Sitting here writing up a new recipe for the use of our Herb Garden Blend in a salt bake application, I got to thinking about the ‘recipe’ as its own genre of writing in literature. The purists in the crowd are probably rolling their eyes, but seriously, why don’t we think of recipes in a different light? Maybe it is because these are directions or instructions, like assembly of child’s bike or setting up some software on a computer. But then that begs the question, why do we even hold these writings in such low regard?

Perhaps I look at the mere recipe differently now that I have written and collaborated on so many, but really, any guide, instructions, directions, FAQ, or other ‘documentation’ contains at least a modicum of creativity which may be of interest to the wayward reader. Will I ever curl up on cool fall evening with the instruction manual for my Pro-Shox treadmill? I cannot really envision this situation, but perhaps if the manual was written in a different way, or there was some extrinsic entertainment value outside of just instructing me on how to tighten the treadmill belt…then maybe I would be more inclined to reach for this particular ‘book’. Simply writing these recipes has taught me that the author must be cognizant of the purpose behind the recipe, which then of course influences the approach toward the task. If my entire goal is to clearly describe for another person how to use several ingredients to create one final unified product, than that is of course completely different from an aim of entertaining the reader. During the recipe writing process, I am also thinking about my audience, and what they hope to gain from reading this recipe. More often than not, when compiling these recipes, I find myself writing for the reader, which is a departure from my own personal creative writing process.

Anyway, I do believe there is more here, and it will become increasingly clear as I draft, edit, revise and complete more recipes. For now, I am simply struck by the fact that until this point in time, I never thought of the recipe (or any directions or manual, for that matter) as anything more than a means to an end. Do A, B, C and D, then you end up with Z. Personally, the act of performing A, B, C and D, always had plenty of entertainment value, and maybe this is why I enjoy shows like “How it is Made” that highlight the steps of creation. Methodology and process are critical to the art, but they seem to be lost when we only focus on the final product. Half the fun of cooking and the discovery of a hobby-chef in the kitchen is about the process. Heck, the truth is most people reading this blog or purchasing Beyond the Shaker premium gourmet salts, probably do not have to cook their meals to survive, but instead could just buy already prepared food. We cook at home and for other people because of something more than just mere sustenance and survival.

So what was once just a rote, almost numerical equation, becomes a trip through possibilities, adventure, success and sometimes failure. And we cook more, refine our process, educate ourselves, and hopefully improve. Along the way we learn not only about cooking, but about creation and we derive some entertainment from the whole of it. At least that is the goal.

Related posts:

1. Recipe: Citrus Basil Tilapia
2. My Salt Challenge Recipe
3. Recipe for Everest Wet Coconut Macaroons
4. Airplane Atrocities: Would you like some tomato with your refined sodium juice?
5. Book Review – What’s A Cook To Do?