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Scientists of Lemmy, how would you standardize or improve cooking recipes? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 1 day ago by comfy@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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I'm sick of having to look up what country an author is from to know which variant of teaspoon they're using or how big their lemons are compared to mine. It's amateur hour out there, I want those homely family recipes up to standard!

What are some good lessons from scientific documentation which should be encouraged in cooking recipes? What are some issues with recipes you've seen which have tripped you up?

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[–] dumples@midwest.social 18 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I was a professional chemist for around ~7 and love to cook. My suggestion is to stop expecting precision with an imprecise and natural product like cooking. Are your lemons larger? They also might be sweeter, tarter, juicer etc. than others. Same thing with teaspoons. The spices you are using may be more or less concentrated than who wrote it.

Lean into the uncertainty and be free. Double or even triple spices to see if you like it. Measure with your heart

[–] Zenith@lemm.ee 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

That’s just people who know how to cook, beginners want to follow recipes to a T and almost always come up with sub par results to someone who knows how to cook because they already incorporate what you’ve mentioned. This is just “make sure people cooking know how to cook” lol

[–] dumples@midwest.social 8 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

I was thinking saying that expecting precision from a natural product is a fools errand. So embrace the imperfection and go crazy

[–] joshthewaster@lemmy.world 2 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Yep. imperfection is a feature not a bug.

Trying to eliminate every variable and be able to follow a precise formula is absurd. And if you manage to do that you are going to make food that is as good as what you can buy in the frozen section of any grocery store. That highly processed stuff is made by eliminating all the variables and following a precise formula.

Just enjoy the variation, taste your ingredients and food at every step you can and adjust until you like it.

[–] dumples@midwest.social 1 points 8 hours ago

There are science behind cooking but its mostly with methods instead of inputs. If anyone is interested [Salt Fat Acid Heat](https://www.saltfatacidheat.com/] and (The Food Lab)[https://www.amazon.com/Food-Lab-Cooking-Through-Science/dp/0393081087] are more scientific about methods and made for home cooks. You can also look at On Food and Cooking which is much more textbook like about the science of cooking. Its there but not in standardized measurements and units for recipes