Saved but never tried? My Kitchen Experiments

The little things between recipes

I like cooking. What I enjoy most, though, are the small things that make a meal special. A homemade spice blend. Candied lemons. Marinated eggs. A syrup that turns an ordinary drink into something of your own. Fermented hot sauce has been on my list for ages too. And sometimes I just want to know how something is made.

I'm rarely after a whole dish. More often it's something to add when friends come over for dinner, or a small project for a free afternoon. Drinks, snacks, garnishes, anything homemade: it all fits in my Kitchen Experiments.

I used to just save things

I saved videos like the leek one long before Swiva, on Instagram and on TikTok. Honestly, I didn't try a single one of them. The kitchen ideas were buried among all my other saves. Even in a separate collection, all I saw was a wall of thumbnails.

What was that video about again? To find out, I had to watch it again. Then the next one. And the one after that. All I wanted was an idea for the afternoon. By the time I'd found one, I usually didn't feel like making it anymore.

Now the idea goes into a list

Now I share those links straight to Swiva. The app turns them into a draft, I give it a quick look and put the idea into my list. Most of my finds come from Instagram. But sometimes I notice a nice detail in a restaurant and think: I'll try that at home. Or someone who loves cooking tells me about something.

I add those ideas without a link. For me that's the biggest advantage: the Reel, the tip from a conversation and my own idea all end up in the same place. Later I don't have to remember which app I saw something in.

One idea at a time

My list has grown quite long by now. I could lose track there too. So when I'm cooking for someone or feel like trying something new, I swipe through the ideas, one at a time. And I remember: oh right, that was that video. Sometimes I watch it again and want to get started right away.

Staring at a huge list with no idea where to start feels completely different. When I swipe, I don't have to sort through everything at once. I only decide about the one idea in front of me: do I feel like it or not?

Mustard, sourdough and a pretty good syrup

I've already made a few things from the list: I baked sourdough bread, made my own mustard and cooked a lavender Earl Grey syrup. I'd never go looking for recipes like these when I'm just figuring out what to have for dinner.

Other things are still waiting. I've wanted to make my own mushroom powder for a long time. So far it's stayed a plan, because there's still a shop-bought jar in the cupboard. I especially like mushroom powder in vegetarian dishes because it adds so much umami. One day I want to find out how my own version tastes.

I won't get round to every idea, and that's fine. The list is there to show me options when one of them fits. If today it's only the leek hay that tempts me, the mustard, syrup and hot sauce can wait.

Sometimes the idea finds me

I don't look for a kitchen project every day. That's why I like the Swiva widget on my home screen, which is still in beta. Every now and then it shows me an idea without me opening the app. A push notification sometimes reminds me of something I'd long forgotten, too.

In the end it's about something simple: trying more of the things that already interest me. A special drink, a little garnish on the plate, something homemade to bring along. I come across the ideas anyway. Now I can also find them again when I have the time.