this post was submitted on 13 May 2025
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Autist and scientist here: you're thinking of baking. Baking is the science one, cooking is infuriating because all of those really vague and inaccurate instructions are in fact as precise and accurate as they need to be. Seasoning is done with the heart, you do have to stir or knead u ntil it "looks right", "a handful" is the right amount to add. The only way to find the "right" amounts is to cook over and over until you instinctively know what enough looks like.
Anyway the ingredient I really really hate is from Jamie Oliver's "working girl's" pasta, where he lists "2 big handfuls of really ripe tomatoes". I HAVE CANNED TOMATOES YOURE GETTING CANNED TOMATOES JAMIE, I DONT HAVE FUCKING TIME TO GO LOOKONG FOR REALKY RIPE TOMATOES
Also standard teaspoon is 5ml. Just use that and taste to see if it needs more.
This may be true for experienced cooks but beginners need more precise instructions that are not "Until it tastes good".
Yes, and I'm explaining that a significant part of being an experienced cook is just the understanding that cooking isn't precise. You do not need to work out what sized teaspoons the author was using, just get any of the teaspoons out of your drawer, fill it up, mix it in, and then taste to see if it seems ok. The final result will depend on factors you can't control for - the conditions ingredients were grown in, the age of spices when they were ground, the specific cultivar you're using - and the author doesn't have your personal tastes, so while they can tell you the ingredients to use they can't give you the precise amounts that you'll enjoy. To find that out you need to make the dish repeatedly with small adjustments until you hone in on your tastes.
That may be true.
But for anyone not reading it and getting instructions like "Go by feeling" when I don't even know if the dish tastes as it should be is like requesting me to run before I can even walk.
And this cooking lession will sooner or later be revealed to a beginner but it's very frustrating to think one cannot cook while it's just a smaller skill-issue someone needs to overcome.
I know it feels that way - believe me, I mentioned I'm autistic for a reason, and that reason is I had plenty of meltdowns over the impreciseness of instructions before getting it - but it's not running before you can walk, it's walking before you run. Being precise and scientific about your cooking is the Olympic sprint of cooking, the high level michelin-starred stuff, not worrying about precision is the first teetering steps that lets you start to refine your technique.