"Recipes don't work." (An extract for yr amusemen

I chuckled when reading this part (I'm leaving out bits) from a book I am reading. It is called DOING WITHOUT DELIA, by Michael Booth, published by Vintage (Random Press), 2008)

"... For starters, I grew to realise that recipes are doomed from the start. ... The simple unavoidable truth is RECIPES DON'T WORK. There. I have said it. Someone had to.

"... I would say that around three-quarters of all the recipes I have ever followed in my life have had one or more flaws, whether it's oven temperatures; missing steps; cooking times; the order in which the ingredients are incorporated, quantities; or even the ingredients themselves.

"Even when I follow Jamie Oliver recipes to the letter I seem to end up with burnt garlic before I've even begun. My mom has condemned Nigel Slater out of hand on the grounds of a chocolate brownie recipe that refused to work twice.

"Alistair Little's Keep it Simple should ... be outlawed under the Trade Desciptions Act. I've tried Jean-Georges Vongerichten's recipe for spaetzle twice and both times ended up with something that looked like a by-product from the construction industry.

" ... I do believe that most cookbooks are written with the best of intentions at heart .... but how can Delia or Jamie or Heston possibly know the exact condition, size, ripeness, tenderness or colour of the ingredients you will be using?

"How can they know how efficient your oven is or how cold your fridge is? How can they know how thick your frying pan is, or the quality of the meat you are using?

"How do they know the temperature of your kitchen, or whether you like to cook with a window open, that your Kenwood has seen better days ... or that your grill is so caked with grime .... ?"

It's a wonder we get so many great recipes made from Zaar! But I must add that the author makes fun of himself right through the book.

Thanks for sharing that, made me smile!

Ha ha... so much truth there

...........Zurie, you always amaze me.......how do you find these gems? I don't often come to this site, but I'm so glad I did tonight....thanks for making me smile. (and I agree, it's SO SO TRUE !
Donna

Dear Donna!

Please click on this link. I give the main page only, but you can scroll through. You might find it amusing. We enjoy it!

By the way, it is in the African Cooking Forum.

http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewtopic.zsp?t=314534

Heh it is true I guess...but recipes aren't supposed to be an exact science like medicine or accounting. Creative foodies will often just make it up as they go, then perfect it later. People alter them to budget, time, and what's on hand; or adjusting to be more friendly to their dietary, religious, and/or personal belief restrictions.

My belief: I add cheese to almost everything

I tweak just about every recipe I meet! But I do have to say that if you've NEVER had a recipe work, that's operator error.