How to Write Down a Recipe From Someone Who Cooks Without Measuring
For the cook who says "a little of this" and means it exactly.
Some of the best recipes in a family have never been written down. They live entirely in one person's hands — a pinch of this, a splash of that, cooked until it "looks right." That knowledge is real and precise, even if it's never been measured. It's also the most fragile kind, because it disappears completely when that person can't cook anymore.
Capturing it takes a different approach than copying a card. You're not transcribing; you're interviewing and measuring in real time.
Cook it with them, don't just ask
Asking "what's the recipe?" gets you "oh, you just throw it together." Cooking alongside them gets you the real thing. Be there while they make it, and turn their instinct into numbers as they go.
- Keep measuring cups and a scale on the counter. When they reach for "some" flour, catch it in a cup first, then let them use it.
- Weigh in grams where you can — it's far more repeatable than volume, especially for baking.
- Time each step, and note the heat level and what the food looks like when it's ready ("edges pulling away," "smells nutty").
Film it while it happens
A video captures what words can't: the exact texture of the dough, how vigorously they fold, how the pan should sound. Prop up a phone and record the whole cook. Even a rough clip becomes priceless — it's the closest thing to standing in the kitchen with them again.
In Kept you can attach a cook-along video right to the recipe, so the measured version and the real-time demonstration live together.
Capture the "tells" — the sensory cues
Cooks who work from memory rely on their senses, not the clock. Those cues are the actual recipe. Write them down verbatim: "fry until it smells like popcorn," "add water when it starts to catch," "it's done when a knife comes out clean but still a little wet." These are more reliable than any time you could write.
Write the story down in their words
While you're there, ask where they learned it and who they made it for. Record it in their phrasing. Years later, that paragraph will matter as much as the ingredient list — and it's the thing that makes anyone want to cook the recipe in the first place.
Make it before the memory fades
Then test your written version soon, ideally with them watching. If it comes out wrong, you'll find out which "pinch" was actually a tablespoon while you can still ask. The goal is a recipe someone who never met them could cook — and taste exactly what you remember.