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Heat as an ingredient?

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    Heat as an ingredient?

    I've archived over 600 recipes in my "paprika" app. I like this app because it lets you scale things easily and find things easily.

    Some things that I've noticed about how recipes are written. (this topic is really about #4, but...) I usually modify the recipes in my app to accomplish these...

    1. Salt is almost always "to taste" - Unfortunately this means inconsistent results. Recipe should have some notion of where to start or some range at least, I guess this removes all oversalting risk from the recipe writer. Many things are not easy to sample at certain stages.

    2. Volume measurements instead of weight measurements. Scaling is so much easier with weight, and so is mise en place, especially if using a digital scale since a single bowl can be tared and used for multiple ingredients.

    3. Ingredients lists should be grouped together for those things that can be combined pre-cook, so they can be easily gathered for miss en place in a few dishes as possible.

    4. Heat and the tools you need to generate it should be in the ingredients list for example:
    If the recipe requires a XXX degree preheated oven/smoker etc, it should be specified at the beginning in ingredients
    If the recipe requires a heavy cast iron pan over high heat...""
    If the recipe requires any special equipment (dutch oven, steamer basket, frying set up)...""

    Seems to me like it would be easy to specify these things in the ingredient list.
    2 eggs
    15 grams of cheese
    12" cast iron pan set to medium-high (don't get meathead started on the "medium high" specification, we all know that is inconsistent and problematic as well)
    etc...

    It's quite difficult to scan the "directions" part of a recipe to find things you know you need and much better to have everything mise en place, including your heat generation equipment, so I think heat approach should be listed as an ingredient right up front.

    What do you think?

    #2
    Heat is very much an ingredient, along with fat, salt, and acid.

    Comment


    • Polarbear777
      Polarbear777 commented
      Editing a comment
      Right but it’s usually buried within instructions not up front so it can be prepared, along with everything else.

      I’ve read that book, good, but several myths are in there, which bothers me a bit, like leaving large meats out to come to "room temperature" before cooking etc.

    #3
    Volume measurements instead of weight measurements. Scaling is so much easier with weight, and so is mise en place, especially if using a digital scale since a single bowl can be tared and used for multiple ingredients.
    So true! From what I understand, most recipes for the European markets are measured by weight, where North American recipes use volume.

    Every time I see something like "1/2 cup flour" I wonder how compressed their flour was when they measured it, or when a recipe calls for brown sugar, I always wonder if I'm compressing too much.

    Comment


      #4
      Don't most recipes mention setting the oven to XXX* as the first step? I've found that some recipes do it so reflexively that they have you preheat your oven for four hours while some other process is going on.

      Comment


      • Polarbear777
        Polarbear777 commented
        Editing a comment
        Many don’t. Some do.

        It’s usually in the procedure/instructions.

      #5
      My wife was complaining about a cookbook she was using because the ingredients were scattered all over the list, instead of grouping together the parts that go together (or are used sequentially). I empathize, having seen some recipes done right.

      Comment


        #6
        Your plan sounds good to me.

        Comment


          #7
          Sounds like a good plan on the heat. I'm not that precise a cook that I have to weigh ingredients, with the exception of baking, there it's more critical. Other than that I pretty much agree with you, and I do like that Paprika app, would recommend it to everyone.

          Comment

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