Skip to main content
General

A Question for You About Recipes

By June 25, 2011October 4th, 2011122 Comments

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 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 (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!

122 Comments

  • Avatar Jeanne says:

    I like a combo. Conventional listing of ingredients merged w/ casual instructions.
    Do let us know the final preference tally please.

  • Avatar Vanessa says:

    While I appreciate conventional, casual is great because it feels more flexible. As a college student, budgets and ingredients are always limited, so casual styles make swapping something out more doable and less of a travesty of the original recipe.
    That being said, as a beginning cook, I can deal with glugs and pinches, but technical advice must be sound, ie how to tell when something is done, or I’m going to end up poisoning myself. 🙂

  • Avatar Susan says:

    Combo please! I really do like the casual style but when it comes to not just reading a recipe but making a recipe I want a list of ingredients at the start so that I know what I need.

  • Avatar Kathleen says:

    I like conventional recipes–it’s hard for me to see within the recipe what I’ll need and I like it all spelled out in the beginning. And I’ve been cooking for a long time!

  • Avatar Jessuca says:

    My biggest pet peeve is when a recipe will list an ingredient once, but doesn’t note it is divided. I always dump the whole amount in and don’t realize until I need the rest! So, in that case, I guess I prefer the integrated method.

  • Avatar Nina says:

    I like the idea of marrying the two approaches too… I like the list of ingredients laid out up front to increase the likelihood that I have what I need before I start but then I love pinches/glugs/substitutions!

  • Avatar karla says:

    ok. if it’s a new recipe that i’ve never tried before i like #1….because i can take everything out or make a shopping list…it just feels more organized and not as intimidating. Also, i find that if it’s a recipe that i’m making with my kids #1 is the top choice…organized and manageable. BUT i love the feel of the casual #2 style…for recipes that i’ve been making a long time and i just need a reminder. Also, if it’s a family/friend recipe it should be casual with lots of stains.

  • Avatar Laurie Young says:

    Definitely conventional since I have the tendency to start a recipe and overlook the fact that I’m missing a major ingredient. I never follow recipes exactly, but it helps me to see the ingredients up front before I start making my own changes.

  • Avatar Leah says:

    I vote for conventional, but what I really love about DALS (and most of my favorite cookbook authors) is the inclusion of a headnote, with a little anecdote about the recipe, followed by the conventional layout. It gives things the chatty feeling inherent in the casual approach, yet provides a clear list of easily scanned ingredients. That’s a good place, too, of course, to note any possible substitutions.

  • Avatar Pam says:

    Like many others have already suggested, I best like a hybrid: casual recipe supplemented with a list of ingredients.

  • Avatar Tanya says:

    Has to be conventional – that way when I’m in a rush I can easily see what needs to be bought and can cut and paste into a list.

  • Avatar Sunny says:

    Casual because that’s what a recipe essentially boils down to anyways. When I print out a recipe with a long list of ingredients, it always makes me cringe for wasting paper and or ink.

  • alyssa says:

    Conventional 100%. I have been burned too many times before by skimming non-conventionally written recipes and thinking I have everything (and enough time) and getting halfway through and realizing I don’t have enough of either. If it’s not written conventionally, I’m likely to skip it.

    That said I’m comfortable with quantities with quantities such as a glug of this or a handful of that. But I need to see all the ingredients up front.

  • Avatar Ramona says:

    I like conventional when making out a grocery list, but while cooking-I’m fine with casual.

  • heather says:

    I like when the instructions portion of a recipe is has a nice flow to it; like we’re talking about what to do. However, I do like the list of ingredients at the top so I can gather everything ahead of time. I find that when I use a recipe that has ingredients integrated into the instructions, I’ll miss something and not have enough time to dice four onions before they need to go in NOW! Ha. Maybe that’s just me and my twitchiness in the kitchen, though.

    Hope that helps. And by the way… porcupine meatballs was a classic my grandma made growing up!

    Cheers,

    *Heather*

  • Andrea says:

    Conventional. (I’m a beginning cook.) I don’t mind it when, say, a writer says “toss a handful” or “saute in olive oil” but doesn’t say X Tbsp oil, but I do like the list and I like it clear. Would you say your TIME FOR DINNER was casual or conventional? I found that very easy and helpful as a cook (plus the photos in that were really nice).

  • Avatar Jennifer says:

    Years ago I could only handle conventional recipies – then my mother-in-law (who is Vietnamese) taught me some of my husband’s favorite recipies. She does not own one single measuring spoon or cup. Those recipies were shared and recorded in the casual style and I feel such a deeper connection to her when I see them written down. I also think that those recipies are the reason we have such a great relationship!

  • Avatar Darrian says:

    Conventional! I like to know at a glance what ingredients I need to have for a recipe.

  • Avatar Deirdre says:

    Conventional, just for the ease of assessing if I have enough of everything.

  • Avatar Tara says:

    Conventional, definitely, so I can quickly check ingredients before beginning and scan throughout to make sure I haven’t forgotten something, which I frequently have!

  • Avatar Emma says:

    I think a hybrid of the two might work well. A list of ingredients up at the top (no details on quantity, just so you can quickly scan and make sure you have what you need), and then a conversational tone walking you through the details. Just like my mother did it !

  • Avatar HeatherLynn says:

    I REALLY dislike having to read the whole recipe to find out what is in it-the ingredients play the biggest part in deciding whether or not I’m going to cook the recipe, not the instructions.

    As far as the instructions themselves, casual is great for me because I am an experienced cook, but I know when I was learning additional detail was appreciated.

  • Avatar 30 and counting says:

    Style #1 makes it easier to get your brain around your grocery list.

  • Avatar Marykaye says:

    Like the idea of a hybrid with a narrative but need ,sat list or I’ll definitely miss something!

  • Avatar Marykaye says:

    Like the idea of a hybrid with a narrative but need that list or I’ll definitely miss something!

Leave a Reply

What is 5 + 15 ?
Please leave these two fields as-is:
IMPORTANT! To be able to proceed, you need to solve the following simple math (so we know that you are a human) :-)