There are more nuances to the choice of a recipe’s title than might be clear at first. Seems it should be pretty straight-forward, right? And often, it is. Salmon fillet, baked, served with a lime butter sauce….can be Baked Salmon with Lime Butter Sauce. Muffins made with cornmeal, embellished with [...]
I’ve got a document I simply titled “The Mission” where I’ve been capturing—in succinct bullet-list form—high-level perspectives on the value of well-written recipes for the last few years. Among recipe-related themes I plan to address later are the vast array of sources home cooks have for recipes these days; why [...]
My intent with this (more or less) weekly series is to remain pretty laser-focused on the craft of writing recipes: thoughts on, and suggestions for, ways to express all the valuable recipe details in a way that ensures success for the home cook. Or at least makes a valiant attempt [...]
If you’re writing recipes more than occasionally (heck, maybe even if just occasionally), it’s great to build up a collection of resources to have at hand: places to turn when you’re unsure about how to reference a specific ingredient, how to approach organizing the technique steps, how to spell panzanella [...]
Okay, I went all in on the very basic-basic starting point of all recipes—at least one ingredient and something to do with it—in this earlier post. Beyond the ingredient list and cooking method, there are three other key things most recipes will have. You could leave readers guessing as to [...]
One of the better pivots I witnessed in the past 15-plus months is new podcasts that popped up as a result. I mean, who didn't relish every minute of Home Cooking that Samin Nosrat and Hrishi Hirway dreamed up? Another favorite was Travel Tales that AFAR magazine put together. Rather [...]
Information. Yes. Definitely have some, lots of it in fact. Good information about the ingredients and preparation method is key to getting your point across in a well-written recipe. But how much? What kind? And how exactly to express it? “Know your audience” is a recurring theme with recipe writing, [...]
Every recipe starts with at least one ingredient and a description of something to do with it (or them). “Cooking” per se isn't requisite, of course, but some degree of transformation or composition—beyond simply assembling food to eat—generally is. I’d argue, for instance, that a “recipe” for sliced apple with [...]
** Note: This is the first of weekly Recipe Wednesday posts about the art and craft of writing recipes. Subjects will vary from nuts-and-bolts considerations of recipe style to philosophical thoughts on what recipes accomplish to reflecting on the value recipes have for food brands, and beyond. They will draw [...]