The case for following the recipe exactly

January 9, 2021·Darcie

Normally when the calendar turns over to January I write a post about New Year's food resolutions. I think all of us have enough pressure on us this year without adding to it, so I skipped the resolution post. However, some of you might have made one anyway, like the The New York Times' Genevieve Ko did. Her resolution is about making a recipe exactly as written.

Ko feels that too often she places her own preferences and kitchen experience ahead of the recipe author's, which she believe might be keeping her from truly experiencing a dish. Instead, she aims to play it straight in 2021 so that she can "get to know their creators without altering the dishes to match my own experiences or tastes." Ko says that to "truly embrace another person’s background and culture, I need to suspend my own assumptions, culinary and otherwise."

This resolution does not mean that Ko will blindly follow just any recipe she finds on the internet. She provides suggestions on what she will look for in a recipe so she has confidence that it will be successful. First, she will consider only recipes that are written with specific ingredients lists and instructions - some recipes are loosely framed and for those you must insert your own judgment. Ko will also be on the hunt for recipes that are outside her comfort zone or that sound "surprising in some way" so that she will be less tempted to deviate from the instructions. Finally, she will only use recipes that have been tested in some way. The best way to do that is to look for recipes from authors or websites that inform you that their recipes are tested prior to publication. Most of the recipes you'll find in the EYB library from well-known authors have been put to the test, so that makes it easy.

Ko believes that allowing the recipe writer's voice to shine through can lead to culinary discovery that she wouldn't reach if she were to substitute her own ideas for that of the author. Although it is often difficult for me to follow a recipe exactly - for example, I almost always add more garlic than indicated - I believe Ko make a good case for hewing more closely to the original, and I'll give it a shot (although I won't call it a resolution). Maybe I will make some discoveries along the way as well.

10 comments

averythingcooksJanuary 9, 2021

This a very tricky issue for me. As I live & shop in a very small town, there are lots of ingredients I can’t ever get (this includes - amongst MANY things - poblano peppers & burrata) and there are things that we both just don’t like (soap tasters!). With COVID resulting in vastly reduced trips to the grocery store and seemingly random shortages of various ingredients, substituting has become both an art and a science for us. I do understand respecting the intentions of the author...but the reality is that we have used many recipes from my books as inspirations to cook from our fridge, freezer and pantry. And no - I don’t judge a recipe harshly if my necessary substitutions result in something not very good. In addition, today I was re-reading a book on my shelf that advocates shopping for a few fresh ingredients every day...amazing how this simply does not fit our new reality.

RinshinJanuary 9, 2021

Not for me at all. Esp in this climate of uncertainty. People should use whatever substitutions they want. When I started cooking over half a century ago, I followed recipes religiously because I was a novice cook and still developing my own palate. In desserts and in bread making, I mostly follow recipes as written.

JennyJanuary 9, 2021

I seldom ever follow a recipe exactly unless it is a baked item that I'm making for the first time. Recipes, to me, provide inspiration not imprisonment.

chriscooksJanuary 9, 2021

I think this depends on whether you are trying to understand a particular person's approach to a dish, or trying to understand the dish itself. Most of the time I'm trying to understand a particular dish. I have found it very helpful to read recipes for the "same" dish from several sources, because then I start to get a sense of the essential components and methods of the dish, whether it be a tian or a tagine or macaroni and cheese or apple pie.

tmjellicoeJanuary 9, 2021

I’ll try to follow a recipe precisely the first time. There are times when it is not necessary and deviating from some is almost mandatory, for instance when a recipe calls for garlic cloves without specifying size of clove. I’ve made the mistake far too often of adding the three cloves written and those cloves were massive, resulting in too much garlic. This is where experience helps any recipe and I will utilize my knowledge.

MarciKJanuary 10, 2021

I tend to follow recipes exactly because I like exploring new flavors and ideas. Occasionally something will come up while cooking where my better judgement is saying not to follow the steps and do something else instead. Assuming the author is more knowledgeable than me, I follow the recipe. Inevitably I regret it as my change would have resulted in a more successful final dish. I need to learn to rely on my intuition more.

elizaJanuary 10, 2021

I almost never follow a recipe exactly. For me, I think that's because I had the good fortune to learn my cooking skills at my mother's knee as a youngster. This developed my cooking intuition early, allowing me to automatically sub ingredients by personal taste. My friends and family are now used to my "adaptations" whenever they ask for a recipe.

VanessaJanuary 10, 2021

This is Ko making a real stretch to get in some virtue signalling, telling us that you'll be able to overcome your "unconscious bias" by following a recipe!

Preference for more garlic, or no cilantro, or the ingredients that you have, can easily source, or can easily afford, isn't "unconscious bias". It is the conscious application of experience, simple practicality, and even a bit of artistic decision-making.

Precisely following a recipe (which has OF COURSE been written for a specific audience) might be useful to teach you some new techniques. Trying recipes outside your comfort zone -- also useful. But trumpeting this as your newly found "embrace" of another culture is drawing an unwarranted conclusion. (And laughably, this especially so when her examples are as insignificant as a lower temp on a braise or timing on adding curry powder, and don't get me started on how "Madras curry powder" is going to let us participate authentically in "Burmese culture".)

My conclusion is that this article is actually tongue-in-cheek and intended satirically!

gamulhollandJanuary 11, 2021

Anyone who can follow the recipe exactly as written probably doesn’t have to cook for a spouse and kids. :). For example, I recently just had the very freeing realization when reading a book of Mexican recipes that yes, you can substitute milder chiles or just leave them out— which opened up a whole new world to me since I love chiles but only one of my kids does.

GenieBJanuary 15, 2021

I try to make my first attempt at a new recipe the way it is written. Although saying that, I realize I will almost always reduce the hot stuff — red pepper flakes, sriracha, etc, — ‘cause my stomach just can’t take it. If I don’t have the other ingredients, I find another recipe.

I usually write on the recipe (if I own the book) what changes I want to do the next time — add more of something, add something new, reduce something.