Recipes for Dummies

[Busboy]

Well, periodically you get an article about the government dumbing down army field manuals or manufacturers writing assembly direction at a fifth-grade reading-level. Now it's cookbooks.

"When the country's top food companies want to create recipes that millions of Americans will be able to understand, there seems to be one guiding principle: They need to be written for a nation of culinary illiterates."

Article here.

Seems counterproductive, no?

[Tess]

Why would it be counterproductive? Some people indeed can't follow recipes and this will teach them.

[hjshorter]

It's no great surprise that the vocabulary is being lost along with the skills.

[Busboy]

Why would it be counterproductive? Some people indeed can't follow recipes and this will teach them.

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because the idea would be to teach them the vocabulary and skills that would help them improve -- elevating their abilities -- rather than lowering the level of the recipes.

[HVRobinson]

Sign over my desk:

The two most common elements in the universe are Hydrogen and Stupidity, but not necessarily in that order.

This sign is over 20 years old.

I used to have another sign:

"Beware of stupid people in large groups" but I took it down when I got over 300 resume's (accent, not apostrophe), none of which could meet the basics of being able to write a desk reference to the job of computer operator.

And now you know the rest of the story!

HVR

[Sugarella]

.....  the man who railed about the fire that resulted when he thought he was following instructions to grease the bottom of the pan -- the outside of the pan.

Seriously though, one major point this article doesn't bring up is the fact that the ability to decipher a recipe, the ability to double or triple volume measures, the ability to apply common sense and logic while working through the directions of a recipe, are all components of full literacy. Literacy is defined not only as reading and writing, but as having the ability to decipher maps, schedules, and directions and well, among many many other things. So by dumbing down the directions, Kraft is just compounding the problem.

Where 20 years ago a recipe for chicken might have said, "dredge the chicken in flour," today it might say, "coat the chicken in flour." And instead of saying "sauté," recipe writers say to "cook over medium heat and stir,"

What's wrong with "Dredge the chicken in flour until coated,", and "Sauté over medium heat and stir" ??

[rooftop1000]

.....  the man who railed about the fire that resulted when he thought he was following instructions to grease the bottom of the pan -- the outside of the pan.

Seriously though, one major point this article doesn't bring up is the fact that the ability to decipher a recipe, the ability to double or triple volume measures, the ability to apply common sense and logic while working through the directions of a recipe, are all components of full literacy. Literacy is defined not only as reading and writing, but as having the ability to decipher maps, schedules, and directions and well, among many many other things. So by dumbing down the directions, Kraft is just compounding the problem.

Where 20 years ago a recipe for chicken might have said, "dredge the chicken in flour," today it might say, "coat the chicken in flour." And instead of saying "sauté," recipe writers say to "cook over medium heat and stir,"

What's wrong with "Dredge the chicken in flour until coated,", and "Sauté over medium heat and stir" ??

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Isn't dredging what they want to do to the Hudson River to get rid of the PCBs?

tracey

hmm fried chicken does sound good though

[maggiethecat]

In my basic 'How to Cook' class, I get people who have only used their ovens to store shoes and sweaters," he said.

God help anyone who wore shoes and sweaters stored in my oven!

The article makes some interesting points about how following recipes teaches skills like literacy and math -- like the short mental workout I get whenever I'm faced with a stick of butter and a recipe that calls for thirds of cups. I'm glad the editors of the new "Joy" have decided to hold fast to standard culinary terms and provide a glossary.

[JAZ]

Why would it be counterproductive? Some people indeed can't follow recipes and this will teach them.

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because the idea would be to teach them the vocabulary and skills that would help them improve -- elevating their abilities -- rather than lowering the level of the recipes.

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I don't think you can expect a single recipe, written by a food company to promote a product, to educate new cooks, but you can expect cookbook authors to try to do that. It seems to me that Joy of Cooking is doing that by including a glossary of culinary terms.

Cooking is like any other skill -- take sewing as an example. If I picked up a pattern and started reading about flat-felled seams or blind stitches, I'd know what was being referred to, because I've sewn for a long time. But I didn't know those terms when I started sewing, and I certainly wouldn't expect everyone else out there to know what they mean.

I think the difference with cooking is that there's still an expectation that everyone somehow should know how to cook, whereas sewing -- which used to be pretty common -- is no longer considered an essential skill. But if you think about it, it's obvious (or should be) that, in the US at least, it's no longer necessary to know how to cook -- with money, one can eat well without setting foot in the kitchen.

So I think it's unfair to call someone "stupid" simply because he doesn't know what "fold" or "cream" means. Unknowledgeable, yes. Stupid, no.

[NWKate]

Frankly, the dumbing down of cookbooks is simply to be expected given what we see in society in general. When I was in graduate school a few years back, I was appalled by the number of my classmates who could not construct a decent sentence let alone a paragraph- and this was in an education program! Not only that, but given the basic editing functions of most word processing programs, I found this simply frightening. So, if these are the individuals who will be teaching our kids, what can one expect? Honestly, I think the general cook would be better off if he turned off the Food Network (yikes!) and picked up a cookbook. But that would presume a basic literacy!

Kate

[Kouign Aman]

Why must we know a specialized vocabulary to prepare good eats?

One of the reasons I treasure the Time-Life Foods of the World cookbooks is their fool-proof recipes. A recipe that took 5 lines for Brillat-Savarin to record is allotted ~5 pages of detail.

Who remembers what a warm boot and a cold boot are?

[deltadoc]

OK, I'm going to sum up the entire trouble with the entire universe. ARe you Listening?

The whole problem can be summed up very simply.

