Development and Validation of a Recipe Method for Doughs.

Adriana Lezama-Solano,Edgar Chambers

doi:10.3390/foods7100163

Abstract

Recipes have a great impact on consumers’ behavior in the kitchen; building a recipe requires the understanding of the potential user. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate different recipe styles for the preparation of doughs by understanding people’s descriptions of these. Two qualitative studies were performed (43 wheat and 50 corn dough preparers). During interviews, participants described the preparation process of the doughs using the Think Aloud technique. Finished doughs were described as not sticky, soft, and pliable. Based on these descriptions, five recipes were created: not detailed, detailed, very detailed, paragraph-form, and ‘with images’. Recipes were validated in two online surveys (total n = 600), where respondents evaluated the easiness, likeability, likelihood of using, helpfulness, and amount of information. Respondents considered the recipe with images as easier and more helpful. The very detailed recipe was considered more difficult, less helpful, and was liked less than the other recipes. Understanding and identifying the terms and techniques people use is a good way to communicate how to prepare a food product and can be used to develop and improve recipes. However, the format in which the recipe is presented is an important factor considered by users when following recipes.

Highlights

Families in the United States are more likely to eat at home, which has increased the use of recipes as a guide for cooking preparations
Two observational studies to determine how consumers prepare and describe wheat and corn doughs were conducted through personal interviews in two locations: Manhattan, KS, USA, (43 wheat dough preparers) and Guadalupe, San José, Costa Rica (50 corn dough preparers)
The results show how doughs are an example of a food product where texture is more important than flavor [35]

Summary

Introduction

Families in the United States are more likely to eat at home, which has increased the use of recipes as a guide for cooking preparations. A survey from 2012 shows that 67% of home cooks had used a recipe at least once in the last month [1]. This is especially influenced by Millennials, who are using recipes for cooking at least once a week [2]. Recipes can be defined as sets of directions that tell the user how to cook and prepare a food product. They are usually derived from traditions where cooking was learned by imitation. There are some other key factors that users consider important in a recipe, such as cooking temperatures, possible variables during the process, and expected outcomes (including sensory characteristics of the final product) [3,4,5,6]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion