Which recipe style do you like better?
RECIPE STYLE 1: Conventional The style most magazines and cookbooks go with where all ingredients written in a list before the instructions. Like this delicious looking tagliatelle I will be making soon.
OR
RECIPE STYLE 2: Casual Ingredients are integrated with instruction usingย casual estimates for measurements (โa handful of walnutsโ or โa few glugs of olive oilโ or โa big heaping spoonful of Dijonโ). Like this recipe forย easy shrimp tacos (and like 95% of recipes that appear on DALS.)
Iโm torn. The dinner diarist in me gets comfort from seeing a clear list and exact plan and everything in order. But sometimes, I feel like it can have the opposite effect. A long list of ingredients can scare me off. And I worry that being so exact about measurements makes readers less likely to improvise, i.e. less likely to learn and experiment and, ultimately, feel confident. Thatโs why I usually write in Recipe Style 2. But I could see that this might alienate people would rather be told exactly what to do and how to do it.
Anyway, I would love to hear your thoughts โ beginning cooks are especially welcome โ even if itโs just a quick comment below voting for โCasualโ or โConventional.โ ย Thanks!
I like both. I know, not helpful. If itโs something flexible โ tacos, grilling, pasta sauce then casual all the way! However, if itโs something that needs to have a specific recipe โ cookies, pie crust โ then I like the conventional format.
I prefer style one. I find it a bit more difficult to scan through a recipe to see what ingredients I need and I think itโs just hard to adjust my brain when Iโm more used to seeing a traditional format.
Casual (in the way that you do it) unless the recipe has a lot of ingredients, then I think conventional is easier to process/plan for.
Oh, casual all the way, unless itโs baking. I come to be inspired, and I never cook from recipes. Besides, multiple food allergies in this family combined with persnickety preschooler means I almost always need to adjust something anywayโฆ
i prefer the conventionalโฆ it makes it easier for me to see if iโve got what i need in the house already, or if there are ingredients i canโt use (gluten, sighhhh!)
Oh, DeeDee! Thank you for bringing that up. Iโm strictly referring to cooking โ not baking. For baking I need everything laid out exactly or itโs 100% guaranteed to be a disaster. At least in my kitchen.
Thanks Julie, Amy, Juliana, too.
I agree with Juliana, keep is casual for a basic list of ingredients, but if its a longer list, and if the correct measurements might make a difference (ie for a sauce to thicken, or dough to rise, etc.), then style #1 is the way to go.
I think you guys strike a great balance in the way that you blend the two styles as needed. But thanks for thinking of your readers!
Why not marry the two?โฆProvide a list of main ingredients so one does not have to scour the directions for them when creating a shopping list or digging through cupboards and then keep everything else casual (i.e. directions, amounts, etc.).
We donโt mind references to โhandfulsโ or โglugsโ, but a list at the top for the ingredients is essential for preparation. Who wants to find out mid meal making that she has to run out to the store?
Iโm pro-casual no matter what the recipe โ Joy of Cooking formats in a sort of hybrid casual/conventional style that I find very easy to follow as well.
Count another vote here for casualโฆwith the ingredients in bold! Just feels more doable, friendly than conventional.
I like to read a recipe in the more casual style, but when it comes to actually sitting down and making a grocery list or pulling the recipe out to cook, I love having a handy list of ingredients.
Could you try a hybrid of the two? Say, a list of ingredients, then the instructions in a more casual, narrative style referring back to the ingredients with bolded characters for ease of use.
I think it depends on the recipe. If itโs something that will benefit from some improvisation, then definitely the casual style. If it is something that must, must, must be followed to a T, then Conventional.
I prefer the more conventional method. Its easier to check off my ingredients before making the grocery list. Iโve also started using a website to track my recipes, meal plan it works so much better with conventionally formated recipes.
I love the idea of a hybrid though, like Jenni suggested.
Jenni beat me to it. In need all the ingredients at the start or I get to the fourth line and have to abort for lack of critical ingredient or confidence to fake it.
While I agree that both have their advantages, I personally prefer the โconventionalโ method. I like being able to scan the ingredient list and know instantly what I have on hand, as well as what I need to go and purchase, and then being able to get everything out and ready!
I prefer the more conventional method for most recipes. It ensures my shopping list is complete and when I am prepping I can assemble all ingredients without reading and re-reading the entire recipe.
All that said, there are certain recipes which have so few ingredients and which require less rigidity in proportions. In such case, I think the latter choice works well.
Clear as mud?
CASUAL!
Iโve never commented before, but I feel very strongly about this one.
I hate measurements. Thatโs why I donโt sew. And rarely bake. For me, having to measure everything out can turn a fun and creative process into an extremely frustrating one.
I tend to use recipes as inspiration, not instructions. I like to be able to read through a recipe and know generally how to make something. So somewhere floating around in my head are the ideas that you can coat cheese with olive oil and grill it, that asparagus plus a bit of oil and dijon makes a tasty and unusual dip, and that chard might actually taste good if I add white balsamic and horseradish. But Iโd rather not ever have to go back to the recipe and write down exactly how much of which ingredients I need, and spend my cooking time running back and forth from the computer to the counter.
I find it much easier to absorb recipes that are casually summarized in a few sentences than those that are laid out piece by piece, step by step in the conventional way.
But a hybrid version people are suggesting sounds like a good compromise, since we all have different preferences.
Iโm a middle of the road gal. Sometimes I like conventional methods, especially the first time I make something. But after that, Iโm totally casual.
Iโm pro casual โ BUT like to know what I need before I start (and might miss it if itโs not in some sort of list โ heck I sometimes miss things in a list!). ๐
Conventional. I have to be able to read succinctly what Iโll need to have on hand.
Casual Casual Casual! But I am an experienced cook, and I hate measuring. Unless of course Iโm bakingโฆ actually not even then. Keep it casual.
Conventional. So much easier to decipher if I have something on hand. Although I donโt mind a list of ingredients like glug of olive oil either!
Casual. Iโm more likely to follow a recipe if it seems like you told me how to do it from your head. Something I could memorize and make myself frequently.
Iโm a conventional type oโ gal โ (and I like to bake) โ I like to see everything laid out so I1 can sweep the recipe at a glance and see whatโs going on and what Iโll need before I get going on it โฆ.