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Much of the art of [non-professional] cooking, in my view, lies in knowing what must be rigid and what need not be. Baking is a science, relying on precise chem

Much of the art of [non-professional] cooking, in my view, lies in knowing what must be rigid and what need not be. Baking is a science, relying on precise chemical reactions that must happen within pretty tightly defined windows. Making a curry is not a science, in that you can get a good curry by just making it up on the spot, tasting as you go, and fixing it if it needs fixing. (Maybe following a recipe precisely will get you the best results, but you can get most of the way there with just a few rough signposts; nothing will go disastrously wrong if you shake things up a bit.) One of the things I found most annoying about watching someone trying to teach someone else how to cook (while at uni) was that the teacher never pointed out when something didn't matter. Whether it was "now you put in 1.5tsp of salt to the sauce" or "now you put in 1.5tsp of yeast to the dough", the method was presented as unyielding. In fact the sauce can be made in infinite variety, while the dough must be made just so. Know when to yield to the expert, and know when not to bother.

msla 7y ago
> Baking is a science, relying on precise chemical reactions that must happen within pretty tightly defined windows. Making a curry is not a science, in that you can get a good curry by just making it up on the spot, tasting as you go, and fixing it if it needs fixing. Playing a fugue vs playing jazz: For one, you need a carefully-constructed score and you really do have to follow it for all the voices to come out right, and for the other all you need is a fakebook and a good ear. This is part of the stages of mastery, as well: You go from being a rigid rule-follower to someone with an intuition as you gain experience, but for some things, even the masters are quite rigid. http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/intro/preservice/stgmstry.html http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/intro/preservice/stg... > The third stage is competence, the point at which an individual is capable becomes qualified in their desired area. [snip] Towards the latter part of this stage, the individual begins to acquire the ability to problem solve. That is, the individual begins to say "I tried this, but the results are not what I wanted. What do I do now?" This is very different from the procedure-following approach that might be expected from someone in the advanced beginner stage.
adrianN 7y ago
I have made some loaves of bread and I don't think it needs as much precision as you imply. You still get a pretty good bread even if you use double the yeast or half the salt. There of course things that ruin the bread, but the again, there are ways to ruin curry too.
- vinceguidry 7y ago
  Bread is forgiving, cakes are much harder. You can make edible bread with flour, water and heat. It’s a little hard to mess up totally. Cake is different. If you’re lucky, or really know how the chemistry works, messing around with a cake recipe will make a different, yet still edible kind of baked good.
- JustSomeNobody 7y ago
  A simple 4 ingredient bread is a lot more forgiving than, say, cupcakes. As long as you have fresh ingredients, you can have good bread even if the dough comes out a little wetter or dryer or you use a little less or more yeast. You only need to adjust for time at that point.
kranner 7y ago
> Making a curry is not a science, in that you can get a good curry by just making it up on the spot, tasting as you go, and fixing it if it needs fixing. Or it may be that the standard for curry in this example is lower than the standard for bread, perhaps because there is no set expectation for the taste of curry -- maybe one has it much less often and is less familiar with it -- while bread is something one has almost everyday and expectations are higher. As an Indian, we don't even call any of our dishes 'curry'. They are all specific dishes with very specific tastes. If you're making a Rajma Masala, or a Punjabi kadhi, or a Gujarati kadhi, or a Khadi Dal, or a Shahi Paneer: it's very easy to screw them up and in most cases you wouldn't be able to fix them after one mistake. You might make a good enough something, but it wouldn't be Rajma.
- sombremesa 7y ago
  I can't tell you how many times I've tried to make dal makhani like Moti Mahal (Deluxe) does and it always comes out wrong. Definitely a science (there are a lot of ingredients that must emulsify just so, the spices must retain their bite, it must simmer and reduce for hours, etc.), and it's ridiculous how many different "dal makhani" recipes there are and they almost never taste remotely alike.
  - jatins 7y ago
    Ha, I feel the same way about Biryani. You can eat a Biryani at N different places, and no two taste alike.
- tchaffee 7y ago
  Is my Mutter Paneer still the same dish if I add extra fresh ginger? I like a little extra ginger.
  - kranner 7y ago
    There's no Mutter Paneer Police! It's just that maybe 80% of all Matar Paneer served in homes and restaurants will have a specific amount of ginger (and definitely no solid chunks) and if you go over or under, there may be some tut-tutting dealt quietly.

