Comments on: America’s most-searched recipes of 2012 (so far)

By: Riha

Riha — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 05:12:31 +0000

I think it’s kind of sad.

1. Apparently no one uses paper recipes anymore which…okay fine. I get that. No actual gripe there.

2. People no longer know how to cook. Seriously? Mashed potatoes? Cornbread?? SPAGHETTI?????

Srsly?

I have recipes for about a third of the list memorized and I don’t really even cook THAT much.

Then again, I know a lot of women only slightly younger than myself who take great pride in the fact that they can’t boil water. -_-;

I guess we should be happy people are at least looking stuff up and TRYING to learn.

By: Debbie

Debbie — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 23:05:08 +0000

Kristen, I did like the meatballs and lingonberry sauce/jam and the cracker and slice of cheese they had in the container. The cheese was buttery and very good. Everything else was definitely, meh. The ladies serving the food were very sweet though.

By: Vickie

Vickie — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 01:13:27 +0000

Since so many mothers work and have been doing so for years, it’s quite possible that many people didn’t learn “scratch” cooking at home. Not many people rush home to spend an hour or more preparing a meal because of time constraints. Even some of the cooking shows have featured simple dishes, such as mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, meatloaf, etc. My cooking style is nothing like my mother’s because she would open cans and just dump the contents into a pot and heat it, no seasoning whatsoever. Almost everything I prepare is from scratch with as little canned food as possible, unless it’s home canned. “Foodies” are the ones likely to visit a food blog and have many different opinions on how something should be prepared. I say more power to those who are trying to learn basics or who are looking for new ways to do things.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 19:36:10 +0000

Debbie, ha! My great grandfather came to the US from Sweden when he was only 17, and my grandfather swore he came here looking for something decent to eat. Love Sweden and my Swedish relatives, but outside of the meatballs and lingonberry stuff, the food…meh.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 19:34:38 +0000

Jeff, I’ve probably made a gazillion pasta salads in my life, but when I need to make one I’ll still cruise through the recipes to see if anything new has been invented since the last time I made one.

But baked salmon? Meatballs?

By: Lindsey Nair

Lindsey Nair — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 19:05:38 +0000

Hey JT, thanks for the tip. I will see if I can get in touch with the owners for a bit more info.

Regarding the simplicity of the list, I wonder if it has to do with the fact that a lot of young people who are just starting out on their own want to learn to make the basics – the kinds of foods their mom or dad or grandparents made – but they aren’t sure how.
Still, I know many of us Google recipes regardless of our age so that might not be an explanation.

I would tend to agree that perhaps this is people wanting to learn to make foods from scratch, or people wanting to find a new way to make something because they’re bored of their usual recipe.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 18:47:05 +0000

At first I was surprised by the run-of-the-mill nature of these recipes, but then it occurred to me that people might be looking for new ways to fix these mainstays. Sometimes, even if it’s an ingredient they hadn’t thought of or a preparation method they hadn’t considered. I found an excellent sage brine for pork chops that changed the way I make something I’ve been cooking for decades.

By: Debbie

Debbie — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 16:27:50 +0000

Off topic, but I enjoyed A Taste of Sweden today. Could have lived w/out the pickled herring though.

By: Cindy

Cindy — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 16:00:49 +0000

Yes, I agree they are basic recipes and it could be that the their mothers always opened a can or a box to make these basic recipes. Maybe they just wanted to make the item from scratch. I know that I would open a box to make a chocolate cake or cupcakes. This is just my opinion and I too am surprised by the results.

By: Maria

Maria — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 15:23:51 +0000

Haha.. Who needs a recipe for mashed potatoes and pork chops?

I very seldom use recipes. What I cook always consists of what we have on hand. A little bit of this and a pinch of that.

Few things have turned out not-so-good.

I think people need cook more without recipes. If you think it would taste good together try it. How do they think recipes came to be?? Trial and error!