30 Times People Didn’t Follow A Recipe And Then Complained About It Online (2024)

FAQs

Do you have to follow a recipe exactly? ›

Look for recipes written to be followed precisely.

Many recipes, such as NYT Cooking's no-recipe recipes and other quick weeknight options, are designed to be flexible, and remain a helpful option on busy days. But most professionally developed recipes are meant to be cooked exactly as written.

My new favorite subreddit is r/ididnthaveeggs, where people share recipe reviews from clueless amateur chefs who make bad substitutions and generally don't follow instructions, and who then complain about their failures as if it's the recipe's fault. Let's all point and laugh at them together, shall we?

To guide us through the process of preparing a specific dish, recipes provide a structured set of instructions. They outline the required ingredients, measurements, cooking techniques, and steps in a standardized manner. They ensure a dish can be consistently prepared, allowing people to replicate the same results.

The web is now the dinnertime go-to as 62% of people find their recipes online, overtaking the 59% who prefer traditional cookbooks and the 47% who get most of their ideas from friends and family. In fact, the Internet is such a staple in our lives that only 8% of people say they've never used it for cookery help.

For example, if you're posting another food blogger's recipe on your website, not only get their permission to do so, but clearly indicate that you're using the recipe with permission.

But the truth is that chefs and cooks use recipes all the time, especially when making something new. They just don't use them the way most home cooks do, by starting at the top and simply following instructions until the dish is finished.

You don't need to sue for recipe rights, as recipes are just lists of ingredients and instructions which lack sufficient originality so they aren't entitled to copyright protection https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ33.pdf. Recipes also aren't likely to be trade secrets.

The email alleged: “The most blatant case of cookbook plagiarism we've ever seen ... Elizabeth Haigh, in her 2021 book 'Makan' published by Bloomsbury Absolute, lifted 15 or more recipes from Sharon Wee's book, 'Growing up in a Nonya Kitchen,' published by Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) in 2012.”

Ultimately, it is a complex issue that a judge or jury will decide if you ever sue someone for stealing the recipes (“misappropriation of trade secrets” in legal speak).

A recipe can usually be considered “original” if you have changed three or more major ingredients, or three or more steps in the recipe process, and have written everything in your own words.

What is the most critical part of a recipe? ›

Ingredient List - The ingredient list is one of the most critical parts of a recipe. The ingredients should be listed in chronological order, with the ingredient used first at the very top of the list (Palmer, 2020).

There are many good sources out there, including cookbooks, magazines, and friends and family who are willing to share their secrets. One thing is sure: if you want to be a successful food blogger, you need to have a reliable source of recipes you can use as inspiration to create your own dishes.

Highlights: Cooking Statistics

In 2021, approximately 28% of Americans cook at home daily, while 70% cook weekly. On average, people in the US spend 37 minutes per day cooking. 28% of males say they can only cook five meals or less without a recipe. Roughly 98.5% of households own a cooking stove or range in the US.

When you think about it, baking is simply chemical reactions between ingredients to produce the desired result. For the chemical reaction to happen, the ratio of ingredients has to be correct and that's why accurate measurements are important.

Cooking allows maximum access and control throughout the process, and baking allows zero access after the process has begun. Therefore, baked items must be prepared exactly, while cooking can be improvised in a number of ways. On another note, baking relies more on chemistry than cooking.

Inadequate cooking is a common cause of food poisoning. Cross-contamination from raw to cooked foods, such as from hands, chopping boards or utensils, can also cause food poisoning. Most foods, especially meat, poultry, fish and eggs, should be cooked thoroughly to kill most types of food poisoning bacteria.

A useful recipe has two parts: 1. An ingredient list, with the exact amounts used. (Usually, the ingredients are listed in the order they will be used.)