Keep the good ones / 2 MIN READ
Write a recipe your future self will thank you for
Turn ‘a bit of this’ into useful instructions without losing its personality.
You do not need to sound like a cookbook to write a good recipe. Imagine handing it to someone who has never stood beside you at the stove. What would they need to know to make it comfortably?
Give it a name you will remember
‘Mum’s weeknight tomato pasta’ carries a memory and tells you what it is. Add a short introduction if the story matters to you. Keep the practical instructions easy to find so the story and the cooking can each have their own space.
List everything you use
Write ingredients in the order they appear in the method. Include water, oil, a finishing garnish, or a pinch of salt if they are part of what you do. Add preparation details: ‘1 onion, finely chopped’ saves someone from wondering how the onion goes in. Mark optional ingredients clearly.
Describe one useful action at a time
Start steps with plain verbs: chop, stir, spread, or bake. Include the pan, heat setting, and what the cook should notice. ‘Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the onion softens’ gives more guidance than ‘cook the onion.’ If you have not measured the time yet, say it is an estimate.
Record what happened, not what you hoped
Write how many portions you actually made and roughly how long it took. Note the pan size if it matters. If you used a particular packaged ingredient, describe the type and amount rather than assuming everyone has the same brand or package size.
Separate the recipe from your experiments
Keep a working version of the recipe and use private notes for ‘try less lemon next time’ or ‘Jamie preferred it without parsley.’ When a change becomes your new favorite, update the recipe itself. Keep the original source link if someone else’s recipe was the starting point.
One thing to remember
A useful recipe lets someone else follow your choices without having to guess what you meant.