msla 7y ago

> Baking is a science, relying on precise chemical reactions that must happen within pretty tightly defined windows. Making a curry is not a science, in that you can get a good curry by just making it up on the spot, tasting as you go, and fixing it if it needs fixing. Playing a fugue vs playing jazz: For one, you need a carefully-constructed score and you really do have to follow it for all the voices to come out right, and for the other all you need is a fakebook and a good ear. This is part of the stages of mastery, as well: You go from being a rigid rule-follower to someone with an intuition as you gain experience, but for some things, even the masters are quite rigid. http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/intro/preservice/stgmstry.html http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/intro/preservice/stg... > The third stage is competence, the point at which an individual is capable becomes qualified in their desired area. [snip] Towards the latter part of this stage, the individual begins to acquire the ability to problem solve. That is, the individual begins to say "I tried this, but the results are not what I wanted. What do I do now?" This is very different from the procedure-following approach that might be expected from someone in the advanced beginner stage.

adrianN 7y ago

I have made some loaves of bread and I don't think it needs as much precision as you imply. You still get a pretty good bread even if you use double the yeast or half the salt. There of course things that ruin the bread, but the again, there are ways to ruin curry too.

vinceguidry 7y ago
Bread is forgiving, cakes are much harder. You can make edible bread with flour, water and heat. It’s a little hard to mess up totally. Cake is different. If you’re lucky, or really know how the chemistry works, messing around with a cake recipe will make a different, yet still edible kind of baked good.
JustSomeNobody 7y ago
A simple 4 ingredient bread is a lot more forgiving than, say, cupcakes. As long as you have fresh ingredients, you can have good bread even if the dough comes out a little wetter or dryer or you use a little less or more yeast. You only need to adjust for time at that point.

kranner 7y ago

> Making a curry is not a science, in that you can get a good curry by just making it up on the spot, tasting as you go, and fixing it if it needs fixing. Or it may be that the standard for curry in this example is lower than the standard for bread, perhaps because there is no set expectation for the taste of curry -- maybe one has it much less often and is less familiar with it -- while bread is something one has almost everyday and expectations are higher. As an Indian, we don't even call any of our dishes 'curry'. They are all specific dishes with very specific tastes. If you're making a Rajma Masala, or a Punjabi kadhi, or a Gujarati kadhi, or a Khadi Dal, or a Shahi Paneer: it's very easy to screw them up and in most cases you wouldn't be able to fix them after one mistake. You might make a good enough something, but it wouldn't be Rajma.

sombremesa 7y ago
I can't tell you how many times I've tried to make dal makhani like Moti Mahal (Deluxe) does and it always comes out wrong. Definitely a science (there are a lot of ingredients that must emulsify just so, the spices must retain their bite, it must simmer and reduce for hours, etc.), and it's ridiculous how many different "dal makhani" recipes there are and they almost never taste remotely alike.
- jatins 7y ago
  Ha, I feel the same way about Biryani. You can eat a Biryani at N different places, and no two taste alike.
tchaffee 7y ago
Is my Mutter Paneer still the same dish if I add extra fresh ginger? I like a little extra ginger.
- kranner 7y ago
  There's no Mutter Paneer Police! It's just that maybe 80% of all Matar Paneer served in homes and restaurants will have a specific amount of ginger (and definitely no solid chunks) and if you go over or under, there may be some tut-tutting dealt quietly.