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Old 04-15-2012, 05:19 PM
 
Location: in my mind
5,325 posts, read 8,497,330 times
Reputation: 11097

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Debsi View Post

I consider the comments people leave to be more interesting and helpful than the star rating, which I barely pay attention to.
This is exactly what I do as well, although I admit I am biased toward reading recipes with 4 or 5 star reviews in general. ....and from there, I only focus on the comments. Its very helpful, for example, when 20 different people all say there is too much of one ingredient. At that point, I can trust that they are probably right.

its just like on zappos.com - when I read the reviews of shoes, if a bunch of people all say that the toe box is too tight, I will tend to believe it.
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Old 04-15-2012, 05:42 PM
 
Location: Central Texas
20,958 posts, read 45,220,196 times
Reputation: 24738
Quote:
Originally Posted by netwit View Post
That's not the kind of tweaking anyone is referring to - that would be a real review to say that the recipe's sauce needed thickening. The kind of non-review review I object to is the kind where without ever trying the original recipe as written, someone substitutes darn near everything, including things that make no sense at all, and then blasts the recipe for not working out.

It reminds me of an elderly friend of mine who would tell me she had had to sew the same button back on her coat five times because no one knew how to make good quality clothes any more.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnonChick View Post
The issue the OP has, is the same issue I have. When people make changes to the recipe, they're not giving a review on the existing recipe. They're exchanging ideas, as though the review option were a discussion forum. Reviews are not discussions. They're reviews.

You don't review a restaurant and say "well, I told the waiter to wait on someone else's table, and brought in my own waiter. And then I brought in a painter to change the color of the walls, and I told the chef that instead of Indian food, I'd like to have couscous with lime. Once I made all those changes, it was awesome!"

And when you review a play, you don't substitute the lead actor for your own choice. You review what is already being presented to you.

When you review a trip to California, you don't change planes in Denver and head to Puerto Rico instead, and rate California on your experience with Puerto Rico. You go to California, and review your experience there.

People who are searching for actual reviews, are -not- looking to see what changes people are making to existing recipes to call them their own. They're looking for input and feedback on the existing recipes. People who think their idea has merit, post their own recipes.

Recipe #1 = post your idea of how something will taste great, if people make it the way you make it.
Review = post your opinion on the above.
Recipe #2 = if you want to change recipe #1, then write recipe #2. Don't use review to suggest things that make recipe #1, no longer recipe #1.
I wanted to re-post these two comments, first because for some reason a lot of people seem to not read the thread before posting, and second, because they express very clearly what it is that I'm finding peculiar (and somewhat annoying, frankly) about the approach some take to "reviewing" recipes.

Making comments about tweaks you made, and why you found it necessary to make them, is fine. Pretending that it's the same recipe that you're reviewing after you've changed everything about it and saying it's great is both a way of patting yourself on the back while pretending you're not and second, is the equivalent of, as said above, saying you're going to California, changing planes in Denver and going to Puerto Rico, and then reviewing California based on your experience in Puerto Rico.
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Old 04-15-2012, 07:30 PM
 
Location: In a house
13,250 posts, read 42,653,849 times
Reputation: 20198
Quote:
Originally Posted by springfieldva View Post
I find the reviews and the tweaking to be helpful. I want to know beforehand if a sauce will come out watery unless it is thickened...
Yes, so do I. That's why I look for reviews by people who actually tried the recipe provided. To let me know if the recipe, as provided, was watery. I'm sure if you thicken up ANY sauce, it will get...(drumroll)...thicker.

But what was it like without the tweak? What kind of results should I expect to get, if I actually...(drumroll)...follow the recipe as it is provided?

It's like the Nestle's Tollhouse recipe on the back of Nestle's Morsels. I know it'll come out rock hard if I use margarine instead of butter, because my aunt always insisted on using margarine instead of butter. The rest of what she did was exactly according to the recipe. And her cookies always came out rock hard. Even living in two different places, with two different oven types (one gas, one electric) - her cookies were tooth-breakers.

So I knew, to use butter. Which is an option on the recipe, as provided. I followed it exactly to the letter, using butter. And that was when I discovered, I wanted it a little more richly-sweet, instead of sickeningly-sweet. So I switched out some of the white sugar for more brown sugar, and used dark brown instead of light brown. I discovered I liked mine better.

I knew I liked mine better, because I tried it the way it was originally written, first. I couldn't possibly know that mine was better, if I had no original to compare it to.

