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How do you figure out your recipies?

M

mosjef

Do you just think of a few ingredients that might go together and go for it? Do you have a system? 
 
I'm a beginner and I just made a base sauce. (like 2 kinds of peppers, salt, pepper, onion, garlic, lemon juice) and divided it into 3. Then I added different flavors to these 3 small batches, just to experiment with different tastes. 
 
Is there a better system for experimentation?
 
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Pretty much. It's a macro and micro game. Macro is where you think of your big flavors and micro is your fine tuning and originality.
 
Example: I want to make a taco sauce.
 
Macro: The base of taco sauces usually has peppers, tomato and spices like cumin.
 
Micro: I need to dial in the cumin, and I want to try tequila and achiote for color as well as flavor.
 
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Sounds like you already got your system going. You kind of just got to go about it by feel, and taste. After you do it a few times you'll start to figure out ratios of ingredients you like, and it'll only get easier the more you do it. You'll start to be able to foresee what'll happen when you change certain ratios.

And yeah!...I just made a batch of hot sauce with tomato and achiote. I need to get some recipes posted here eventually.
 
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:welcome: mosjef!

Inspiration comes from many sides. Sometimes, i am looking for a sauce for a purpose like bbq or taco. Sometimes i want to highlight a flavor like roasted garlic.

Lots of R&D.....aka...trial and error! :lol:
 
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In making a sauce it really depends on experimenting with the right proportion of each ingredient to bring to taste your desired intensity in heat and balanced flavor. You can try using combination of fresh or dried/smoked versions of the peppers and you find a distinct difference between them - like what was already mentioned a lot of trial and error and of course lots of love and enjoying the experience of creating your own sauce.
 
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The Hot Pepper said:
Pretty much. It's a macro and micro game. Macro is where you think of your big flavors and micro is your fine tuning and originality.
 
Example: I want to make a taco sauce.
 
Macro: The base of taco sauces usually has peppers, tomato and spices like cumin.
 
Micro: I need to dial in the cumin, and I want to try tequila and achiote for color as well as flavor.
Click to expand...
Not trying to hijack this thread, but I love that example. Could you share or point us to a resource for the general base type ingredients for sauces and powders specific to other countries and cultures? Something just like your taco example but for Mexican, Italian, Indian, Asian, Mediterranean, Jamaican cuisine etc... That would help steer some of my own concoctions.
 
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Peter S said:
Not trying to hijack this thread, but I love that example. Could you share or point us to a resource for the general base type ingredients for sauces and powders specific to other countries and cultures? Something just like your taco example but for Mexican, Italian, Indian, Asian, Mediterranean, Jamaican cuisine etc... That would help steer some of my own concoctions.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for asking that, I stumbled upon this: https://www.finedininglovers.com/blog/food-drinks/infographic-flavor-bases-world-cuisines/
 
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I keep track of every ingredient I use in a log book.....once the sauce is made and rested a week or so after bottling I will taste and I will make notes of adjustments of things I feel the sauce needs more or less of.
Eventually you will find a happy medium in your recipe and then on to your next recipe.....this is what I do.....may be right...... may be wrong.....but it works for me.
 
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One thing I didn't mention that I like to do is after a make the sauce, I cool it down overnight and taste it again the next day. And also double check the ph.

This allows me to do minor tweaks like adjusting the salt/sugar levels, adding more acid, adjusting the viscosity/adding xanthan gum if needed, maybe a little more of whatever spices I used, etc. Then I bring the sauce back up to a boil for a bit and then bottle it.

I would hate to have a case or two of an almost amazing sauce already bottled, when I could just fix it the next day. Sometimes flavors need to meld, or your palate needs a reset, especially if you've been constantly tasting the sauce while you're making it.
 
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Keep notes, for sure, #1.  If there is a sauce I really like I return to it and maybe tweak something.
 
I stick to pretty broad common ingredients like garlic, onions, carrots, vinegar and right now am experimenting with different chilies and ratios.  
 
Every now and then I throw in something weird like mango or meyer lemons or beets or beer. . usually it's something that is sitting around my kitchen while I'm making sauce 
 
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