Must we always use recipes?

Question

Ok, I follow recipes to a point but for most of my cooking I just do everything by taste and what looks right. My mother and grandmother taught me how to cook and bake in the kitchen and they never pulled out a book or notecard. My father was the same way outside camping and grilling. Who else feels this way?

Answer 1

I think recipes are just a guide line for those who don't know how to cook yet. It gives you the basic items in meals & you can change them to your taste. Not everyone is as talented in cooking.

Answer 2

I do the same thing...I usually only follow a new recipe to get used to it and then I just wing it from there...However with most cakes I use a recipe because if you dont put the right amount it doesnt turn out in some cases and I cant remember all the measurements. However with supper I never use a recipe and in fact I usually make up my own and just write them down to share with others... I know what you are talking about though somr people use recipes for stew and stuff like that but I just make it up as I go along....My grandma and mom did the same so I learned from them. Camping is even easier...you dont need recipes for anything... just to share with others if they want it you write it from your head!1

Answer 3

Two schools of thought:

First, experimentation in the kitchen is a wonderful thing. But do you mean that you make up new dishes all the time, or do you make the same things over and over, because you KNOW how to make them? If it's the first, congratulations. If it's the second, consider buying a cookbook to expand your horizons.

Second, CHOCOLATE COVERED RAISINS IN A TOMATO BASED CASSEROLE. Sounds revolting, doesn't it? That's what my dad did when he didn't follow recipes. People don't always have the knack or the know how to create great recipes. In my dad's case, it was lack of taste (or taste BUDS). In some cases, people have the talent but they need to develop the skills first by using recipes and trying to understand how they work.

Answer 4

I use recipes to make things I've never tried before and I almost never follow it exactly, unless I'm baking. You have to follow exactly for baking, which is probably why I hate baking so much. Someone told me once that cooking is an art and baking is a science. I agree.

Answer 5

I wish I did feel that way...I wish I could do it that way, but I would feel incompetent if I did. I would think I was missing something in the recipe..AND, for those of us that don't cook the same things over and over, a recipe is nice to go by. I like alot of variety in my dinners

Answer 6

I cook like your family. My husband says after 16 years of marriage "You have never made the same thing twice." That's the problem (or plus side) of never following a recipe.

Answer 7

I cook by looks and taste , never bought a cook book , or bothered looking up a recipe for my own cooking. And I love cooking just by view and taste......

Answer 8

I'm envious of you ! I would love to be naturally good at cooking, but I generally blow it if I don't follow the recipe word for word. There's nothing wrong with the way you do it....be grateful that you have the ability !

Answer 9

I also cook by sense of taste

Answer 10

recipies are only neccesary in baking where many outside factors can affect gluten or wet ingredients in savory cooking however if it tastes good put it in