Creator chats Part 1: On recipe testing and leaving reviews
The first part of a casual conversation with my close friends and food bloggers Salima Benkhalti (Salima’s Kitchen) and Justin McChesney-Wachs (Salt Pepper Skillet).
In this part of the series, we introduce ourselves, chat about our recipe testing process, and share how we respond to negative reviews (and what we do with the information)
Meet the crew
Candice: I’m Candice, and I run the blog Proportional Plate, which focuses on Persian recipes, Jewish recipes, and tea-related recipes.
Salima: I'm Salima, and I run SalimasKitchen.com. The blog is focused on sharing mostly family recipes that I grew up eating, with a focus on the Moroccan and Puerto Rican cultures that I had in my home.
Justin: My name is Justin, and I blog over at Salt Pepper Skillet.com. I focus on simple, approachable cooking recipes, mostly outdoor cooking in the smoker with a focus on specific techniques…
Candice: I'd push you on that because you have… now I wouldn't say food science is the right descriptor…but you have a technical way of sharing recipes that I don't see on a lot of blogs, which is super cool. I also think one thing that is unique to the three of us is that all of us are pretty aggressive recipe testers, which isn't the case for all bloggers.
Justin: You're aggressive with testing, haha.
Salima: I don't know about Justin, but I feel like you are more so than me, Candice. But yes, it's important to all of us… but you're on a whole other level, Candice.
Justin: Yeah, you’re all, "This is the 18th test, I'm trying to make this work, I will make it work.”
Salima: Where do you stand with that, Justin? I'm curious.
Justin: I definitely test my recipes, but a lot of my process comes from experience—having done certain things so many times. I’m not usually making something three or more times just to perfect it.
The way I cook, precision measuring isn’t really my style, so I tend to avoid recipes that require it, and you won’t find a lot of those on my site. I’ll measure for things like sauces, but I don’t bake much—no cakes or bread, at least not intentionally—because it takes the fun out of cooking for me. The need for exact measurements and repeated testing can feel limiting, so I naturally gravitate away from those types of recipes.
Candice: So, what does your recipe-testing process look like?
Justin: First, I'll write the initial one based on my research, and I'll print off the recipe with an extra sheet so I can write notes depending on how well it goes. I make lots of notes on my paper, go back and write up all those notes, and oftentimes, I’ll remake it, make the adjustments, and then see if it needs to be adjusted again. Hopefully not, but sometimes, you have to make again to try.
Candice: So it sounds as if you start more organically without measurements, and then you turn it into something with specific measurements…
Justin: Yes, a lot of times, as I’m cooking, I’ll think, I should write this recipe down. I’ll jot notes on a little piece of paper, writing down what I’m using. That becomes the initial test, and later, I turn it into a more formal outline. It depends on the recipe, but I love the spontaneity of being inspired, making something, and realizing I need to document it—because otherwise, I won’t remember exactly what I did. And honestly, measuring isn’t my favorite thing anyway, because it kind of slows you down. I just enjoy throwing stuff in the pan. How about you, Salima?
Salima: I think there are two different kinds of recipe testing that I do. The recipes I’m most excited about and that I have the most fun with are the ones I cook organically, just because I enjoy them. These are often dishes I grew up making casually, so the challenge comes later when I have to work backward and write everything down. I usually do that directly in the recipe card, just writing as I go. It’s not the most efficient method, especially when things go wrong, and I need to revert back to an earlier version. But since I don’t do much baking, it’s rarely an issue—those are the times when this approach can backfire.
The other type of recipe testing I do is more structured and driven by keyword research. If I’m targeting a specific keyword, I’ll start by researching the traditional version of the recipe, then tweak it based on the ingredients I like to use and the cooking techniques I usually incorporate on my site. From there, I test it using the same formula: I write it in the recipe card, test it once, and then adjust it as needed. If it doesn’t turn out right, I’ll test it two or three more times. But if I’m on my fourth attempt and still not happy, I usually lean towards giving up on the recipe—especially if it’s a complicated, multi-step dish or a baking recipe.
Justin: That happens to me too, where if I test something and it doesn't come out and I try it again and it doesn't work. I don't have the perseverance that Candice has. I'm usually thinking, if I can't get this to be right myself, I don't feel comfortable, so I'm done. But Candice is determined.
Salima: Candice is so determined. I'm so impressed by that.
Candice: I get to a place where it works, and then I make it four more times to make sure that it's consistent. That’s just me. Recently, I had one of those with the Hamantaschen recipe. I only just published it, and the final recipe was the result of ongoing testing for several years.
For me, my preference is actually cooking without measurements at home. I started the blog to help turn family recipes into things that other people can make. You can't tell a reader just to feel it out or say, “It should taste sort of like this.”
It started out with measuring ingredients in my hand the way my grandma would and transferring them into measuring spoons and stuff. I've literally done that before. For the blog, it's different. It can't just be casual cooking. That’s more comfortable for us, and is another part of why we probably got into this line of work is we aren't the type to need to measure ingredients because we're comfortable in the kitchen.
So, completely flipping that to cooking with measurements and my recipe-testing process is taking those family recipes and trying to work backward. If I taste something amazing in a restaurant and I want to be able to make it at home, I'm going to figure out how to make it. So it's a bit of scientific effort to tweak this by half a teaspoon and change this by this much and working backward to get to a place where you have something consistent.
