Re: [CH] Recipes

Charles Demas (demas@sunspot.tiac.net)
Tue, 23 Mar 1999 22:27:11 -0500 (EST) 

On Wed, 24 Mar 1999, Rain wrote:

> ED>to encounter a multi-paged inundation of recipes that clearly
> ED>have never been tested or tasted by the poster.
>
> Sorry, I may be dense, but I still don't see what that has to do with
> it.  Can't most of us usually spot a basically good recipe 

Some can, some can't.  

I don't cook Thai food, so one Thai recipe looks just like another 
to me.  I don't really know if I could tell a good one from a bad one,
and if some recipe collector posts a mediocre one, I might waste my time
and money trying it and being disappointed.  Do I blame the recipe, or
do I blame the style/ethnicity of the recipe?

> I think most of us can, and I know very few people who personally test
> every recipe they post in cooking areas.  They can't all afford to, for
> one thing. :)  

So I should be the Guinea pig and spend the money instead???  

I DON'T THINK SO!!!

It would be different if the poster said, I haven't tried this recipe. 

> And if they did, there'd be lots fewer good recipes traded on the 'Net. 

And a lot fewer bad or mediocre ones posted too.  The good recipes have 
been tested.  A good cook has a lot of pride in what they post.

For example, my baklava recipe (on my web-site) is a family recipe, my
great aunt's, and it looks very much like other baklava recipes, but it is
so much better than anything I've tried that anyone else baked.  I wrote
it up the family recipe, and added/explained the techniques and tips that
make it easy, which was my contribution. 

The recipe doesn't look all that different than the others, but it
gets raves.  I've even gotten email from people that I don't know 
that tried the recipe and loved it.

So, the personal recommendation/testing _IS_ important, as it
distinguishes the great from the mediocre.  I really don't think it's all
that obvious in many cases, especially if you're not familiar with the
particular cuisine.


Chuck Demas
Needham, Ma.

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