Busting kitchen myths: The great recipe swindle

Should a recipe, if followed precisely, deliver culinary precision? Most experienced cooks realize that this kind of promise is actually not only unrealistic but also constraining. They use recipes as starting points, as inspirations. But cookbook authors, publishers, and sellers would have us believe that their cookbooks can deliver on such a promise.

The problem, as this article by Nicholas Clee in The Guardian points out, is that beginning cooks – the very ones that are likely to need instruction – can be woefully discouraged when a recipe doesn’t work out. At the worst, they give up cooking altogether. And even with experienced cooks, many only use one or two recipes from a cookbook before abandoning it. So shouldn’t we encourage cookbooks to teach and dispel kitchen myths rather than dictate a culinary regimen?

Here are three of Clees’ tips for a good indication of a cookbook that tries to help and not discourage: point out that recipes are templates rather than the last word on any dish; offer “why you do it” sections with some simple kitchen science; and give an understanding of how dishes work rather than just a set of instructions. Clee’s own book, Don’t Sweat the Aubergine, is one example of such a book, we’d love to hear from our readers of others that they feel really helped them feel kitchen-comfortable.