Are you guilty of lessipe?
Definition: Lessipe, to leave out an important ingredient when you are sharing a favorite recipe so that no one else makes it taste as good as yours. A recipe that is missing one or more key ingredients.
Guilty or innocent of this culinary crime? Explain!
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32 Comments:
Love learning new words - thanks JEP!
Nope, I'd never, ever.
That would make me a bastard, beggar, black sheep, blackguard, bully, bum, cad, cardsharp, charlatan, cheat, delinquent, devil, disgrace, felon, fraud, good-for-nothing, grafter, hooligan, hypocrite, idler, imp, knave, liar, loafer, miscreant, mountebank, ne'er-do-well, opportunist, pretender, prodigal, profligate, rake, rapscallion, recreant, reprobate, robber, rogue, rowdy, ruffian, scalawag, scamp, scoundrel, shyster, sinner, skunk, sneak, swindler, tough, tramp, trickster, varmint, villain, wastrel, wretch of a lying rascal!
PerkyMac at 9:03PM on 02/09/08
I think that's horrible. I never do that. I either refrain from sharing a recipe or give a recipe intact. If someone sets another up for failure on purpose, that makes the saboteur a bad person. I'd much rather have the truth between the eys. "Sorry, that's a family recipe and we don't give it out" would be a much better retort than to waste ingredients.
chiff0nade at 9:14PM on 02/09/08
p.s.: you coined a new word and should submit it - it's really good and says exactly what it means!
PerkyMac at 9:22PM on 02/09/08
On this forum more than any other we share. What I hate is (excuse the pissed off tone here) when some blogger posts their recipes and leaves stuff out and I know that I caught it but someone who has taken the time and spent the money on the ingredients will screw up their work and lose hours of time and be put off by baking or cooking and that burns my ass big time.
I said this when we did the state of the foodie community thing at holiday time I hate hate hate when people post pics of their work and do not share what it is or how they made it. Not for me! If I see what you made then I will recreate it tout de suite with very little effort and in short order, BUT out there are people who are trying their best to improve their skills and learn, share enjoy and you are stiffling them. The whole reason we come together in the blgosphere if anything is to SHARE. If you want a blog where you share nothing write it for yourself and leave the rest of us out of it. Selfish damn people!!! I might start a blog called I horked your recipe.
When I see successful and famous people in the culinary community sharing recipes I know this much; its not just a recipe that makes food great its the skill of the cook and the love you put in it. Daring bakers is proof, how often do they make the same recipe and each version is different than the other.
I agree with chiff and Perky, don't be a a jerk! I always share. Hell I will come over and make it with you. When I die my food is going to live on so help me God.
JerzeeTomato at 9:40PM on 02/09/08
Yes I'm guilty! If it is a family recipe, I always leave an ingredient out. Not one that will guarnantee failure, but the secret ingredient that makes my version special. If I pulled a recipe from a public source, I'll gladly tell you where I got it. Most of the time when I cook from scratch, there's no recipe anyway. I just throw stuff into a pot.
NuJoi at 9:53PM on 02/09/08
Not me. I happily share any recipe someone wants. I include my notes and tips as well; what brand of a product (Callebaut chocolate verses Ghirardelli). I would not want to waste my time or money on ingredients only to have something turn out lousy, so I would not do that to another...to me it's about the karma.
Pawsinhand at 10:04PM on 02/09/08
Never, never, never would I leave out a crucial component of of recipe. I think it is an honor to cook something special for somone and the ultimate compliment to be asked for your recipe. A dish never looks or tastes exactly the same way everytime I make it anyway. I take license with ingredients and directions with every recipe, whether it be Thomas Keller's or my grandmother's.
