Have you ever thought about what makes a good cook?  Most of us know really good, even great cooks, but what makes them that way?  Aside from the creative aspect, I believe good cooks are natural chemists, able to dream up, combine ingredients, and fulfill their expectations without too much hesitation. 

Sometimes a good cook with an idea for a recipe experiments many times until the recipe becomes what the good cook envisioned. I call this the scientific method of cooking. True cooks never give up when it comes to creating a vision.

The scientific method of cooking entails having an idea for a recipe, using known cooking techniques, investigating various ingredients, acquiring new information, and correcting or integrating previous knowledge. When a good good’s cooking experiment doesn’t result in the presumed outcome, then the good cook continues experimenting until a suitable recipe is achieved.

Here are some of the basic steps in the scientific method of cooking:

1. Use your cooking experience to come up with a new recipe concept. (You can build upon known recipes to create a new recipe.)

2. Formulate a possible recipe by determining what the recipe should be like, how it should be achieved, which ingredients will be used, and the quantities of each. (Create a sample recipe.)

3. Test logical paths and collect data. (Cook your sample recipe, writing down changes in the recipe ingredients.)

4. Present findings to peers; analyze reactions. (Let others taste your recipe, and get their feedback.)

5. Refine recipe. (Try the recipe again based on feedback from your tasters.)

6. Repeat taste testing. (See how everyone likes the adjusted recipe.)

7. Verify the recipe result. (Test the recipe again to make sure the result is correct and instructions can be repeated by someone else.)

8. Publish your results. (Make a family cookbook using Matilda’s Fantastic Cookbook Software.)

The scientific method of cooking is really an instinctive process good cooks use to develop new recipes. It also allows good cooks to evolve in their cooking expressions.  After all, where would our palates be without a great cook experimenting with eggs and oil and creating garlic mayonnaise?

Happy cookbooking!

Matilda

Making a recipe book? Check out all the recipe software and cookbook binding supplies we have at CookbookPeople.com.

If you enjoyed this article, you might check out:
• 5 Question Quiz: What Type of Cook Are You?
• Food Pairing Helps You Invent New Dishes
• Cooking Therapy & Controlling Chaos

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