30 Times People Didn’t Follow A Recipe And Then Complained About It Online (2024)

FAQs

What subreddit people complain about recipes because of their own substitutions? ›

My new favorite subreddit is r/ididnthaveeggs, where people share recipe reviews from clueless amateur chefs who make bad substitutions and generally don't follow instructions, and who then complain about their failures as if it's the recipe's fault.

Many recipes, such as NYT Cooking's no-recipe recipes and other quick weeknight options, are designed to be flexible, and remain a helpful option on busy days. But most professionally developed recipes are meant to be cooked exactly as written.

They ensure a dish can be consistently prepared, allowing people to replicate the same results. Recipes serve as valuable guides and teaching tools for novice cooks. They provide an organized, step-by-step approach to cooking and help individuals learn cooking techniques, terminology, and basic kitchen skills.

For example, if you're posting another food blogger's recipe on your website, not only get their permission to do so, but clearly indicate that you're using the recipe with permission.

A cookbook by former MasterChef contestant Elizabeth Haigh has been pulled from circulation over claims she plagiarised the work of another chef. Fellow cook Sharon Wee claimed Haigh's book Makan "copied or paraphrased" recipes and anecdotes from her 2012 book, Cooking in a Nonya Kitchen.

The largest of the banned subreddits, r/FatPeopleHate, had an estimated 151,000 subscribers at the time of its banning. r/FatPeopleHate hosted photos of overweight people for the purpose of mockery. The other four subreddits were r/hamplanethatred, r/neofa*g, r/transfa*gs, and r/sh*tnigg*rssay.

A general rule of thumb is: if you change three or more ingredients in the recipe, and rewrite the recipe instructions in your own voice, you can consider it your own. Even so, stating that the recipe was “adapted from” or “inspired by” the original recipe is a good idea.

Even if the description of the recipe is sufficiently creative and copyrightable, the copyright will not cover the recipe's ingredient list, the underlying process for making the dish, or the resulting dish itself, which are all facts. It will only protect the expression of those facts.

Reading and following a recipe is a skill. Our trusted tips and techniques help you get it right for successful kitchen creations every time. Cooking isn't some kind of magic; it's one of the most important life skills you'll ever learn.

Becoming a cook is just a matter of practice, which develops knowledge, which brings confidence. All cooks start out as recipe followers. Even established home cooks will rely on a recipe from time to time to try a new cuisine.

What is the most important step to following a recipe? ›

Traditionally, scratch cooking means making food from whole ingredients and prioritizing raw proteins, whole grains, and fresh fruits and vegetables with the intention of creating nutritious and delicious meals for students.

The situation is muddy — but so is the broader question of whether or not a recipe (and what kinds) can be stolen. From a legal perspective, the question of whether one can sue for recipe theft often hinges on the nuances of intellectual property law, which encompasses copyright, patent, trademark and trade secrets.

In other words, “1/4 teaspoon salt” isn't creative material, but explaining how you use the salt is. How's that – clear as mud? Welcome to copyright law. Here in the food writing world, many of us follow an informal standard that you need to make at least three changes before you can claim credit for a recipe.

Even if the description of the recipe is sufficiently creative and copyrightable, the copyright will not cover the recipe's ingredient list, the underlying process for making the dish, or the resulting dish itself, which are all facts.

Communities can be banned for violating Reddit's Content Policy. Banned communities are inaccessible to all redditors.

Copyright law protects original works of authorship, and while a recipe may be original, it is not an "original work of authorship." This means that anyone can freely copy and use a recipe without fear of infringement.

If your account has been temporarily or permanently banned from a community, you'll have a message in your inbox from the moderator(s) of that community letting you know.