The Art of Cooking: A Recipe for Success

A recent food video that gained attention on social media platforms has left many viewers wondering about a crucial piece of information. The host, who shares a simple recipe for making no-mess, oil-free potato chips, seems to have omitted some essential details in the editing process. Specifically, some viewers have reported that their chips are sticking to the plate, and others have struggled with uneven cooking.

To resolve this issue, the creator has been providing follow-up support in the comments section, which is commendable. However, it's also worth noting that clear instructions and explicit information can sometimes be overlooked in favor of brevity or creativity. As someone who values clarity and transparency, I feel compelled to bring this to attention and emphasize the importance of prioritizing information density in recipe development.

In today's culinary landscape, where recipes are often shared with millions of viewers, it's easy to overlook small details that can make all the difference. But for beginners or those struggling to follow a recipe, these nuances can be frustrating and even discouraging. A simple example is when a recipe calls for "one cup chopped spinach" versus "one cup spinach (comma) chopped." It may seem like a minor detail, but for those who are new to cooking, this distinction can be confusing and make the entire process feel overwhelming.

The same principle applies to instructional media creators, such as YouTube personalities. Viewers may tune in expecting entertaining content or engaging footage of food, only to find themselves bombarded with annoying calls to action or unnecessary instructions. This can be particularly true for viewers who are struggling to follow a recipe or need additional guidance. In these cases, clear and concise explanations can make all the difference.

In contrast, creators who prioritize providing helpful information and supporting their audience can build trust and loyalty with their viewers. By acknowledging that recipes are more than just measurements and steps, but also require supplemental information and context, creators can create a more inclusive and supportive community. This approach not only helps beginners but also resonates with experienced cooks who value the importance of clear instructions.

For those who struggle to follow recipes or need additional guidance, there are resources available to help. Lan Lam, a talented food personality, has shared a 10-minute lesson on how to follow a recipe, which can be a valuable resource for beginners. Additionally, creators like myself can offer more in-depth explanations and insights into our approach to instructional design.

In the end, creating high-quality content that resonates with viewers requires careful consideration of information density, clarity, and supporting one's audience. By prioritizing these elements, creators can build trust and loyalty with their viewers, and provide valuable resources for those who need them. Whether you're a seasoned cook or just starting out, there's no substitute for clear instructions and supportive guidance.

As an aside, I wanted to share some exciting news about my side business, Barkley. Our local ceramics brand has been working hard to restock their products, which have been in high demand since November. From linen chambray napkins to insulated flatbread warmers, our products are designed to make cooking and entertaining easier and more enjoyable. If you're interested in exploring our collection, be sure to check out dinnerwithbarkley.com for the latest updates on product availability.

