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. . . . . .
1. STANDARD. . . . . . . .
2. NARRATIVE . . . . . . .
3. 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. . . . . .