the dough you are making needs to chill in the refrigerator overnight or that you are missing one of the ingredients for the frosting. It sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how easy it is to skip over this simple step. Do yourself a favor and read through ahead of time!
2. Don't trust anyone. Even the writers I trust and respect the most occasionally write recipes that just don't work. If something doesn't make sense to you, figure out why. Search online to see if others had a problem with the recipe and proceed with caution. Recently I was making an ice cream recipe from a trusted source which claimed to make 1.5 quarts of ice cream. The recipe required 8 cups of liquid—that's more than 1.5 quarts—and so I knew something was wrong. I was able to adjust the recipe before overfilling my ice cream maker.
3. Make notes. If you find a problem with a recipe, or think of a way to improve it next time—write it down. Keeping detailed notes makes your second attempt much easier. And feel free to write directly in the margins of the book. I know that most cookbooks look like coffee table books, but they can and should be treated with very little respect. A pristine cookbook is not a well-loved cookbook.
4. Follow directions carefully, the first time. This is especially true with baking. Large eggs are different from extra-large eggs, letting something chill for an hour is different than letting it chill overnight, and room temperature butter behaves differently than cold butter. Each detail makes a difference in the final product. I recommend following the recipe to the letter on the first attempt and then making adjustments once you understand how it works.
5. Do your research. If you loved the carrot cake at your favorite restaurant and are inspired to make your own, try to find the perfect recipe. Search through books and blogs to find the one that sounds best to you and reflects the qualities of the cake that inspired you. Randomly choosing the first carrot cake recipe you come across is sure to be disappointing.
6. Don't worry! If your cake flops or your roast burns, try not to let it stress you out. These things happen to the best of us and need to be taken in stride. Part of the magic of making food is that things never work out the same way twice. Don't stress out about it, order a pizza and make a note about what you'll do differently next time.
What did I miss? Anything else we should keep in mind when approaching new recipes?
Sent from James' iPhone
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