Recipe Testing

Tasting, Tweaking, and Perfecting

What is recipe testing?

Recipe testing is the process of repeatedly making a recipe to perfect it. Each time I test a recipe I am typically making small adjustments to try and improve the look, flavor, or texture of a recipe. I am also making sure the ingredients and instructions are written clearly, are accurate, and are easy to understand.

When the recipe reaches a reader’s hands, I want it to be perfect.

How do I test recipes?

I start by writing out all of the ingredients, their measurements, and the instructions. Then I make the recipe jotting down notes as I go. Finally, it is time to taste the recipe as well as ask others to try it so that I can hear their feedback as well.

When I taste-test a recipe, I ask myself what worked well, what could be improved, and what modifications should I make in future versions. Possible modifications include:

• Ingredients

• Ingredient Amounts

• Cooking Method or Temperature

• Instructions

• Equipment

Since I am writing a cookbook about cookies common questions I am asking myself are what type of flour should I use? Bread flour gives cookies a chewier texter

How much sugar and what type of sugar should I use? White sugar encourages spreading while brown sugar retains more moisture creating a chewier cookie.

What is the best leavener to use? How many eggs should I add to the recipe? Does the dough need to be chilled before baking?

It is important to only change one ingredient or instruction at a time when testing a recipe. This way you know exactly what effect that single change had on the end result. This is also a great learning experience and always increases my knowledge of how different ingredients and methods affect the overall outcome of a recipe.

I can read endless books on baking and cooking but I find hands-on learning the best way to truly understand something and remember it for future use.

I then repeat this process as many times as I need to until I am completely satisfied with the end result. Typically baking recipes take longer to develop than cooking recipes.

To help me organize and test recipes I created this Recipe Testing Template.

What do I do with all of the food?

Often I will cut a recipe in half while I am testing to reduce the amount of food I create. But even still when you are testing the same halved cookie recipe six to eight times you end up with a lot of cookies.

If possible, I plan to serve recipes I have been testing for that day’s dinner. Not only does it help me use up leftovers it means I don’t have to cook dinner after spending all day in the kitchen.

I will also freeze many of the leftovers to eat at another time.

Finally, I give a lot of food to neighbors, friends, and family. I’ve been known to show up at parties with three versions of a cookie asking everyone to let me know which one is their favorite.

Check back next week. I’ll start sharing some of the specifics behind how I create each recipe.