My grandmother's pie crust recipe just failed me for the first time in 40 years

I used the exact same flour and lard she always used but swapped the tap water for bottled and the dough turned into a crumbly mess, has anyone else had a random ingredient change ruin a family recipe?

2 comments

2 Comments

brookefox13d ago

A buddy of mine tried to make his grandma's meatloaf recipe and used fancy organic ketchup instead of the cheap stuff she always used. Turned out tasting like sweet tomato paste, not even close to right. He still brings it up every time someone mentions switching ingredients. Something about the basics just works, I guess.

avery62913d ago

Oh man, this is funny cause I used to be one of those people who thought fancy ingredients always made things better. I'd swap out normal butter for some expensive European stuff and wonder why my cookies didn't taste right. But your friend's meatloaf story actually changed my mind. I tried making my dad's chili recipe with fancy smoked paprika and some artisanal beef once and it was a total mess. The cheap stuff really does have that specific flavor you're trying to recreate, the one that actually tastes like home and not some restaurant version. Now I just stick to whatever the recipe says and save the fancy stuff for when I'm experimenting on my own.