The Library · Techniques
Every technique, A to Z
Kitchen method: the moves underneath the recipes. 125 in all, page 1 of 3.
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A
B
Baking Soda and Baking Powder Are Not Versions of Each Other, and One of Them Needs an Acid
Beginner Sourdough Bread: The Schedule, the Cues, and the Failure Points
The Best Part of the Dish Is Stuck to the Pan, and Plain Water Gets It Off
The Big-Cut Economics: When the Bigger Roast Actually Saves Money
Black Pepper Is Not Married to Salt
Blanching and Shocking Are Two Separate Interventions and You Usually Need Only One
Boil, Simmer, Poach and Steam Are Four Different Temperatures and Only One of Them Is 212
A Braise Is Drier Than a Steak and Tastes Wetter
Bread Does Not Go Stale by Drying Out
Brown Butter Chemistry: Why the Pan Smells Like Hazelnuts Before It Smells Like Regret
Browning Is Two Completely Different Reactions and Only One of Them Is Caramel
Browning Is Two Different Reactions and Only One of Them Needs Meat
A Burner That Cannot Be Shared
Butter Is Three Ingredients and Most Problems With It Are the Third One
C
Cabbage and Its Relatives Punish the Middle and Reward Both Ends
Caramel Is Sugar With Nowhere to Hide, and the Window Is About Ninety Seconds Wide
A Chicken Is Four Different Ingredients and They Do Not Want the Same Treatment
Chile Heat Is Not a Taste, Which Is Why You Cannot Season It Out or Drink It Away
Cold Food Needs More Salt, and Ice Cream Base Should Taste Too Sweet
Cook the Extra Rice on Purpose
Cooking Down a Cooling Oven: The Whole Bakery Supper, Counted Backwards
Cooking for a Room That Goes Dark at Half Past Seven
Cooking for One Is Not a Recipe Problem. It Is an Inventory Problem.
Cooking for One or Two Is an Equipment Problem, and It Is the Kind You Solve Once
Cooking Into a Twelve-Degree Room
Cooking to a Truck Call
Cooking With Wine Does Not Burn Off the Alcohol, and That Was Never the Point Anyway
Crisp Comes From One of Three Mechanisms and They Do Not Want the Same Things
A Cup of Flour Is Not a Unit, and That Is Why Your Baking Is Inconsistent
D
E
An Egg Does Six Different Jobs and the Recipe Usually Names None of Them
Eggs Do Not Have a Cooking Time. They Have a Temperature.
Emulsions That Cling: Fat, Water, and the Sauce That Sheets
Every Custard Is the Same Two Decisions: How Much Egg, and How Hot
Every Herb Is Either Hardy or Tender, and the Recipe Almost Never Says Which
Every Knife Cut Is a Decision About Surface Area, Not Neatness
Every Recipe Assumes a Pan Diameter and Almost None of Them Tell You Which One
