Mis en place, does that mean anything to you? Well if you have taken basic French 101 you may know it literally means “to put in place”, but in the cooking world it means “everything in place”. This is one of the most basic, yet perhaps most important trick of the trade when it comes to being a successful cook. What it actually means in laymen’s terms is to get everything ready. If you have ever watched a cooking show on TV or demonstration, you have seen this in action and may not have even known it.
What a successful cook does before starting a recipe is measure all ingredients out after reading the recipe through, and have them lined up and ready when needed. This not only allows the recipe to be created in a seamless fashion, but it also allows you to make sure that you have everything required in the recipe. Have you ever had the unfortunate experience of baking or cooking what should be a wonderful dish, only to get towards the end of the recipe to discover that you have baking soda but not the baking powder required or the curry you thought you had turned out to be mustard or cumin? Sure they may look alike but you can not substitute them in recipes. If you are lucky enough to live close to a store you can run out or better yet send your significant other; but depending on what you are making, there may not be time to do this. If you had set your Mis en place, you would have found this out ahead of time you are missing something and been able to avoid the mishap This will also help you do your slicing and dicing ahead of time if the recipe calls for it.
So next time you take a venture into the kitchen, whether for a new or old time favorite recipe try using this technique. You’ll find this will save you time and help reduce stress in the kitchen, just another trick in making life easier, five meals at a time. Or in this case only one meal. Have a great week and stay cool
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