Can you "taste" a recipe?

[Cooking Goddess]

Himself is amazed amused by my odd skill of being able to "taste" a recipe when I read it for the first time. When I glance over a recipe, I know what the final dish will taste like as long as I'm familiar with each individual ingredient in the list. Because of that, I switch out a flavor I just don't like and omit or add a different one as I see fit, and come up with something that works. On occasion a recipe sounds like one I think Himself might really like even if I don't, so I'm nice and make it as-is on the chance that I'll be OK with it. Most often, though, the taste isn't up my alley. When he is really lucky, I will make it again the way he likes it, but only if I know there is an easy way for me to adapt and finish some of it separately for me with no problem. After all, in my kitchen, the cook gets what the cook likes.

I've told him I'm sure other foodies are able to "taste" a recipe when reading it. He thinks I'm just weird. He's right about that, but not necessarily in this case. Do you get "the taste" in your mouth as you read through a totally new-to-you recipe?

 

[roadfix]

That is awesome. I do not have that skill.
Do you 'feel' or 'see' the taste or actually 'taste' it in your mouth?

I don't think I can even imagine, for instance, a simple combination of what vanilla ice cream over a rib eye steak would even taste like.

 

[Andy M.]

I don't know if I'd say I can taste it but I usually have a pretty good idea what to expect.

 

[Zagut]

I agree with Andy on this one.

I can't say that I can taste it but I can begin to tweek it as I read it.

Sometimes the likes and dislikes are obvious and sometimes they need to be tried to become obvious.

But isn't that what cooking is all about?

 

[Katie H]

I can't say "taste," but intuitively I can tell if a recipe is going to be good or one that I wouldn't bother preparing.

Buck used to be impressed with my ability to judge a recipe when I read it and describe to him what I thought the end product would be like...and see it borne out when I served it to him.

I think your idea of tasting a recipe comes from experience gained from cooking and experimenting in the kitchen. I've been cooking for nearly 60 years, so I have learned a lot and, through that experience, can rather easily guess what a dish will be like after reading the recipe.

However any of us do it, it's all part of enjoying the cooking (and eating) process.

 

[creative]

When it comes to apples, I am quite often surprised to find that I can accurately gauge what it will taste like by its appearance i.e. degree of crunch and often how sweet it may or may not be.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I do it with good old American home cooking but it may not be skill as much as me creating the outcome I expect, sort of like guiding a ouija board.

I think if the same recipe was given to a dozen different people it would be nudged in a dozen different directions.

 

[Steve Kroll]

It depends on what it is. For example, I know what most herbs and spices taste like by themselves. Provided the dish only has a handful of seasonings, I can more or less predict how it will taste.

But when you start adding in a lot of flavorings (curry, for example), then all bets are off.

 

[Cheryl J]

I can get a pretty good idea in my mind, if the ingredients are familiar. I'm notorious for changing up even a new recipe, though. Sometimes I'll make one as written and can totally 'taste' it in my mind as sounding delicious, other times I switch it up a little. Gotta love cooking with what we've got and what we like!

 

[Zagut]

But when you start adding in a lot of flavorings (curry, for example), then all bets are off.

I'll agree with that completely.
Some complex flavors are best left to those that developed them and following there directions is the way to go. In these instances tweeking subtracts rather adds to the finished dish.

But playing with flavors is hard not to do once you've got the cooking bug.

There is always the "What If I" factor involved while preparing the chow.

And let's not forget those dish's we've tasted in our heads while fixing and when they actually hit the taste buds are nothing like what we expected.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

Heck yeah sis!
Case in point:
I received a new cookbook in the mail that I ordered;
I'm sitting there glancing through some of the recipes and
my mouth is SOOOOO watering!
As you CG, I know intuitively what my Mister is NOT going
to care for and work around it.

(off topic)
But here's an odd twist:
as we have aged, our taste buds have as well.
Dishes that I have made for YEARS recently have not
been well received at my table.
And yet, I have tried some what I thought were way out in
left field stuff in the past couple of months and DH LOVE IT!
Go figure :shrug:

 

[taxlady]

It depends on what it is. For example, I know what most herbs and spices taste like by themselves. Provided the dish only has a handful of seasonings, I can more or less predict how it will taste.

But when you start adding in a lot of flavorings (curry, for example), then all bets are off.

Agreed, but as I cook more curries, I'm beginning to get that too.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

...Do you 'feel' or 'see' the taste or actually 'taste' it in your mouth?...

Not taste in the sense as if I just put a forkful into my mouth, but my taste buds seem to know what the flavor will be when I actually eat it. FWIW, I can also "sing" 3-part harmony in my head. I don't know if I've made it clearer, or confused you more!

When it comes to apples, I am quite often surprised to find that I can accurately gauge what it will taste like by its appearance i.e. degree of crunch and often how sweet it may or may not be.

