# Does anyone actually do everything cooking shows tell you to do? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 8, 2018, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-do-everything-cooking-shows-tell-you-to-do/825821 "2018-12-08T21:03:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-do-everything-cooking-shows-tell-you-to-do/825821/41 "2018-12-10T20:13:31Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I remember a show where Rachael Ray was making some kind of Caribbean jerk chicken. And she said, ‘I’m going to use SOME OF THE FLAVORS to make this dish’. That comment stayed with me, I then felt even if I lacked some of the ingredients (allspice berries or juniper berries), as long as I had the mains (scallions, thyme, cinnamon, hot sauce or peppers), it would come out ok. I’ve always been the type to realize I lacked an item and dropped everything and ran out to buy fennel or two habanero peppers. As I’m not cooking for goor-mays here, close is good 'nuff. (even easier: buying a bottle of jerk sauce or marinade). But allspice is pretty much one of the defining flavors of jerk. I would say _the_ defining flavor. After that, you have habanero/scotch bonnets/hot peppers, and then thyme, but if I order “jerk” I expect allspice as the main identifiable flavor in it. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-do-everything-cooking-shows-tell-you-to-do/825821/42 "2018-12-10T21:31:04Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > As I stated, I understand that he’s being informational and educational, but some of his techniques, always measure your flour by weight not volume are a bit extreme. Weighing ingredients isn’t extreme. Just put a single bowl on the scale and dump multiple ingredients in until the number on the scale says what you want. Dirtying up twelve different types of measuring spoons and cups, for both liquid and dry ingredients, and then leveling them off, and packing them down, and yadda and yadda… _that’s_ extreme. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-do-everything-cooking-shows-tell-you-to-do/825821/43 "2018-12-11T02:05:11Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Of course, eggs vary considerably, even more so than volumes of flour, so if it ever actually really matters (hint: It often doesn’t), you probably want to measure those, too. The easiest way to get it right is to get the approximately-right number of eggs, measure those, and then scale everything else to match. The ratio of yolk to white varies some, but eggs are sorted by size before they are sold. A large egg (in the US) is between 2 and 2.25 ounces. That’s not a huge range. > **[Chicken egg sizes](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_egg_sizes)** > > Chicken eggs are graded by size, for the purpose of sales. The egg shell constitutes 8–9% of the weight of the egg (calculated from data in Table 2, F. H. Harms). > According to Tom Vasey, chair of the British Free Range Producers' Association, laying larger eggs is painful for the hen. He recommends shoppers only to buy eggs of medium or smaller sizes. Professor Christine Nicol of the University of Bristol has stated 'There is no strong evidence of pain in egg-laying hens but it's not unreaso... I see the potential variance in egg sizes (within a size category) is larger in the EU, maybe 19% for a “large” egg rather than a maximum range of about 12% in the US and Canada. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-do-everything-cooking-shows-tell-you-to-do/825821/44 "2018-12-11T02:27:56Z")
I get a kick out of reading the online reviews that give a published recipe a low rating and claim it didn’t work - then explain how they didn’t follow it at all, substituting ingredients, messing with technique/timing/equipment, etc. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-do-everything-cooking-shows-tell-you-to-do/825821/45 "2018-12-11T02:59:12Z")
> [@zombywoof](#): > > I get a kick out of reading the online reviews that give a published recipe a low rating and claim it didn’t work - then explain how they didn’t follow it at all, substituting ingredients, messing with technique/timing/equipment, etc. Drives me up a wall, that. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-do-everything-cooking-shows-tell-you-to-do/825821/46 "2018-12-11T03:15:58Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Regarding measuring vs. weighing flour: He’s the man. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-do-everything-cooking-shows-tell-you-to-do/825821/47 "2018-12-11T11:38:10Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > The ratio of yolk to white varies some, but eggs are sorted by size before they are sold. A large egg (in the US) is between 2 and 2.25 ounces. That’s not a huge range. > > [Chicken egg sizes - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_egg_sizes) > > I see the potential variance in egg sizes (within a size category) is larger in the EU, maybe 19% for a “large” egg rather than a maximum range of about 12% in the US and Canada. Eggs from our small flock of hens vary from medium to jumbo. I use the large eggs for cooking and the outliers for our dogs. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-do-everything-cooking-shows-tell-you-to-do/825821/48 "2018-12-11T13:42:37Z")
