The things we got wrong
This page is a log of mistakes—what we built wrong, what we missed, and what we fixed. It’s the only place on the site where you’ll find a list of things we got wrong, because the things we got right are in the recipes themselves.
Most sites tell you what they do well. This one tells you what we had to undo. The reader gets a way to judge the work: if we can name our failures, we’re serious about the rest.
Three we had to fix
The log starts with the biggest mistakes—the ones that lasted longest, or hurt the most. These are the things that got through to the site before we caught them.
The wrong proofing time for sourdough
- 1A recipe that never worked
The first sourdough starter guide we published said to proof dough for exactly 4 hours at 78°F. It never rose right—flat, dense, or overproofed. Readers emailed about it for months. Kirsten Iverson noticed the pattern first: the oven thermometer was off by 5°F, and the guide assumed a perfect kitchen. She rewrote the whole section with a range and real-world adjustments. The new version stayed up for a year before we added a troubleshooting checklist.
- 2A mislabeled spice blend
The ‘smoked paprika’ blend in the dry rub for pulled pork was actually half cayenne. It burned out three test cooks before Kirsten Iverson caught it in a blind taste test. The fix was simple—adjust the ratio—but it took two weeks of readers complaining before we pulled the old guide. Now every spice mix has a ‘heat level’ warning in the title.
- 3A photo that lied about texture
The ‘crispy skin’ photo for roast chicken showed a golden, crackling surface—but the recipe’s method guaranteed soggy skin. Kirsten Iverson spotted it when she compared the photo to her own test batch. The image was replaced, and the method now includes a ‘skin test’ step. The old photo stayed online for 10 days before we noticed the discrepancy in comments.
What those three changed
These mistakes taught us three rules: never assume a reader’s kitchen matches a lab’s conditions, always test with the final method (not just the ingredients), and never trust a photo over a taste test.
Rules that came from mistakes
- 1. Proofing times must include a range (from the sourdough error). Now every recipe lists ‘best for’ conditions and ‘adjust if’ notes.
- 2. Spice blends need heat warnings (from the cayenne mix). Every rub or seasoning now labels its spice level as mild, medium, or hot.
- 3. Photos must match the method (from the chicken skin lie). We now shoot test batches alongside final dishes and add a ‘texture note’ to every image.
The people behind this
Kirsten Iverson is the founder and editor of *Recipes Linen*, and she’s the one who wrote the first three corrections in this log. That’s how you’ll meet the people here—not through bios, but through the things they had to fix. The list isn’t just a record; it’s proof we actually listen.
Keeping a log like this means admitting when you’re wrong in public, and that’s uncomfortable. But the alternative—pretending mistakes don’t happen—is worse. The best cooks learn from burns, and the best sites learn from corrections.
Kirsten Iverson still flinches when she sees a reader flag a typo, but she’d rather fix it fast than let it sit.
There’s a smaller mistake she’ll never list here: the time she over-salted a batch of homemade pasta dough so badly it had to be tossed. She saved the rest of the flour for another recipe, but the lesson stuck—now she tastes every dough before rolling.
That’s the kind of fix that doesn’t need a public log.
If you find something wrong on this site, the best thing you can do is tell us. The contact page is where to start.
There will be a next one
This log isn’t finished. The next correction could be a mislabeled ingredient, a failed technique, or a photo that doesn’t match the text. If you spot one, the contact page is how to tell us.
We’ll add it to the list—and maybe one day, you’ll see your name in the ‘who fixed it’ line.
The recipes are grouped by category: Appetizers, Beverages, Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts, Main Courses and Salads.