There is a saying among alchemists: “Everyone can mix up ingredients. To brew a masterpiece requires recipes.” In Jabbados experience, this saying holds true when it comes to food, even though it loses some of it’s explosive potential on the way from the laboratory to the kitchen.
A recipe turns a pile of produce, no matter how good on its own, into an experience better than the sum of its parts. It offers insights into the history and psyche of the people, the culture or the group that has invented and developed it.
But just like recipes change over time, they are not meant to be presented as static things hewn in stone here. They are meant to be seen as living ideas that can adapt to the circumstances. Replacing that elusive ingredient is just as permissible as experimenting in any way, as long as you are considerate of your invited guests.
Have fun experimenting!