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@Robert - the site is still being defined. I think discussing recipes, or asking how to prepare something can be acceptable for this site (though not the "what is best recipe for" kind of questions, which would be subjective). Such questions are going to come anyway, and closing them will most likely drive people away. Because like you say "ok, so it's a cooking Q&A site, but I can't discuss recipes?". If looking for a cooking site, I would go away. – Gnoupi Jun 2 '10 at 9:06

My cooking is "mean", as in cruel. – Shog9 Jun 3 '10 at 2:13

It's great that the site is aimed at chefs or professionals, but I think we'll have a hard time explaining to people visiting the site that their question is to basic. You still have to master the basics to be a pro. Why not have the SO attitude of 'no question is too basic'? – Ivo Flipse Jun 3 '10 at 6:37

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85 Example Questions (10 closed)

active newest votes

up vote 21 down vote

added by Kyle Cronin Jun 1 '10 at 19:38

Hmm, real cooks know there is no substitute for real butter :), however, I'll begrudgingly allow it. – raven Jun 1 '10 at 19:54

Paul Bocuse famously said that he primarily cooked with “butter, cream and other vegetables.” :-) But yes, great question. – Konrad Rudolph Jun 15 '10 at 8:07

up vote 21 down vote

added by user452 Jun 3 '10 at 18:43

	This is a great topic; the answer(s) will likely be rather involved, but that's not necessarily a bad thing! – Shog9 Jun 3 '10 at 18:54
	What is the proper way to measure temperature? – d03boy Jun 15 '10 at 19:31

up vote 21 down vote

added by Foster Brereton Jun 4 '10 at 18:39

I feel like this question is basically identical to Kyle's substitution question a few rungs down. Do we really need both of these to define the site? – Aaronaught Jun 11 '10 at 14:17

@Aaro, link? This page is getting kinda unwieldy. – Pops Jun 12 '10 at 20:39

@Lord Torgamus: It's literally 3 spaces below this one at the moment. "What substitutes are available for <sugar, butter, etc>"? – Aaronaught Jun 14 '10 at 19:49

There might be a distinction - substitutes of an ingredient can still be close enough to the real thing to cause an allergic reaction. The 'best' substitute for an ingredient may differ if an allergy is the issue versus, say, simply not having an ingredient and needing something to take its place. – Foster Brereton Jun 14 '10 at 21:02

@fbrereto: I admit that the answers might be different, and as such it's not an exact duplicate. I just think that the distinction is minor enough that having both as example questions isn't necessary or desirable for the "definition" phase and would have liked to have seen the votes go to a more "distinct" question. Don't take offense, I'm just a bit concerned that the voting here is more strategic than rational - although I suspect that that's just going to be the way it is under the current system. – Aaronaught Jun 14 '10 at 23:41

up vote 20 down vote

added by James H Jun 4 '10 at 0:41

up vote 19 down vote

added by Aaronaught Jun 3 '10 at 23:33

There is already a website out there for this exact question. I forget the name of it. – d03boy Jun 15 '10 at 19:31

up vote 18 down vote

added by Helen Jun 2 '10 at 17:15

Sure, you can even make them with gasoline if you like. How is this a great on-topic example? – raven Jun 12 '10 at 18:36

I think the implied question of "will it work / taste ok?" is fairly obvious. – Blorgbeard Jun 12 '10 at 18:40

up vote 16 down vote

added by raven Jun 1 '10 at 20:26

up vote 14 down vote

added by Aaronaught Jun 3 '10 at 23:26

up vote 12 down vote

added by James H Jun 3 '10 at 22:56

up vote 10 down vote

added by ire_and_curses Jun 1 '10 at 22:22

	If they are cold (in the fridge) that will help a lot – hacker Jun 4 '10 at 12:41
	Strangely enough, I have never cried while cutting onions, well, at least not due to the onions anyway. – Tim Post♦ Jun 4 '10 at 14:07
	@Tim, do you wear contacts? At least for me, onions are no problem if I have my soft lenses in, but when I'm wering glasses, they're brutal. – Jaydles Jun 4 '10 at 15:29
	@jaydles nope, I've just never been bothered by them. Disclaimer - I am a major chili head. – Tim Post♦ Jun 4 '10 at 18:49
	I run them under the tap after cutting them, that seems to work. I assume it washes away the irritating chemical. – Blorgbeard Jun 12 '10 at 18:41

