Book 9, Question 135
Why Read Recipe Steps Fully First?
We read recipe steps fully first so there are no surprises in the middle of cooking! A surprise can mean burnt pans or missing ingredients. Detectives preview the whole plan before they start, so the case goes smoothly.
More fun facts
- Before you follow instructions, read them all the way from start to finish.
- Words like first, then, next and until help put recipe steps in order.
- A recipe from 1864 for a dried bread called rusks asked for a piece of butter 'big as an egg.'
- In the mid 1800s, recipe writers often compared amounts to familiar objects because measuring was not standard.
- By the late 1800s, American cookbooks had become much more precise and detailed.
- The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, now called The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, helped shape 20th century American cooking.
Sources: BBC, BBC, Smithsonian Magazine
Questions kids ask
Why read the whole recipe first?
So you know every ingredient, tool and step before you start and are not surprised halfway through.