Mad Dan wrote:
> Seems there's a lot of resistance round here to consulting recipes - or
> at least pride in NOT consulting recipes.
>
> What's with that? Is consulting a recipe sinful and cheating and
> somehow "not proper" cooking then?
>
> Me, when I use a recipe for the first time, I not only consult the
> original recipe, but write down my own method of WHAT I ACTUALLY DO as
> I go along.
>
> This is because I prefer to get all the cutting/mixing of ingredients
> done first, but recipes don't always write it that way. Also, I
> sometimes need to adjust quantities. On subsequent occasions, the
> recipe I wrote down is the one I consult.
>
> Some things I can cook from memory, but many of them (eg, curries,
> chillis) are so similar (in ingredients) I always have to check "Is
> this the one that DOES or DOESN'T use garlic?" etc.
>

I had not seen a cookbook when I was growing up in the 60's and 70's
although I did see recipes in woman's magazines or newspapers once in
awhile. But, ours was an orthodox South Indian, vegetarian family, we
made everything from scratch at home without recipes to consult from. To
this day, I can't cook from a recipe, I will skim cookbooks/articles for
ideas and then come up with my own recipe. And for Indian cooking I
don't even measure, I just go by feel. The thing I lack in my cooking is
consistency, I can make the dish a few times in a row and have it taste
different each time. My family says thats not a bad thing, because they
are never bored, but I do get disappointed sometimes. I do use recipes
for baking, but even those I usually have to alter (I keep notes here)
because we do not eat eggs.

Anyway, I guess, using or not using recipes is completely an individual
habit. I know wonderful cooks from the recipe-category to the
no-recipe-category to the in-between category. You just go by with
whatever suits you.

Kamala.