My job is to lure people into the kitchen, preferably with recipes. In these examples, I’ve rolled the preparation of ingredients into the steps so that you can get an accurate portrayal of the work involved. The modern convention in recipe writing is to incorporate the preparations into the ingredient list. (“1 large onion, chopped; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes.”) Many cooks go so far as to suggest you gather and prepare all the ingredients in advance before proceeding with the actual directions. I understand and can execute this approach to a recipe, but I largely ignore it in the privacy of my own kitchen. And I know others do the same, opting instead to merge preparation and cooking, so that executing the various tasks ebb and flow with the natural rhythms of the process. At home, instead of first getting everything in its place — known as mise en place, a protocol that makes perfect sense for restaurant chefs — you chop the onions while the pan heats, mince the garlic while the onions sizzle and break down the squash in the time it takes the aromatics to soften. Presto. That one bit of multitasking probably saved you 7 minutes. And your work made the most efficient use of time.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 22:21:55 +0000
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