Why a Recipe Doesn’t Always Come Out the Same and Does It Matter?

Wholegrain Bread

Some dishes in my repertoire are decades old.  I make them at least monthly—Spaghetti with Clam Sauce, Asian Turkey Burgers and Blueberry Jam are good examples.  At least one—Wholegrain Bread—I make weekly.

And yet, even though the recipes are burned into my brain, they often turn out slightly differently.  The biggest botch, involving Spaghetti with Clam Sauce, came about when Bart once made it and forgot to add the clams.  But he was able to sprinkle the chopped clams on top, so all ended well.

Leaving out an ingredient can vastly alter a dish, or it can make no difference at all.  I once forgot the salt when making Wholegrain Bread, and it was practically inedible.  But when I left the salt out of Chocolate Chip Cake, nobody noticed.

If you normally use 1 tablespoon fresh ginger in a recipe but substitute 1 tablespoon ground ginger, your final product will be extremely ginger-y.  Better to substitute 1 teaspoon ground spice for 1 tablespoon fresh spice.

If you can’t figure out why that old standard tastes different, consider these possibilities:

* Maybe you’re using a different brand of canned goods or pasta.

* Maybe you bought your meat or fish from a different grocery store.

* Maybe it was frozen instead of fresh or vice versa. 

* Maybe the weather was overly humid, and ingredients like flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt absorbed some moisture.  That extra liquid can affect the consistency and flavor.

* Maybe you used a different recipe.

There are lots of maybe’s.  But the biggest ‘maybe’ could be maybe it doesn’t matter.  And if it does, maybe you’ll remember not to do it next time.

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