[AussieWog93]

Funny you mention that. I was ready to rant the opposite (ie, that recipes should not include exact measurements).

I really, strongly believe that our obsession with measurement and repeatability is a net negative that has taught a whole generation to treat cooking like a standardised test rather than a creative form of human expression.

You look at the older generations from cultures that value cooking and they simply don't give a fuck about what the recipe says to do.

[newaccount74]

I would say it really depends. Some times exact quantities are necessary, some times they aren't.

I hate that almost no recipe specifies salt in grams. How much salt fits in half a teaspoon is pretty arbitrary since it strongly depends on the type of salt. For many dishes it doesn't matter, since you just salt according to taste. But if you are making meatloaf, getting the amount of salt right is essential, and you can't really taste it unless you like tasting raw meat, so an amount in gram would be appreciated.

[rnd420_69]

Most people never have been and never will be interested in cooking as a creative outlet, and trying to convince them to do so is a highly arbitrary goal only fueled by your own subjective interests.

The vast majority of people just want to make some shit to eat everyday. And precise measurements are great for that.

[adrianN]

Precise measurements make the problem of cooking something tasty feel much harder than it actually is.

[kergonath]

Nothing hard in putting stuff in a bowl over a scale until the scale says 750g. On the contrary, it’s easier than trying to guess what the author had in mind when they wrote “a pinch” or “a handful”.

[adrianN]

For many people precise instructions imply that you need to be precise when executing them, i.e. if you deviate you ruined it. Most recipes however are not like that and the tolerances are actually huge.

[AussieWog93]

>On the contrary, it’s easier than trying to guess what the author had in mind when they wrote “a pinch” or “a handful”.

Again, I think you're missing the fact that whatever the author had in mind isn't "right". Do whatever feels right to you and as long as your senses are calibrated (there'll be a short period of adjustment while you learn how ingredients work) it'll come out better than if you'd measured and you'll enjoy it more too.

[teddyh]

> Do whatever feels right to you and as long as your senses are calibrated (there'll be a short period of adjustment while you learn how ingredients work) it'll come out better than if you'd measured and you'll enjoy it more too.

You’re missing that this is a lot of work, and far from everybody is even remotely interested in doing that. Most people would rather be doing useful or entertaining things, not cooking the same thing a thousand times to discover how much salt “to taste” means. Do not assume that everybody’s hobby ought to be cooking.

[AussieWog93]

>You’re missing that this is a lot of work, and far from everybody is even remotely interested in doing that

It's not. It's a couple of dozen disappointments in your teens and then you know how to cook everything you want for the rest of your life.

>Most people would rather be doing useful

I actually crunched the numbers on this once, and worked out that having the skills to cook and adapt to whatever ingredients are cheap/in season is worth somewhere in the order of $250,000 over the lifetime of an adult.

>to discover how much salt “to taste” means

"to taste" is however damn much you want it to be. That's the point I'm trying to make. It isn't that cooking needs to be everybody's hobby; it's that:

- It doesn't need to be precise

- The obsession people have with precision makes things harder and more stressful; not easier.

[kergonath]

> Again, I think you're missing the fact that whatever the author had in mind isn't "right". Do whatever feels right to you and as long as your senses are calibrated

That requires experience. I have some and have no problem cooking, but a lot of people don’t and have.

[creata]

> that recipes should not include exact measurements

Wouldn't that make cooking much less accessible?

[AussieWog93]

I don't think so. You'll fuck up a few times catastrophically in the beginning, but very quickly get a feel for what works and what doesn't (for example, you can go crazy on the garlic without ruining a dish, but you need to be a bit more careful with salt).

If anything, the belief that you must boil the potatoes for exactly 15 minutes is more likely to make you hate cooking than teach you how to enjoy it/excel at it.

[greggsy]

It’s tricky - people have different tastes, and ingredients may change from region to region.

Furthermore, making people measure things with a scale rather than a cup adds significant effort and time in the scheme of things.

[kergonath]

It takes less time to get the scale out of the drawer than figuring out which bloody cup I have to use.

[AussieWog93]

>figuring out which bloody cup I have to use

Unless you're baking, you could literally use any cup you have in your house (yes, even a drinking glass!). Unless you're baking, it really doesn't matter, and that's the beauty of it.