— Afke Teunen

This is, uh, a great question and, uh, you know, one that, uh, comes up in my world every once in a while, usually with, um, clenched teeth and, and, uh, shaking a fist because, um, I'll start out with the first, uh, of my first thought. Uh, and that is that, you know, in the great world of media, um, it is very common as you have discovered, eight outta 10, that might've been my number I pulled outta my pocket too. Uh, recipes are not well tested before being published. And, uh, you've noted cookbooks and Instagram. Absolutely. So it's not just a social media thing, uh, it is for hard printed items as well, magazines and, and books. And so, number one, uh, that's the environment in which we live. So I'll share a couple of thoughts. Um, you know, one is that at Rouxbe, you know, as you know, you move through your course. Our goal, our mutual goal, your end goal is to come to understand the cooking methods and supporting techniques at a deeper level, so that when you read through a recipe, you can better understand it, okay? And through your experience with ingredients, whatever it is, whether it's a bell pepper or some herbs and spices that you've never used before. But, uh, we gotta start somewhere, right? So as we accumulate experience, uh, you will have, again, more control over the recipe. So the goal is to get you to a, a point where you are not in, uh, you're not controlled by the recipe, right? You're not, um, forced to just, uh, follow the recipe, um, blindly, but rather, you know, you have some input because you have greater understanding of the variables that go into this cooking process. And, you know, to some extent, that even holds true with recipes and cuisines that you might not, uh, you know, be proficient in. Okay? Uh, I will say that certainly as, as we explore global cuisines, there are methods and techniques that are specific right to that regional cuisine. And they fall outside of the, the, the core or common, uh, at least in, in the global mainstream, uh, set of cooking methods and, and, uh, techniques, uh, that, that we offer in our courses. So, you know, there's always a little, uh, learning curve, uh, that needs to be dealt with, okay? But, um, you know, as, uh, I approach a recipe, generally I'm curious as to what the author intended. And so my first time out, I will try to follow it, uh, according to the way it's written. I'm just curious, you know, to see, uh, this particular author's interpretation of a dish. And then from there on out, it's up to me to, uh, you know, make changes to, to better suit the, uh, equipment in my kitchen, um, and, uh, the, the, the nuances of, of pallet preference, right? For the audience that I'm cooking for. And so, you know, you have that opportunity as well, of course. Um, so, you know, when you're cooking a recipe for the first time, it can be, uh, a a little difficult to nail precisely because of these variables that are at play. You know, whether it's gonna be ingredient quality, you know, the type of equipment and tools that you have versus what the author was using when he or she wrote the recipe. The time of year can make a difference, again, based upon the, the, the produce available, uh, the varieties, the quality. So, you know, the, again, the first time out can be a little bit rough, but once you get through that, then you've got control and you have the, uh, permission to make changes to that recipe. It becomes a little more challenging in baking, right? Because baking, we should be dealing with formulas versus recipes. And a formula is a term that we use in the baking world for a recipe, except it should be dialed in such that, uh, it is formulaic and it doesn't, you know, therefore allow, uh, changes as easily as, as other forms of cooking do. Do you know, when we follow a recipe and when it comes to baking, uh, that's a, a whole different thing, different discussion, you know, if, if you need to or want to make changes, and certainly some testing of the recipe and modifications to, you know, that formula will be necessary. Okay? So, aveka, I hope, uh, you know, this brief conversation gives you a, a broader understanding of what you're up against, and also the confidence to go into the kitchen with a, a new recipe. And, uh, exert as much control as you can over it as you get to the finished product. But knowing that next time you'll be able to do it much better. Now, of, of course, if along the way you find that, oh, this clearly isn't a good idea, according to the original recipe, make that change and, you know, make those corrections so that you can create a product that is gonna be delicious, if not certainly good, and something that you can enjoy for your next meal.