Definition

A recipe is a set of instruction used for preparing and cooking a certain food, dish, or drink. The purpose of a recipe is to have a precise record of the ingredients used, the amounts needed, the way they are combined and any notes from experience gained.

(1) The Recipe Name will tell you what you will be making. Sometimes there will be notes or personal information on the recipe included.

(2) There are three primary components to a recipe. The first is the List of the Ingredients, and the second is the Amount to be used.

(3) The third is the Preparation Instructions. A well-written recipe will list all ingredients in the order they will be added in the Preparation Instructions. A well-written recipes will spell out the pan size needed, cooking temperature, and how much of each ingredient to use.

(4) Some recipe will include Variations to the recipe.

Read your recipe carefully before starting: Make sure you have all the ingredients that are called for and that you understand the recipe clearly. This is the common reason recipes fail. If the recipe says "room temperature," there is usually a very good reason for that.

When preparing a recipe for the first time, it is recommended that you follow the recipe exactly so you have an initial template of how it is intended it to look and taste. After that you can experiment from there.

Why a recipe does not work

There are some recipes that do not work and this is usually because of a misprint, an editing error, and the recipe not being tested properly before printing.

No matter how detailed the recipe is written, the recipe can not tell you everything you need to know. Some judgment of your part is actually needed on certain variables, such as:


  • Kitchens are not stocked with the same equipment. Pots and pans can vary according to the material used to make them.
  • Ranges and oven have different temperatures.
  • Ingredients were not measured carefully. This is especially important when baking.
  • The cook didn’t understand the baking terms used.
  • Cooking times that have been given in the recipe are meant to be used as a guideline only. If a cooking temperature is given as a means of determining doneness, this is usually accurate.
  • You have substituted ingredients improperly. Replacing ingredients may result vastly different taste. The cook probably substituted an ingredient because they either:

    • Don’t have or couldn’t find one of the ingredients.
    • Wish to alter a recipe to lower the fat or calories.
    • Didn't have a particular piece of equipment to cook the recipe as instructed. Some ingredients and cooking steps can be substituted or eliminated and some just cannot.


Mise en Place

Mise en Place ((MEEZ-ahn-plahs) is a French culinary term which means “everything in its place.” This means that you have purchase, prepared, and pre-measured all the ingredients before you start the cooking.

It makes the process of cooking more efficient and helps prevent making mistakes or discovering missing ingredients. This simply means before you can even start preparing the ingredients, you want to make sure you have all the ingredients and equipment needed. This means pulling out your pots and pans to every single ingredient before you even think about starting.

This practice is especially beneficial when preparing a new recipe that you haven’t tried before. And using this technique is probably the single biggest difference between gourmet chefs and regular, once-in-a-while cooks.


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