Attention: cooks and critics!

When the weather is cold and I have the time, I love to find a recipe online and cook. If you find a recipe online and want to do it, that's great. If it's online and has some really good reviews, then you're off to a good start. I have frequently tried a recipe, and liked it. I go back to the reviews which I normally read before I even started it, and usually add my own comment and rating to the recipe. Most of the reviews you read are good. Why would you try the recipe if it didn't have majority of good marks? However some comments are quite interesting:

Example 1:(2 stars) "I tried this recipe and was quite disappointed and it should probably be removed from this website. It came out dry and I'm not quite sure I even liked the flavor. I substituted powdered sugar for the baking powder and since I was out of cocoa, I used allspice. The cake came out dense, dry and I couldn't even taste the chocolate! I do not recommend this recipe!!!"

What do we learn?
Do not rate any recipe where you have adjusted the recipe significantly. This example is an exaggeration, but there are plenty of actual reviews that look like this. Long lists of recipe adjustments and then a bad rating. These people do not get that if you want to rate someone else's recipe, then you need to follow it. My wife and I have completely different takes on how to cook. I baseline every recipe I do. The first time with a recipe, you follow it to a tee!!! Well, at least I do. My wife doesn't but it's good anyhow, and she doesn't write reviews of recipes online.

Example 2:(1 Star) "This recipe was horrible. I have been making meatloaf for years now and when I tried this it was a waste of time. The loaf fell apart and the texture was extremely mushy. I would not recommend this recipe to anyone. My recipe is ten times better than this one."

What do we learn?
You see this comment more often than you'd expect. If you have an excellent recipe, then why are you trying another one? You should be posting yours. I suppose there are some other folks who think of their kitchen as a "test kitchen," but I suspect this isn't the case for most folks. This also brings me to one of the more amusing things about cooking: have you ever noticed how many people think they're good cooks? I think this number is probably inflated (mostly by ego). If you don't believe me, look at example 3.

Example 3:(2 stars)"This casserole was not very good. I followed the recipe exactly how it's written and my spouse, three kids and I did not like it. It was quite disappointing."

What do we learn?
This one is pretty simple. If you see 150 reviews averaging four and a half stars, and no one in your family likes it, well do the math. Since the ratings are high, the problem is not likely the recipe. To use the humorous IT analysis, the problem lies somewhere between the recipe and the diner's taste buds.

I guess by now you're wondering why I'm blogging this, and I'm not sure I have a good answer. Mostly to share the amusement I get from reading the reviews. Whenever I do this, I find it quite funny, and like with any review/opinion, you learn more about those who opine than the topic they are discussing. Similar to what you're probably doing to me about now. (You can write your own comments below and I will be sure to draw conclusions about you too). :-)