Do you follow a recipe or just guess at ingredients?
By heartuvgold
@heartuvgold (493)
United States
May 20, 2007 4:13pm CST
I've been cooking for over thirty years and
I've never followed a recipe. I just add a
dash of this, a pinch of that, a cup of these
and handfull of those and everything turns out
the way I want it to.
I've learned that when I use a recipe it doesn't
work the way I wanted and it's usually too thin
or too thick or just isn't what I wanted it to
taste like. Some recipes have even made the food
taste bad enough that I've had to throw it out.
For instance, when I make home made biscuits, I
just use self rising flour and pour it into the
bowl without measuring, I just guess at about two
cups for a nice batch. Then I add a scoop or two
of margerine or crisco and cut it into the flour
until it looks like it's mixed up well, and then
I add milk a little at a time until it's the right
consistency to knead.
Sometimes I don't even cut them out in biscuit shape.
I just put the whole thing down on a cutting board
and use a plain old butter knife and cut them into
squares.
How about you? Do you "knead" a recipe?
5 people like this
22 responses
@mtdewgurl74 (18151)
• United States
21 May 07
When I am making up a recipe no I do not go by a recipe, but other times I will go precisely b a recipe if I don't like it I will add things to be more tasteful for me. I make homemade biscuits all the time I also use self rising flour instead of the all purpose I like the self-rising flour way better. My mom uses the all-purpose and I don't really like them most times. I love just whipping things up for me that I just throw stuff together and what comes out nobody knows until they taste it. I have always been that way since I started cooking. I am told though I am a very good cook though. Does my head good to hear it occasionally as I am sure it does everyone.
@heartuvgold (493)
• United States
21 May 07
That's exactly how I do it.
I sometimes see something on tv that looks
good and instead of going to a restaraunt and
paying $12 a plate, I make it at home and it's
usually even better because I can have my own
comforts, and watch tv while I eat.
@mtdewgurl74 (18151)
• United States
24 May 07
Of course when I just throw stuff together and not really paying attention to what I'm making it will taste so good But then I don't remember all I put in it and it never comes out tasting the same way twice. Nothing does cause I add a pinch of this and that.. Well great minds think alike..lol
@dcroome2005 (1210)
• United States
20 May 07
If I am cooking for dinner or lunch, I won't use a recipe. I just throw in a little bit of this, little bit of that and so on and so forth until I feel its just right. If I am baking, I follow it step for step as I have no clue what I am doing otherwise. Home made biscuits are yummy. Congrats on being able to do that without a recipe. I wish I could.
@heartuvgold (493)
• United States
21 May 07
You can. I even do it that way with scratch biscuits, using plain flour, and a little baking powder, everything else the same. Sometimes I throw in a beaten egg to make them richer.
Then the gravy, I just cook some sausage or bacon and add some flour to the grease then stir it around and if there's too much oiliness I add more flour. Then I add milk or water and stir until it's right.
I'm a southern cook so we like our grease;)
@elisa812 (3026)
• United States
23 May 07
I always use recipes, but they usually turn out the way I want them to. I would love to just makeup a recipe as I go along, but I think I needed to at least start out by using recipes just so that I could get to know what ingredients are needed for certain things and approximate amounts of them. Now that I've been cooking for awhile, I may have a good enough grasp on things to just make up my own stuff. After reading your post, I might just give it a shot. :)
@KissThis (3003)
• United States
21 May 07
I usually will use a recipe as a guide only. I don't really follow it to the letter. I find that I am a better cook if I just guess at how much of each item I put into a recipe. Now, when I am showing my children how to make something I do show them to measure each item. I don't believe that their ready to just throw a pinch of this or a dash of that in to a recipe yet. I always have people ask me how to make something. I will try to show them a recipe close to what I use so that I don't mess them up. I often explain that I don't measure the ingredients I use. I admit that as times I will try to follow the recipe.
@oogie_boogie (362)
•
21 May 07
My cooking is bad whether i use a recipe or not.
