There are countless recipes in cookbooks throughout my house that I've never tried because they require somewhat unique or rare ingredients that households are very unlikely to have available day to day.
It can be a very specific cut of meat. A less common herb (fresh). "Ethnic" spices. A distinct type of dairy (which can be simply something like whole milk. I rarely use this, and never buy it in a normal shopping trip), such as a unique type of cheese. A strange vegetable. A very specific oil (even something like peanut or sesame oil would be odd in a normal house, though the moment you open it the expiry clock starts ticking). Etc. And if I do buy them, I usually have to buy them in such a quantity that it makes the meal very expensive, because I know the end result is that I throw out 9/10ths of it, having used the small amount in the recipe.
I usually just skip the recipe, not trusting my judgment on potential substitutions. In the odd case I do pursue it, the shopping experience is usually time consuming and brutal, and very expensive, to make one meal.
There is a business, or at least social, model somewhere in this. e.g. a "menu club" where everyone works through the recipes of a Jamie Oliver book, ideally in a more sustainable manner -- e.g. everyone stops by a location with their own containers and takes the right quantity from the bulk and economically purchased ingredients, taking a little vial of peanut oil, an eggplant, three anchovies, and on and on.
It can be a very specific cut of meat. A less common herb (fresh). "Ethnic" spices. A distinct type of dairy (which can be simply something like whole milk. I rarely use this, and never buy it in a normal shopping trip), such as a unique type of cheese. A strange vegetable. A very specific oil (even something like peanut or sesame oil would be odd in a normal house, though the moment you open it the expiry clock starts ticking). Etc. And if I do buy them, I usually have to buy them in such a quantity that it makes the meal very expensive, because I know the end result is that I throw out 9/10ths of it, having used the small amount in the recipe.
I usually just skip the recipe, not trusting my judgment on potential substitutions. In the odd case I do pursue it, the shopping experience is usually time consuming and brutal, and very expensive, to make one meal.
There is a business, or at least social, model somewhere in this. e.g. a "menu club" where everyone works through the recipes of a Jamie Oliver book, ideally in a more sustainable manner -- e.g. everyone stops by a location with their own containers and takes the right quantity from the bulk and economically purchased ingredients, taking a little vial of peanut oil, an eggplant, three anchovies, and on and on.