How we research and adapt recipes

A useful recipe should help you understand what you are cooking, where it comes from and which choices belong to its modern adaptation. TuneMyRecipe brings together everyday recipes and Vintage finds. This page explains how we approach their sources, measurements and practical notes, so you can judge what you read here.

Where do the recipes come from?

Our collection includes contemporary recipes as well as adaptations of older dishes. For historical material, cookbooks, household manuals, menus, newspapers and other period records help establish what was written or offered at a particular time.

A reference identifies a documented version; it does not necessarily identify who invented the dish. We distinguish source material from our own interpretation and explain meaningful departures from it.

How do we check a historical source?

We check the relevant passage and its context, including qualifications that change its meaning. Edition, date and page references help readers identify the version used. Where translations or old measures need interpretation, we make the uncertainty part of the explanation.

Different records answer different questions. A cookbook shows that an author recommended a recipe; a menu shows what was offered. Neither alone proves what someone ate. Where other dated records are available, we compare them and consider whether later accounts copied earlier ones.

What do we change when we adapt a recipe?

Older recipes may leave an oven temperature, ingredient size or cooking stage unexplained. Modern adaptations can also change equipment, batch size or an ingredient. Our notes aim to explain those choices without presenting an assumption as something the original author specified.

Source and adaptation notes help readers compare our version with its references, where those references are available. We do not promise that every page reproduces an entire original text or scan. Historical instructions are not automatically safe to follow today; modern preparation advice must be distinguished from the source.

For an example, read the source and adaptation notes for Lord Woolton Pie.

How are measurements and scaling handled?

We review ingredient identities, quantities, arithmetic and practical measurement choices. A recipe's supplied equivalent weight takes precedence over a general estimate. A cup of one ingredient need not weigh the same as a cup of another, and US and Imperial measures are not interchangeable.

The tools adjust ingredient amounts. Cooking times, temperatures, pan sizes and instructions do not automatically change with them. Unsupported conversions may retain the original measurement. Our recipe scaling guide explains what to check.

Does review mean a recipe has been kitchen-tested?

No. We do not claim kitchen testing unless stated. Editorial and independent review are part of our workflow for new recipes and substantial revisions, but checking sources, calculations and the written method is different from cooking a dish.

Timings and yields need judgment in your kitchen. Illustrative images may differ from the finished dish and are not evidence of testing. Our Recipe & Website Policy explains these limits.

What happens when the evidence is incomplete?

We aim to say what a source supports and where interpretation begins. A plausible story is not proof that someone cooked a particular dish, and a modern adaptation is not a recovered original. Uncertain origins, substitutions and practical assumptions should remain visible rather than being turned into confident claims.

How can I suggest a correction?

If you spot a mistake or know a source we have missed, email info@tunemyrecipe.com. Include the page address and the reference or detail you want us to check. We welcome questions about sources, measurements and adaptations.

You can also read the story behind TuneMyRecipe.