And that is why I like to read reviews of the actual written recipes, not of the tweaks -instead- of the written recipes. If you say "I tried the original, and found it was...blah blah blah. And then I tweaked it, and it came out blah blah blah." Then that is a review. Saying "I didn't try the original, but did this instead, and it's really blah blah blah" then it's nothing more than an insult to the writer of the original, while arrogantly pushing your own recipe.
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Old 04-15-2012, 10:32 PM
 
Location: Western Washington
8,003 posts, read 11,689,977 times
Reputation: 19539
Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady View Post
Has anyone else ever noticed those people who, when a recipe is published on an online recipe forum, will rate it and comment, but in their comments they will tell all the ways that they changed it to the point that it isn't even the same recipe, and seem to think they're rating the recipe that was published when they're rating a recipe that bears no resemblance whatsoever to it?

What is going on with that? What are they thinking? Are they trying to show what a great cook they are but they don't have the courage to actually post their own recipe on there for others to rate?

It's a little thing, but one of those things that makes my brain hurt when I see it, and it seems to be very common in those forums.
When I look for a new recipe online, I ALWAYS read the reviews, before ever trying out the recipe. What I appreciate seeing is how the "reviewer" felt about the recipe in its original format. "What was wrong with it. Why I felt changes needed to be made. Too dry, flat taste, too sweet, etc." I then appreciate seeing what they did to make the recipe work and how it turned out after they made the changes. "It's so much better" doesn't really cut it for me.
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Old 04-15-2012, 10:34 PM
 
Location: Western Washington
8,003 posts, read 11,689,977 times
Reputation: 19539
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnonChick View Post
Yes, so do I. That's why I look for reviews by people who actually tried the recipe provided. To let me know if the recipe, as provided, was watery. I'm sure if you thicken up ANY sauce, it will get...(drumroll)...thicker.

But what was it like without the tweak? What kind of results should I expect to get, if I actually...(drumroll)...follow the recipe as it is provided?

It's like the Nestle's Tollhouse recipe on the back of Nestle's Morsels. I know it'll come out rock hard if I use margarine instead of butter, because my aunt always insisted on using margarine instead of butter. The rest of what she did was exactly according to the recipe. And her cookies always came out rock hard. Even living in two different places, with two different oven types (one gas, one electric) - her cookies were tooth-breakers.

So I knew, to use butter. Which is an option on the recipe, as provided. I followed it exactly to the letter, using butter. And that was when I discovered, I wanted it a little more richly-sweet, instead of sickeningly-sweet. So I switched out some of the white sugar for more brown sugar, and used dark brown instead of light brown. I discovered I liked mine better.

I knew I liked mine better, because I tried it the way it was originally written, first. I couldn't possibly know that mine was better, if I had no original to compare it to.

And that is why I like to read reviews of the actual written recipes, not of the tweaks -instead- of the written recipes. If you say "I tried the original, and found it was...blah blah blah. And then I tweaked it, and it came out blah blah blah." Then that is a review. Saying "I didn't try the original, but did this instead, and it's really blah blah blah" then it's nothing more than an insult to the writer of the original, while arrogantly pushing your own recipe.

I completely agree! Tell me WHY the recipe didn't work in the first place. Don't just tell me you've got a better recipe than the one I'm looking at! What was WRONG with the first one? What did you do to make it better? In what WAY is it now better? Be descriptive!
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Old 04-16-2012, 07:31 AM
 
Location: Central Texas
20,958 posts, read 45,220,196 times
Reputation: 24738
Quote:
Originally Posted by beachmel View Post
I completely agree! Tell me WHY the recipe didn't work in the first place. Don't just tell me you've got a better recipe than the one I'm looking at! What was WRONG with the first one? What did you do to make it better? In what WAY is it now better? Be descriptive!
Also, how do you KNOW that it's better than the original - did you actually make the original first?
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Old 04-16-2012, 07:50 AM
 
17,010 posts, read 16,211,513 times
Reputation: 28259
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnonChick View Post
Yes, so do I. That's why I look for reviews by people who actually tried the recipe provided. To let me know if the recipe, as provided, was watery. I'm sure if you thicken up ANY sauce, it will get...(drumroll)...thicker.

But what was it like without the tweak? What kind of results should I expect to get, if I actually...(drumroll)...follow the recipe as it is provided?

It's like the Nestle's Tollhouse recipe on the back of Nestle's Morsels. I know it'll come out rock hard if I use margarine instead of butter, because my aunt always insisted on using margarine instead of butter. The rest of what she did was exactly according to the recipe. And her cookies always came out rock hard. Even living in two different places, with two different oven types (one gas, one electric) - her cookies were tooth-breakers.