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up vote 9 down vote

added by Babak Jun 1 '10 at 20:10

Just enough water to cover the pasta for the entire boiling cycle, of course! – d03boy Jun 2 '10 at 4:10

Cooks Illustrated would say as much as you can fit reasonably to keep it from sticking - and then ditch the oil. – justkt Jun 2 '10 at 18:21

The phrase proportion of can safely be removed from this question. – raven Jun 7 '10 at 13:40

up vote 8 down vote

added by Jaydles Jun 4 '10 at 15:31

up vote 7 down vote

added by Blorgbeard Jun 7 '10 at 19:43

@Blorgbeard would you ask this question on Popular Natural Sciences area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/4955/… too, please? It would make a great on-topic-example there too since the cooks altitude is important for the answer – Tobias Kienzler Jun 11 '10 at 7:36

up vote 5 down vote

added by Kyle Cronin Jun 1 '10 at 21:23

up vote 5 down vote

added by home scratch can-am Jun 7 '10 at 18:39

up vote 3 down vote

added by Kyle Cronin Jun 1 '10 at 21:35

up vote 3 down vote

added by Nifle Jun 2 '10 at 10:19

up vote 3 down vote

added by Tim Post♦ Jun 3 '10 at 16:55

As in the process of corning the beef. What cut of meat to buy and how to 'corn' it. – Tim Post♦ Jun 3 '10 at 17:04

up vote 3 down vote

added by user452 Jun 3 '10 at 18:44

up vote 3 down vote

added by home scratch can-am Jun 7 '10 at 18:34

up vote 2 down vote

added by Good Person, edited by Jaydles Jun 1 '10 at 20:18

this might be a bit basic. – Good Person Jun 1 '10 at 19:56

A lot of people don't peel celery .. its not all that basic. However, it is to taste which is subjective. – Tim Post♦ Jun 4 '10 at 21:31

up vote 2 down vote

added by Babak Jun 1 '10 at 22:48

up vote 2 down vote

added by Robert Harvey Jun 1 '10 at 23:06

Isn't that interesting. Before "The Great Area51 Reset," this was one of the top rated examples of an "on-topic" question. – Robert Harvey Jun 5 '10 at 3:23

I personally do not think coffee and other "drinks only" stuff should eb included here. Other wise we'll end up also giving bartender type questions – Earlz Jun 5 '10 at 21:30

Yeah! I love bar food! – Shog9 Jun 6 '10 at 0:27

Funny thing is, the current edition of the Joy of Cooking actually has sections on drinks. So some people obviously think it's related to cooking. – Aaronaught Jun 6 '10 at 2:07

I think most professional chefs would agree that discussions about coffee are most definitely on-topic in the context of culinary arts. – James H Jun 6 '10 at 16:27

up vote 2 down vote

added by d03boy Jun 2 '10 at 4:19

up vote 2 down vote

added by Nifle Jun 2 '10 at 10:08

up vote 2 down vote

added by Helen Jun 2 '10 at 17:31

up vote 2 down vote

added by glasnt Jun 3 '10 at 4:37

up vote 2 down vote

added by user452 Jun 3 '10 at 18:43

	Ask about it on stackoverflow? – bmargulies Jun 5 '10 at 2:15
	@bmargulies: diddy-boom. – Robert Harvey Jun 5 '10 at 2:23

up vote 2 down vote

added by James H Jun 4 '10 at 0:13

up vote 2 down vote

added by Foster Brereton Jun 4 '10 at 18:39

up vote 1 down vote

added by Kyle Cronin Jun 1 '10 at 19:51

I don't know, should you? Is that how you like it? Seems a bit too subjective to me. – raven Jun 1 '10 at 20:21

@raven - it's not only a matter of personal choice. It's about recommended way to do it, and what are advantages and disadvantages. I think it's on-topic. – Gnoupi Jun 2 '10 at 8:56

