Wonder Why That Cake Didn’t Look Like the Magazine (or Book) Photo?
Remember the time you had company coming for dinner and the dessert (or the lamb chops or the souffle) was a complete disaster?
Don’t blame yourself. Well, sometimes we all make mistakes and forget to add the baking powder or whatever. But quite often, the recipe that YOU followed perfectly didn’t turn out perfectly because it wasn’t tested properly. Or at all.
Recipe testing is an art, a science, and a necessity…especially if that recipe appears in print and hundreds–maybe thousands–of anxious cooks will be trying it out on friends and family.
Food writers know this, but others may not: those recipes you see in really good magazines in books have been tested 2, 3, 4, and maybe even 5 times! A recipe that really works is what sets the good magazines (and books) apart from the not-so-good publications.
Having worked in several test kitchens in NYC, it was always astonishing to cook up a flawed recipe from a hurried Celebrity Chef. That’s why we tested the recipes. We fixed them. We called the chef and asked why there wasn’t any yeast in the ingredients list for yeast bread. Is the cucumber seeded and peeled? If the recipe doesn’t say so, what’s a home cook supposed to do?
You get the picture.
Recipe testing is an important part of food writing. And strange as it may seem, I adore testing recipes! It’s like a puzzle: OK, now, when do I add the broth to the skillet? (The chef doesn’t say in the recipe he/she sent to me.) Does the chef mean lemon peel or lemon zest? (He/She didn’t specify.) What kind of flour: all-purpose or (higher gluten) bread flour? Again, he/she didn’t specify.
Home cooks be advised: use magazines and books that you trust to avoid mishaps! And, of course, pay attention when you cook: it’s easy to get carried away and leave out an important ingredient. (Note to self: don’t drink too much wine while you’re cooking!)
Editors: Call me for recipe-testing jobs for flawless recipes!
© 2009 SBK Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. To reproduce any original articles or recipes found on this site, contact sally@sbkproductions.com.
Hey, Sally. I was at Good Housekeeping today. Saw Susan Westmoreland. She, Michele Scicolone and I are veterans of Ladies Home Journal. It was ridiculous how many times we had to test a recipe. But in the end, I guess it was worth it. There’s nothing worse than a recipe that doesn’t work!
Linda