Classic/traditional vs non-traditional recipes: which do you usually make?

[Burt Blank]

Yes, but a restaurant customer here expects a certain standard,

I do understand that being a fan of the Michelin Guide. I often wonder who writes those glowing reviews for restaurants that after eating once we complain and never return. For instance I love to " batch" cook Indian meat dishes ( I prefer the fresh spice flavor). Madhur Jaffrey's Traditional Lamb Bhuna takes about two hours from scratch. Mine using the same ingredients but the non traditional "batch" cooking method take 10/15 minutes. Which method do you think UK Indian restaurant use?

 

[CookieMonster]

a Baltimore resto got a Michelin one star - okay, not a huge deal, but for lack of a better idea, we went.
the food was awful.
the noise was deafening.
it's a college dive bar.
I wrote them to point out their error, got a polite reply.
the place is (still) on their new list....

 

[Morning Glory]

a Baltimore resto got a Michelin one star - okay, not a huge deal, but for lack of a better idea, we went.
the food was awful.
the noise was deafening.
it's a college dive bar.
I wrote them to point out their error, got a polite reply.
the place is (still) on their new list....

I've never been disappointed by Michelin starred restaurants in the UK so far. They aren't to everyone's taste. In many of them, portions here tend to be small but with lots of courses and appetisers between courses. That suits me.

 

[ElizabethB]

I adhere to tradition to a point, and like to make traditional foods, just to taste them. In the case of gumbo, I don't mix meat and seafood in a gumbo. A lot of people do, but I just don't feel comfortable with it. But, I make my Texas chili with pinto beans -- supposedly a mortal sin.

Beans in Chili! Don't speak to loudly or you will be kicked out of Texas. Mother always puts beans in her Chili. I do not. George's favorite is my Mixed Pepper Venison Chili. Do you use Masa? I do.

 

[rascal]

My wife and I didn't experience restaurants until our late teens or early 20s. Since then we like what we like, and my wife's faves I have replicated, chicken croquettes as good as the first time she tried them. I made a batch last Saturday of 40, in freezer but will only last 3 entrees. Grandkids love them now. My curries are very popular as is most of my cooks. Most without a recipe, from memory.
So I do a mixture as most people prolly do as well.

Russ

 

[caseydog]

Beans in Chili! Don't speak to loudly or you will be kicked out of Texas. Mother always puts beans in her Chili. I do not. George's favorite is my Mixed Pepper Venison Chili. Do you use Masa? I do.

I generally don't add masa, but I've had it. No reason. I just don't ever think about it (even though I keep it in my pantry).

BTW, you would be surprised how many Texans put pinto beans in their chili. Kidney beans, no way. That's yankee chili (eaten over macaroni).

CD

 

[MrsDangermouse]

I like traditional, I like authentic and I also like experimenting.....I treat "traditional" and "authentic" as inspiration rather than instruction.

If I'm cooking something new I'll tend to either follow the fairly recipe closely (but I'm more than happy to leave out/substitute ingredients I don't have or don't like)....this tends to be when I'm following a recipe from a book. Or when I look online for recipes I usually end up with several different variations and I'll take a bit from each of them to suit me.

I make a great paella.....but a lot of Spaniards would turn in their grave: it usually has chorizo in it, it rarely contains saffron, never has seafood, and I often throw in whatever leftover meat we happen to have in the fridge. Its cooked in wide, shallow pan in the traditional way, and I use either paella or risotto rice depending what I have to hand (oops...that's another mistake there!). And most important of all, it tastes great. The flavour isn't the same as a "traditional" or "authentic" paella, but it is still recognisably a paella.

For me traditional/authentic has more relevance for technique than ingredients....you can cook a pizza in a traditional wood-fired oven and put whatever you like topping on top. Its still a delicious pizza, and even though the flavours may not be the same you can still tell its been cooked in the traditional way.