frederika at 10:08PM on 02/09/08
Who would do that??? If you aren't adult enough to tell the truth and admit that you don't want to share a recipe, then just "forget" to give it to the asker. (Although I admit I caught holy hell from a group once when I wouldn't give out my carrot cake recipe-- and the thing is, if I had shared it I would still have it because my file of recipe clippings was lost the next time I moved! I have never been able to replicate it exactly...sigh)
smallblondemom at 10:34PM on 02/09/08
Hee hee, Perky, that was funny:-). In any case, I can say with a clear conscience - "not guilty". If, for whatever reason, I don't want to give my recipe to someone, I just won't give the recipe (although I can't quite imagine the situation and I don't think it ever happened to me). Otherwise, I really love sharing good things (how much fun is it to enjoy something all by yourself?), and if somebody asks me for a recipe, I'll be more than happy not only to provide the correct list of ingredients, but also to give as many helpful tips based on my experience as possible. But hey, "lessipe" is a cool word, JEP!
brooke29 at 11:28PM on 02/09/08
I plead not guilty, your honor!
izzy's mama at 11:46PM on 02/09/08
I hate that! I've talked about that on my blog a couple times (under secret ingredients). My ex's mom and my present mom-in-law do it all the time and it's childish. Doing the lessipe (great word I'm going to have to use it on my blog!) thing makes me leery of trusting them, period. If their going to lie about a thing as simple as a recipe, what else are they going to lie about? Maybe this should have gone under the thread about pet peeves/ horrible things done in the kitchen.
evilchefmom at 11:57PM on 02/09/08
Matter of fact I compared the mom-in-laws to Marie on Everybody Loves Raymond!
evilchefmom at 12:05AM on 02/10/08
Never in a million years. I've had enough of mothers of beaus doing that over the course of my life. It's petty and childish. If you don't want to give it out, don't give it out. In fact, the only recipe I won't give out is my great aunt's friendship cake recipe, because she made me swear not to give it to anyone outside the family. It's a very good recipe, though not, I think, worthy of all the cloak and dagger. I will list amounts, brand names, etc. I'm always thrilled when someone asks me for mine. I can't imagine wanting to then punish the person for doing so by messing up the recipe.
chisai at 6:14AM on 02/10/08
Wanted to tell everyone my original source for the word lessipe---I stumbled onto the word by accident & just happened to read it online at Verbotomy which is a create-a-word online site!
While I do cook without recipes many times (using the add this & dump in that method) I do tell my requestor specifics regarding that method. Other times, I am more than happy to share a written copy of a recipe when someone tastes a dish I've prepared & says "hey, this is superb, can I have the recipe?"
JEP at 8:00AM on 02/10/08
I probably leave out items on recipes inadvertently. Someone will ask me at a work party how I make all my Japanese/Okinawan dishes that I bring. I'll describe it, but I won't write it down.
My mother was an excellent cook. All the recipes were in her head, including cake recipes. I learned the essence of dishes from her, so I'm no different with my Japanese and Okinawan dishes.
I end up telling people to buy a book or look it up online. Because of this, I don't see the logic of why anyone would hoard a recipe and not share something that they already have.
When I get a new recipe, I taste along the way and alter it to my liking anyway. It's probably why I don't care if an item has been omitted in most cooking, e.g., frying, soups, stews, sauces, as long as it doesn't affect texture. Baking cakes/bread, on the other hand, I consider a science (plus I can't taste and adjust along the way); where nailing the chemical process is vital, flavor comes second.
Cassaendra at 8:54AM on 02/10/08
Ha-ha, it never occured to me to do this. The first time I read it (not very carefully), I thought you meant "did you ever make a recipe and unintentionally leave out a key ingredient." Couldn't figure out why everyone was getting so upset :)
I usually just make up my own recipes. If I write them down (rarely), they include little pearls like "chop up enough onion and cook it til is smells right." When sharing recipes, I do try to estimate amounts and times, however.
Kerosena at 11:50AM on 02/10/08
would there even be a cook book today or even something called a "reciepe" If not for every time someone made a dish it wasn't recorded and written down! and pasted down from family and friends!I have tried challengling reciepes and sometimes they were not what I expected,but I can't imagine some one leaving out a specific ingredient.I LOVE TO COOK,! I want more and more and if I have something great i will share,pammy
pammy at 1:18PM on 02/10/08
can I ask a something really stupid,I'm not that good with the computer and don't know alot of terms,but whats a blog? don't laugh i'm serious,pammy
pammy at 1:30PM on 02/10/08
I don't do it intentionally, but I can never give out measures... as I mostly eye-ball everything when I cook.
