The Art of Measuring Recipes: Using precise terminology

In order to cope with another variable, the meanings of words to the reader the instructions in this series are built around the precise use of terms as they are defined in the pre-preparation and the cooking process article series. Other terms, added as we go along, are incorporated into recipe instructions in the same way. Often such a term avoids a long, involved instruction giving directions on time, temperature, and method. The term sauté, for example, tells you to flip briefly, at a hot temperature, in a small amount of fat. The term communicates all this simply and precisely.

Most recipes do not give you any idea of why each ingredient is included in the recipe and how it relates to the others. The common practice of arranging ingredients in order of use makes them look like a meaningless shopping list. Nevertheless, if we rearrange them according to their function in the soup they begin to make sense.

What do we mean by "their function in the soup"?

Any dish created in the kitchen has certain qualities. It has a major flavor beef, or mushroom, or asparagus, for example. It has body-that is, it has substance and volume. It has a texture-thin or thick, smooth or coarse, crunchy, creamy, chewy, and so on. To create these qualities in a dish you use certain ingredients.

In our soup, the cauliflower provides the predominant flavor. That is its function in the dish. The liquids provide the body; that is their main function. The flour and butter, cooked together, thicken the soup to provide its characteristic texture; that is their function. These ingredients play the major roles in the dish; they are the stars of the show.

Then there is a cast of supporting characters in this soup: the celery, onion, leek, parsley, herbs, spices, and seasonings. They assist the major ingredients but never upstage them. Their function is to build up, blend, enhance, enrich, or accent the flavor, body, and texture provided by the stars.

FIGURE 5-2a

Diagram of Figure 5-1

CREAM OF CAULIFLOWER SOUP

Major Flavor = cauliflower

Body = stock and cream

Texture = butter and flour

Flavor builders = celery, leek, onion, parsley, bay leaf, clove, garlic, rosemary, thyme and peppercorns.

Seasoning = salt and pepper

The ingredients are grouped according to the roles they play. You do not need them listed in order of use. The instructions tell you that. A master diagram will give you a basic structure for making a dish and help you to see the role of each ingredient and understand how they all fit together.

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