How long do you keep looking for the ‘best’ recipe?

March 3, 2024 by
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Go to almost any food website and you are sure to encounter several “best” recipes, whether for hummus, macaroni and cheese, burgers, lasagna (like this recent Eater article), you name it, there’s a “best” version out there. The folks at Cook’s Illustrated made an entire series of books filled with the “best” recipes of their kind, whether it be soups and stews, vegetables, or restaurant favorites. But as we can see by looking at Cook’s Illustrated, being a best recipe seems to be a temporary state, as there is always another one around the corner.

Our best lasagna from Southern Living

I am the kind of person who is usually willing to try a new ‘best’ recipe even if I already have a great one. Sometimes I am rewarded with a dish that’s better, other times I return to the tried-and-true. Unlike being in a committed relationship, with recipes there are no repercussions if you step out with a new partner; they don’t get jealous. I think of my recipes as “the best for now” – if something different catches my eye I might try it, even if I am not actively looking for a new recipe to love.

Of course, what is best lies in the eye of the beholder (or the taste buds of the eater). Going back to the lasagna example, there are over twenty online ‘best lasagna’ recipes in the EYB Library. And just like with dogs, all of them are indeed the best. If it is not the best for you or me, it might be the best for someone else. That’s part of what makes cooking and baking both fun and challenging – everyone has their own opinion on what constitutes the perfect recipe.

Category: Antipasto

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8 Comments

  • Fyretigger  on  March 3, 2024

    The times I’ve gone on a “best hunt”, it’s usually been to reproduce something I’ve had, where I’ve found a recipe and then decided “that’s not it.” When that happens, after trying a couple, I usually end hybridizing recipes and finally formulating my own recipe.

    My biggest success there has been pickling brine for the veggies (carrots, daikon and jalapeño) for Banh Mi. I was trying to reproduce the results from a defunct local place, my friends and I joked that must contain crack because they were so addictive. In the end, I think I pretty well succeeded. For those interested, starting from a solid apple cider vinegar based brining solution, the secret ended up being replacing the sweetener with palm sugar and adding a very generous amount of lime juice, along with a tablespoon of fish sauce.

  • lkgrover  on  March 4, 2024

    When I’ve found the best version of a recipe, it has been by chance. This becomes my go-to for the traditional version, although I will try non-traditional variations. Someday I intend to search for a copycat recipe for my grandmother’s cinnamon buns (she died without passing on the recipe).

    Two of my favorites are both recipes by Rose Levy Beranbaum: her “Great pumpkin pie” from The Pie and Pastry Bible and her “Luscious Apple Pie” from The Baking Bible.

  • MollyB  on  March 4, 2024

    For me, the “best” recipes seem to be recipes where the results far exceed the amount of work you had to put into them. If I find a recipe where it tastes great but is less work than most other versions I’ve tried, I’m going to stick with it. Standouts for me are the Blue Plate Meatloaf from Best American Recipes 2002-2003, Robert’s Absolute Best Brownies from David Lebovitz’s Ready for Dessert (this is one of the rare cases where I agree with a label of “Best ___” in a recipe title!), and Mom’s Potato Salad from One Potato, Two Potato. But I’m still looking for my best chocolate chip cookie…

  • TeresaRenee  on  March 5, 2024

    I totally agree with the ‘best for now’ concept. I have favourites but I am constantly looking for new favourites. I don’t usually look at recipes that are labelled ‘best’ but I do look at similar recipes to see if there are ingredients or techniques that could improve my current recipes.

    I used to make my grandmother’s amazing cinnamon buns. It was a 3-4 hour endeavour using a yeast dough. Then I found a recipe that used a biscuit dough. It was totally different but was delicious and ready in under 45 minutes. Then I found a cranberry filling for Christmas cinnamon rolls… So, yes, it is possible to improve on a favourite.

    Sometimes it’s just a small change to a favourite recipe: after making the same tiny chocolate chip cookies from the first Gourmet cookbook for 15 years, my kids decided to split the dough into a muffin pan. The result was amazing – a new favourite!

    It’s not always successful but I am always searching for new delicious foods.

  • Rinshin  on  March 5, 2024

    Sounds great Fyretigger. When in doubt, I add fresh lemon/lime/yuzu/sudachi juice, a little dashi or fish sauce, and sometimes a splash of liquor. And, surprisingly, small amount of ketchup to boost umami.

  • kitchen_chick  on  March 5, 2024

    When a dish is fairly new to me, I will try multiple versions, but after a while I do not keep trying new versions. It gets very repetitive. Many recipes for common popular dishes vary only a bit in ingredients or method. (Hummous is a great example of this. So many recipes are nearly identical. Same with steam whole fish with soy sauce, ginger, and scallion.) I will look at a new recipe and if it seems to offer something substantially new and interesting, I may try it. Or I might get an idea that I’ll use to tweak the version I generally cook.

  • FuzzyChef  on  March 6, 2024

    The best recipe
    The even more best recipe
    The updated best recipe
    The ultimate best recipe
    Really, the very most bestest best recipe ever, we mean it this time

  • KarenGlad  on  March 6, 2024

    I’m with FuzzyChef lol! When I cook, even family favourites, they’re never quite exactly the same depending usually on what’s in the fridge and pantry, and that extra ingredient or tweak in execution I just found in that other cookbook. And isn’t that why, at least for me, my cookbook library keeps growing? That “best” recipe is in that other book I have to have! But if you’re interested my grandson’s favourite peanut butter chocolate chip cookie is in Baking for Friends by Kathleen King of Tate’s Bake Shop….so good the quest has ended for that recipe. And now I’m going to have to check out all the recipes mentioned above.

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