Comments about recipes

I like reading the comments about recipes on this site to hear what other people think who have actually TRIED them. What is the point of commenting on a recipe you won't try because it's fattening, or you don't like an ingredient? How is that in any way helpful?

Or to rate a recipe after you've made so many additions, subtractions that it's no longer the same recipe at all? It irks me people do this. I wish people would only comment on recipes they've actually made--how they turned out, what they might change the next time. To say they wouldn't even try it as written seems insulting. Anyone else feel this way?

LOL Lisa!  Those are my FAVORITES!

They end up making something entirely different and STILL give the original recipe a bad rate!

There was a recipe on ALLRECIPES once that I was going to try & the review said 'I've never made this but the recipe just looks bad"

Genius, pure genius!

 I used to follow recipes, against my instincts, and find them work out badly, yet the idea of the recipe is good, and on later attempts using my own good instincts, I have wonderful dishes. 

So, why the difference? Maybe the measurements are not the same, maybe the ingredients are not the same, in my area...but I've learned to take ALL recipes with a grain of salt, so to speak, and adapt to suit what I KNOW is right for my kitchen. 

That might be why recipes are changed. Others may have allergies to certain ingredients, or not have access to them. Does it make the recipe a completely different one, for the correction of a measurement, or the substitution of an ingredient?

I am strongly of the opinion that there are a very limited number of recipes out there, and the rest is all variation on the theme, and variation in presentation. 

ViolaB 

I don't know.  I mean, I've posted some recipes which I invented.  Therefore, nobody would have tried them yet, so by your standard, noboy would be allowed to respond to my thread, and I would be left thinking I'd wasted the effort.  And this is, after all, a chat board.

I agree that nothing is served by simply posting "yuck", but when I post a recipe, I welcome comments about similar recipes people have tried, suggesting or requesting substitution ideas, or any other constructive comments or information requests.

I also see nothing wrong with posting an untried recipe (either one you found or one you are working on creating) to ask for opinions or suggestions about it.  The one caveat would be that if I post something I haven't tried I always mention that I haven't tried it, so that nobody will rely on it based on my apparent recommendation.

Yes! That was funny! I read Allrecipes too. Recently I was reading reviews and someone rated a recipe one star after admitting to not following the directions as written. Another person wrote in saying she was giving the recipe 5 stars just because the overall rating deserved to be bumped up after that one idiot!

And yeah, I do like seeing what people did differently, because their changes often reflect my tastes as well. But hey, have the honesty to say you can't really rate the original if you changed it drastically. I still can't get over someone actually having the nerve to write she wouldn't try a featured recipe because it was fattening. So what? Don't make it then! The rest of us might really like it-hey.

Lisa isn't talking about recipe "tweaking", I consistently do that.  It's when someone completely changes a recipe or doesn't try the recipe -but gives it a bad review.  The review is made, based on what they cooked...or didn't cook....not on the original recipe.  Maybe someone replaced chili powder with ground Cayenne pepper and then reviewed the recipe as too hot.

Exactly SS. I enjoy reading peoples tweaks, I do that myself. But I wouldn't rate a recipe according to my own mistakes, OR if I changed it in a major way.

I do agree that when it comes down to it, most recipes are variations on a basic theme.

I don't understand why someone would feel compelled to comment on a recipe they never tried though. I have dozens and dozens saved on my computer I may get around to trying one day, but what if I don't? Writing something sounds good on a recipe site isn't really saying anything helpful in regards to what the dish actually tastes like--and that's the info I'm looking for when I read the comments section. I already know it sounds good from the ingredient list.

lisajax:

I don't understand why someone would feel compelled to comment on a recipe they never tried though.

Because Opinions are like A-holes!  Every body has one Some just really want you to look at theirs! LOL