One Of The Most Common Reasons Your Original Recipe Is Confusing Home Cooks

Before being featured on social media platforms and food blogs, many recipes began with handwritten scribbles and word-of-mouth instructions passed down through generations of families. There's something beautiful about hanging onto those words, perhaps refining them in your own way as a cook. Some folks love to decipher these archaic paper sentiments, or even come up with their own, but if you want to relay original recipes to general audiences, you'll need to sharpen your instructional writing.

One of the biggest mistakes when creating an original recipe is listing the ingredients out of order. Start with the most relevant information and list the ingredients in the order they'll be used. For example, if someone makes our matcha pistachio popsicle recipe, the first step is chopping the pistachios. Thus, the first food item on the ingredient list is pistachios, with the exact quantity listed as well as any precise instructions on how that ingredient should be (e.g., 1 ½ cups raw, shelled pistachios). If the next step is to use coconut cream, then list that item second, and so on.

It's also helpful to clarify necessary tools and appliances up front, especially if the dish's title doesn't clue people in. Something called "the world's best lemon pepper chicken" is vague — audiences won't know whether it's supposed to be baked in the oven, pan-seared, or grilled. Is using a blender, whisk, or cake pan essential to the recipe? If using a cake pan, should it be one that's 8 x 8 or 9 x 13 inches? It never hurts to specify these tool requirements in advance.

Another reason you want to list ingredients and tools in order is that it helps to visualize the mise en place. A good recipe always start with a photo of all the ingredients spread out across the countertop — the culinary jargon for this practice is mise en place, which is French for everything in its place. It's much harder to forget what you need, and how much, if it's already prepared in front of you.

You don't have to do a photo-op for your original recipe's mise en place, but creating a cohesive ingredient list will help audiences prepare their workstation at home. If your recipe requires 1 cup of milk in the ingredient list, then someone will know to measure that out in advance and have it ready on the counter for when they need it. This order of operations keeps things neat and tidy, especially for complex recipes such as the traditional beef Wellington. A little extra clarity can prevent stressful kitchen mishaps.