Reading Recipes

Below is a simple recipe for Carrot, Apple & Raisin salad. Read through it and I'll explain what you're seeing.

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Carrot, Apple and Raisin Salad

Easy, yummy & great on sandwiches as well.

4 c Grated Carrots
2 c Grated Apple
1 c Raisins
2/3 c Mayonnaise
1.5 Tbsp Apricot Jelly

Peel and core apples. Grate apples and carrots. Mix with wet ingredients. Add raisins and stir until combined. Chill before serving.

Makes 12 servings.

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"c" always means Cup in a recipe. A cup is 8oz.
"T" or "Tbsp" means tablespoon.
"t" or "tsp" means teaspoon.

How many carrots in a cup of grated carrot? Google it, grasshopper. (It's 1/2c per medium carrot)

Anything you don't know or want to know more about? We live in an amazing time where you can access all sorts of information on the internet. This is a powerful tool, use it! With caution, because there are wells of poor information out there - don't look at just one source, cross check your information through a few different websites.  

This recipe makes 12 servings. For our house, that's a whole lot. I'd have to give some away to keep it from being wasted. Looking at the recipe, it is simple to divide it in half. The only slightly tricky ingredient is the Apricot Jelly. 1.5 Tbsp = almost 5 tsp. Half of 5 = 2.5. Rather than scooping out 5 1/2 teaspoons into my mix, I'd be lazy and use 1 Tbsp and not fill it all the way up. 1 Tbsp = 3 tsp. (Knowing your weights and measures will allow you to take liberties with a recipe without wrecking it's composition.)

Certain fruit and vegetables oxidize (turn brown/black) very quickly - this process can be sped up if you use metal to cut them with. Carrots and Apples will start to change color within about 30 minutes or so. Some cooks add a splash of lemon or lime juice to these items because the citric acid stops/slows the oxidation process.  I would mix my mayo and jelly first in a lidded bowl, grate the carrots and mix them into my sauce and toss that back into the fridge then peel, core & grate the apples. Once the apples are grated, into the bowl they go and mix. Then add the raisins, stir again and stuff that bowl back into the fridge while I clean my tools. 

Mayonnaise contains eggs. This means that it is not something that can sit unrefrigerated on a hot day. It must be kept cold. 

Creativity is a bonus when it comes to cooking. Feel free to switch the regular raisins for golden raisins or even dried cranberry bits. Try it with a tart Granny Smith apple, rather than a Red apple. I've used Pineapple Apricot jelly instead of just plain Apricot.  Yes, you will try things that don't work. It's ok. Go back to the original recipe and maybe try something else.

Go on and give the recipe a try. Show it to Mom first and see if she's into it. Post a comment to let me know if you liked the recipe and what you'd change to make it your own.