Installment 3
HOW TO READ A RECIPE
By Rufus v. Rhoades
Whether or not you have ever read a recipe, now that you are cooking you will need to learn how to do that. Everyone who cooks reads recipes. Let’s talk about what to look for.
First, with the exception of bakery recipes, almost all recipes are guidelines and not chemistry experiments that require precision. For example, a large number of recipes will say “salt to taste”. The reality is that most ingredients should say that. Let’s take a simple example using asparagus as the main ingredient, taken from Samin Nosrat’s Salt Fat Acid Heat.
Salt 24 large mint leave
½ medium red onion 4C croutons
1 T* red wine vinegar 3 oz feta cheese
1 ½ lbs asparagus red wine vinaigrette
The first time you make a recipe, prudence suggests that you use the amount of the list ingredients. The second time, however, use less or more mint leaves; use less or more cheese. The reason is that our tastes vary from one to the other. Samin might like mint more than you do; you might like feta cheese more than she indicates. The point is, let your taste be your guide to what goes into the final product.
OK, now that we have established what a recipe is supposed to do, let’s dissect them. Almost all recipes follow the same approach. They list the ingredients and then explain what to do with them. Those ingredients are listed in the manner in which they are to be used. Let’s take a simple soup from Debra Mayhew’s “The Soup Bible”, Mushroom and Bread Soup with Parsley (read down, not across).
3 oz unsalted butter 8 slices white bread
2 lbs field mushrooms, sliced 4 T chopped fresh parsley
2 onions roughly chopped ½ pint whipping cream
1 pint milk salt and ground pepper
Notice a couple of things about this simple list. One, it not only identifies the food, but it tells you the condition in which the author wants you to use the food; e.g. sliced; chopped; and so forth. Two, the author tells you precisely how much he wants to you use, with one very common exception—salt and pepper. The author could have said “salt and ground pepper to taste”, because that he what he means.
Let’s look at the directions to making the soup.
“1. Melt the butter and sauté the sliced mushrooms and chopped onions for about 10 minutes until soft but not browned.”
Note the use of the word “about” in those instructions. Being a cook requires you to exercise judgment. Don’t be a slave to the clock; watch what is happening on the stove and be guided by what you see. The author gives you the guide—soft but not burned. 10 minutes may actually prove to be too long on your stove; use the time given as a guideline to get to where you want the food to be.
“2. Tear the bread into pieces, drop them into the soup and leave to soak for 15 minutes. Puree the soup and return it to the pan. Add 3T of parsley, the cream and seasoning. Reheat without boiling. Serve garnished with remaining parsley.”
As you can see, the soup is remarkedly simple. Note, once again, the author uses a time suggestion—15 minutes. Suppose, however, you become distracted and leave it for 20 minutes. In this case, so what? The 15 minute statement is just a guideline. He could have used “about” as he did with the reference to 10 minutes in the first paragraph.
Almost every recipe you will read will follow that format. Most recipes will vary from that soup recipe between a bit more complicated to far more complicated, but yet, will follow the format as the soup recipe.
Finally, before we wrap this discussion up, when you use a recipe, make notes on it. I put the date that I made the recipe and give it a numerical grade, somewhere between, say, 3 and 8. I use those numbers because I never give anything a 9, much less a 10. Why not? Probably just an odd characteristic of mine. You, however, should use any system that works for you. Do, however, use some sort of system that will remind you a year later whether or not you liked the recipe and what you want to differently the next time.
Like to visit with me? Try rufusrodgers@gmail.com.
* Learn kitchen abbreviations. “t” is a teaspoon; “T” is a tablespoon; “C” is a cup. “lb” is a pound. So, “½ t” is half a teaspoon.