Madelyn
KarmaFree Cooking
MadelynRodriguez at 3:14PM on 02/10/08
Thanks for sharing, pammy, you're my kind of girl. A blog is essentially a mini-website, as it were. Don't be intimidated by all the internet tech terms.
Hi evilchefmom - do the mom-in-laws also have BIG spoons?
frederika at 4:33PM on 02/10/08
I still think omitting a key ingredient in a recipe is downright wrong - not to mention childish and malicious.
As far as the word "lessipe" it's great! When we refer to Sandra Lee's "concoctions," we call them "messipes."
chiff0nade at 5:16PM on 02/10/08
frederika, i wish they had big spoons. they probably wouldn't will them to me anyways! but they do have them for sale at pottery barn. do you think they'd get they message if i gave them one as a gift.
evilchefmom at 5:35PM on 02/10/08
Speaking of messipes (ingenious!) I had to look up the infamous Kwanza cake to see for myself. All I can say is OMG...
frederika at 11:10PM on 02/10/08
i would never consider doing that in a million years.
cybercita at 11:32PM on 02/10/08
The Kwanza cake was a wreck a store bought cake with a vat of icing.
and the huge CANDLE.
JerzeeTomato at 2:51AM on 02/11/08
Good question! And I'm heartened by the righteous indignation at the very thought of this :) Recipes are made to be shared!
CookiePie at 8:44AM on 02/11/08
Re the Kwanzaa cake messipe...
I found this post on another message board and found it so hysterical that I almost sprayed a mouthful of coffee all over my laptop... quite accurate tho:
Kwanzaa Cake? looks like an edible hate crime
If you watch the Food Network, you may have caught this crazy cake lady's work. If the Star of David cake wasn't offensive enough, now we have the disgusting Kwanzaa Celebration cake, featuring corn nuts. Corn nuts on cake is akin to putting pork rinds in jello. IT'S JUST WRONG!
Now I'm off to to look up the Star of David cake he mentions...
LoCo at 2:56PM on 02/11/08
I haven't had corn nuts in 20 years. Corn nuts on cake. How intriguing... :o
Was it just the regular ones or barbecue flavor? :P
Cassaendra at 3:06PM on 02/11/08
Okay, so the Star of David messipe is also pretty hysterical. You can see it HERE. Not only is it made with marshmallows which are usually made with gelatin, a pork product (unless you know to seek out kosher or vegetarian marshmallows), but the so-called "Star of David" she put on top has eight points. Count 'em. EIGHT!!! Hello? I'm not Jewish, but I don't think that's a prerequisite to figuring out that this is just wrong.
Sorry to get so sidetracked from the actual topic.
JEP, love the word. Thanks for sharing it. Done intentionally, I agree that lessipe is a heinous crime, and one I would never engage in or condone. I know I've omitted an ingredient, or failed to specify something about an ingredient, but always by mistake.
Although, I'm thinking lessipe may sometimes be a socially-acceptable, and relatively harmless, means of inflicting abuse on people you can't stand, but must pretend to like, or at lest get along with (certain bosses, mothers of husbands' children, those annoying know-it-all one-uppers, etc.).
;^p
LoCo at 3:21PM on 02/11/08
if I have a recipe I give it all, if its a seat of your pants thing then I give my best guess and make sure the other person knows that too.
huney_bumper at 8:35PM on 02/11/08
LoCo - that is an absolute hoot! "Edible Hate Crime" is brilliantly perfect!!!
frederika at 3:12PM on 02/13/08
I'd never intentionally leave an ingredient out of the recipe though I have been tempted to just not share the recipe because it's something special I make. But then I can never justify saying "no, I don't want to share because it's mine, mine, mine" so I end up sharing anyway.
Michelle Jones at 3:25PM on 02/13/08