There’s a reason we fall in love with beautiful recipes on our screens. “Being an adult means being responsible for constantly feeding yourself, and the less mundane and inspired this task is, the better,” says author and recipe developer says Melissa Kravitz Hefner. “Watching a stream of cooking videos reminds me of watching the Food Network when I was little, but it’s even more satisfying because I can see recipes ready in seconds.”
The internet has made it easy to access new techniques and cuisines from around the world, but it has also made it difficult to know when these dishes will taste as good as they look in the movies. . Many (but not all) of the recipes published in magazines, cookbooks, and the chef’s website have been tested multiple times to make sure they work in a normal human kitchen. This is an expensive and time-consuming step that bloggers may be reluctant or unable to take. That means you should expect bloggers to know how to develop meaningful recipes.
And it can be hard to tell through visuals alone which recipes are worth your time and effort…because they are all. look good. “Between editorial and aesthetic pursuits, it can be difficult to distinguish between legitimate recipes and those that are so appealing that they should only exist on your feed,” says Hefner. (It doesn’t help that every influencer claims that their particular recipe or food trend is “best”…)
Let’s face it, sometimes your taste buds don’t match the viral food trends of the day. For example, if you don’t like feta cheese, that baked feta pasta recipe probably isn’t for you. But no matter how great the creator’s original video is, sometimes some recipes just don’t work as intended or don’t taste right. (Think of it as the Instagram-versus-reality effect of food.) These bad recipes (bad recipes, if you like) are hard to spot, but Hefner points out that there’s a lot of potential hidden in plain sight on your feed. Here are some tips to help you spot your #foodfails. .
5 tips for finding recipes on social media that look pretty but don’t taste good
1. Find the author’s credentials and background
One way to filter out recipes in your feed is to check the author’s background to see if they are trained in the art of recipe development and creation. “When I find an appealing recipe, I also check the creator’s background. Did they go to culinary school? Did they work in a test kitchen or restaurant? Are the recipes published by sources other than their own social feeds? Are you? These qualifiers are promising,” Hefner said. (On the other hand, if you just started posting recipes last month, you might not expect much.)
Of course, many home cooks without formal culinary training also start blogs and social media accounts, but that doesn’t mean you should automatically skip their recipes. But before you try a recipe, do a little more digging, like look at the comments and recipe reviews.
2. See if a version of this recipe exists elsewhere
Another easy way to find a good recipe is to see if there are any others like it on the interwebs, Hefner says. “There’s nothing original about it. If you haven’t seen anything like it anywhere else, that might mean the ingredients didn’t match or the cooking method didn’t work.” Hefner says.
For example, if you think this dish is completely unique in this world (for example, kumquat fish rolls or a chocolate cake recipe that only calls for sweet potatoes and flaxseeds), you may want to recreate it at home or not. It depends on your luck. Sometimes that game pays off, sometimes it doesn’t. But by approaching things with that clear eye, you may be able to avoid disappointment if everything goes wrong.
3. Consider whether the ratios in the recipe make sense.
Anyone who has logged 10,000 hours of cooking and baking probably has an innate sense of balance. For example, if you see a recipe that calls for 1/4 cup of paprika (which is usually only used in 1 teaspoon), then there is a typo (or something worse) in that recipe. There are clear warning signs that this is happening. Similarly, a basic vinaigrette is 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, so a recipe calling for 1 tablespoon of oil and 2 cups of vinegar is probably wrong. Knowing these simple rules will help you sniff out bad recipes. “We also look at similar recipes to determine what works and what proportions are appropriate,” says Hefner.
4. See if recipe creators are sharing their own #fails.
“Creators are under tremendous pressure to churn out content. If you spend time creating and filming recipes that fail, you’ll end up losing a lot of time and money if your content is taken down.” says Hefner, who creates his own recipes. (Gorgeous) Social Media Cooking Videos. “I wish there was more transparency in the space. I could learn from my mistakes in the kitchen and have fun with them too.”
When you see a creator openly sharing a failed cookie or a “so-so” daal, it’s a good idea to have high standards for which recipes they post and which ones they keep in their vaults. That might be one way to find out. That means it can be more reliable.
5. Use social media recipes as inspiration, not gospel.
Rather than bookmarking social media recipes and following them step-by-step, Hefner recommends using recipes to increase your culinary creativity. “Most of the time, I look at the recipes in my feed for inspiration and ideas, and use my own culinary knowledge to create my own version of her, tailored to my tastes,” she says.
For example, if you find matcha waffles on TikTok, consider buying a boxed waffle mix and adding a little matcha instead of making a batch from scratch. If you like the taste, try your own recipe next time (or find a professional recipe).