Finally, if you're looking for a creative way to spice up your cooking routine, I highly recommend checking out this levitating hot dog cooker. It's a fascinating piece of technology that can take your cooking game to the next level. While it may not be as essential as following a recipe or using clear instructions, it's certainly an exciting innovation that's worth exploring.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enThe recipe writer’s natural enemy is the recipe reader. Constantly revealing their ineptitude with  feedback like “this carrot cake recipe stinks. I subbed the carrots for kale and it was awful”. The recipe reader’s natural enemy is the recipe writer. Always lying about how easy a dish is  with little tricks like cramming fifteen steps into the part of the recipe labeled “step one”. The most contentious issue in this never-ending cat and mouse tug of war regards how much text a  recipe should have. Some people think a recipe oughtta be a robust pastiche of instructions,  tips, and alternatives that should be considered when preparing a dish,  while others feel as though “the recipe” (the part that matters)  is nothing more than the list of ingredients and requisite steps.Recipe writers (and, generally, people who are good at cooking) understand that proper  cooking involves more than just following steps. It can require dexterity, intuition,  patience, time management.. It’s a skill that you develop. But people who are bad at cooking,  especially the ones smack dab in the middle of a steep dunning-kruger curve insist that, actually,  it’s very simple. You just read what the recipe says and do that.  Like this tiktokker who insists “cooking’s actually really easy”. I could use that source material as a jumping off point for a sermon about  learner empathy or a petty monologue along the lines of excuse me miss,  you are eating a grilled cheese and canned soup…But I shall instead call attention to the fact  that I’m currently doing the thing viewers hate. I just gave you all that setup,  all that context for this video’s conceit instead of immediately answering the question:  “why are recipes written like that?”Here’s the cynical answer: Longer content  with lots of keywords ranks higher in search results. Longer content with lots of stuff to  read through keeps viewers on the page for a bigger chunk of time. Longer content provides  more places to stick ads. Longer content with lots of personal stories helps facilitate the  parasocial sentiment that’s crucial for building trust and loyalty. But there are also noble,  virtuous reasons to add information to a recipe outside of just the steps. And as  the premiere source for straight-to-the-point food media, I wanna show my super-specific audience,  you lovers of short, direct instruction, that the other side isn’t all full of bad guys.First, if you’ve seen David try to fold in the cheese, you know following instructions isn’t  always so straightforward. But more importantly, all recipes… All of them… need to be presented  with some sense of context. Titles and thumbnails provide a little bit of context. “EASIEST pancakes  ever!” tells you that while they might not constitute a michelin star dish, the pancakes  you make by following these instructions will come together with very little effort. If instead  you followed “The ULTIMATE Pancake Recipe”, it’s probably gonna be high-effort with precise  measurements and advanced techniques. Both of these titles provide some context, mostly about  the amount of effort that can be expected.But I know I would never make a YouTube  video all about my own personal pancake approach specifically because of how highly  contextual that dish is for me. I don’t have toddlers demanding pancakes every morning,  so I don’t make them very frequently. That means I always combine the dry ingredients each time.  Someone who makes them more often might batch-prep five pounds of DIY dry mix, so they’re always five  minutes away from flapjack cookery, but not I. Also, I always use buttermilk. My grocery store  sells buttermilk in massive bottles, meaning any time I need a quarter cup for some other dish,  I make pancakes that weekend. It’s my favorite way to use up an extra two and a half leftover cups. If  I did make a pancake video, I’d add ancillary tips I’ve learned over time like “keep your batter  cold while you work” as well as personal points of view like “I think two ultra-wide pancakes are a  lot more enjoyable than a five-count short-stack of small ones or God forbid ten silver dollars.  I want my flapjacks floppy”. I would want viewers to understand why I’m making certain choices. I’d  also delight in like-minded viewers validating me with comments like “based floppy flapper lover  he’s just like me fr”. Alas, such a vid’ll never reach your screens. I know where the  battle lines are currently drawn in this reader versus writer war. It’s a reader’s market. The  people I wish to serve want “how to”, not “how I”. And there is a meaningful difference. When I  shared a video about how to make marinara sauce, I shared the most basic version,  plus a few suggestions on how to improve. Imagine ifI shared the best marinara sauce I’ve ever made,  and viewers watched with excitement only to find out mine uses this obscure fish sauce imbued with  okinawan black sugar. “you simply must acquire this ingredient for the umami depth and subtle yet complex  sweetness” How annoying and elitist if you hate that kind of media. But you can grow  to see the value in it. And millions of people are out there sharing how and why they do stuff  in their obscure specific way, so if you’re willing to accept all the requisite context  that comes with sharing personal stories and recipes, you might learn more than you expected.Hey, if not, even the misanthropic among you can find delight in this benefit of excess  recipe detritus: It gives the author more opportunities to raise red flags. If you’re  reading a recipe where the author gushes about how “me and hubby just got back from  Hawai'i and could not bring ourselves to say “aloha” (the goodbye kind) to a tasty purple  treat called poi. and today I’m gonna show you the easiest way to make it at home” might be one  that doesn’t come from a place of authority. I’ll never forget the time I saw a recipe for  carne adobada years ago where the recipe said something like “your dried chiles should be  freshly dried and thus flexible like raisins. And just in case yours are stale, this recipe  calls for raisins!” What on earth? Surely that would add a lot of sweetness to a savory dish,  right? If you can’t see the positive value in a the wall of text that accompanies a recipe,  let it at least be seen as the long proverbial rope with which the author can hang themselves.I guess the reason why I’m talking about all this is that while, yes, millions of recipe  pages would be significantly more usable with fewer ads, less obnoxious filler, and a total  absence of trickery like a “jump to recipe” button that actually takes you to an ad with a “continue  to content” button under that, we as recipe consumers should be careful of overcorrection.  Here’s a food video with zero filler. The host tells you to thinly slice potatoes on a mandolin,  wash the slices in cold water, then microwave them for 5 minutes. After that, you’ve got no-mess,  oil-free potato chips. Pretty cool. But some mission-critical info got cut out in the editing  bay. Some people complain that their chips are sticking to the plate. No worries, just use a  sheet of parchment. That wasn’t explicitly stated in the video, but if you pause it right here you  can see there is parchment on the plate. Some people are having trouble with the chips cooking  really unevenly, so the creator is in the comments providing followup support. That’s really nice,  by the way. She could have just dipped out and let everyone fend for themselves. I’m compelled to bring explicit attention to this because I want you to know it can go too far. I’ve  been to the other side. I’ve posted a simple reel of me cooking eggs and gotten the comment about  “wait what kind of pan was that and was that water you put in the pan before putting the lid on,  is that to steam the eggs, or was that oil?” I can’t act like every single every recipe  developer is willing and able to prioritize information density like I am. But then again... y’all can’t act like every  recipe follower knows the difference between “one cup chopped spinach” and “one cup spinach  (comma) chopped”. For better or for worse, this war between the readers and writers of recipes  is waged and won by the wills of the average.It’s sorta like when youtube watchers complain  about annoying calls to action a la “guys please like and subscribe and ring the bell”, even though  it’s consistently proven to be an effective way to get more likes and more subscribers. You might not  wanna admit how many average joes like it, want it, or need it. The vegetarians like when I take  a minute to mention that a meat dish can be made with meat-free alternatives. The noobs need me to  remind them that a knife can chop food when they feel hopeless for not owning the food processor  I used in a video. I think you already know in your heart of hearts that a recipe is more than just the  measurements and the steps, and that supplemental information holds meaningful value. With that,  I’ll leave each segment of my audience with some homework. For the beginners who struggle  with following recipes, still confounded by that chopped spinach example from earlier,  watch Lan Lam’s 10-minute lesson on how to follow a recipe. For those who make instructional media  here’s another hour of me yapping about my approach to instructional design on YouTube.  And for the viewers who got bored hoping for a more exciting topic and footage of food,  look at this levitating hot dog cooker. Woooaahhh its levitating and it's cooking! WOW! Real quick at the end of this video, I wanted to let you know that Barkley just restocked.  Barkley is my brand of local ceramics made here in Tempe Arizona, and we’ve  been sold out of everyone’s favorite stuff since November. It takes a long time to make pottery,  but as of right now, just about nothing is sold out. That also includes the non-ceramic regular shmegular  degular manufactured stuff like these linen chambray napkins that sold out within their  first week of debut, and the insulated flatbread warmer that everyone loves so much. Thank you  for rocking with my little side business. Take a look at dinnerwithbarkley.com and  see if there’s anything you might wanna pick up before anything sells out again.\n"