Recipe failure. It happens to the best of us!
Ever go to make a recipe? Your taste buds are in order for it to be good as it looks in the picture? only to have it be a #recipefail?
We have all been there my friend. It is not just you!
There are many reasons that a recipe may not turn out right. But today I want to help make sure you cover all your bases to make sure it’s not your fault your recipe failed.
7 Things You Should Do To Avoid Recipe Failure
Clean the kitchen
If there is one thing I can’t stand, it is trying to cook in a dirty kitchen. So much so that I told my daughter, whose job it is to keep the kitchen clean, “if I cook dinner in a dirty kitchen, it’s ramen for you that night”.
I need a clean place to make my mess.
But no really, it’s so much easier to work and prepare good food in a clean kitchen.
Read the recipe through
I use to decide if I would want to make a recipe based on the ingredient list without ever looking at the cooking instructions. Not anymore.
Why does this matter?
A couple reasons.
- It may have more steps than you are willing to take
- It may require equipment you don't have
- To make sure you understand what is required
Keep your pantry stocked with the basics
This helps to ensure that you have those basic things. You know, sugar, spices, canned goods.
If you aren’t sure what you should keep in your pantry, be sure to check out my Pantry Stock List: All The Things You Need For a Well-Stocked Pantry.
Make sure you have all your ingredients.
Check to make sure you have everything you need before you get started. So after you read the recipe through, actually go through and pull out the stuff you need.
That way if you are missing something, you know before you get started and don’t have to make a store run mid-cooking or worse have to figure out a substitution.
Preheat the oven
I can not stand when I have whipped something up and go to put it in the oven, only to realize that I didn’t preheat. Ugh!! That is a perfect way to grind my gears.
Don’t forget to preheat the oven so it can be hot and ready (like Little Caesars ) so you don’t have to go to Little Caesars!
Follow directions
Do what the recipe said to do!
If you follow directions just as it said and it doesn’t come out, you can say, “it’s you, not me!” Particularly if you have followed all the steps listed here as well.
Alternatively, if you know your stove usually runs hot, you may want to lower the temp or prolong the time or make those kinds of modifications. But by-and-large do what you are told!
Side note: if you ever make a Kenya Rae recipe and it doesn’t come out, email me and let me know so I can make sure my instructions are correct and easy to follow.
Well, that’s it my friends! Everything you need to do to make sure you not burning stuff, leaving it runny, or completely messing up these recipes out here in these kitchen streets.
You don’t have to be afraid to cook because all your attempts at making new recipes end in recipe failure!