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Beware of YouTube Recipes!

I am sure that most foodies watch YouTube cooking videos. Loraine and I are no different. We have some favorite channels and other's that we watch on occasion.

We have identified a definite problem with recipes that are written based on what was seen on a YouTube video. I am not speaking of recipes where the person who has written the recipe is also the one that has documented the ingredients and the directions on their website or blog. I am speaking of those recipes where a third party has watched the video and created the recipe based on what they have seen, or in many cases think they have seen.

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Chefs such as Gordon Ramsay and Raymond Blanc often have videos of cooking without a detailed recipe on another website or blog.

We don't believe that either chef, when creating their cooking video is conscious of the fact that people are taking notes. We believe that the chefs are creating the videos in order to show people how to cook and to promote their cookbooks; there is nothing wrong with that.

I think that the most common error we have found is incorrect amounts of ingredients.

A case in point is a BBC recipe for a Raymond Blanc, Apple Charlotte. The amount of apples identified in the recipe are half of what is needed, the type of sugar in one part of the recipe is incorrect and we believe that at least one ingredient has been left out. As well, we believe that there is a missing portion of an instruction. In the video Chef Blanc never states how many apples to use, obviously the person who wrote the recipe guessed and guessed wrong! It could be that there day job is that of a weatherperson!

In a Chef Ramsay recipe, the written recipe calls for one egg yolk, and if you watch the video you can see Chef Ramsay add one egg yolk to a food processor, but if you look very closely and freeze the frame of the video you will see that there is already an egg yolk in the food processor.

Always watch the video while comparing it to the written recipe.

In summary, it is very important, when using any recipe for the first time, to actually read the ingredients and all of the instructions prior to starting it. Think about your vast cooking experience and ask yourself a few questions:

1. Do the quantities in the ingredients make sense?

2. Do the instructions make sense?

3. Are there ingredients in the instructions that aren't on the ingredient list?

4. Is the seasoning (herbs) called for create a tasty dish?

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