Reviews on AllRecipes.com drive me nuts!

[Free4Life11]

Why do people give 5 star reviews and then say "Awesome recipe, but I made some changes" and then list 13 changes they made....more this, less that, substituted this for that and that for this. It ends up being a whole different recipe.

 

[chamonix]

What I hate even more is when people "hate the recipe" and give it a bad review and they made 13 changes, including using so many completely different ingredients that it's not even the same recipe anymore.

What's the point of reviewing the recipe at all then?! Weird.

 

[Sadie22]

Both of your opinions are right on, but I love the site. I can search on one or more ingredients (usually vegetables) and get lots of recipe ideas. I like it when people mention substitutions for the recipes because then I have a better idea of how I would want to make a similar dish. Often people will say they didn't have one of the ingredients and so used something else instead, or they will say they had to cook the casserole longer than the recipe states, or something like that. That kind of thing is very helpful. I look at a recipe as a starting point. I may make it as stated one time and then experiment the next. If someone else states drawbacks to the listed methods, that's one or more few mistakes I might make.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Or, "this is a terrible recipe, I hate thi ingredient, my son is allergic to that ingredient, nobody in my family would eat it, I'd never make this".

How can you 'review' something without experiencing it?

 

[lovesmurfs]

Why do people give 5 star reviews and then say "Awesome recipe, but I made some changes" and then list 13 changes they made....more this, less that, substituted this for that and that for this. It ends up being a whole different recipe.

What I hate even more is when people "hate the recipe" and give it a bad review and they made 13 changes, including using so many completely different ingredients that it's not even the same recipe anymore.

What's the point of reviewing the recipe at all then?! Weird.

I totally agree. I don't mind minor changes, but when you make major substitutions and then complain that it's too dry, or it doesn't bake up right -- don't criticize the original recipe.

But then, many times I've appreciated some of the changes, particularly when it says to make double of a sauce, or that it makes more/less than the recipe says it makes.

I do LOVE allrecipes.com, though. It's my go-to website for recipes.

 

[powellrj]

I downloaded an Apple Crisp recipe last night and I think there were like 2,500 reviews of it all with changes that they had made. Some added no water, some added more water. I just kind of read a few and go from there!

 

[chamonix]

I do love the website, and the reviews can definitely be helpful with tips like, "it really needs to cook longer" or "it's just as good made with water instead of milk" ....that kind of thing. But I hate it when people make so many changes it's not even the same recipe at all and then say the original recipe sucks. No, what you made might have sucked, but if you made that many changes it's not even the same recipe anymore! Just come clean and admit that what you made sucked, but don't rip on the original recipe as if you had actually made it.

Example: using chicken instead of pork, a whole bottle of barbecue sauce instead of a small can of tomato paste, a bottle of ranch dressing instead of sour cream, nutmeg instead of cinnamon, made it in the crockpot instead of the oven.....then saying "that recipe sucked, I'll never make it again". Um, you didn't make it the first time. LOL

 

[monkeyboy]

Sound like this place

 

[denisem]

Why do people give 5 star reviews and then say "Awesome recipe, but I made some changes" and then list 13 changes they made....more this, less that, substituted this for that and that for this. It ends up being a whole different recipe.

Right up there with a recipe title "Double Rich Sinful High Calorie Cheesecake" and a review pops up with "Wow, these ingredients are unhealthy!".

 

[mickeymedic]

I love that website. But I always read a bunch of the reviews to see what changes people made. Most of the time I make the recipe as written the first time, then try the most popular changes the next time and work from there.

 

[Kellydelly]

I downloaded an Apple Crisp recipe last night and I think there were like 2,500 reviews of it all with changes that they had made. Some added no water, some added more water. I just kind of read a few and go from there!

Was it this one?

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/apple-crisp-ii/detail.aspx

Definately cut the sugar and omit the water, if you haven't made it yet . I made it a couple weeks ago (second time) and it was a sugary mess, I will definately halve the sugar next time.

 

[Pastamom]

I so agree with all the PP's. The reviews should be of the recipe not of the major changes they made. - It's ok to say something like I was out of fresh parsley so I used dry and it worked out fine, but to change 2+ ingredients can change the whole recipe.

