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Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? (2012)

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Re: Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? (2012)

#191

Post by groestl »

palotasb wrote: post #175
isaacfrond wrote: post #131

My sister in law writes recipes. She has a recipe column in a newspaper and wrote a few high quality recipe books. I saw them in a bookstore. So she's reasonable successful. Her pieces are charming, her recipes inspiring. The thing is. At a birthday party when I was talking to her, she confessed to me that she never actually tries her recipes. When it's time to do a new piece, she sits down at her computer and makes…

> she claims that virtually all recipe books are made like this Most recipe books have pictures, how are those created then?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_photography

It's almost safe to say you can't actually eat the meal that gets photographed.

Re: Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? (2012)

#192

Post by henrikschroder »

isaacfrond wrote: post #131

My sister in law writes recipes. She has a recipe column in a newspaper and wrote a few high quality recipe books. I saw them in a bookstore. So she's reasonable successful. Her pieces are charming, her recipes inspiring. The thing is. At a birthday party when I was talking to her, she confessed to me that she never actually tries her recipes. When it's time to do a new piece, she sits down at her computer and makes…

As if I needed more fuel on the fire of my burning hatred for recipe collections.

Everyone who is interested in cooking should do themselves a favour and buy a proper cookbook. Something that starts with the basics, and works itself up to full meals. It should have cheat-sheets for basic ways to cook all your staples, here's all the ways you can cook a potato, with times and temperature. Here's all the ways you can slice an onion, with examples of what it's good for. Here's how to cut a cow into pieces, here's what the pieces are called, here's how long each piece takes to cook and what it pairs well with.

Unfortunately, most people think they can cook something from a recipe collection without being proficient at the basics. "I'll just follow the recipe!", and then they wonder why it didn't work. A timer can never replace the knowledge of how something is supposed to look, feel, and smell when it's done or not.

And yet recipe collection regularly outsell cookbooks by a wide margin.

I guess they look good on a coffee table at least.

Re: Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? (2012)

#193

Post by eloisant »

debaserab2 wrote: post #147
bruckie wrote: post #110

Recipe writers are still lying about cooking time in 2023. I signed up for a Hello Fresh promo recently to get some new meal ideas, and it's making me feel like the slowest cook on the planet. I reliably exceed their stated prep and cooking times by 100-200%. Tonight's "40 minute" recipe took about 70 minutes, and that was with a family member helping out with some of the prep and cooking. I wonder if they collect an…

I have the exact same problem/frustration and yet my wife consistently cooks the entire meal near or at the estimated cook time. Clearly I'm not as efficient as I think I am!

The thing is Hello Fresh is for people who are not used to cooking. If you're used to cooking then you know enough recipes, you know what to buy and you don't need Hello Fresh.

Having cooking time from actual customers instead of veteran cooks would be helpful.

Re: Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? (2012)

#194

Post by dmarchand90 »

henrikschroder wrote: post #192
isaacfrond wrote: post #131

My sister in law writes recipes. She has a recipe column in a newspaper and wrote a few high quality recipe books. I saw them in a bookstore. So she's reasonable successful. Her pieces are charming, her recipes inspiring. The thing is. At a birthday party when I was talking to her, she confessed to me that she never actually tries her recipes. When it's time to do a new piece, she sits down at her computer and makes…

As if I needed more fuel on the fire of my burning hatred for recipe collections. Everyone who is interested in cooking should do themselves a favour and buy a proper cookbook. Something that starts with the basics, and works itself up to full meals. It should have cheat-sheets for basic ways to cook all your staples, here's all the ways you can cook a potato, with times and temperature. Here's all the ways you can s…

Could you recommend such a "proper" cookbook

Re: Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? (2012)

#195

Post by kstenerud »

tourmalinetaco wrote: post #163
onli wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every knife is sharp if you sharpen it. There is never a need to spend $300 on one.

Never a need for the home cook . Professional chefs pay for quality much like we do in tech. Ergonomics, edge retention, sharpness, and dozens of other factors can influence that $300 knife and whether its useful for a professional who chops food 8-10hrs a day, 5 days a week. For the home cook, who chops maybe for 1/10th that weekly, not much reason beyond placebo.

Mind you, going mid-range with something like a Victorinox can be a good bet for home cooking. $50-ish chef's knife that holds its edge well enough that a honing steel will keep it sharp for a couple of months of once-or-twice-a-day use.

Nothing more annoying than squishing your tomatoes as you try to cut (except having to take time out to sharpen your knives all the time).

Re: Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? (2012)

#196

Post by groestl »

kevsim wrote: post #182
palotasb wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> she claims that virtually all recipe books are made like this Most recipe books have pictures, how are those created then?

Gotta say, not really looking forward to GPT generated recipes rendered by Stable Diffusion.

"Generate me a recipe with mozzarella and bacon"

"Certainly! Here's a delicious recipe that combines mozzarella and bacon: Bacon-Wrapped Mozzarella Sticks"

Do you want to hear the rest?

Re: Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? (2012)

#197

Post by ccsalvesen »

ars wrote: post #86
WheelsAtLarge wrote: post #64

Saw a show the other day that added a bit of baking soda to caramelize them in a fraction of the time. I tried it a few days ago and it worked. Here's a page about it: https://www.onions-usa.org/onionista/faster-caramelized-onio...

Yah, but then they taste bad - I can taste even small amounts of baking soda, and I hate it.

A splash of white wine vinager when they are done will neutralize left over baking soda and bring it back to normal pH. It makes all the difference.

They will still be mushy thou.

Re: Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? (2012)

#198

Post by philiplu »

tourmalinetaco wrote: post #130
rob74 wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, you can always put the flour in another container which can be closed airtight (or at least bug-tight)...

The issue isn’t that bugs get in, but that bugs are already in. Weevils will lay their eggs in with the flour, which are impossible to sift out. Unless you bake them at 140°F/60°C, freeze them at 0°F/-18°C, use pesticides, or deprive them of oxygen, they’ll eventually hatch and eat your flour/grain.

Hah, for once, a benefit of having celiac, no wheat for me apparently means no weevils for me. I mix up a lot of gluten-free flour mix to substitute for all-purpose flour. It's a mix of way too many flours and starches (white rice, brown rice, sweet rice, potato starch, potato flour, ivory teff, tapioca starch, arrowroot flour) that I got from a blog many years ago, and haven't tried to slim down because it works great for me. Never had any bug issues; maybe specialty flours have better quality control.

Re: Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? (2012)

#199

Post by xupybd »

dmarchand90 wrote: post #194
henrikschroder wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As if I needed more fuel on the fire of my burning hatred for recipe collections. Everyone who is interested in cooking should do themselves a favour and buy a proper cookbook. Something that starts with the basics, and works itself up to full meals. It should have cheat-sheets for basic ways to cook all your staples, here's all the ways you can cook a potato, with times and temperature. Here's all the ways you can s…

Could you recommend such a "proper" cookbook

https://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/edmonds-cookery-book-ful...

Re: Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelize onions? (2012)

#200

Post by jraph »

isaacfrond wrote: post #131

My sister in law writes recipes. She has a recipe column in a newspaper and wrote a few high quality recipe books. I saw them in a bookstore. So she's reasonable successful. Her pieces are charming, her recipes inspiring. The thing is. At a birthday party when I was talking to her, she confessed to me that she never actually tries her recipes. When it's time to do a new piece, she sits down at her computer and makes…

Ah ah, it's like an experienced developer committing code and releasing it without running / testing it first.

It would not happen. Right? Right?

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