Welcome to The Buzz

Well done, well said.

apparently all-recipes likes the way there rating system works, 99% of everyone thinks otherwise.

I would like a system where you could comment on the recipe without assigning a star rating to it.

I've yet to write a review though I have sampled many a recipe from this site. The thing I always found, I rarely ever follow a recipe religiously, but more look to it for ideas as a launch pad for what I really want to accomplish... Based on that, haven't felt "qualified" enough to write a review...

Sensored, I think your reviews with the changes you make would be greatly appreciated. I always scan down through the reviews before trying an AR recipe. Suggestions from others who have tried it, save me lots of times from making something that is too sweet or too spicey for my liking. Also, have you considered posting your own recipe that you develop from that basic AR recipe? Giving mention to the original cook as a starting point, of course, but still with changes you veer off and make, it sounds as tho you do come up with an entirely new recipe.

Wow I just read just the tagline in "recent review" for a vegetable soup. The reviewer said she could even think about making it because it used canned veggies. How can anyone review something they haven't tried. Also the original review this morning gave her disclaimer about the canned veggies saying she had not time for fresh as she was a round the clock caregiver. Please at least try a recipe before giving your 2 cents.

There are only a few things that are good canned. If a recipe tells me to use canned campbell's cream of mushroom soup or other creamed campbell's soups, It would at lease lose a star. I do like a few campbell's soups (Chicken Soup, Bean, Split Pea, And Potato soup). I am not going to use Lipton's Onion Or Beefy Onion Soup. I would rather cut up a fresh onion and some beef stock. I go to work for 8 hours working changing Tires, Oil Changes etc.. and still come home and cook a fresh meal for my wife. Tonight was Pork And Shrimp Fried Rice And Egg Rolls, From Scratch. If you watch people shop they they buy ready made meals, and out of the box. Not Really Cooking.

Obviously the people writing reviews based upon their additions/subtractions in a recipe still don't get the purpose of following a recipe exactly and then rating it because they are still doing it. Some things will never change.

What I just found funny, Is I reviewed some posters reviews in this blog, and one of them who said they should not review recipes if they make changes, made 3 changes in a review, and rated the recipe with the changes.

This is something that's been debated for quite some time on this site, and it has supporters in both camps. Personally, I don't mind at all if someone changes a recipe I've submitted and then provides a rating as long as it's not because of something like "I omitted the vanilla and orange zest, and it was completely bland"...of course it would be bland in a case like that, you omitted the ingredients that added flavor! That's just an example, but it's my 2 cents. I'm not going to rate a recipe that I've never tried because of, as someone mentioned seeing in a review previously, it uses canned veggies, and I dislike canned veggies. But for those of us who never make a recipe without tweaking, we typically don't mind a rating with changes. But most of us also understand the other side of the fence for those that prefer to follow a recipe exactly. The customized recipe feature is a great thing, too. I agree with covergirl, too, that it would be nice to leave a comment on a recipe without requiring a star rating. Most important above all to me is that we keep it civil and mind our manners as sometimes the reviews can get pretty nasty.

I have to disagree. I think the reviews are fine the way they are. Why not let people say what they want to say about a recipe? I read them for inspiration and possible substitutions to fit what I have on hand. I want to see if someone has had success making a recipe more healthy or less expensive. I usually skip the snotty or rude reviews. The "I made it exactly as written-5 stars" reviews are very boring to me. The star system is kind of annoying to me, though. Technically, on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 should stand for near perfection or exceptional, 4- above average, 3-average, 2-below average and one- inedible. It seems like we give 5 stars for simple good food, then we have no room to go up for truly exceptional recipes.

I think it's only the star rating that's a sticking point for me. If a reviewer said they liked the recipe only with the changes they made, that would be fair enough if there was no star rating. It just doesn't make sense to me to give a high star rating when you have made alterations that change the recipe beyond what it once was. But I think a few tweaks are ok, in my opinion of course! I do usually try to stick to the recipe when I make it the first time, for a fair review. However, I have come under fire even when doing that and posting my review based on the recipe as it is!!

I don't like to leave ratings because of the star system but when I do it's usually because I used the recipe as posted. I do agree though that if you change anything in the recipe then you are not giving a fair rating. I know, I know, I have left ratings but I also explained the changes and try to keep the rating neutral. As for canned veggies.. people! :) Just make it with fresh instead of passing up on what might be the meal of your life! Honestly, canned soup was a staple in the 60's for people with large families to feed. My mother used to use canned veggie for her hamburger goulash. She also used canned bean sprouts, canned water chestnuts and canned mushrooms... She fed 8 people 3 times a day, you cut corners where you can to stretch your grocery money. Her hamburger goulash was fantastic by the way.

I like canned peas!

I reviewed a recipe I changed, but, the recipe did not have very many reviews. And, the previous review was poor because the reviewer made huge changes to the foundation and not realizing that eliminating one major ingredient would drastically change a dish. My comment was that the basic recipe was solid and then explained why I changed it because it was customizable. (Customizable - is that word spelling police?)

I often see someone thanking the person that reviewed a recipe in "The Buzz". If you are going to thank someone why not insert the recipe again so that the rest of us may try it too?

I like the review system as it is, its quick simple and easy for everyone to use. The one thing I do think which should be added is to confirm that you have actually made the dish. Now its the reviewers themselves that need to change. I love the fact we have the freedom to be honest and to express our opinions but I feel the reviews should be submitted to help others not to character assasinate the submitter. Even though the recipe is not one of our favorite you have to remember it could have been a family favorite for years!

Many things were said while I was out of town it seems... But to comment on some things: The star-rating system is great, I love it personally; when it's used correctly. I'm not giving a bashing on the rating system, I just wanted to vent and bring awareness of those using it in a manner that was causing inaccurate feedback. It sounds like there's really sides to this, and for those who don't follow a recipe to the letter, just remember that those changes do affect the overall outcome. If you feel the changes made are better than the original, then rate the review as such; you might have made those adjustments to compensate for something you felt was lacking. If you made the changes because of an allergy or a dislike of a certain ingredient, don't let that affect the review. Okay, second rant over. Go back at it, I guess :)

i really don't understand how anyone's feedback could be called "inaccurate". let's not forget that food and it's taste is very subjective. read the reviews and take them for what they are worth. and i happen to like the "i made it exactly" reviews. that tells me that if i follow recipe exactly, it's a good recipe i don't have to tweak. what's wrong with that? if you are having to overly tweak recipes, maybe it not a recipe worth bothering with. just come up with your own then. on the flip side, great ideas often come from the ones that have to be "tweaked".