In romance movies, people in love are constantly ridiculously happy. The closest I’ve come to such euphoria is eating super delicious homemade food, but much like a relationship, that joy only comes after a long search for the right one.

There are over 49 million Americans who have tried online dating and 4 million Google results for “Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe.” With all of those options, how do you choose? I broke it down for you.

You know pictures can be deceiving

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Photo courtesy of Pinterestfail.com

The photo is the first thing you see of any recipe or dating profile. Unfortunately, making a recipe only to find it looks nothing like the photo is about as common as discovering that a person looks nothing like their profile picture.

It might not be intentional. Someone may have shaved their head or grown a beard since taking their profile picture and may not realize how much it altered their appearance. For recipes, some people may just not have the skills to make their finished product look like the original, as many Pinterest users have learned.

However, there are plenty stories of people blatantly lying, using 20 year old photos or even photos of other people (there is a whole show built around that). Similarly, even simple photography tricks, like changing the lighting, can make a big difference in how food looks.

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Photo by Noel Tock

So never choose a recipe, or a person, just because they look good in a photo (I’m definitely not insinuating that I’m sexually attracted to food, either).

You have to focus on the details

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Photo courtesy of giphy.com

Now you’ve made it past the photo. The next step is to make sure that once you actually meet in person, you’ll be able to talk to them.

I’m 99% sure that if I met Ryan Gosling, I’d stay up all night with him, sharing my deepest, darkest secrets, but on the off chance that we have nothing in common, I wouldn’t be able to date him.

You can only stare at a sexy face for so long before you have to stare at sexy abs. Then you can only stare at those for so long before you get bored… I’m assuming.

The same goes for a recipe. It needs to be so detailed that it answers any possible question you may have and imparts any information you might need to know. If the recipe isn’t speaking to you, move on.

You have to do your research

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Photo courtesy of tumblr.com

When you finally go on a date with a guy you meet online and he surprises you with the fact that he’s a Brony, it’s your fault for not stalking his my-little-pony-themed Tumblr ahead of time. Not that there’s anything wrong with Bronies, it’s just good to know those sorts of things.

Similarly, you can’t always trust that ratings will give you a full and accurate picture of a recipe. People who just straight up didn’t make the recipe may give it a positive review because they think it looks tasty or a negative rating for a completely unrelated reason.

So, to avoid unpleasant surprises, you really have to do your research and read the reviews.

You shouldn’t try to change them

Photo courtesy of playbuzz.com

So now you’re on your fourth date, and you decide that this person will make the perfect boyfriend/girlfriend if they just change x,y, and z. If you feel like you have to change someone, then just don’t date them. It never works (no matter what Patrick Shwayze taught us).

Ratings can also be skewed because of recipe modifications. People often drastically change the recipe, like the changes they make, and then positively rate the new recipe based on their own completely different concoction.

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Photo courtesy of allrecipes.com

If a recipe requires too many modifications, move on. You can do better than that.

You know there’s nothing wrong with shopping around

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Gif courtesy of hercampus.com

Never settle for mediocrity out of convenience. There are millions of choices out there. Explore as many options as you can, and eventually one will stick. It may take awhile, but you can find one that gives you what you want and makes you happy.

See how that paragraph could be about people or recipes? I’m so clever.