Are You a Recipe-Follower or an Ad-libber?
Read more articles on Cooking and Food and Let Me Share With You and Recipes.November 15, 2007
Posted by Karen Amato Schwartz
November 15, 2007
Posted by Karen Amato Schwartz
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As if we don’t have enough parameters that separate and divide us, there is the difference between those who carefully follow recipes and those who just throw an unspecified amount of any old thing into a pot…guess into which category I fall?
The other night, we had a guest over and my husband asked her if she liked to cook. The woman responded that she did, but only if and when she could do so without a recipe. As someone who never really got into culinary arts, I could not wrap my mind around that kind of thinking. To me, that practice would result in a total fiasco and be a waste of perfectly good ingredients.
Years ago, I remember a friend saying that her cooking was without recipes, since most directions were basically the same. (Then again, she loves to cook, does it a lot, and understands nuances.) I’ve often thought about that, and agree it’s true, but isn’t cooking a case of the devil being in the details? And can the average person chance forgetting details that may make the difference between an inedible mess and an outstanding dish?
Not me, that’s for sure…I’m not guaranteed success even when I follow directions word for word.
When I was young, I have recollections of sitcoms making fun of women who could not cook (remember Elly May Clampett?) and wondering how that could be; after all, isn’t it a matter of being able to read and follow the steps? Now, I see a broader picture: a person has to really want to cook in the first place, for anything to turn out well.
Personally, I could not be bothered to follow a recipe exactly. I’ll use it for ingredients and their amounts, but I rarely spend as much energy and time as any recipe demands. It’s not so much laziness as it is having other things in life demanding time and making them more of a priority. On the other hand, not having any guideline at all would leave me at a greater loss, because then I’d feel as if I’m reinventing the wheel, and half the time it would turn out to be square…
There is an art to cooking and baking without recipes, and I admire those who can do so. Yet, when my husband makes something that does not meet his standards, I will occasionally throw out a comment to the tune of, “Why are you surprised if you aren’t sure of how much you’re using?” I mean, how can anything turn out predictably if the amounts are always changing? To me, it’s akin to flying on a trapeze without a net. It ranks right up there with trying a new recipe on the night that company is coming. That is something beyond my wildest imagination, which every entertaining guide cautions against doing. But some people like to live dangerously. Who knew they’re often found in the kitchen?
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