@Gnoupi: Then perhaps the question should just be, How do I blanch spinach <or vegetables in general>? – raven Jun 2 '10 at 12:27

@raven - it would be on topic, but this is not the same question. – Gnoupi Jun 2 '10 at 12:55

up vote 1 down vote

added by raven Jun 1 '10 at 19:56

I'd like to know this as well :) – Tim Post♦ Jun 1 '10 at 21:55

This isn't a joke question? Like, "When yogurt goes bad, how can you tell?" – Robert Harvey Jun 1 '10 at 22:47

@Robert: No, I wasn't expecting anyone to take this question seriously, but I didn't immediately comment out of curiosity. I'm surprised it has gotten 3 yes votes. Maybe this really is a legitimate concern? :D – raven Jun 1 '10 at 23:32

I took this as "how do you know when a cultured item is no longer safe to consume". Things like yogurt, mushrooms, and blue cheese can go bad. – ceejayoz Jun 2 '10 at 20:04

up vote 1 down vote

added by Kyle Cronin Jun 1 '10 at 21:25

up vote 1 down vote

added by Gnoupi Jun 2 '10 at 8:58

I think this is on-topic. Someone hearing about a particular dish/preparation (probably less obvious and simple than napoli sauce), and wanting to know how to prepare one. It's not asking about "best recipe for", because this is in a way subjective. But this is instead asking about some basic directions to prepare it. Ingredients, basic steps. – Gnoupi Jun 2 '10 at 8:59

up vote 1 down vote

added by Helen Jun 2 '10 at 17:43

Good topic, but question is poll / discussion. Could you rephrase? Perhaps something like, "What should my core set of kitchen knives consist of?" – Shog9 Jun 2 '10 at 17:46

Thanks, I like your variant better. :-) – Helen Jun 2 '10 at 17:54

up vote 1 down vote

added by Aaronaught Jun 3 '10 at 13:15

	It's phenomenal just how many people manage to mess up the simplest items like muffins and scones. – Aaronaught Jun 3 '10 at 13:16
	Yes, yes, yes, this question is wonderful. Also related would be the temperature of butter and eggs when doing methods such as creaming. – justkt Jun 3 '10 at 14:53

up vote 1 down vote

added by James H Jun 3 '10 at 23:10

up vote 1 down vote

added by kzh Jun 6 '10 at 15:30

I think this is potentially too long a list to be exhaustively enumerated. – Lee Jun 11 '10 at 5:50

up vote 1 down vote

added by Lee Jun 11 '10 at 5:54

up vote 0 down vote

added by raven Jun 1 '10 at 20:07

closed as off topic by Pure Pandemonium, Robert Cartaino, Aaronaught, Brant, Chris Johnsen Jun 13 '10 at 3:44

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

If questions like this are allowed, I think they would overrun the site. Also subjective and argumentative. – raven Jun 1 '10 at 20:08

I suspect questions like this will be unavoidable... perhaps establishing a "CW for recipe requests" standard early on would be wise? – Shog9 Jun 2 '10 at 16:34

THIS should be the #1 off-topic question. Allowing recipe exchanges in a professional Q&A site would be a huge mistake. How long do you think a professional chef will stick around when the page is filled with brownie and cookie recipes? You're supposed to be creating something unique here; an expert site. There are 10,000 recipe sites out there. Recipe talk should be confined to fixing recipes, improving recipes, etc. The site should be about technique, and getting better at the craft. If you want a recipe exchange, propose a separate site for that. – Robert Cartaino Jun 12 '10 at 0:49

@Robert - however, I believe questions like "how to prepare <dish>", like this one, should be on topic. We don't want to allow a "propose the best recipe for", but at same time, I think you should be able to ask how to prepare a particular dish/sauce. Only the basic details, not in an objective to have several variations. Only to ask, basically, how to prepare such thing. Because seriously, a cooking site without such obvious questions, people will not stick around, for sure. – Gnoupi Jun 12 '10 at 7:09

@Shog9 - It can't be worse than the flood encountered on SU. The only solution is a heavy moderation while waiting for more people to have 3k of reputation. If you have a bunch of dedicated people with a clear idea of what should be closed, it will work. – Gnoupi Jun 13 '10 at 6:42

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