Weighing ingredients means you can cook a whole lot faster without measuring anything. If I dump 250g of flour into my bowl, then I need .75 of that in water, about half a gram per 100 for yeast, and a gram and a half of salt per hundred, and I’ve got a great Detroit style pizza dough. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-do-everything-cooking-shows-tell-you-to-do/825821/49 "2018-12-11T13:57:52Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Eggs from our small flock of hens vary from medium to jumbo. I use the large eggs for cooking and the outliers for our dogs. Sure. I don’t have access to hens, I need to buy eggs at the market. Essentially all US recipes are based on US “large” eggs. I buy “large eggs” unless something else is significantly cheaper, and then I just use the published standards to adjust how many eggs I will be using. (e.g., 5 jumbo ~ 6 large) I’ll pay a small surcharge to buy “large” eggs and not need to make that adjustment. I don’t ever actually weigh (or volume measure) eggs. I go by what the box says. I am a successful baker, and this seems to work well enough for pretty much everything I’ve tried. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-do-everything-cooking-shows-tell-you-to-do/825821/50 "2018-12-11T17:20:07Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > But allspice is pretty much one of the defining flavors of jerk. I would say _the_ defining flavor. After that, you have habanero/scotch bonnets/hot peppers, and then thyme, but if I order “jerk” I expect allspice as the main identifiable flavor in it. I had no allspice powder or berries, but I looked up ‘allspice substitute’ - pinch of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg - and used cloves and cinnamon (didn’t have nutmeg). It came out fine, no one complained. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-do-everything-cooking-shows-tell-you-to-do/825821/51 "2018-12-11T17:26:00Z")
When I was a teenager and into all kinds of woo, I read lots of Aleister Crowley, the Marilyn Manson of early-twentieth-century occultists. Among that subculture, he was infamous for putting deliberately wrong directions into his spells and rituals, to trip up noobs who didn’t know any better. It’s been a few decades since I’ve read Crowley. But when I’m following an Alton Brown recipe for fajitas, and he tells me to prepare the coals by taking a blowdryer outside and blowing all the ash off of the coals, I’m reminded of my youth. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-do-everything-cooking-shows-tell-you-to-do/825821/52 "2018-12-11T19:23:08Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I had no allspice powder or berries, but I looked up ‘allspice substitute’ - pinch of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg - and used cloves and cinnamon (didn’t have nutmeg). It came out fine, no one complained. Yeah, that’ll get you in the ballpark. And, of course, nobody is going to complain, regardless, unless you’re eating with a bunch of jerks! ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-do-everything-cooking-shows-tell-you-to-do/825821/53 "2018-12-12T21:07:48Z")
> [@Patx2](#): > > I don’t know if it’s still on, but I used to watch Rachel Ray’s 30 Minute Meals. I’d think to myself, some things sounded really good, then I’d look up the ingredient list. Usually, it would be as long as my arm and require quite a few items I’d never use again. One of the Supermarkets in Australia got into trouble for promoting ‘Buy all you need for a Home cooked meal - total cost $4 per person!’. So you would go out and buy the ingredients (yeap, $4 per head), get home and make it. There always lines in it like ‘Now add a bit of amchor from your spice rack, garnish with some leftover late-harvested capers, and serve on a bed of red Aztec spinach’. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-do-everything-cooking-shows-tell-you-to-do/825821/54 "2018-12-12T21:20:03Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > But allspice is pretty much one of the defining flavors of jerk. I would say _the_ defining flavor. After that, you have habanero/scotch bonnets/hot peppers, and then thyme, but if I order “jerk” I expect allspice as the main identifiable flavor in it. i think she was trying not to make it too spicy…ie the peppers ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-do-everything-cooking-shows-tell-you-to-do/825821/55 "2018-12-12T21:27:14Z")
> [@Wallaby](#): > > One of the Supermarkets in Australia got into trouble for promoting ‘Buy all you need for a Home cooked meal - total cost $4 per person!’. > > So you would go out and buy the ingredients (yeap, $4 per head), get home and make it. There always lines in it like ‘Now add a bit of amchor from your spice rack, garnish with some leftover late-harvested capers, and serve on a bed of red Aztec spinach’. My favorite will always be Laura Calder’s offhand comment when she was making some dish from the south of France on _ **French Cooking at Home** _: “I just happened to have an ahi tuna steak in my freezer…” Yeah, sure you did.\* 😉 \*Actually, I do too; I came across a vacuum pack of four on sale at my local supermarket last summer and couldn’t resist. I still don’t know what I’m going to do with them. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-do-everything-cooking-shows-tell-you-to-do/825821/56 "2018-12-13T14:52:37Z")
Two things drive me nuts: “I have substituted the flour with ground hazelnuts, the salt with ginger, the tuna with vegan radicchio and have deep fried it instead of gently stirring it _au bain marie_ and it does neither look like in the picture nor taste good at all” “I have not tried this recipe out, but it is yummy” As European with a collection of about 3 meters of cooking books (not my weirdest hobby), three or four of which are US-American (and one British, and it is not a parody) I have never understood what those cups are supposed to measure. If you cannot count them (one egg, two tomatoes…) weighing something (in gramms, please) seems the only reasonable thing to do with ingredients, for spices you have to rely on experience anyway, there I can accept a pinch. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-actually-do-everything-cooking-shows-tell-you-to-do/825821.md?page=2)