Thursday, February 16, 2012

Plagiarism and Hasselback Potatoes

Hasselback Potatoes
Food Diary (February 16, 2012)
Breakfast: Rolled oats with pears, sunflower seeds and flax seeds
Lunch: Hasselback Potatoes  with steamed mixed vegetables
Dinner: Carrot soya bean soup with sourdough

These hasselback potatoes (or hasselbackspotatis) are named after a Stockholm restaurant that first introduced them. They are crispy on the outside, tender on the inside and incredibly easy to make. Those in the photo above don’t look golden and crispy, that’s because I left the skin on and went easy on the butter and oil. But you don't have to.

It is probably not correct to compare these to baked potatoes, and perhaps politically incorrect to say these are better than baked potatoes. Hasselback potatoes are different from baked potatoes, and better.

Because Hasselback potatoes are sliced before baking, the oven to plate time is faster than baked potatoes. And they look nicer than baked potatoes. Yes, still comparing. 

Strangely enough I have never seen these in any restaurant in Stockholm. I never knew this existed until I saw it in a blog. Its such a pity since its such a great side. The recipe is available here.

Today's Favourite Photo
Ottolenghi’s Chicken ‘Cakes’ with Wasabi Guacamole




Today’s Favourite Blog
In recent times I have seen a growing number of articles discussing recipe plagiarism. As bloggers if we plagiarize or don’t attribute the recipe source correctly I guess in most cases nothing will happen. Bloggers can’t get fired unlike Pastry chef Anne Thornton. She was the host of Food Network show "Desserts First," who recently got fired and her show cancelled for allegedly plagiarizing several recipes. Thornton's plagiarism had three targets: Ina Garten, Martha Stewart and 2006 cookbook "The Essence of Chocolate."

She didn't literally copy and paste but the recipes were very close. In some recipes the differences were a sixth of a cup of flour, a half-teaspoon of almond extract and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt. 

The plagiarism allegation is an allegation. Food Network representatives maintained that the decision was based solely on ratings. But maybe they are being polite, we don’t know.

In any case its pretty brave of Anne to 'borrow' or plagiarize recipes and use it on a public show.  This reminds me of a saying “People Who Live In Glass Houses Should Not Throw Stones”. I don’t think she has much prospects of releasing a cookbook anytime soon.

27 comments:

  1. Ooooh... nice looking hasselhoff ... I mean, hasselbacks. :D Yeah, it is so simple and so pretty. But I guess it's easier to just throw whole potatoes in to bake.
    Plagiarism really depends on the extent of it. A blogger friend of mine was accused of that for "Fried Beansprouts". This must have been about 5 years ago. The photo was her own but somehow quite similar to the accuser's. But she really can't be accused for copying the recipe ... it's such a basic common dish here. I think the accuser somehow got it all screwed up. Having a recipe on one's blog doesn't mean you own it.

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    1. Fried Beansprouts sounds like fried potatoes (french fries). Its tricky to attribute a source. I also think of cookies. You can use a basic recipe or ratios (1 part flour etc) add chocolate chips etc and come up with a recipe yourself. Chances are someone already posted a similar recipe so the blogger must first identify that no one has already created something similar before. Too tricky sometimes.

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  2. I love Hasselback potatoes and often cook them, peeled and plenty of oil and butter sorry, when I'm cooking roast beef - roast beef and Hasselbacks go so well together. And yes, fancy 'borrowing' recipes but passing them off as your own! Quite the scandel!

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    1. No need to say sorry, I am sorry that I didn't peel and generously butter it. Would have been delicious and looked nicer in the photo

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  3. I love hasselback potatoes!! I haven't made them for so long. I do think the recipe plagiarism thing is a concern, and a bit of a minefield sometimes!

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  4. That is really ballsy to plagiarise-but with blogs, they stay around and are easily found so plagiarising on a blog is really not a great idea at all.

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    1. Really ballsy, and she paid a price. At least she got more famous!

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  5. Everyone is teasing me with those hasselback potatoes, I have to add them to the list, pronto!

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  6. I have yet to try Hasselback potatoes, but they look tasty.

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  7. Oh wow! I remember that show and I remember liking her first few recipes but now that I think about maybe its because I had already seen those recipes elsewhere! LOL! Kidding but seriously, I did not know that she did that but it doesn't surprise me. There are people stealing recipes all the time and it frustrates me to no end! Love the potatoes. Sorry been gone- things have been crazy with baby and all but I'm back!

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    1. Hahaha, maybe she was popular until people realised what was going on:) No worries about being gone, and great that you are back

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  8. I always take care to cite my recipes really thoroughly and it drives me crazy when others don't! Blogs that plagiarize content can actually be reported to google (if they're blogger) or wordpress and be taken down. So there are consequences!

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    1. Good point, I forgot to mention that. Not only blogger and wordpress but for other hosts too. I wanted to report one instance but it required so much effort and paperwork that I gave it a miss. Found other ways to fix the issue

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  9. I have seen hasselback potatoes so many times lately too! Yours look as beautiful as all those I have seen. I would also probably leave them with skin... I had no idea they had Stockholm origins. Thank you!
    I cannot understand why people want to pretend they have invented some recipes (of course I suppose it's money in this cook's case...). It's not a shame to admit one has found an inspiration somewhere else or even the exact recipe. I think I have a double passion for the recipes I have got from my friends (including friendly bloggers :-) ) or family.

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    1. It seems everyone is familiar with hasselbacks except me. I must be living in a cave:)
      I don't understand either. Its beneficial for the blogger to mention source, especially if the reader is not familiar with the blogger. Mentioning a good source gives more confidence/credibility in the recipe and the reader is more likely to trust the recipe, I think. I trust your recipes because I know you, if I didn't I probably would trust less unless the recipe came from a good source.

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    2. I totally agree and if a recipe comes from your dear friend or grandmother it suddenly has a much bigger value and tastes better :-)
      (Unfortunately I have never tasted hasselback potatoes).

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    3. Come to think of it, I don't think I have ever received a recipe from a friend. Never asked. Strange.

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  10. sometimes i see even the same picture and personal anecdote copy and pasted on another person's blog! its so sad. :T i tried making hasselback potatoes once and it was a lot of fun! but i remember putting a lot of butter on them... hahaha.

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    1. It happened with me, whole posts were copied. But that ended.
      Lot of butter is better. It even rhymes.

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  11. I LOVE hasselback potatoes! Recipe plagiarism is bizarre. I have never understood why someone wouldn't want to cite their source. I love telling people that I've enjoyed their dishes and I love it when someone recreates a dish that I've posted in the past. Why not return that fun to the person who gave you the recipe in the first place?

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    1. It causes no harm to cite source, don't understand why its not done. Maybe those bloggers think they will seem smarter if it seems they created the recipe themselves:) This show host tried and she got fired!

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  12. I have never heard of hasselback potatoes, but they look really good. I am going to try making them. They sound much better than baked potatoes to me.

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  13. We do Hasselback potatoes on the bbq, love putting flavor and spices in the cuts. Plagiarism is a hot topic right now, especially with pinterest now. Give credit where it is due but I guess not everyone is so honest.

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