They say change is as good as a holiday and trying new things is a must if you are to experience all the world has to offer. One of the simplest and fastest ways is to attempt to cook something you've never made before, it sounds nice in theory but in practice, it can be an entirely new ball game. I think we're all guilty of trying to steal a friend or family members recipe, try something we saw on the food network or Pinterest only for it to turn out a flop.
Facing the disappointment of your cake coming out flat, your meat overcooked or your stew is too bald can really hurt one's ego and shy you away from attempting new dishes. You start to question yourself since you had all the instructions how did it all end up going so wrong? It doesn't make sense.
Certainly, recipes sometimes do have errors or fail to mention a step or explain a technique but the end product still lies with you and if you are to improve your dishes you need to eliminate possible issues that could affect your meal preparation.
1. Oven Temperature is off
Depending on the use or age of your oven it may not be giving you a fair reflection between dial temperature and actual temperature. You can solve this by picking up a cheap oven thermometer. Ovens are often several degrees warmer or cooler than the numbers on the dial and having an oven thermometer means you know exactly how much to adjust the oven to compensate.
2. Changing an ingredient
Going off-recipe is a fun and creative part of the cooking process, for sure. But it also requires a little more due diligence on our part to understand how the additional or substitute ingredient will affect the recipe. If you are going to change something don't expect it to be exactly the same, each ingredient you change will have a ripple effect on the end product.
3. Changing equipment
If the recipe says to use an 8-inch pan or a cast-iron skillet, there’s probably a good reason for it. That doesn’t mean we can’t substitute something else, but you need to understand that this can and will affect the outcome of the dish.
Find the rest of the reasons in the full post here
