rookie_mistake tender_square if you put tarts in the oven before its reached temperature, the bottoms will burn. i justified this yesterday thinking i'd just keep a closer eye on things, what was the harm when it was cooking below where i needed it to be? alas, i didn't realize the oven pumps out a higher degree of inconsistent heat, in an effort to reach the level needed. luckily, my tarts weren't a total char show, but i did spend a good half hour grating their toasty bottoms in an effort to shave the browned bits off. 221221 ... epitome of incomprehensibility It's hard to know what things are and aren't finicky in cooking. I had cookies last year turn out way too crumbly because I mixed the ingredients in the wrong order. That's right - the order mattered, apparently. It was listed on the recipe, but not the consequences for messing up. That's the experiential part, the part that can't always be written down. 221222 ... ovenbird This reminds me of my Baba, who would never waste food for any reason and so would try to salvage burnt toast. I can see her so clearly walking over to the sink with bread that resembled a charcoal briquette, and then using a butter knife to scrape the burnt layer off. Good as new! I have tried this trick on my children, but despite there being no hints of char, they continue to insist that the toast is burnt and refuse to eat it. They are a generation further removed from the great depression than me. They no longer have a person in their life with a living memory of going hungry. I ate the toast. They refuse. This is how we forget. 250324 what's it to you? who go blather from