Memes

Only for advanced pros

The human sensory experience is much more varied and foreign to your own than you think. Some can combine flavours in their head, others couldn’t explain a flavour they eat daily unless it was in their mouths at the time.

I’m in the latter group but a supertaster and can tell what it’s missing with a spoonful usually. Couldn’t tell you what the result will taste like but know it’s lacking salt, cumin, herbs, etc. Wee sniff of what you’re going to add as you swallow to confirm.

That's me when my family wants me to whip up a random pasta lunch. Hmm, mulled black peppercorn and garlic? A bit of paprika? Tomato paste, oh now it definitely needs oregano.

Shit, I'm just making pasta alla vodka again.

Cayenne goes on everything

If it doesn't clear my sinuses completely how is it supposed to cure me? Of course it needs cayenne.

Baking is chemistry, cooking is jazz.

Baking by vibe takes some work, and you should practice recipes by the letter before trying it, but it can be fun. It's more so knowing the impact of what you're adding.

Spices, for instance, can be added by vibe to some recipes. Flour, on the other hand, should be weighed out and a firm knowledge of ratio to fat rather then vibes.

Tasting is how you're supposed to do it.

I however just start throwing shit in and wait for the surprise at the end.

can't recreate it

This is the main downside IMO

also, if you do write down the recipe and try to recreate it on another day, it doesn't work because your mood has changed and now the flavor doesn't match anymore.

has happened to me many times now.

I almost always follow a new recipe the first time around to understand what the dish is generally supposed to be. After that, I start riffing off of it to make it what I want it to be. But you gotta know which general direction the dish was originally headed before you can successfully play with it if you're a Home Gamer in the kitchen.

Ever been to a restaurant, ate a meal cooked by somebody other than yourself? Pre-made frozen meal? Fast food?

Dont want to sound mean or anything but most people are comfortable with having somebody else prepare a meal, so why is it different when you prepare it but somebody else tells you how to do it?

I give them one try and the next time I do it my way.

I usually try to stick reasonably closely to the recipe the first time I'm trying something out. That way if I don't like the result, I know it's not just that I ruined the recipe with my modifications.

Critical is that HOW you learn this is trial and error.

Most people can imagine the result of combining two images, say a frog riding a turtle. We can imagine what a handful of wet spaghetti might sound like being dropped onto the hood of a car. We can imagine what a fluffy bunny that's been rolling in sand might feel like.

But that isn't just because those senses are somehow intrinsically better for synthesis and prediction. We just got a ton more practice with them. As kids we got to draw, we got to play with toys, we touched everything, we bashed all kinds of stuff together.

But most of us, we just got the food prepared for us with no awareness of the properties of the constituent ingredients.

You gotta act like a toddler in the kitchen to grow that part of your brain.