Sift before measuring? Measure then sift? -- Chop before measuring? Measure then chop? -- You may be surprised that I am including this here. But, I can't tell you how many times I messed up a recipe when I began taking cooking seriously, instead of being just another daily chore, only because I didn't read the recipe before I started!

It may seem like a simple thing, but when recipes go wrong it is often because the cook has misread the recipe, or doesn’t know how to read a recipe in the first place. When starting out in the kitchen, the first task at hand isn’t stocking your pantry, it’s learning how to read a recipe. Believe it, there is a right way and a wrong way. Master the simple but important task of reading a recipe, and you’re on your way to preparing delicious homemade meals.

The first step in reading a recipe is simple, READ IT!! Read the entire thing from top to bottom. Don’t read it from bottom to top, or part of one section and then part of another. Read the title, the list of ingredients in order, and the preparation instructions, in order. Before you do anything, read the recipe. Don’t pull out the mixer or the flour, read the recipe. Why is this important? First, it gives you the chance to ensure you have all of the necessary ingredients and tools on hand. Out of flour? Better to find out now than later. Is your baking soda fresh? How old is that yeast? Had that sage since LAST Thanksgiving?

Secondly, reading the recipe in its entirety gives you an opportunity to do some advance prep work. Maybe cookie sheets need to be greased, or the oven needs to be preheated. After you’ve read the recipe, go back and look for ingredients or instructions that need to be finished before you can begin. Does the recipe call for boiled potatoes? Maybe you need roasted garlic. Sometimes recipes don’t instruct you on boiling potatoes or roasting garlic and those components need to be prepared in advance of making the recipe. There is nothing worse than making a cake batter and realizing you needed to chop chocolate, prepare the pans, and preheat the oven.

You’ve read the recipe, now what?

THE COMPONENTS OF A RECIPE

The first component of a recipe is usually the title. Some recipes will start with information about how many servings the recipe will make, or how long it takes to cook, but usually the first thing you will see is the recipe title.

Secondly you will see a list of the recipes ingredients. Again this may vary, but somewhere you will find a list of ingredients. All recipes list ingredients in the order in which they are used. If flour is the first ingredient listed, it is the first ingredient used. If sugar is the fourth ingredient listed, it is the fourth ingredient used. Why is this important? The list of ingredients helps you get all of your ingredients ready before you start cooking and it gives you a sneak peek as to how those ingredients will be combined. Reading the recipe beforehand eliminates surprises. Your in charge of the recipe, it’s not in charge of you. Don’t be surprised by a recipe.

The instructions for preaparing the dish comes after the list of ingredients. The first instruction will probably be something along the lines of preheating the oven, or preparing the pans. This is why it is crucial to read the recipe in it’s entirety before you do anything else. You will undoubtedly find something in the instructions that you will need to have done before you actually start preparing food, and of course you did that after you read the recipe through the first time... Right? No surprises.

PUTTING THE DISH TOGETHER

Assemble the ingredients exactly as described in the instructions, from beginning to end, meaning follow the recipe to the letter. The instructions are all about method. They are written in the order in which events occur. Skip a step or jump from one part of the recipe to the next, and you are playing with fire. Learn about cooking terms like whisking, beating, and folding. In the world of baking these techniques are especially important. Again, follow the instructions to the letter. If the first instruction is to combine eggs and sugar, don’t go sift the flour and baking powder together.

The final step is often bringing all of the components together. Continue to follow the recipe. Once cooking has finished the recipe isn’t over yet! Instructions on preparing the finished recipe for presenting, or storing, are next. “Serve immediately” or “Serve at room temperature”..."Chill overnight".

Some recipes are kind enough to tell you if you can save leftovers and how to do it. Often the end of the recipe will tell you how long it might have taken to make the recipe and how many people it will feed. Recipes rarely thank you for trying them. What a pity. You made it this far. “Congratulations” should be in order -- okay, maybe that’s reserved for your family.

SOME QUICK TIPS

1. Recipes are often devised of different components, not just individual ingredients, but groups of ingredients that comprise an essential part of the final dish, for example, flour – salt – baking soda – baking powder all combine to make the dry ingredients for a cake. Butter – eggs – vanilla are wet ingredients that are combined separate of the dry ingredients.

2. Once you can read the ingredients in their groups, you can cook faster and more efficiently. I’ve been able to make lasagne in almost no time at all because I see the recipes list of ingredients as different components that come together in the end to make the final dish. Instead of seeing 20 ingredients, I see 5 groups of 4.

3. Don’t make substitutions unless you are 100% sure you know what you are doing. Unless a recipe gives you a choice like “butter or margarine” or identifies a generic ingredient like “vegetable oil”, trust that the recipe knows more than you do. I’ve heard some pretty bizarre stories about recipes-gone-wild because someone decided that you could substitute cream cheese for butter. On what planet!?

4. “1 cup of brown sugar, packed” is a different ingredient than “1 cup packed brown sugar”. Similarly “2 cups grated carrot” is a different ingredient than “2 cups carrots, grated”.

DO YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE?

In the first instance of the brown sugar the ingredient is measured and then packed. In the second instance, the brown sugar is packed into a 1 cup measure. “2 cups of grated carrot” means you grate carrots until you have two cups of grated carrot. “2 cups carrots, grated” means you measure out two cups of carrots, and then grate it. Even within an ingredient, there is technique. Make sure you understand and follow that technique. You’ll be infinitely happier with the results.

5. Why does cooking on TV look like so much fun? Because all of the prep work has been done in advance! You can do the same thing! Assemble your ingredients and then lay them out on your counter in the order in which they appear in the recipe. Setting your work space up like this has a very fancy French name called "mise en place".

Seems like a lot to know about something as seemingly easy as reading a recipe. But once you have mastered reading a recipe, it all becomes second nature. You stop questioning yourself. You begin to cut down on your prep work and your cooking times. Clean up is easier. Cooking is more fun and enjoyable and efficient. You’ll be turning out more and more easy and delicious meals that will have everybody asking for seconds. Guaranteed!!