I didn't mean individual foods. It's when you read a recipe that has different seasonings - do you know, right then, what that finished dish will taste like when you take your first bite? New recipes only, not a TNT.

Heck yeah sis!...
As you CG, I know intuitively what my Mister is NOT going
to care for and work around it.

(off topic)
But here's an odd twist:
as we have aged, our taste buds have as well.
Dishes that I have made for YEARS recently have not
been well received at my table.
And yet, I have tried some what I thought were way out in
left field stuff in the past couple of months and DH LOVE IT!
Go figure :shrug:

No "go figure". I've given up on "figuring out" Himself for a long while now! I do know what you're talking about with your tastes changing. I'm more accepting now of flavors I said I did not like years ago - as long as none of them are cilantro. I guess my taste buds have grown up a bit. Either that's what's happened to your DH, or else you have finally succeeded in wearing him down.

..I think your idea of tasting a recipe comes from experience gained from cooking and experimenting in the kitchen. I've been cooking for nearly 60 years, so I have learned a lot and, through that experience, can rather easily guess what a dish will be like after reading the recipe.

However any of us do it, it's all part of enjoying the cooking (and eating) process.

Katie, you just said it so much better than I could. Thank you! I'm almost nipping at your heels, having been cooking since I was 12 - 52 years of cuts and burns to prove it, too.

 

[larry_stewart]

I usually have a pretty good sense of a recipes taste just by reading it.
And my wife is the opposite
She will often cut out a recipe and ask me if I think it will taste good, and 9 out of 10 times it doesn't. Her problem , is that she uses her eyes too much. She looks at the picture of the completed recipe, which makes it look outstanding. But anything can be made to look great when there are food artists and professional photographers involved. Sure I look at the pics, but I pay more attention to the ingredients, technique and my cooking knowledge and past experiences.

Her biggest flaw is selecting recipes with way too much parmesan in it. Not that there is anything wrong with it, and not that its going to taste bad. I just find that a lot of recipes that have parmesan add way too much, so all you do is taste the parmesan. So she will hand me a recipe where the pic looks great, and i read it through and it looks pretty good, until the last step says " add 1/2 cup parmesan...." At that point I tell her, its going to taste good, but just like every other recipe that says add 1/2 cup parmesan

 

[larry_stewart]

What makes a more interesting recipe for me, is trying one that I can't come close to predicting the outcome. Im always looking for something new. And since my diet is a little restricted ( being a veg), any new ingredients or new flavor profiles for me peek my curiosity and make me want to try it more, almost like an eye opening experience.
Especially international dishes with spices or veggies Ive never heard of before, and with the internet now, almost everything is accessible

 

[CWS4322]

I can identity what is missing. All mid notes, no high or low. I waited all winter for the first strawberries and spinach of the season last year because I could taste the dark chocolate vinegar made into a dressing with bacon fat, bacon jam, and strawberry jam. It tasted exactly like I thought it would.

 

[GotGarlic]

What makes a more interesting recipe for me, is trying one that I can't come close to predicting the outcome. Im always looking for something new. And since my diet is a little restricted ( being a veg), any new ingredients or new flavor profiles for me peek my curiosity and make me want to try it more, almost like an eye opening experience.
Especially international dishes with spices or veggies Ive never heard of before, and with the internet now, almost everything is accessible

I've mentioned this before, Larry, but I thought you might be interested in this site: http://globaltableadventure.com/welcome/

This woman and her family ate their way around the world alphabetically and she has over 600 recipes on her site. Many of them are vegetarian and I'm sure you could adapt others.

I'm going to work on trying more of these kinds of meals.

 

[GotGarlic]

CG, I'm with you and Katie, although I haven’t been cooking as long yet I have a good idea from reading a recipe how it will taste - except for cuisines that are new to me, like the Persian rice I made last week. It had a spice combination I haven't used before. I know what each tastes like, but I don't cook with them often, so I couldn't predict what the final flavor would be.

For the record, the spice mix (masala) had cardamom seeds, cumin seeds, whole cloves, ground cinnamon and black peppercorns (although I used a four-peppercorn blend I already had), plus turmeric in the water used to make the rice. I have some left to use again.

 

[larry_stewart]

I've mentioned this before, Larry, but I thought you might be interested in this site: Welcome | Global Table Adventure

This woman and her family ate their way around the world alphabetically and she has over 600 recipes on her site. Many of them are vegetarian and I'm sure you could adapt others.

I'm going to work on trying more of these kinds of meals.

Thanks, now I know what ill be doing today

 

[CraigC]

I can "taste" things I have previously made, but can only anticipate what a new recipe will actually taste like based on having made similar dishes. The use of familiar herbs and spices in a new recipe can provide an expectation of the taste, but sometimes I am surprised!