They should have a section for altered versions of the recipe...

The other thing I hate is when they complain about the recipe and the then give it a good rating or vice-versa.

I usually do a quick check through the reviews just to see if something is mentioned couple times

 

[Ceila]

Sound like this place

 

[marcyinPA]

I love that website. But I always read a bunch of the reviews to see what changes people made. Most of the time I make the recipe as written the first time, then try the most popular changes the next time and work from there.

That's what I do too. I have had pretty good luck and really love the site. There was one recipe that I tried that I hated---I mean it was totally inedible. I followed the directions to a "t". Several other reviews loved it. Kind of made me wonder if those people would eat just about anything?!

 

[powellrj]

Was it this one?

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/apple-crisp-ii/detail.aspx

Definately cut the sugar and omit the water, if you haven't made it yet . I made it a couple weeks ago (second time) and it was a sugary mess, I will definately halve the sugar next time.

Yep thats the one! I was planning on omitting the water, but I got really tart apples so I am not sure now about the sugar!!

 

[sukhakuli]

I hate how people post recipes on there that aren't even recipes! Like I was looking for beans and rice dishes once, and someone put up how to make a box of Zattarans beans and rice mix. That's not a recipe. Or the recipe will be nothing but crescent rolls, soda, and canned apples, and voila, it's suddenly a pie. Drives me crazy. I don't even look there anymore.

 

[Eeyore98]

I actually kinda like it when people mention changes they made in their (positive) review.

But the folks who make a bunch of changes and then give the recipe a bad review always remind me of this little poem in my grandmother's church recipe book.

I didn't have potatoes so I substituted rice. I didn't have paprika, so I used another spice.
I didn't have tomato sauce; I used tomato paste - a whole can, not a half can, 'cause I don't believe in waste.
A friend gave me this recipe and said, "You just can't beat it." There must be something wrong with her. I couldn't even eat it!

 

[Imzadi]

I do love the website, and the reviews can definitely be helpful with tips like, "it really needs to cook longer" or "it's just as good made with water instead of milk" ....that kind of thing. But I hate it when people make so many changes it's not even the same recipe at all and then say the original recipe sucks. No, what you made might have sucked, but if you made that many changes it's not even the same recipe anymore! Just come clean and admit that what you made sucked, but don't rip on the original recipe as if you had actually made it.

Yes, I like when people post how they made a recipe better. When the majority of the people say they added an extra 1/2 cup of stock and upped the basil and it made it better than the original recipe, then I know what to start with.

But, people who say, "I didn't have fresh chicken breast so I substituted canned tuna, and it was horrible," HELLO! Chicken isn't even in the same classification of living organisms as FISH.

Many Amazon reviews are the same way, especially with electronic gizmos. "I only had the item for 6 hours and it seems to work great, but I haven't tested all 25 functions yet." Or, "I didn't read the instructions for putting it together and it took 3 hours to set up. It doesn't work and there is an extra part that doesn't fit. "

Reviews like that should just be deleted.

 

[Infamousmare]

Yes, I like when people post how they made a recipe better. When the majority of the people say they added an extra 1/2 cup of stock and upped the basil and it made it better than the original recipe, then I know what to start with.

Many Amazon reviews are the same way, especially with electronic gizmos. "I only had the item for 6 hours and it seems to work great, but I haven't tested all 25 functions yet." Or, "I didn't read the instructions for putting it together and it took 3 hours to set up. It doesn't work and there is an extra part that doesn't fit. "

Reviews like that should just be deleted.

Totally agreed. I like reviews that either give me helpful information (like cook longer/shorter than stated, etc.) or explain exactly why the reviewer did/did not like the recipe or product. I loathe reading, "this sucked" or "I hated it" without any reason why. I'm left to guess why the reviewer was unhappy.

 

[21hearts]

I love this site as well & have found many new recipes to try.. My husband thinks I'm a whiz in a kitchen.. Little does he know I look up over 50% of the recipes I use...

But I completely agree I hate reading reviews where they changed everything & then complain about it. Or the reviews that say "hated it" or "worse thing I ever ate" because they changed everything really really annoy me!