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I wanted to make something similar for years, just with more focus on timing and multi-threading :) I really cringe when I read recipe for normal people and it

I wanted to make something similar for years, just with more focus on timing and multi-threading :) I really cringe when I read recipe for normal people and it says something like "Chop ingredients A and B and put them into bowl. Now add previously prepared mixture of C and D.". I mean, just tell me first to mix C and D, not in the middle of the process. Lazy initialization is not always good :) The same thing when the recipe tells "and now put all of that into preheated oven". Great, now I have to wait for 15 minutes until oven heats. That should be done on the first thread which waits on a barrier until I finish with the dough in the second thread.

crispyambulance 5y ago
One thing that needs to be said about recipes is that they take practice. Not just for skills like reading it before diving in like a computer interpreter, but also adapting to your own ingredients, taste preferences and constraints. Give yourself a few tries with any new recipe. You'll find they always need tweaks, especially for anything that's complex.
- wirthjason 5y ago
  This x 100! Recipe writing (and recipe following) varies a lot. For some people a recipe is a formula, very precise. For others it’s a rough guide of an idea that should be adjusted.
  - nsb1 5y ago
    Totally agree, but if you're a pro and there's extra detail in the recipe, you can ignore it or tailor it to your needs. If you're just getting started or it's an unfamiliar recipe and you don't have any details, you're left hanging. It costs nothing to add in the details to help people along, so why not?
    - wirthjason 5y ago
      I know what you’re staying but a philosophical point I’d argue that there is a cost for adding that information. It implies that if the recipe deviates from the one listed it won’t be as good, as if there is some platonic ideal and the the only way to get there is this recipe. When I started cooking I had a very scientific approach, as if it were like chemistry class in high school. It felt like if the recipe wasn’t exact then it would be garbage, which is far from the truth. Also, there’s a trap where some things are hard to define and are better left to the senses and judgement. When a recipe says “cook for 30-40 minutes” some people feel trapped — which is it, 30 or 40? “Oh no, I cooked it for 45, it’s going to be awful.” Or “I cooked it the time that the recipe stated and the skin came out soggy.”
frankbreetz 5y ago
The worst is when there is a "total time" and it is way off. I have run into instance where the total is 20 minutes, but they expect you to leave for several hours, and then cook for 20 monutes
- madamelic 5y ago
  "Pot Roast, total time: 10 minutes" - Prepare for 10 minutes - Cook for 8 hours
- benplumley 5y ago
  Or, "Prep time: 10 minutes", "Ingredients: 6 onions, finely diced; ..." where all the actual prep time is hidden in the ingredients list.
dsr_ 5y ago
Oh, you would hate recipes from the middle ages. Wardons in Syrup. Take wardons, and cast in a pot, and boil them till they are tender; then take them up and pare them, and cut them in two pieces; take enough of powder of cinnamon, a good quantity, and cast it in red wine, and draw it through a strainer; cast sugar thereto, and put it [in] an earthenware pot, and let it boil: and then cast the pears thereto, and let boil together, and when they have boiled a while, take powder of ginger and cast thereto, and a little vinegar, and a little saffron; and look that it is poignant and sweet. -- from Harleian MS. 279 - Potage Dyvers, circa 1430 It helps a little to know that Wardens are a variety of pear. The recipe has been recast in modern terms in the book Take A Thousand Eggs and is a nice poached pears in reduced wine syrup.
- shagie 5y ago
  One of my recent finds on Youtube is the channel Townsends https://www.youtube.com/user/jastownsendandson https://www.youtube.com/user/jastownsendandson featuring 18th century cooking. The descriptions are similarly open to interpretation.

crispyambulance 5y ago

One thing that needs to be said about recipes is that they take practice. Not just for skills like reading it before diving in like a computer interpreter, but also adapting to your own ingredients, taste preferences and constraints. Give yourself a few tries with any new recipe. You'll find they always need tweaks, especially for anything that's complex.

wirthjason 5y ago
This x 100! Recipe writing (and recipe following) varies a lot. For some people a recipe is a formula, very precise. For others it’s a rough guide of an idea that should be adjusted.
- nsb1 5y ago
  Totally agree, but if you're a pro and there's extra detail in the recipe, you can ignore it or tailor it to your needs. If you're just getting started or it's an unfamiliar recipe and you don't have any details, you're left hanging. It costs nothing to add in the details to help people along, so why not?
  - wirthjason 5y ago
    I know what you’re staying but a philosophical point I’d argue that there is a cost for adding that information. It implies that if the recipe deviates from the one listed it won’t be as good, as if there is some platonic ideal and the the only way to get there is this recipe. When I started cooking I had a very scientific approach, as if it were like chemistry class in high school. It felt like if the recipe wasn’t exact then it would be garbage, which is far from the truth. Also, there’s a trap where some things are hard to define and are better left to the senses and judgement. When a recipe says “cook for 30-40 minutes” some people feel trapped — which is it, 30 or 40? “Oh no, I cooked it for 45, it’s going to be awful.” Or “I cooked it the time that the recipe stated and the skin came out soggy.”

frankbreetz 5y ago

The worst is when there is a "total time" and it is way off. I have run into instance where the total is 20 minutes, but they expect you to leave for several hours, and then cook for 20 monutes

madamelic 5y ago
"Pot Roast, total time: 10 minutes" - Prepare for 10 minutes - Cook for 8 hours
benplumley 5y ago
Or, "Prep time: 10 minutes", "Ingredients: 6 onions, finely diced; ..." where all the actual prep time is hidden in the ingredients list.

dsr_ 5y ago

Oh, you would hate recipes from the middle ages. Wardons in Syrup. Take wardons, and cast in a pot, and boil them till they are tender; then take them up and pare them, and cut them in two pieces; take enough of powder of cinnamon, a good quantity, and cast it in red wine, and draw it through a strainer; cast sugar thereto, and put it [in] an earthenware pot, and let it boil: and then cast the pears thereto, and let boil together, and when they have boiled a while, take powder of ginger and cast thereto, and a little vinegar, and a little saffron; and look that it is poignant and sweet. -- from Harleian MS. 279 - Potage Dyvers, circa 1430 It helps a little to know that Wardens are a variety of pear. The recipe has been recast in modern terms in the book Take A Thousand Eggs and is a nice poached pears in reduced wine syrup.

shagie 5y ago
One of my recent finds on Youtube is the channel Townsends https://www.youtube.com/user/jastownsendandson https://www.youtube.com/user/jastownsendandson featuring 18th century cooking. The descriptions are similarly open to interpretation.