Which recipe style do you like better?
RECIPE STYLE 1: Conventional The style most magazines and cookbooks go with where all ingredients written in a list before the instructions. Like this delicious looking tagliatelle [1] I will be making soon.
OR
RECIPE STYLE 2: Casual Ingredients are integrated with instruction using casual estimates for measurements (“a handful of walnuts” or “a few glugs of olive oil” or “a big heaping spoonful of Dijon”). Like this recipe for easy shrimp tacos [2] (and like 95% of recipes that appear on DALS.)
I’m torn. The dinner diarist in me gets comfort from seeing a clear list and exact plan and everything in order. But sometimes, I feel like it can have the opposite effect. A long list of ingredients can scare me off. And I worry that being so exact about measurements makes readers less likely to improvise, i.e. less likely to learn and experiment and, ultimately, feel confident. That’s why I usually write in Recipe Style 2. But I could see that this might alienate people would rather be told exactly what to do and how to do it.
Anyway, I would love to hear your thoughts — beginning cooks are especially welcome — even if it’s just a quick comment below voting for “Casual” or “Conventional.” Thanks!