The catalogue
72 techniques. Nothing locked.
Every card says what it is, why it works, what it looks like when it’s done, and how it fails. It’s the lexicon the app reads on every recipe step.
Fire & pan
Dry heat, and the browning it buys you.
- SearingCooking a food's surface hard against very hot metal to build a browned crust.
- CaramelizingCooking sugars slowly past golden into deep amber flavor.
- Blooming spicesFrying ground spices briefly in hot fat before liquids go in.
- Sweating aromaticsCooking aromatics gently in fat until soft and translucent, without color.
- SautéingCooking small pieces quickly in a little fat over lively heat, keeping them moving.
- Stir-fryingCooking bite-sized pieces in a screaming-hot wok, tossing constantly, in a couple of minutes flat.
- RoastingCooking uncovered in a hot oven so dry air browns the outside while the inside cooks through.
- GrillingCooking over or under fierce radiant heat, close enough that the surface chars before the middle overcooks.
- Toasting nutsHeating nuts or seeds dry, without fat, until they colour and smell nutty.
- Browning butterCooking butter past melted until the milk solids in it toast to golden brown.
- GlazingBrushing a sugary liquid over food near the end of cooking and letting the heat set it to a lacquer.
Going deeper
Water & steam
Nothing browns here. What you control is how hard the liquid moves.
- SimmeringHolding liquid just below the boil so lazy bubbles break the surface every second or two.
- PoachingCooking delicate food submerged in hot — never boiling — liquid.
- BlanchingBoiling vegetables briefly, then stopping the cooking instantly in ice water.
- Shocking in iceDropping just-cooked food straight into ice water to stop it cooking at that exact moment.
- BraisingBrowning meat, then cooking it slowly, partly submerged, in a covered pot.
- SteamingCooking food above boiling water rather than in it, in a covered pot or a sealed parcel.
- Double boilerSetting a bowl over — never in — a pan of simmering water, and heating its contents through the steam.
- SkimmingLifting the grey foam and loose fat off the top of a simmering pot, and throwing it away.
Going deeper
- Sous videSealing food in a bag and holding it in a water bath set to exactly the temperature you want it to reach.
- ConfitCooking food fully submerged in fat, held far below a simmer, for hours.
- VelvetingCoating sliced meat in cornstarch and egg white, then passing it briefly through warm oil or water before it meets the wok.
- Pressure cookingCooking in a sealed pot where trapped steam raises the pressure, and with it the temperature water can reach.
Knife & prep
Before any heat: deciding how fast and how evenly a thing will cook.
- DicingCutting into cubes of one deliberate size — usually somewhere between a pea and a sugar cube, and all the same.
- Cutting on the biasSlicing across at an angle instead of square, so each piece is an oval rather than a disc.
- ZestingTaking only the coloured outer skin of a citrus fruit, and stopping the moment you reach the white underneath.
- GratingPushing food down a punched metal face so it comes off in strands, on whichever hole size the job wants.
- JulienneCutting a vegetable into even matchsticks, roughly the thickness of a coin edge and a couple of inches long.
- MincingChopping something — usually garlic, shallot or a herb — until the pieces are too small to pick out individually.
- ScoringCutting shallow slits into a surface — fat, skin or the top of a loaf — without going through into the flesh.
Going deeper
- BrunoiseThe smallest honest cube — about the size of a peppercorn — made by julienning first and then cutting across the sticks.
- Supreming citrusCutting the peel and every scrap of white pith off a citrus fruit, then freeing each segment from the membranes on either side of it.
- Smashing garlicLaying the flat of the blade on a clove and hitting it once with the heel of your hand.
- ChiffonadeStacking soft leaves, rolling them into a cigar, and slicing across to make fine ribbons.
- ButterflyingSlicing almost all the way through a thick piece and opening it out flat like a book.
- SpatchcockingCutting the backbone out of a whole bird and pressing it flat before roasting.
Dough & batter
Structure built cold — and the least forgiving failures in cooking.
- FoldingCombining a light, airy mixture into a heavier one without knocking out the air.
- Whipping to peaksBeating cream or egg whites until they hold peaks — soft tips droop, stiff tips stand.
- Creaming butterBeating softened butter with sugar until light and fluffy.
- Ribbon stageBeating whole eggs or yolks with sugar until the mixture is pale, thick, and falls off the whisk in a slowly dissolving ribbon.
- KneadingWorking dough by stretching and folding to develop gluten.
- Stretch & foldLifting one side of a resting dough, stretching it up, and folding it over the top — a few times round, every half hour during the rise.
- ProofingLetting yeasted dough rest warm while fermentation inflates it.
- Cold proofingMoving the dough to the fridge and letting it ferment slowly for eight to twenty-four hours instead of one.
- LaminationFolding a sheet of butter into dough and rolling it out repeatedly, so one layer becomes hundreds.
- Blind bakingBaking a pastry case on its own, lined and weighted, before any wet filling goes in.
- Blooming yeastStirring dry yeast into warm liquid with a pinch of sugar and waiting for it to foam before mixing the dough.
- Tempering chocolateMelting chocolate, cooling it while stirring, then warming it slightly again before using it.
- SiftingShaking dry ingredients through a mesh so they land aerated and lump-free, usually all of them together.
Going deeper
- AutolyseMixing only the flour and water, then leaving it to sit for half an hour before salt and yeast go in.
- Bench restA short rest — ten to twenty minutes — between shaping steps, with the dough loosely covered.
- TangzhongCooking a small part of the recipe’s flour with some of its liquid into a thick paste, then mixing that paste into the rest of the dough.
Sauces & emulsions
The last five minutes. Almost all of it is holding something together.
- DeglazingPouring liquid into a hot, just-emptied pan and scraping up the browned bits stuck to it.
- ReducingBoiling a liquid uncovered so water evaporates and flavor concentrates.
- EmulsifyingForcing fat and water to hold together as one thick, stable sauce.
- Mounting with butterWhisking cold butter, a cube at a time, into a warm reduction off the heat, so the sauce thickens and turns glossy.
- NappeThe doneness checkpoint for a custard or a sauce: it clings to the back of a spoon thickly enough that a finger drawn through leaves a clean lane.
- Tempering eggsWarming beaten eggs gradually by whisking hot liquid into them a little at a time before they join the pot.
- RouxCooking equal parts flour and fat together into a paste before any liquid is added.
- Starch slurryStirring a starch into cold liquid until smooth, then pouring that into the hot pan at the very end.
- Finishing in the panFinishing pasta in the pan with its sauce, a knob of fat and a ladle of the water it cooked in, tossing hard until the two become one.
Going deeper
Salt, smoke & time
No cooking at all. Salt, smoke and patience move water instead.
- Resting meatLetting cooked meat sit off-heat before slicing.
- BriningSoaking meat in salted water for hours before cooking it.
- Dry briningSalting meat directly, with no water at all, and leaving it uncovered in the fridge overnight.
- MarinatingSteeping food in a seasoned liquid — usually acid, oil and aromatics — for a stretch before cooking.
Going deeper