Justin: That is something that I miss is when you go out to eat and going to be inspired and then trying to replicate that dish. We don't eat out very often anymore, and when we do, it's not usually that inspiring, so I definitely miss that.
Candice: That seems like a big pre-pandemic versus post-pandemic difference.
Justin: For sure.
Why are reviews important for food bloggers? Do you ever change recipes based on reader feedback?
Candice: So, as I mentioned, I extensively tested a Hamantaschen cookie recipe years ago, and when my sister's in-laws made the recipe, they said that a couple of their Hamantaschen sort of fell apart. I lost it and was like, what happened? I needed to figure out what went wrong, whether it was something in the recipe or something that they did, and figure out how I could make it so no reader has this issue ever again.
Because of that, I went through a new round of recipe testing the Hamantaschen to make it just a little bit more foolproof. That's just one example of getting a review with feedback on how something maybe wasn't perfect, and it made me go back and change stuff. Almost anytime someone leaves a review that isn't five stars, I will retest a recipe just to see if there's some advice I could give them or if it's an issue with what I posted. I think I'll pretty much do that 100% of the time.
Salima: I tend to give the most weight to reviews that feel personal, like if they’re from a friend, family member, or someone who truly engaged with the recipe. If there's a critique or something that didn’t work well, I’ll 100% retest it. It does sting sometimes to read. I think, Oh no, they’re not going to trust the recipe or the site! But I’m not as strict as you about retesting after every bad review. It really depends on the language of the comment. Sometimes, you can tell that a reviewer may not have followed the recipe correctly or is just venting frustration—because, well, the internet. But if multiple reviews are flagging the same issue, I’ll go back and retest.
Reviews matter for a lot of reasons—not just for feedback but also for SEO. I work with an SEO agency that emphasizes how important comments and reviews are for search rankings. You don’t have to include every detail in a blog post, you can leave some aspects open-ended and then encourage readers to ask questions in the comments. And all that discussion gets factored into the post’s visibility, making it more helpful to future readers.
So, seriously, friends, if you’re reading this, please leave a review or a comment! It makes a huge difference because it helps us to make better content.
Justin: And the reviews are really really important because they also show other people who are coming in that it's safe to make that recipe, and it's going to be good rather than just relying on the recipe.
Candice: Absolutely.
Justin: Which is a good reminder for us as readers, that whenever we make something or read something from somebody else's site, just to leave a little comment and rate it because it's hard to go back and do that, and you realize why people don't do it. But it is valuable feedback not only when something doesn't go right but often I found that some of the more valuable ones are people who have other ideas or added something new or created some sort of variation that can be really good. It won't change the core recipe necessarily, but you can add it to the post…And there can be some really good ideas that you might not have thought of before.
Candice: Right! The most reviewed recipe on my website is Persimmon Bread. And lately, I've been getting these awesome reviews where someone will come in and say, "Hey, I substituted gluten-free flour, and it worked." Or, "Hey, I substituted coconut oil at this ratio, and it worked." Or, "I baked these in a muffin tin at this temperature for this long, and it worked." All of that information helps other people get to do that too and not have to worry, is it going to come out? So it helps other people get to make the recipe in the way that they want. So if you substitute something, it's even better to leave a review because you're allowing other readers to make that change if that suits their diet better.
I will say, though, that I do not retest for crazy reviews or if it's really obvious what a reader did to make the recipe mess up.
Salima: I'm glad, haha.
Justin: As a reader also, if I'm looking for a recipe, this is bad, but I might not read the whole article or the whole recipe. I almost always go to the reviews first and see people will say I made this, and it was great, but I didn't use this, or if you see a theme going, it's very helpful.
Salima: I wonder if it's just us as recipe developers and food bloggers that are going to the comment section and relying on it heavily or if everyone does that. If I'm missing an ingredient and I see that it worked for other people in the comments, I'll trust that.
Candice: I don't often make other people's recipes, to be honest. I usually just go completely rogue in the kitchen if I'm not recipe-developing anymore. I love the freedom!
What's your response when someone leaves you a negative recipe review?
Salima: It depends on the type of negative review, sometimes people are just quite angry and there's an energy to it that feels unnecessary, and other times it's very genuine feedback that says “Hey this didn't work and I wasted these ingredients” and that sucks and the response from me is different based on the type of review.
Usually, if it's a negative one that's constructive, I will retest it, and I respond to them either with notes on what I found in my retesting. Usually, I'll wait to approve it until I've had the time to go and retest it and give that information so I'm not just saying "Sorry, this didn't work." Then if it's a really negative one that has weird energy, a lot of times I'll report it as spam because I just don't find that constructive for me or anyone.
Candice: That sounds really healthy. I should start doing that. Literally this week, I got one that said something like, “This was a complete waste of ingredients, horrible recipe,” and I was sad because it's one of my favorites.
Salima: I have one like that right now that's pending, and I'm still trying to decide what to do with it. It's not always black and white. It's hard.
Justin: Whenever I get something like that, I just try not to respond right away and let it sit for a while. And maybe you just let it sit forever. And that’s okay.
Candice: I love that. Let it marinate a little bit. Don't let it get you down quite yet. And look at it when you're in a calmer headspace. I will say that I get an email notification when I get a review on the blog, and I have a really hard time not opening them immediately. I'm going to turn that off.
Salima: Yeah, you’ve got to turn those notifications off!
To be continued next month, when we will talk about upsetting online interactions, surprising content reactions, and the different ways people have challenged our expertise and knowledge. Have questions for us? Drop them in the comments.