Essay on Interpreting Recipes

It can be said that the objective of interpreting recipes is to not risk anything. A precise and accurate set of instructions will be provided by a recipe about how a dish should be prepared. But it will be assumed by a recipe that the individual cooking has substantial knowledge of cooking methods and culinary terminology so that they will be capable of understanding instructions in a proper manner.

For instance, it might be instructed by a recipe to saute a specific amount of diced onions but it will not describe what the term means and assumes that the cook is able to measure that amount. It is also expected that the cook knows how onions should be diced. Thus, when you are using a specific recipe for the first time, you should not hurry and take some time to read and understand the recipe. This will help you in knowing what the recipe requires. If you don’t know the meaning of a term, you should check it. Additionally, you must be familiar with the cooking methods, measurements, ingredients, and equipment utilized in the recipe. And when you have substantial confidence in yourself, you can begin preparing the dish.

For interpreting the recipe in an effective manner, the following sequence should be followed:

·         The entire recipe should be read thoroughly.

·         The understanding of items utilized in the recipe should be checked.

·         The methods for ingredient combination should be identified.

·         All the required utensils, cookware, and ingredients should be gathered.

·         The temperature control should be set to the necessary setting if ovens are being used.

·         All the ingredients should be measured or weighed in an accurate manner.

·         It is important to check that all ingredients are available and measurements are precise.

·         You should proceed in steps.

·         The product should be checked during the process of cooking as timing is quite significant for various dishes.

·         A clean workplace should be maintained.

Recipe Adjustment in the Bakery

A recipe might have to be adjusted for several portions. For instance, you might have a recipe for Chicken Marengo’s fifty portions. It is important to take special care when a recipe is to be adjusted as there is a significant possibility of risks to occur. And an issue in adjusting an ingredient can influence the whole product. In fact, even halving or doubling a specific recipe can serve to change aromatic properties, structure, or appearance of a dish if it is done in an incorrect manner. Recipe adjustment can be quite complex and due to it, it has to be performed in a careful manner.

For avoiding errors, it is critical to check all changes in ingredients in a careful manner. It should also be ensured that measurement units and calculations are accurate. The process of copying should be performed carefully as well.

Measuring Ingredients in the Bakery

If you are not familiar with measurement techniques, you can just read below:

Weight: With the use of scales or other measurement forms such as 200g of flour.

Volume: With the use of volume of items such as 2l of water.

Count: With the use of a specific number of ingredients or pieces such as 1 potato.

Estimation: With the use of percentages or estimation.

Common Terminology

In this section, common terminology associated with recipes is listed.

Garnish:  Generally, a garnish is a dish’s internal part. Thus, it should be edible and it shouldn’t be confused with just decoration because decoration is concerned mainly with enhancing the appearance of dish. It should also be edible.

Marinades: When it comes to marinades, they are utilized for imparting flavor, preserving, and tenderizing. They might be uncooked or cooked, dry or liquid. Some other base ingredients include spices, herbs, and soya sauce. And while food is being marinated, it is important to place it in glazed containers, stainless steel, glass, or a metal which is impervious due to marinade’s high acid content.

Clarified Butter: Ghee or clarified butter is very important in cooking as it is possible to heat it to a higher temperature compared to normal butter. Thus, this butter is quite useful for sautéing. For making a 0.250 kg of this butter, following steps should be followed:

1.      Butter should be met in a pot or in a water bath over low heat.

2.      When the butter is clear and melted, any solids should be skimmed from the surface.

3.      Lastly, the butter fat should be strained using filters into a pot. The sediment should be left behind or a ladle should be used for removing ghee from the sides of pot.