In Recipes, Measurements Are Guesstimates
Bill Buford’s book Heat is subtitled “An Amateur’s Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany.” He learned a little bit about recipe measurements along the way.
You Can’t Caramelize Onions in 10 Minutes!
How often do you see a step in a recipe that goes something like this: “Sauté the onions until nicely caramelized, about 10 minutes”? I’m here to tell you that’s a lie! I’m also here to show you how to properly caramelize onions.
A Teaspoon of Salt is Not Necessarily a Teaspoon of Salt
In an informal experiment, I found there to be a full 100% difference between two readily available brands of salt!
Recipes Lie!
OK, the title is overly assertive. I’ve never reacted to a recipe with “Liar, liar, pants on fire.” But recipes often, for varying reasons, misinform.