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Ingredients of the week: Mushrooms,Cranberries, Brassica, Beetroot, Potatoes, Cabbage, Carrots, Nutritional Yeast, Miso, Buckwheat
Cuisine of the month:
Made some pumpkin muffins and realized how in a lot of my cooking, I don't care too much about uniformity or presentation.
I'm pretty functional about it - like the meal and my previous creations speak for themselves. If I'm making something for a party or whatever, I try to make things look a little better, but I 100% prioritize flavor and texture more than anything else.
Other people who cook/bake, what are your thoughts on visual presentation?
aesthetics can be a force multiplier for taste and flavor
Somewhere between "not at all" and "very little." Like I'll avoid using sumac in curry if I'm making it for anyone else because it's also a strong purple dye that turns the otherwise yellow/orange curry a dull grey as a result, but other than that I don't give a single thought to how anything looks.
Sometimes something will come out looking quite aesthetic, though, like when I tossed red cabbage I'd pickled with tien tsin peppers on top of a bowl of egg-drop ramen with fried tofu, which looked almost professional for a meal that came out to less than a dollar to make - the contrast between the vibrant purple cabbage, the warm orange broth, and the crispy brown tofu was quite striking. Then I stirred it all together to actually eat it and the effect was lost completely.
tasty slop is tasty slop 
100% sure, but it's definitely tastier if it looks tasty
It's not always necessary, and there are diminishing returns, but it does bring your food to the next level, especially if you're entertaining guests
The diminishing returns thing is my rule of thumb. Doesn't need to be fancy, just needs to not look like you slopped it out of a can.
I had some refried beans literally still in the shape of a can twice this week lol
Making for myself? Idfc. For others? Putting the rat under my chef hat
my grandpa would make the ugliest, most delicious food ever, and if you asked why it looks like that?
"it'll make a turd"
"shit on a stick" was the common response to "what's for dinner" as a kid
I’m so bad for presentation. I prioritize flavor and texture or practicing a technique, I never even think about what it looks like. Sometimes good technique lends itself to aesthetic, like getting a great crust on a steak or doing an egg wash on a loaf of bread, but a lot of the time I don’t think at all about the visual. The food doesn’t suffer, but yeah, once in a while I’d love to put down a meal that people want to post on instagram.
I wouldn't sacrifice flavor for aesthetics but I try to make things look as nice as I can. Why not?
If it looks good that’s just a bonus but as soon as I cook my food it’s assembled on the plate with each item separate from each other but I don’t go out of my way to make any of it look nice. If I was cooking for other people I might put some effort in just to make people feel good
But like yeah I would still devour those muffins idc how they look they still look good to me
I made this tonight, when I'm proud of how it tastes I try harder to make it look appetizing
that looks really interesting! what is it?
a recipe I learned from one of those meal kit companies: https://www.purplecarrot.com/plant-based-recipes/fresh-basil-and-chickpea-soup-with-spiced-carrots-spinach-salad
I try to make it look good for other people, unless I'm really tired. Aesthetics is a big part of taste after all.
Zero
I respect the aesthetics and all but I cook stuff for it to taste good and be healthy. Sometimes it looks good too, but I'm putting zero effort into that part.
A little bit of effort goes a long way. I obviously skip overt decoration for weeknight meals for myself, but like for a pie? That shit is going to look fancy, I'm imprinting the crust with a fork, I'm weaving the dough strips up top for a checkerboard look, I'm sprinkling some extra large sugar granules up top. I'm using warm plates and I'm putting a little effort into plating the entree and any sides, not letting them touch if possible.