4 ms·

Very well articulated! I’ve thought about this before too. There is an assumption of having a “baseline knowledge and skill set” to be able to use most recipes.

Very well articulated! I’ve thought about this before too. There is an assumption of having a “baseline knowledge and skill set” to be able to use most recipes. If you’re really starting from scratch (like I was a few years ago), the best thing you can do is to start trying and failing. I take meticulous notes on the things I cook to help me learn and improve. Take your example of heat on a pan. I’ve always wanted a stove where I can control the BTUs with a dial. You could test your own stove for it and calibrate yourself for example. There is a slightly more scientific blog here, but it won’t satisfy what you’re looking for I don’t think. I’ve never found that depth, but would appreciate it too! https://www.seriouseats.com/ https://www.seriouseats.com/ I like this book too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Food_Lab https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Food_Lab

bradford 7y ago
Thanks, I'll check those out! I'd also like to mention cooks illustrated (they are online at https://www.cooksillustrated.com/ https://www.cooksillustrated.com/, but my primary experience is with the printed magazine form). I don't know if I'd call them 'scientific', but I like the detailed accounting of the authors expectations, along with failed attempts and adjustments. It's not completely what I'd like to see in a recipe book but I think it's the closest example that I can think of.
- AlanYx 7y ago
  I agree that Cook's Illustrated and its two sister publications, America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Country, are pretty good examples of what you want. They have a lot of standardized elements that they don't always make clear to casual readers. For example, 1 onion in CI is actually standardized to one cup of chopped onion, they use a standard brand of Kosher salt and provide conversion ratios for brands with different crystal structures, etc. I get recipes from a variety of sources, but I do find that this kind of precision helps with getting repeatable results.

bradford 7y ago

Thanks, I'll check those out! I'd also like to mention cooks illustrated (they are online at https://www.cooksillustrated.com/ https://www.cooksillustrated.com/, but my primary experience is with the printed magazine form). I don't know if I'd call them 'scientific', but I like the detailed accounting of the authors expectations, along with failed attempts and adjustments. It's not completely what I'd like to see in a recipe book but I think it's the closest example that I can think of.

AlanYx 7y ago
I agree that Cook's Illustrated and its two sister publications, America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Country, are pretty good examples of what you want. They have a lot of standardized elements that they don't always make clear to casual readers. For example, 1 onion in CI is actually standardized to one cup of chopped onion, they use a standard brand of Kosher salt and provide conversion ratios for brands with different crystal structures, etc. I get recipes from a variety of sources, but I do find that this kind of precision helps with getting repeatable results.