The reason I don't do recipes.

[fortuna_juvat]

I just can't, which is why I rarely bake unless something especially delious (cranberry pecan pie) wanders into my knowledge. I will absolutely read a cookbook for cooking a specific thing a specific way (any type of egg cooked in shell in boiling water, for example) or to get ideas "Ooh, adding balsamic vinegar to oven roasted vegetables would be

Comments

[missysedai]

This is how I cook, to the dismay of nearly everyone around me. They ask for recipes, and I can't give them. Hell, even if I START with a recipe, I don't really follow it, so if I give that recipe to someone, what they make doesn't turn out like what I made, and that frustrates them.

I cook by touch and taste and smell. That looks and feels like the right amount, that tastes like the right seasoning, that smells done.

I used to keep a recipe blog, to try to learn how to write recipes. Had to give it up. The effort gave me migraines, and I don't really want everyone knowing how I make things anyway, because then it won't be special when I make it for them anymore.

[dcjaywalk]

This. People keep asking me for my recipes, and I started out gamely trying to post some of them on Facebook. I've given up by now. I'm still happy to teach someone how to cook something, but I simply can't do it by recipe. Especially not when I rarely cook the exact same dish twice myself. I end up mostly talking like Alton.

[drgabster]

Likewise - but is this not how one is meant to cook? It is one thing to give a list of ingredients and a rough description of the process (or a few words to describe what needs to be done), but the skill is to be able to turn these into a dish.

I am a great one for reading cookery books - I have a fair few. But the likelihood of me slavishly following instructions is minimal, except for cake baking which I view as applied chemistry (bread baking is all feel).

[the_s_guy]

Yes, the right amount that is in my head that I won't quantify for you.

I'm well aware that I have the sort of personality where this kind of thing drives me nuts. I end up whimpering "Please, for the love of everything that is good in the world, just TELL ME what it is you want me to do!" while they're wailing "I don't KNOW!"

[turnberryknkn]

(grin) And that's the difference between an artist like you or missysedai, and a tech like me. :-)

I love to cook, and I love food. But I haven't yet picked up that touch, that sense, that talent, as you and so many others have. I cook like I do molecular biology experiments -- off a recipe/protocol, methodical, planned, charted and organized. Like a molecular biology experiment, I follow the instructions, troubleshoot, get pretty dependable results. It works and is quite a productive method -- but I haven't yet picked up that gut feeling a *real* chef has.

This would make a good LJ entry of my own. :-)

[watericgun]

My idea of a recipe is telling you what is in the dish. You make it to your taste. Today I'm going to try to make ceviche...I can't wait. :)