Methodology

How AskedWell sources facts, weighs evidence, handles uncertainty, and corrects errors.

Source hierarchy

Not all sources are equal. AskedWell weights:

1. Primary research (peer-reviewed papers, government measurements, institutional datasets) — highest weight
2. Expert practitioner accounts (working professionals with verifiable track records — chefs, fermenters, brewers, etc.)
3. Secondary aggregation (Wikipedia, established reference works) — used as starting points, never as final source
4. Forums + UGC (Reddit, Stack Exchange, blog posts) — useful for surfacing questions, weak as factual sources

When sources disagree

If primary sources contradict each other, we say so on the page. We don't pick a winner without evidence. “We don't know” is a valid answer — and often more honest than picking the first plausible source.

Citation discipline

Every factual claim on AskedWell links to its source. Numbers, durations, ratios, comparisons — all cited inline. If you can't click through to see where a fact came from, that's a bug we'll fix on report.

Freshness

Every page shows its writing date (datePublished) and last revision (dateModified). When source data changes (e.g., updated USDA fermentation guidelines, new peer-reviewed timing studies), pages get revised. Stale pages get flagged for review on 12-month cadence.

Error correction

Found a wrong fact? Email [email protected]. We'll:

1. Respond within 7 days
2. Verify against sources
3. Correct if confirmed
4. Add a visible “Corrections” note at the bottom of the page with date + nature of fix

We never silently change facts. Every revision is dated. History is preserved.

YMYL exclusion

AskedWell deliberately excludes “your money or your life” verticals: no medical advice, no financial advice, no legal advice, no safety-critical decisions. These require licensed professionals. We stay out of categories where wrong answers could materially harm readers.

AI assistance disclosure

AskedWell uses AI assistance for: drafting first passes, organizing source notes, generating question-suggestion lists, formatting schema markup. Every page is reviewed by a human (Paulo) against the cited sources before publishing. AI never gets the last word on a factual claim.

Voice + style guide

Every page on AskedWell follows the same editorial discipline. The voice is thoughtful but plain-spoken — written for the home cook who wants the answer AND the science, not academic prose and not breathless influencer copy.

The rules we follow on every page:

• Direct-answer first. The first paragraph IS the answer to the question. Background and nuance come after.
• Specific numbers over ranges, ranges over hedges.“30-45 minutes at 68-72°F” beats “about an hour at room temperature” beats “until it’s soft.”
• Citations inline, not stashed. Every number, ratio, or temperature claim links to its primary source. If a claim can’t be cited, it doesn’t ship.
• Reading-grade 7-9. Cooking is an everyday skill; our writing should be too. Technical terms get defined inline the first time they appear.
• Both units, always. US (Fahrenheit, cups, ounces) paired with metric (Celsius, grams, milliliters) in every measurement. Recipes work the same in Phoenix and Paris.
• No filler. No “in conclusion” closers, no “dive in” intros, no SEO-speak. Every paragraph advances the answer.
• One voice, not a committee. Same tone, same structure, same source-tier discipline across all 136+ pages. Consistency is a trust signal.

If a page reads like AI slop, that’s a bug.Tell us.

What we don't do

• We don't publish pages without sources
• We don't cite sources we haven't read
• We don't fabricate measurements or numbers
• We don't scrape and republish without substantial transformation + new value-add
• We don't use AI to rewrite Wikipedia and pretend it's our content
• We don't bury corrections or hide revision history