What is "traditional" or "authentic" any way? Look at traditional Italian food for example....many of the dishes contain tomatoes. But tomatoes were only introduced to Italy in the 15th or 16th century.....how long does a recipe have to be around for before we're allowed to call it traditional? Food constantly evolves as people's tastes change and they experience other food cultures. Thank goodness there are people out there who are prepared to try something new.....if there was no innovation in food we'd still be eating pottage for every meal

 

[Morning Glory]

how long does a recipe have to be around for before we're allowed to call it traditional? Food constantly evolves as people's tastes change and they experience other food cultures.

Very true. Unfortunately some folk believe they know the 'authentic' way to cook something and will argue to the death! Luckily (is it luck?) on this forum we all seem to understand the concept of creative cooking and eclecticism. That's why I stick around here.

 

[caseydog]

I like traditional, I like authentic and I also like experimenting.....I treat "traditional" and "authentic" as inspiration rather than instruction.

If I'm cooking something new I'll tend to either follow the fairly recipe closely (but I'm more than happy to leave out/substitute ingredients I don't have or don't like)....this tends to be when I'm following a recipe from a book. Or when I look online for recipes I usually end up with several different variations and I'll take a bit from each of them to suit me.

I make a great paella.....but a lot of Spaniards would turn in their grave: it usually has chorizo in it, it rarely contains saffron, never has seafood, and I often throw in whatever leftover meat we happen to have in the fridge. Its cooked in wide, shallow pan in the traditional way, and I use either paella or risotto rice depending what I have to hand (oops...that's another mistake there!). And most important of all, it tastes great. The flavour isn't the same as a "traditional" or "authentic" paella, but it is still recognisably a paella.

For me traditional/authentic has more relevance for technique than ingredients....you can cook a pizza in a traditional wood-fired oven and put whatever you like topping on top. Its still a delicious pizza, and even though the flavours may not be the same you can still tell its been cooked in the traditional way.

What is "traditional" or "authentic" any way? Look at traditional Italian food for example....many of the dishes contain tomatoes. But tomatoes were only introduced to Italy in the 15th or 16th century.....how long does a recipe have to be around for before we're allowed to call it traditional? Food constantly evolves as people's tastes change and they experience other food cultures. Thank goodness there are people out there who are prepared to try something new.....if there was no innovation in food we'd still be eating pottage for every meal

Yes, tomatoes were brought to Europe by European explorers. They came from Mexico. They date back at least to the Aztecs.

As I mentioned before, if I change a "traditional" recipe by several ingredients or techniques, I have a hard time calling it by its traditional name. Your paella may fall into that category, or at least be on the edge, IMO.

I think pizza has a lot more latitude for ingredients -- with the exception of pineapple.

CD

 

[MrsDangermouse]

As I mentioned before, if I change a "traditional" recipe by several ingredients or techniques, I have a hard time calling it by its traditional name. Your paella may fall into that category, or at least be on the edge, IMO.

Ahh but if you're going back to basics....the dish paella is actually named after the pan its cooked in (paella is the Valencian word for frying pan), so logically anything cooked in a paella pan can be called a paella.

And originally paella was made by farm workers who just used whatever they had to hand...it was only only around the 19C that the posher Valencians adopted the dish and added saffron and seafood, so you could even argue that my version using leftovers is actually more "traditional" than an "authentic" Paella Valenciana

So again we're back to....how do you define traditional?

 

[TastyReuben]

Ahh but if you're going back to basics....the dish paella is actually named after the pan its cooked in (paella is the Valencian word for frying pan), so logically anything cooked in a paella pan can be called a paella.

And originally paella was made by farm workers who just used whatever they had to hand...it was only only around the 19C that the posher Valencians adopted the dish and added saffron and seafood, so you could even argue that my version using leftovers is actually more "traditional" than an "authentic" Paella Valenciana

So again we're back to....how do you define traditional?

Which is why I both love and hate discussions about tradition and authenticity!

I was watching a cooking show about French food, and the host (Canadian) was trained and worked in France for several years, and she pointed out that the French get a bum rap for being married to tradition, but that really, they're focused more traditional technique, and really don't get too fussed, when cooking for themselves at home, about authenticity. I thought that was interesting.