The Recipe Writer's Handbook

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

If you have lived for a while on this earth you will notice that there is very little new under the sun, with the exception of perhaps technology, which we're not talking about here. There are creative and interesting ways to use sugar, chocolate, spices and herbs in baking. There are fascinating ways to decorate cakes, cookies and all things sweet and edible. If you are a seasoned cook/baker you probably already know about this little jewel of a book, but if you are not this may be something you will want to look into. Originally written in 1997 by Barbara Gibbs Ostmann and Jane L.Baker The Recipe Writer's Handbook is something all bakers should have on their cookbook shelf. Why? Because one day you will be (perhaps not a "baby-boomer") but a generation "X" boomer or generation "Y" boomer and you will be passing on knowledge to the next generation of bakers. This sort of information is helpful.

This little book is designed to teach you to "think" your way through a recipe to make important decisions and trouble shoot problems concerning format, syntax, spelling, cooking terminology etc." Those who attended at professional culinary art program probably already know this, but trust and believe if you live long enough it will escape your memory.

You may not think you will, but one day you may want to put all your recipes to pen or in today's case "Word," and publish all those dynamic dishes that have made you famous or not so...famous. Publishers are always looking for ways to take a bigger piece of your pie, so this book can assist you in structuring your recipes in such a manner that publishers will think you had help...well you did it just didn't cost you an arm and a leg.

The more you know, the more you can deliver and you won't have to rely on the publisher finding culinary writers to "clean up" your recipes.

I have the old copy (original 1997) and plan of purchase the revised and expanded copy soon. The chapters in my copy are well written and the information is invaluable. Here's a hint of what's in the book (1997 version).

Chapter 1 The Philosophy of Recipe Writing
Chapter 2 Recipe Writing Style
Chapter 3 The Style Sheet
Chapter 4 Recipe Testing
Chapter 5 Cooking Terminology
Chapter 6 Preferred Spelling of Commonly Used Food Words
Chapter 7 Generic Terms for Brand Names and Trademarks
Chapter 8 Metrics
Chapter 9 Nutrition Analysis of Recipes
Chapter 10 Copyright, Plagiarism and the Ethics of Recipe Writing and more (15 Chapters in all).

The new revised book is on Amazon for under $10 (used) and I have emailed the authors to see if they might be revising it again (it's 2009). As I mention before if this is old news, no sweat, but for those baby bakers out there, just another resource for your baking arsenal.

The Novice Baker

Friday, November 28, 2008

Recently a dear friend, who is not a baker attempted to bake on of the pies in my cookbook, Little Black Book of Pies. Again, I would like to emphasize she is not a seasoned baker or cook; but what many might call a true novice in the kitchen. She read the recipe and wanted to make the buttermilk coconut pie on page 77. We discussed and reviewed the recipe and I attempted to walk her through the process step-by-step, preparing this most delicious pie. During this process I discovered that novice bakers know far less that I anticipated.

My dear friend did not know there are measuring cups for both solid and liquid ingredients. Why? Because when using a glass cup, the edges have a tendency to curve and allow you to pour more solid ingredient than you may need. It is far easier to measure solid ingredients with a metal or plastic measuring cup. Will this effect the taste of the products? Yes, if you are not measuring accurately and you pour in more sugar, for example than needed the baked good may taste too sweet. Remember, baking is a science and although you can get away with a lot, it is often not as forgiving as cooking.

My friend also did not know that when melting butter in the microwave you need to place it in a container at least twice the size of the product you’re melting, since butter like milk and other ingredients are likely to bubble and spill over the sides.

After the pie was finished I received a call from this new budding baker and she described the pie as “tasty” but a bit too sweet. Why? Well after participating in a “BSI” (bake scene investigation) I discovered that she measured both dry and liquid ingredients in a glass measuring cup.

In my new cookbook, Little Black Book for the Novice Cook, I discuss the difficulty of baking and how the whole process can be most stressful. The pie was also baked in two “deep dish” pie shells; even though the recipe called for two “regular pie shells”; A standard pie pan is 9 inches in diameter and 1-1/4 inches deep while a 9 inch deep dish pie shell is 1-1/2 to 2 inches deep; another issue involve this new baker not thinking the eggs she purchased looked “large”enough so she used six large eggs instead of the five large eggs called for in the recipe.

I point this out because just changing one or two items in a recipe can alter the texture, flavor and final product. Have you ever changed a recipe and made the product “better” or “worse” for doing it? I once decided to use margarine instead of butter in a cream sauce for a baked fish dish and it was absolutely terrible, greasy and completely uneatable. Are there times when we should just leave well enough alone and stop tinkering with a recipe? What are your thoughts?