This App contains definitions of over 750 ingredients and 100 cooking methods. We have included information on where you can find the ingredients in the store and what you can substitute if you are missing something. You will find explanations for different cuts and types of meat, even a list of different kinds of mushrooms.
Where did the idea for this app come from? Glad you asked . . .
I have never believed the old adage, “if you can read you can cook,” because I seemed to have missed the class (or memo) where simple things were explained and ingredients were made known. Sorry – I don’t the difference between “whisk” and “combine.” Is that about the actual utensil you use? Does it make any difference how I mix ingredients together? And what the heck is chervil?
OK, I will confess that my troubles got worse when I had to give up wheat gluten (I had already given up dairy many years ago) and started to really cook for myself. The substitute ingredients for dairy free, gluten free recipes are a special challenge. But I was feeling dumb just looking at regular recipes in magazines that promised simple and easy meals. I decided I could not be alone with this problem and even though I own two copies of Joy of Cooking, I found the book somewhat daunting.
So here is a simple app that is fully searchable and will help you understand recipes – even easy ones. It is a very straightforward glossary that is easy to navigate. And don’t worry – I had help writing the definitions from my best friend Patti, who has been cooking for me since we met in college and has made a career out of her love of cooking. It was my complaining to her about not understanding recipes that inspired the creation of the New Cooks Glossary. Have fun with this app and be sure to send along ingredients or methods you come across that are not included so we can add them.
To go along with the glossary – we have put together a free blog that includes recipes you will understand for basic things (like deviled eggs) and some other more complicated recipes you can aspire to. Specific links to the blog appear throughout the definitions in the app.