Making the Perfect Dry Martini: Writing Recipes
Monday, January 12th, 2009Writing recipes can be difficult. With few words and symbols, you have to communicate what ingredients to use, how much of each to use, and how they should be used. Using the recipe for a perfect dry martini, we’ll show you three ways to accomplish this.
The three recipe styles below demonstrate a trade-off between ease of use and length, as well as a trade-off between the writer’s needs and the reader’s needs. You will need to decide whether simplicity or length is more important.
RECIPE STYLE ONE:
Advantage: This style of recipe presents information in 2 discrete sections.
Disadvantages: The reader is unlikely to gather the ingredients and measure them before following the instructions, so he or she will need to keep referring back to the ingredient list, which can cause confusion. Also, the instructions are in narrative form, which can make them more difficult to follow. This is our least preferred style.
Ease of use: worst
Length: shortest
Conclusion: Easiest for writer, hardest for reader
Ingredients
2 – 3 oz. Vodka or Gin
1/2 oz. Vermouth
2 Olives or 1 Thin Orange Peel Twist
Water and Crushed Ice
Cubed Ice
Instructions
Fill the martini glass with crushed ice, and then fill the glass to the brim with water. (This is to chill the glass.) Set it aside. Add enough cubed ice to a tumbler to fill it about 1/2-way. Add the vodka or gin to the tumbler. Cover the tumbler and shake it for 5 seconds. (This is to chill the vodka or gin.) Set it aside. Pour the water and ice out of the martini glass, and shake out the remaining liquid. Add the vermouth to the glass and swirl it around to coat the sides. Lightly shake out the excess vermouth. Strain the vodka or gin into the glass, being careful not to let any ice fall in the glass. Skewer the olives and give them several light shakes to remove excess juice. Place the olives, on the skewer, in the glass. [If using an orange peel twist, twist the peel lightly over the beverage so that the juices in the peel spray on the surface of the beverage. Hang the peel on the glass rim so that the peel is about 2/3 in the beverage.] Serve immediately.
RECIPE STYLE TWO:
Advantages: Similar to style one, this presents information in two major sections. Also, this style lists the instructions so that each step is easy to identify.
Disadvantages: The reader is unlikely to gather the ingredients and measure them before following the instructions, so he or she will need to keep referring back to the ingredient list, which can cause confusion.
Ease of use: moderate
Length: moderate
Conclusion: moderately difficult for both writer and reader
Ingredients
2 – 3 oz. Vodka or Gin
1/2 oz. Vermouth
2 Olives or 1 Thin Orange Peel Twist
Water and Crushed Ice
Cubed Ice
Instructions
1. Fill the martini glass with crushed ice, and then fill the glass to the brim with water. (This is to chill the glass.) Set it aside.
2. Add enough cubed ice to a tumbler to fill it about 1/2-way.
3. Add the vodka or gin to the tumbler. Cover the tumbler and shake it for 5 seconds. (This is to chill the vodka or gin.) Set it aside.
4. Pour the water and ice out of the martini glass, and shake out the remaining liquid.
5. Add the vermouth to the glass and swirl it around to coat the sides.
6. Lightly shake out the excess vermouth.
7. Strain the vodka or gin into the glass, being careful not to let any ice fall in the glass.
8. Skewer the olives and give them several light shakes to remove excess juice.
9. Place the olives, on the skewer, in the glass.
[If using an orange peel twist, twist the peel lightly over the beverage so that the juices in the peel spray on the surface of the beverage. Hang the peel on the glass rim so that the peel is about 2/3 in the beverage.]
10. Serve immediately.
RECIPE STYLE THREE:
Advantages: This style presents ingredients as they become relevant to the process. This is the easiest type of recipe to use. This style is the best fit for how the reader will use the information and mimics live-coaching of the process. This is our preferred recipe style.
Disadvantages: This style of recipe will take the most space in your recipe book, though not much more than style two. It also takes more organization for the writer.
Simplicity: best
Length: longest
Conclusion: hardest for writer, easiest for reader
Crushed Ice, Water
1. Fill the martini glass with crushed ice, and then fill the glass to the brim with water. (This is to chill the glass.) Set it aside.
Cubed Ice
2. Add enough cubed ice to a tumbler to fill it about 1/2-way.
2 – 3 oz. Vodka or Gin
3. Add the vodka or gin to the tumbler. Cover the tumbler and shake it for 5 seconds. (This is to chill the vodka or gin.) Set it aside.
4. Pour the water and ice out of the martini glass, and shake out the remaining liquid.
1/2 oz. Vermouth
5. Add the vermouth to the glass and swirl it around to coat the sides.
6. Lightly shake out the excess vermouth.
7. Strain the vodka or gin into the glass, being careful not to let any ice fall in the glass.
2 Olives or 1 Thin Orange Peel Strip
8. Skewer the olives and give them several light shakes to remove excess juice.
9. Place the olives, on the skewer, in the glass.
[If using an orange peel twist, twist the peel lightly over the beverage so that the juices in the peel spray on the surface of the beverage. Hang the peel on the glass rim so that the peel is about 2/3 in the beverage.]
10. Serve immediately.
Regardless of the genre, the most important writing strategy is to consider your readers`needs. The most important editing service we provide is linking writers` ideas to readers` needs. When choosing a recipe style, this is what you, too, need to do.