In the process of learning how to cook, there is a crucial ingredient that can make or break your success in the kitchen: the ability to read and understand a recipe.
It may sound simple, but reading a recipe goes well beyond just scanning words on a page.
In this article, we will explore some of the ways of reading a recipe and crafting culinary masterpieces in your own kitchen.
Read the recipes from beginning to end before you begin
Even if it is a recipe you have cooked three times before, read through the entire recipe before beginning.
This is probably the most overlooked step and one that I admit to forgetting from time to time.
Giving a recipe a quick read-through helps prevent surprises and forgotten ingredients, and can help you form a mental game plan of how you will execute the recipe.
Make a checklist of all the ingredients
Having a checklist and double-checking that you have the ingredients in your pantry is critical to making sure you are not heading back to the store while the stovetop is simmering or the cake batter is waiting for that extra egg you were positive you had.
Identify what tools and appliances are required for each step
As you break down your new recipe step by step, make sure you also identify the tools you will need, and where in the kitchen you need to be for each step of the process.
That way, you can plan ahead and make sure the tools and appliances you need are within arm’s length of where you will be doing a task.
Make a recipe once before adding your own twist
Call it the foodie curse but I hardly make a recipe the same twice, and I love to substitute ingredients. But if you are unfamiliar with a cooking method, follow the recipe once before adding your twist.
Once you become familiar with the recipe and how it is supposed to come out, you will have a better handle on the substitutions you can make the second time around.
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