But when I am cooking Always follow the instructions becuase i'm so bad at cooking i'd hate to see what happened if i didnt :P
@Marie2473 (8512)
• Sweden
21 May 07
It depends on what I am cooking. if i am baking i will usually follow a recepie, but if i am cooking i will usually make something at the top of my head. That usually tastes better =)
@shorva (923)
• Philippines
21 May 07
If it's the first time that I'm gonna cook something I follow the recipe. But on the second try that's when I make variations and just use my fingers to measure. I've heard that with baking breads, cakes or pastries you have to be strict with measurements. I'm not really into baking, because I'm a little scared that it might not turn out well, so I would have to bake, I'd strictly follow the recipe.
@michelledarcy (5220)
•
21 May 07
I tend to prefer to guess at recipes as it means that you aren't so limited if you don't have the ingredients stated on the recipes.
I do find it difficult now I have a recipe website and have to measure things so people can make the meal themselves, but sometimes I still just put varying quantities of things as a lot of recipes don't need to be really accurate.
If you are interested in some recipes you can loko at my site:
http://www.recipesforvegans.co.uk
@bkfuels (1603)
• Canada
21 May 07
I will follow a recipe depend on what it is. Most of the time I just throw in what I want to. I am a very good cook, I have never ruined anything I have cooked or baked yet.I also have a lot of my own recopies and when people ask for them I cannot give them accurate measurements because I do not have any I just throw things in.
@moumitamazumder (817)
• India
21 May 07
Yes, I agree with you. It doesn't always works fine when using the actual receipe. Instead having a good idea about the taste and use of different ingredients does helps a lot. An experienced cook has these ideas, and therefore can make his/her own receipes. I feel we all must experiment a little by altering an ingredient in any receipe, or by altering the quantity of it. This gives us a better idea about the role of that ingredient in the receipe.
@VotreAmie (3028)
• United States
21 May 07
I'm not a great cook and when I have noticed that making sure to put the exact ingredient doesn't guarantee that the result will be perfect. I'm not patient so I just guess and make my own quantities from the ingredients. I find that I waste a lot of time by trying measure each ingredient.
@shinjiao (1457)
• China
21 May 07
Hi,heartuvgold!!
To be honest,I don't think I have talent on cooking LoL.So that a recipe for me is extremely necessary.I have collected some recipes for many traditional Chinese dishes but I find that even with the help of recipe,my cooking is still poor.
@Destiny007 (5805)
• United States
21 May 07
Although I rarely cook anymore, the only time I really used recipes was if I was cooking something like a cake or cookies, or something I wasn't familiar with.
Most everything else I would just throw together.
About the only thing I do most of the work with now is when I want some chili. I make that completely from scratch including starting with dried beans.
The only thing I cheat a bit at is I use a chili mix to start the seasonings with and then add to it.
Other than a list of ingredients, I just throw it together.
Sometimes my wife will finish browning the meats, but she doesn't like the fumes that come out of that pot, so usually the rest is up to me.
@twilight021 (2059)
• United States
21 May 07
When it comes to cooking, I am much more adventerous, I will read recipes, but more often I like taking the "idea" of the recipe and then making my own version of it. I'm pretty comfortable imporvising, and I think things usually turn out pretty well. That's cooking though...
When it comes to baking, I am much less comfortable with improvising. I'm not a great bakers, so I worry more about getting things to turn out well. For baking I pretty much follow the basic recipe but will sometimes add extra/different spices. I think this makes cookies and cakes a little more fun.
@CoffeeAnyone (3210)
• Canada
21 May 07
In my humble opinion I think you have what it takes to be a real cook, chef or whatever they call a professional baker. You obviously have a natural instinct for knowing what to do. I have been baking for 30 years two and I do need a recipe. I don't measure properly but I really need the recipe to guide me through! I thought maybe you and I were the same when I read the title of your discussion but once I read it I clearly see you are on a whole different level then me. Happy Baking to you!
@jojosthoughts (46)
• United States
21 May 07
Unfortunately for me ...I rather suck at guessing at ingrediants. I have to follow a recipe to the letter for it to come out right. Because of this, I do better at recipes by cooks like Atlon Brown rather than cooks like Rachel Ray. Alton Brown goes as far as measuring the approximate weights of ingredients. Rachel Ray judges by handfuls.