So I knew, to use butter. Which is an option on the recipe, as provided. I followed it exactly to the letter, using butter. And that was when I discovered, I wanted it a little more richly-sweet, instead of sickeningly-sweet. So I switched out some of the white sugar for more brown sugar, and used dark brown instead of light brown. I discovered I liked mine better.

I knew I liked mine better, because I tried it the way it was originally written, first. I couldn't possibly know that mine was better, if I had no original to compare it to.

And that is why I like to read reviews of the actual written recipes, not of the tweaks -instead- of the written recipes. If you say "I tried the original, and found it was...blah blah blah. And then I tweaked it, and it came out blah blah blah." Then that is a review. Saying "I didn't try the original, but did this instead, and it's really blah blah blah" then it's nothing more than an insult to the writer of the original, while arrogantly pushing your own recipe.
I agree with you. It's hard to tell if a recipe is any good/what to change about it unless someone has actually made it.

Usually what happens with these reviews: some people do try the original recipe and then post comments about it. Often they will say that they really liked the recipe but the next time they make it they would do X, instead.

People then read those reviews and the tweaking begins. Often the tweakers haven't made the original recipe but they've read enough reviews (from people who did try the original recipe) to offer up some suggestions for improvement.

I usually don't pay attention to the reviews that totally reinvent the recipe to the point where it's unrecognizable, though. If the original recipe didn't look good to me, I wouldn't be reading the reviews about it in the first place.
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Old 04-16-2012, 12:51 PM
 
Location: Western Washington
8,003 posts, read 11,689,977 times
Reputation: 19539
Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady View Post
Also, how do you KNOW that it's better than the original - did you actually make the original first?
Exactly!! Although, I have to say...I've been cooking from scratch long enough to be able to look at a recipe and say, "WHAAT!? Lady, if you add THAT much/that little of THAT ingredient, that's gonna be gross/flat etc." However, I still might look at the reviews, to see what happened when others tried the recipe! LOL

A couple of months ago, I was looking for a sky HIGH baking powder biscuit. I found one that called for a HUGE amount of baking powder, but decided to read the reviews. Out of about 12 reviews, there was only ONE person who complained about them. Her only complaint was that the dough was too soft to work with. Okay...other reviewers admitted that it was very soft, but that the softness of the dough must have been what made these the BEST biscuits EVER!! LOL

Did I try that recipe? Oh you bet I did. I now have the BEST baking powder biscuit EVER, in my binder!! My family is wild over them and I've had several guests over for meals and served them. They're CRAZY over them and on every occasion, after the meal is over, they have to grab another biscuit, just to pick at...with absolutely nothing on them. They're that good! Even though they contain much more baking powder than I would think you could get away with, without leaving a nasty aftertaste...they pull it off in a fabulous way!
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Old 04-17-2012, 02:13 PM
 
Location: Austin
2,162 posts, read 3,356,204 times
Reputation: 2209
Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady View Post
Has anyone else ever noticed those people who, when a recipe is published on an online recipe forum, will rate it and comment, but in their comments they will tell all the ways that they changed it to the point that it isn't even the same recipe, and seem to think they're rating the recipe that was published when they're rating a recipe that bears no resemblance whatsoever to it?

What is going on with that? What are they thinking? Are they trying to show what a great cook they are but they don't have the courage to actually post their own recipe on there for others to rate?

It's a little thing, but one of those things that makes my brain hurt when I see it, and it seems to be very common in those forums.
Every recipe site I have ever looked at does this. all the reviews always seem to start with "I didn't think this was quite right, so I ...."

Everyone wants a little notoriety, I guess.
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Old 04-18-2012, 05:26 PM
 
Location: Western Washington
8,003 posts, read 11,689,977 times
Reputation: 19539
Quote:
Originally Posted by redvelvet709 View Post
Every recipe site I have ever looked at does this. all the reviews always seem to start with "I didn't think this was quite right, so I ...."

Everyone wants a little notoriety, I guess.
Honestly, unless they say that they didn't try the recipe before making changes....I assume that they did. I mean, unless someone has the exact same recipe in their cookbook or file...why would they say the posted recipe wasn't any good?


Again, I don't just automatically assume that they didn't try the original, just because they don't SAY that they did. I mean, IF I were to comment or review a cake recipe....um, unless I'd tried the recipe, I wouldn't comment. LOL

That would be like saying, "Safeway's Chinese food tastes AWFUL! I've never eaten it, but I know mine is better!"
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