Throw away your cookbook!

I understand what you mean.  Perhaps for those who have a stronger scientific mind than a creative mind it helps to put things in slightly sciency terms.  It is more systematic than learning recipes by rote I suppose.

Vicky

What I meant was that I wouldn't experiment without previously looking at recipes. I wouldn't just decide to start combining random herbs and spices unless I had previously read a recipe that paired things together.  The article (and I assume the book) seem to suggest that you should just go hog wild and combine whatever you want and not worry about the taste because you're defying recipes.

Unless the book also included a guide on what herbs/spices/etc go together, in which case the book would be a bit more useful IMHO.

I often try crazy combinations on a basic recipe.  My curries have never followed guidance, my ginger, chocolate and chili cake worked quite well, and my lemon and coriander sponge with lemon icing was...interesting!

I like the idea of having a basic recipe, like the cookie one, then improvising, if that is the point.

Vicky

I understand what you mean.  Perhaps for those who have a stronger scientific mind than a creative mind it helps to put things in slightly sciency terms.  It is more systematic than learning recipes by rote I suppose.

Vicky

Sorta. It's more that I wondering if it'll accelerate the process. Like, look at the example of cookies she uses in the article. (And i know that for an average person it would not take very long to glom on to the ratio for shortbread, but assume i'm slow!) So..I could make five different types of shortbread by following recipes that use different fats (for example) before I start to put together the generic formula for it and start to feel comfy adding and subtracting. Or, I could learn the "formula" and basically be ready to experiment from the get-go, kwim?

Now, imagine something more complicated than shortbread.

As I said in the original post, what I usually do when I have ingredients for which there's no single recipe, I start looking at tons of recipes featuring some combinations of those ingredients, trying to get a feeling of how to make the whole lot work together. But what if I didn't need to do that? What if there was a place I could just look it up? Wouldn't that make the whole thing faster and easier?

Of course you can't just blithely dispose of all cookbooks and recipes. That's really silly. Unrealistic too. It's just about achieving comfort with food as quickly as possible, and if there's a more efficient way to get there.

You guys ever watch Alton Brown? His entire stock and trade is in food science -- basically his entire program is based on the premise that you get where you're going faster by understanding the underlying theory of cookery.

What I meant was that I wouldn't experiment without previously looking at recipes. I wouldn't just decide to start combining random herbs and spices unless I had previously read a recipe that paired things together.  The article (and I assume the book) seem to suggest that you should just go hog wild and combine whatever you want and not worry about the taste because you're defying recipes.

Once again, the article suggests no such thing. I just don't understand -- you're basically saying the same thing the author is saying, and yet you seem to imply you're disagreeing with him.

His entire point is knowing the basic recipe (which is all a ratio is, as he is using it,) you can then use that as a jumping off point to go nuts. He's not suggesting you just randomly start throwing stuff in a bowl. His ideas apply to flavoring ingredients and spices too. You don't see that what he's saying to do is basically what you're saying to do?

I love this idea and I want to run out and buy the book!  I'd never want to not use cookbooks (like others have said I like the pretty pictures) or recipes as I find following a list of ingredients soothing.  But, this seems like a fun way of making you a more creative cook, as well as using what you have on hand. 

From the sound of the article, the author of the book sounds a bit poncy though. 

From the sound of the article, the author of the book sounds a bit poncy though. 

Well..you know...he's an artiste!

I agree with Becca and mariposa.  Also authentic recipes are also part of a particular culture's heritage; even a particular family's.  It's not always a matter of ratios.  For example, one region in India may favor more of a particular spice than another region, or would use a spice that the other region almost never uses.  Recipes are much more diverse and wonderful than simply the logic of ratios.

Very true.

I absolutely love this concept and I think I'm going to order the book.  I'm a semi-newbie cook (I know the basics, but not much more than that) and the concept of ratios makes so much more sense to me than detailed recipes.  I think that detailed recipes have their place, of course, but honestly, whenever I see a long list of ingredients I feel exhausted and it makes me not want to tackle the recipe!  I'd much rather have a basic ratio in mind and then experiment, so this seems like the book for me.

Basically, I think ratios will work well for some people, and not at all for others, like most things in life!

eta: also, I'm really interested in *why* things work the way they do when cooking (food science, I guess?) and this book seems to have a lot of that. Knowing the "why" gives me the confidence to come up with combinations that work...seems like I'll have to check out Alton Brown too!

You guys ever watch Alton Brown? His entire stock and trade is in food science -- basically his entire program is based on the premise that you get where you're going faster by understanding the underlying theory of cookery.

Agreed!   I've read the article more carefully now so here are my (updated) thoughts

I'm actually going through this with my boyfriend right now, he's not a "natural" cook, and he seems actually nervous and almost scared of cooking, which is weird as he's so practical in every other aspect of his life.

So I'm teaching him basic techniques (how to make a white sauce, how to tell when meat is done) and I'm teaching him about the science (which he knows anyway but not when applied to food for some reason, we're both generally sciency, I took a physics degree, he's engineering) like why he should put the salt in boiling water not in cold water, what ingredients will neutralise acidity,why he shouldn't add oil to cooking pasta, adding sugar to onions, salt in baking,  all that kind of stuff. The ratio stuff is one step further, like knowing how much stock to risotto rice you need, or pastry is x part fat to x part flour.

It's not everything though, I also want him to be able to taste stuff and go "oh, it's too.... I need to..." which I think is really important in cooking. I think there's only experience which will teach him that, and following recipes is a good way of learning those combinations and quantities.
 
For instance, my db had no idea that apples and pork are a good match, or really even tomatoes and basil, citrus and corriander, let alone more "out there" stuff, my chocolate and lavender tart was really interesting to him,the combination of ratio knowledge with flavour combination knowledge would leave you a really open playing field to create your own dishes. 

I think the book sounds really interesting, and of course the "throw out your cookbooks" thing is a bit of hyperbole, no one is suggesting that's done for a myriad of reasons but I think these techniques are interesting and important and can help you be more creative by doing the ground work for you.

I think I'll get him a copy!

So I just got this book and it is awesome! Anyone else taken the plunge?