Shelf · Knife & prep · No heat
Scoring
Cutting shallow slits into a surface — fat, skin or the top of a loaf — without going through into the flesh.
Why it works
Skin and crust shrink as they cook while what is underneath does not, so an uncut surface either curls the whole piece or bursts wherever it happens to be weakest. Scoring decides that place in advance, and on fat it opens channels so the fat can escape and render.
The tell
The cuts stay open and widen slightly as it cooks. On bread, the scored line lifts into a raised ear while the rest of the crust stays smooth.
- No cut
- Through the skin
- Into the flesh
How it fails
Cutting through into the meat lets juice pour out of every slit and the piece dries. Go through skin and fat only — and on dough, score fast and decisively at the last second, because a hesitant drag just deflates it.
In the app, the card opens on the recipe step that names it, with the tell drawn.
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