[Sca-cooks] Order of ingredients

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Nov 16, 2010, at 6:55 AM, Johnna Holloway wrote:

> In modern cookbooks and recipes, the ingredients are usually listed in the order in which they are used in the instructions.
> If it instructs, chop the onions first, then the onions are listed first.
> 
> Let's see - here are some good ideas for writing up recipes:
> How to write a recipe  By Judith Evans, Food Editor, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
> 
> http://www.afjonline.com/afj.aspx?pgID=910
> 
> Johnnae

I'd prefer to go with this method, too. While assembling all your ingredients and having them prepped and ready to use as they're called for is probably the best method of working, people often do pick up one onion, chop it, add it to the pan, and then look at the recipe to see what the next ingredient is. Some times it's even more efficient that way in the long run (i.e. when "prep" consists of braising something before using, say), allowing for better multitasking. But yes, I think it makes more sense to list ingredients in the order in which they are added to the dish/pan, or the order in which the cook picks them up and deals with them.

If it is just an ingredient list (such as one uses to screen for allergies and such), I'd go with decreasing order of prevalence/quantity.

Adamantius





"Most men worry about their own bellies, and other people's souls, when we all ought to worry about our own souls, and other people's bellies."
			-- Rabbi Israel Salanter