The Importance of Recipes From the Latin verb, recipere meaning to take.... Nutrition and Food Prep 1

Discuss: What would it be like if there were no titles on recipes? What if recipes were only shared by word of mouth? What would happen if there were no standard measurements given to follow? Does the vocabulary in a written recipe matter? What is the purpose of a recipe?

The oldest surviving recipes are probably those impressed into three clay tablets over 3,700 years ago somewhere in what is now Iraq. These tablets were recorded by Babylonians scribes on behalf of the male cooks of a temple or palace. These tablets listed the chief ingredients, the basic steps, and the name which was derived from the main ingredient in the recipe.

The oldest surviving collection in the west, The Art of Cooking, which was attributed to a Roman Gourmet called Apicious and was compiled around year 400 C.E. The word receipt was used then instead of the word recipe. The ancient Egyptians painted hieroglyphics depicting the preparation of food. The Romans introduced many herbs and spices into western cuisine: thyme, bay leaf, basil, fennel, rue, mint, parsley, and dill were all common to Roman cooking.

The most important change to recipes came in the early nineteenth century, by using rigid measures and cooking times instead of being left to the knowledge / experience of the cook. In 1817, English author, William Kitchiner wrote his cookbook with scientific precision! Quantities were written in numbers, weights, and measures. His book explained the cooking methods of boiling, baking, roasting, deep frying, and broiling.

Many hand written recipes were passed on from generation to generation as personal memory aids rather than a modern type recipe. Can you Name any of your family recipes passed on this way? Just like a rotten apple in a barrel, one missing ingredient, mistaken measurement, or misleading instruction can spoil the whole recipe!

Culinary Arts = the knowledge and skill of food preparation The word culinary means something connected to cooking or kitchens. Recipes needed to be: Straight forward with a descriptive name Preparation and cooking times listed Choose available ingredients or substitutions Clearly written measures Specify needed equipment Size of print to make it easier to read Photograph of finished dish is helpful Include all preparation steps in order

Parts of a Complete Recipe Title of Recipe Yield (How much it makes/serves) Ingredients Specific Amounts to be measured Oven Temp. Mixing Directions Pan Size and Pan Type Time Cooling and Storage Nutritional Values

RECIPES are written in one of these three formats for the home culinarian STANDARD NARRATIVE ACTION The home culinarian needs to read with understanding and have the ability to properly apply what they have read to the ingredients! Understanding the formats helps to Understand the recipe.

STANDARD FORMAT: ____________ _________ _________________________ _____________________________________ Title Yield Measure Ingredient Mixing-Preparation Directions The Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook has about 95% of their recipes written in this format. Remember this!

Standard Format Example Berry Smoothies Makes 4 1/2 cups, enough for 4 servings 1 medium banana (ripe, about 4 ounces), peeled and cut crosswise into eight pieces 3 ½ cups berries (about 16 ounces) ½ cup whole milk ½ cup white cranberry juice or apple juice pinch table salt 3 – 6 teaspoons granulated sugar 2 – 3 teaspoons lemon juice 3 ice cubes (about 1 1/2 ounces total) Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; arrange banana and berries in single layer on baking sheet. Freeze fruit until very cold, but not frozen, about 10 minutes. In blender, puree cold fruit, milk, juice, salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and ice until uniformly smooth, 10 to 15 seconds. Taste for sugar and lemon; if desired, add more sugar or lemon and blend until combined, about 2 seconds longer. Serve immediately.

NARRATIVE FORMAT: _________________ _____________________________________________ Title Yield Amounts Ingredients Mixing and Preparation Directions This style of written recipe is much like a paragraph in a book! The cook must pay attention when reading and following directions. so the amounts, ingredients, and mixing/preparation directions are all written out in this paragraph. Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook is about 5% this written format.

Narrative Recipe Example Berry Smoothies Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange 1 medium banana and 3 ½ cup berries (about 16 ounces) in single layer on baking sheet. Freeze fruit until very cold, but not frozen, about 10 minutes. Blend, puree cold fruit, ½ cup milk, ½ cup cranberry or apple juice, pinch of salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and 3 cups ice until uniformly smooth, 10 to 15 seconds. Taste for sugar and lemon; if desired, add more sugar or lemon and blend until combined, about 2 seconds longer. Serve immediately. Makes 4 1/2 cups, enough for 4 servings

ACTION FORMAT: _________ __________________________: ______ ____________ __________________________: ______ ____________ ______ ____________ __________________________: ______ ____________ __________________________ __________________________. Title Yield Ingredient Amount Mixing/Preparation Directions The JOY of Cooking Cookbook is about 97% this written format. This format is very similar to the professional written format.

Action Recipe Example Berry Smoothies Makes 4 1/2 cups, enough for 4 servings Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange 1 medium banana and 3 ½ cup berries (about 16 ounces) in single layer on baking sheet. Freeze fruit until very cold, but not frozen, about 10 minutes. Blend, puree cold fruit, ½ cup milk, ½ cup cranberry or apple juice, pinch of salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and 3 cups ice until uniformly smooth, 10 to 15 seconds. Taste for sugar and lemon; if desired, add more sugar or lemon and blend until combined, about 2 seconds longer. Serve immediately.

Assignment: Using three recipe cards like the one shown below and the two class cookbooks; Joy of Cooking and Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook find and completely copy one recipe for each of the three formats. Assignment Scoring: Your Name Cookbook Name & page # Recipe Title Yield Ingredients Ingredient Amount Mixing/Preparation Directions Oven/Cooking Temperature Pan Size and Pan Type Each recipe worth 25pts. for a total assignment value of 75 points.

Besides being able to recognize the recipe format.....a COOK needs to understand the VOCABULARY used in recipes! Jot down in your notes, as you read these recipes, any Cooking vocabulary that you are not sure what it means? The more you know and understand, the more success you can have in doing for yourself! BON APPETTIT......