I have always learned in recipe development that many great works are made with much trial and error. However, like all great endeavors they are often built on the works of others. If you know what was in the mind of the recipe’s creator then you might understand some of the trade offs that went in it’s creation. Sometimes, the today’s substitute has no resemblance with the original creation. Chicken Tetrazinni and Beef Stroganoff are not the same thing with different meats and they never meant to be created with Mushroom soup.
Many recipes you find are the result of a committee. One chef says it should have this or that for ease in preparation, another will say that certain ingredients must be substituted due to cost and a few might throw in some products for no reason that they are a sponsors own preference. Why should we be bound by any of these constraints if indeed you wish to make something extraordinary? As said in the “Last Holiday”:
“the SECRET of Life is BUTTER!”
I would add, that it also contains wondrous cheeses, meats, cream and many long forgotten spices.
So, before you splash in that recipe some condensed milk, replace it with heavy cream … before you make that pie with cinnamon alone, think about how more delicious it might be with hints of nutmeg, cloves, cardamon? Have you ever tried ‘savory?’ or ‘fenugreek?’ in anything?… and there is so much more.
Enjoy the discovery.
Roger