do you stick to a recipe ??

Question

when cooking,do you always stick to the recipe by the book,or compromise and do it your own way ??

Answer 1

I stick to general guidelines and tend to modify recipies most of the time. Sometimes they are very good for inspiration and you can be as creative as you like as long as you enjoy the end result. Cooking should be creative and fun ... enjoy it x

Answer 2

when i am training someone new into the field i am very strict as to that part of the traing that they follow the recipes exactly....the recipes were written for a reason and the amountshave been tested and the seasonings......as far as baking you almost have to follow the recipes to the exact measurementsnow i tell new trainees that it will come a day when they will be able to use there own added ingredients i still to this day use recipes as a basic guideline except in baking and then i measure the ingredients of course for me if it calls for a tabsp or tsp i dont need to measure that i can pour that amount in my hand but that is with experience ....i seen some recipes given out here on answers that i know that people think they are changing it to say its their own but the changes made are horrible and i am quite sure they havent made or taste tested the end product...that is why recipes are good to follow...granted i am not saying all of them atre that way for an example i have seen a recipe that called for saffron and it was changed to be 10 fold the amount ...and this was supposely a family recipe...handed down....there are things that it wouldnt matter if it was measured say garlic it calls for 3 cloves well are they large cloves or small cloves so that is when you need not worry about exact!!!!i have many dishes that i have prepared that i know the recipe in my mind and i go from that but if you have made something for 40 or more years its sinks in after that amount of time...but that is also why we have schools to train the basics..then the expertise comes later.... but it is a must to be able to convert the recipes.. as if they call for a lb and you have 2 lbs you must be able to convert the ingredients to that amount of meat....then you get the question like i have a roast how long should i cook it....so you ask yourself is it a steamship round roast weighing 35 lbs or a small sirloin tip roast weighing 3 lbs....so that is when recipes are needed...but then there are a lot of factors involved the placement of the dish in oven top or bottom rack is the oven calibrated i have seen ovens off by 35 degrees so if you put something in at 350 to cook but its is 385 thats going to make a big difference in times.....but if you are just starting i would follow recipes as much as possible...and learn what the herbs and spices do to your dishes

Answer 3

I always compromise, and do it my own way. Usually as I don't have all the ingredients that the recipe requires, and i don't realise till after I've already started cooking, LOL! But I also think its a good thing, being inventive, you find stuff you like and stuff you don't, and you end up inventing your own recipes, which often are better than the original. And if it flops, so what? Its all a learning curve.

Answer 4

Ditto what most everyone said about trying it first, then futz with it. But there are times that doesn't work.

When I learned how to make hollandaise, it came out totally great. So the next time, I put extra lemon juice in it, since I love lemons. Totally broke the sauce and it didn't taste right. The next time I went back to the recipe and followed it exactly, and the sauce turned out perfect again!

But for baking, I have to follow the recipe everytime. Too many variables that could go wrong.

Answer 5

In my opinion, I think that the best cooks are the ones who use a recipe as a base, but put their own twist on it. However, when baking, you generally have to stick to the recipe.

Answer 6

U compromise!
That's the beauty of cooking. How else Do people always keep coming up with new recipes!
Compromise, no better still: experiment!!

Answer 7

First time I'll probably stick to the recipe, but might do a little substitution if I don't have all the ingredients. Next time I'll adjust to what I (and my guests) prefer. My ex-husband wasn't bad in the cooking department, as long as I locked up the curry/chili powder before he got started. Curried cheese fondue? Wasn't bad actually, but definitely not authentic.

Answer 8

I am very keen on baking and cooking, I usually stick to the Recipe, but I am not too afraid to be a bit adventurous and try a variation.

Answer 9

almost of the times, i stick to the recipe. Unfortunately , sometimes i cook in my own way, depend wich kind of ingredients are missing from the book "s receipe.

Answer 10

Usually the first time I try to stick to the recipe, to see what the author was trying to achieve. Then I play with it if I feel I can improve it. And I usually can.