The recipe problem is literally this: users who go to a site check the recipe, realize it isn't a fit and return to Google are considered failures lowering your

The recipe problem is literally this: users who go to a site check the recipe, realize it isn't a fit and return to Google are considered failures lowering your result status. By putting fluff and ads you extend the time on the page making your site seem more valuable. It is hard to tell "that didn't answer my question" from "that quickly answered my question wrong" after all. (Note it isn't uncommon to always bounce off a recipe site as you check multiple to make sure the one you found makes sense)