HOW TO WRITE AN AWESOME RECIPE

If you’ve read my bio, you know that I'm a foodie, so here are six tips for writing a better recipe. Yum!

1. Put in all the ingredients. I remember once hearing about a cook who, any time they were asked for the recipe for one of their dishes, would give it , but leave out one ingredient. That might have made the original dish taste better than the future iterations and made the cook look good, but it did little to spread good eating.

2. Use evocative descriptors. Would you rather eat an avocado or a creamy tree-ripened avocado? (Here's one spot to throw in some adjectives and adverbs) You might say it a distinction without a difference, but in our modern culture we’ve been programmed to salivate at the ringing of the descriptor bell.

3. Give a clear progression of steps. Do the onions go in first or is it the green peppers? While this sounds like common-sense, cooking is more than just throwing ingredients in a pan and adding heat. Walk your reader through the process of taking the raw ingredients and sculpting them into a masterpiece.

4. Throw in hints and stories to make it more personal. Never underestimate the power of the personal connection. If you love a certain food because it was a staple at every family reunion, let your readers know. If you can put a sidebar about the history of a certain ingredient, you are adding pizazz to the recipe’s narrative. Do you have a special trick for peeling that stubborn boiled egg? Give your readers exclusive insight onto your work process. They’ll love the extra details!

5. Get Beta Testers to Give You Feedback. Find people who are willing to cook through your recipe. Consider throwing a cooking party and have friends work through your recipe and instructions. Ask them to be forthcoming in the feedback, both for what works and what doesn’t. One plus to this approach is you will be able to see how people interpret your instructions firsthand. 

6. Include a mouthwatering picture of the final result.We are wired for a multi-media approach to recipes and cookbooks. I tend to avoid cookbooks with a lot of black and white text, and instead gravitate to bold, brilliant pictures where the food has been meticulously presented for my visual enjoyment.

These six tips will help you to create masterpiece recipes to pass on to your family and friends.

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