How To Write A Recipe

notebook for cooking recipes and vegetables on a cutting board

Writing, sharing or trading your favorite recipes or foods passed down in the family is fun and exciting for both the giver and the receiver. To make recipes quick and easy to understand, there are a few guidelines you should follow.

Listing ingredients and measurements

List the ingredients in the order that your reader is to use them. If dry and wet ingredients are used separately and then mixed together, make their ingredient list separate as well. Next to each ingredient list the amount used, such as tablespoon, cup, ounce, et cetera. If appropriate, you may also want to list the ingredients in metric measurements, like gram, liter, kilogram and so on. After the ingredient and measurement, also label how to prepare it. For example: "Onion- Half cup, chopped." Specify vegetables if they are chopped, sliced or whole, label meats in the same fashion and also mention if they are pre-cooked or not.

Always include optional ingredients, ingredient substitutions and personal tips and suggestions at the end of your recipe. You may also want to include portions rendered and calorie count if known.

Means of preparation

After the list of ingredients, list the order in which they are mixed, cooked or prepared. If you have to heat the oven, a pan, oil or any other detail ahead of time, that is always listed before the preparation instructions. After the preparation instructions, the cooking temperature and cooking time come next. List any special ways of checking to see if the dish is done, such as inserting a toothpick into cakes or checking to see if fish is dry and flaky.

Have fun, teach your children a new recipe or take a new dish to a potluck. Learning how to write a recipe can encourage you to share your own and learn new ones in the process.

Trading your favorite recipes or foods passed down in the family is fun and exciting