The problem is that the average IQ is only 100.

By definition, that means that every other person you meet, is below average in intelligence!

That really explains a lot if you think about it!

doc

[Sugarella]

The problem is that the average IQ is only 100.

By definition, that means that every other person you meet, is below average in intelligence!

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I thought the average IQ was about 112? Regardless, IQ is determined in 4 seperate quadrants: mathematics, linguistics, visual-spatial analytics, and logic. And just because someone may have very high math or language skills does not mean they have any common sense, or vice versa. And IQ, of course, is malleable and can be increased with continued learning, and can be decreased by mental stagnation.

But this is irrelevant. The potential or assumed IQ of an average recipe reader should not be considered when creating said recipe. The entire point is, if a person opens a book or magazine with the intent to follow a written recipe, that means they want to LEARN.

We cannot just start eliminating words from our everyday vocabulary because some people might not know what the words mean already.

[Kouign Aman]

If the words were part of people's every day vocabulary, they wouldnt need to be replaced and explained.

It seems to be "the nation's top food companies" that are simplifying instructions. How many people who are competent cooks, and conversant with cooking's specialized vocabulary, rely heavily on Kraft for their recipes?

It seems to me that if someone who is interesting in learning how to cook begins with the simple recipes from Kraft, Beatrice, etal, and succeeds in correctly making the dish, it might give them the confidence to try something from other recipes. And if they've followed enough recipes, some of the specialized words & briefer instructions will being make sense just from context & experience. Its clear from the examples cited, that some folks do not have the basic knowledge to leap right in. Greasing the bottom of the outside of the pan....ay yi yi yi yi. This is someone who has so little experience he doesnt know the purpose of the grease. Cut him some slack, he's trying to learn to cook. Maybe one day, he'll become a moderator on eGullet. <she ducks, runs for cover>

And remember, there are specialized uses of common words in every field. How many of us knew all the vocab for all the parts and processes of our computers before we hit the power button and started poking away at the keys? Isnt a RAM a male sheep?

[Grub]

I don't think it's okay to be "stupid" when you cook... This dumbing down business is really bad.

I'm not sure if cooking should be described as a hobby, or something else, but every hobby or interest that I have ever enjoyed, required me to LEARN things. This has certainly been the case with cooking. I've got no problem with feeling ignorant or saying ignorant things -- as long as I'm given the oportunity to learn something -- but if everything is dumbed down for me, I'd always remain ignorant. That's not a good thing.

[bavila]

every hobby or interest that I have ever enjoyed, required me to LEARN things. This has certainly been the case with cooking.

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This is true, but it seems there should be some amount of basic kitchen literacy for anyone. I think of it as a self-care issue. We should all know how to dress and bathe, get along with others, balance a checkbook, and feed ourselves.

I don't like this "mom's working = generations without basic life skills". Hogwash. We all bought in as a society to convenience foods and microwaves, etc.

[BeeZee]

I think a key point that a previous poster made is that the beginner cook is likely to use a recipe on a product label. Directions need to be simple and worded in such a way so that a kid could follow them. You gotta crawl before you run, and it's a good way to get someone comfortable with the idea of 'cooking' and following a recipe (rather than nuking a frozen meal in a tray). Once you gain a comfort level and an ambition to try new things, you graduate to "real" cookbooks. I started with a Betty Crocker cookbook for kids which had very simple recipes with every step spelled out. I do remember reading a glossary of terms in a "real" cookbook as I got older and was wanting to try more ambitious recipes. That can be a great learning tool, as well.

[eJulia]

This is just so sad... I know more parents are working outside of the home, but my basic cooking instruction came from mom. She worked outside of the home, but we still had to eat! I learned basics like browning ground beef (and the need to drain off the grease, and how to do it with a tilted skillet and a tablespoon - don't forget it doesn't go down the drain!), creaming butter and sugar as the start of every cookie recipe, how to read the abbreviations in a recipe (and where to go if you weren't clear!), etc.

Don't let milk boil hard, always preheat the oven (and why), don't overbeat batters after combining the wet and dry ingredients (and why), how to prep all kinds of veggies for salads and sides... all lessons learned in the family kitchen.

Just like the Food Network commercials say, when you learn to cook, you are learning math, fractions, measures and weights, language/vocabulary skills, teamwork, patience, and more.

Now my mom was no chef - we ate plenty of hamburger helper and other convenience foods, but she gave me the foundation to explore more complicated cooking/baking if I chose. And I'm still learning everyday.

What will it take for parents to invest in their kids???

[Sugarella]

I think a key point that a previous poster made is that the beginner cook is likely to use a recipe on a product label. Directions need to be simple and worded in such a way so that a kid could follow them. You gotta crawl before you run, and it's a good way to get someone comfortable with the idea of 'cooking' and following a recipe (rather than nuking a frozen meal in a tray). Once you gain a comfort level and an ambition to try new things, you graduate to "real" cookbooks. I started with a Betty Crocker cookbook for kids which had very simple recipes with every step spelled out. I do remember reading a glossary of terms in a "real" cookbook as I got older and was wanting to try more ambitious recipes. That can be a great learning tool, as well.

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I see your point but Kraft is not writing cookbooks for kids. These are intended for adults. And if they eliminate using words like saute which is a common cooking word, how will anybody learn what they mean?? You have to see a word in context to understand it.

[Kouign Aman]

Kraft is also not in the business of maintaining a specialized language. They are in the business of selling product. I agree that cookbooks should use the standard terminology and if necessary provide a glossary, and I'm glad JoC went that way.

Adults can begin from a place of ignorance too. Warm boot, anyone?