How often do you deviate from the stated recipe?

gillypkk

i use recipes for inspiration only.

i have to sub alot of things coz of my kids allergies to dairy soya and gluten so its not quite as simple as a straight swap for the gluten free alternative coz alot of the time it doesnt exist!

[Deleted User]

quite often as I prefer to call it adapting.I have yet to follow a recipe slavishly (pearl onions ?? not anywhere in my corner of Kent ) they definitely would be replaced by whatever onion I had already got in the veg box or freezer.I tend to cook something with what I already have to hand and like to use up what I have in the cupboards if possible.I will replace fresh milk with evap when making custard as it saves on the fresh milk and I can always find a tin of evep in the stores.ordinary sugar replaces caster often as A. its cheaper and B. I couldn't tell the difference in a sponge cake.It also means that by adapting you can try a dish out without spending too much cash (another great 'fault' of mine ) my children have called me Frau Frugal for years :):)

gillypkk

JackieO wrote: »

quite often as I prefer to call it adapting.I have yet to follow a recipe slavishly (pearl onions ?? not anywhere in my corner of Kent ) they definitely would be replaced by whatever onion I had already got in the veg box or freezer.I tend to cook something with what I already have to hand and like to use up what I have in the cupboards if possible.I will replace fresh milk with evap when making custard as it saves on the fresh milk and I can always find a tin of evep in the stores.ordinary sugar replaces caster often as A. its cheaper and B. I couldn't tell the difference in a sponge cake.It also means that by adapting you can try a dish out without spending too much cash (another great 'fault' of mine ) my children have called me Frau Frugal for years :):)

they are exactly the same just finer versions. i make my own caster and icing sugar by blitzing down granulated.

i agree on the onion thing though. only oinions i ever differenciate between are spring!

mrbadexample

Never.

If I need 1g of something that you can only get in kg bags, I'll go and buy a kg bag.

If a recipe calls for 23 grains of salt, it'll get 23 grains of salt.

I'm a scientist, not an artist. So I cook by measuring & timing rather than taste, sight & smell. Which is why I get very cross when it doesn't work. After all, I've followed the recipe exactly, right?

I am completely unable to dip my finger in something, taste it and think "that needs a bit more oregano*" In fact, I couldn't even tell you what oregano tastes like. Or what it goes with. But if the recipe says 14 leaves of oregano, it'll get 14 leaves of oregano. I can tell that there's something not quite right, just not how to fix it.

It impresses me immensely when people (like my cousin, who started me off with the cauliflower cheese) just throw stuff in apparently at random, and produce wonderful food. I'd love to be able to do that.

Having said that, I am slowly getting a bit better. Occasionally I might even change something a little tiny bit. And I can usually tell if a cake needs a bit longer, even though it's had the required 54 minutes & 27 seconds at 182.7°C.

*insert any ingredient here.

mrbadexample

gillypkk wrote: »

i make my own caster and icing sugar by blitzing down granulated.

I was thinking about this earlier, when I was buying 1kg of caster sugar for £1.29.

2kg of granulated was £1.22. :mad:

What do you do, just chuck it in a liquidiser & whizz it up?

laloopi

I like to stick to recipes the first time I try them to see what the author had in mind, then I nearly always deviate after that. But chances are I don't have the right ingredients even for the first time so have to make some changes! It depends what it is as well, for savoury meals its easy to substitute, less so for baking and I stick to the recipe for making things like yogurt, cordials, bread.

gillypkk

mrbadexample wrote: »

I was thinking about this earlier, when I was buying 1kg of caster sugar for £1.29.

2kg of granulated was £1.22. :mad:

What do you do, just chuck it in a liquidiser & whizz it up?

yeah. ive got a wee hand blender thats got a bowl and blade for attaching to the bottom of it and i chuck it in there.

gillypkk

laloopi wrote: »

I like to stick to recipes the first time I try them to see what the author had in mind, then I nearly always deviate after that. But chances are I don't have the right ingredients even for the first time so have to make some changes! It depends what it is as well, for savoury meals its easy to substitute, less so for baking and I stick to the recipe for making things like yogurt, cordials, bread.

you make your own cordial?! i need to know how you do that!

angeltreats

I can't actually remember the last time I cooked something from a recipe and actually stuck to it. Not even for baking.

Pink.

gillypkk wrote: »

you make your own cordial?! i need to know how you do that!

Hi gillypkk,

These threads should help:

Anyone know how to make homemade fruit cordial?

Elderflower Cordial

I very rarely follow a recipe but if I do, I almost always substitute a couple of the ingredients or leave some out or add extras in.

Pink