Knowledge Base › Fran Costigan - Real Talk on Recipe Testing

I like a little spiciness in my food, but I find when recipes ask for hot peppers, or chipotle, the amount is overwhelmingly hot for me. How much should I start with to make it palatable?

Real Talk on Recipe Testing

Fran Costigan - Real Talk on Recipe Testing

Recorded

This event was on May 14, 2024

What steps are necessary to develop and deliver recipes that consistently yield successful and reproducible results for your audience, whether that is family, friends, followers, clients? Get a notebook and a scale and begin with a reliable recipe. Observe carefully and then you can develop your own showstoppers! Join Chef Fran Costigan, Rouxbe Director of Vegan Pastry for an informative event with many takeaways for success.

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Question

Lenny Duff

I like a little spiciness in my food, but I find when recipes ask for hot peppers, or chipotle, the amount is overwhelmingly hot for me. How much should I start with to make it palatable?

Answer

Well, you know, spices vary from brand to brand or how long you've had them. I did a live event on spices and I, people were teasing me because they said, um, I said, sniff your spices. In other words, you wanna make sure that they're vibrant. If you don't smell anything, you're not gonna have anything. So what I said earlier, I would take a small amount of what you're making into a bowl like this and start with, if you're a recipe says one teaspoon or two teaspoons of Chipotle, for example, start with a quarter and see how it is. You can always add, which you can't take away. Now, I don't like spiciness, but I actually love the flavor of ancho chili powder because it's a little teeny bit spicy. There's a little bit of heat, but it's got that smoky flavor and I've been adding it to my chocolate cake to live for. And in that situation, I find, or to the ganache that I have to add a lot more than I would have thought because chocolate has a very, you know, has a very definite flavor. And especially if I'm using a dark chocolate, I'll add more, but I always add a little bit at a time. So I hear you on that. I always want to like spicier foods.

Fran Costigan

Director of Vegan Pastry

FranCostigan.com

Fran Costigan is internationally renowned as the authority on vegan desserts. Trained at the New York Restaurant School and Natural Gourmet Institute, Fran was a chef in both traditional and vegan pastry kitchens before moving into teaching over 20 years ago. A lifelong chocoholic and long time vegan, Fran’s latest book, Vegan Chocolate: Unapologetically Luscious and Decadent Dairy Free Desserts, (Running Press 2013) is for all who madly, deeply love chocolate desserts, whether or not dietary considerations are an issue. Her previous cookbook, More Great Good Dairy-Free Desserts Naturally (Book Publishing Company 2006) is the basis of the Costigan Vegan Baking Boot Camp Intensive®. For more information, www.francostigan.com.