Mutfaksim
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What to cook In the mood Workshop Scenarios Actually easy Techniques Dishes Ingredients Diets Recipes
Hands working in a cloud of flour
The kitchen laboratory

Simulate it before you cook it.

Come, let’s cook together: drop what you have into the bowl, set the heat and the time, and see what happens before you light the hob. Which reaction starts, where the texture goes, where it turns on you — we explain it all along the way.

  • 170–190 °Cfrying oil
  • %2salt in dough
  • pH 4,6safe pickling
🧺 With what I have Tick what is in the fridge, we will do the rest → 🥣 Enter the workshop Drop it in the bowl, mix, watch what happens → 🍼 Who I am cooking for A baby, a child and an athlete need different plates →
What to cook today

Open the fridge, let’s look together.

Before you go shopping, look at what is already there. Tick a few things below and see how close you are to each recipe.

Open the full pantry →

The workshop

Drop it in, mix it, see what happens.

Tap an ingredient and watch it land in the bowl. Set the heat and the time, then hit “Cook”. We name the reactions, show where the texture is heading and tell you where it will go wrong.

The bowl is empty. Tap one of the ingredients.

Heat180 °C
Time30 min
Actually very easy

You do not need to buy this.

Most of what looks hard takes ten minutes. Butter is whipped cream taken further, tahini is ground sesame, a sourdough starter is flour and water. We give the reason each one works, and how long it keeps.

See all →
Yoghurt

Yoghurt

The beliefPeople treat culturing yoghurt as a craft, and blame their hands when it fails.

The truthBesides milk you need one spoon of yoghurt. The rest is holding a temperature and waiting.

10 minutes of work, 6 hours of waiting
Strawberry jam

Strawberry jam

The beliefJam is imagined as an all-day, jar-after-jar production.

The truthIt is a balance of three things: pectin, acid and sugar. Get the balance and it takes forty minutes.

40 minutes
Hazelnut spread

Hazelnut spread

The beliefThat jar is assumed to be factory magic.

The truthRoasted hazelnuts, ground long enough, release their own oil and turn to cream on their own. The rest is cocoa and sugar.

25 minutes
Icing sugar

Icing sugar

The beliefIt is treated as a separate product you have to go out and buy.

The truthIcing sugar is granulated sugar, ground. That is the entire difference.

1 minute
Pickles

Pickles

The beliefPickling is treated as a gift some people have, and everyone is afraid of it spoiling.

The truthHit the right salt ratio and the jar protects itself. The whole craft is one number.

20 minutes of work, 2 weeks of waiting
Apple cider vinegar

Apple cider vinegar

The beliefMaking vinegar is assumed to need expertise and equipment.

The truthApples, water, a little sugar and time. You cover the jar with a cloth and wait.

15 minutes of work, 2 months of waiting
Butter

Butter

The beliefButter is assumed to be a factory product, and whatever you make at home to be something lesser.

The truthIt is whipped cream taken too far. Around the fifteenth minute it separates on its own and you have both butter and buttermilk.

15 minutes
Sourdough starter

Sourdough starter

The beliefA sourdough starter is treated as something mythical — inherited from someone, aged for years, demanding a special flour.

The truthFlour and water. Nothing else. Five days and you have your own; being “decades old” shapes the habit, not the taste.

Five minutes a day for five to seven days
Dishes

Every dish has a mechanism.

Why cacık does not split, why mantı holds its water, why lebeniye is tempered with flour. Every dish has its defining mechanism, its history, and what each ingredient in it is actually doing.

See all →
Ayran
Drinks

Ayran

Yoghurt let down with water and salted. Turkey’s national drink, and really yoghurt made portable: on the move it both slowed spoi…
Churn buttermilk
Drinks

Churn buttermilk

Not to be confused with ordinary ayran — it is a different substance: the liquid left after butter has been churned out of yoghurt…
Cacık
Mezze

Cacık

A Turkish mezze of yoghurt, cucumber, garlic, salt, water and olive oil. A hot-weather dish whose consistency runs from thick enou…
Haydari
Mezze

Haydari

A thick mezze of strained yoghurt, garlic and herbs. One thing separates it from cacık and it is decisive: haydari has no cucumber…
Highland yoghurt soup
Soups

Highland yoghurt soup

The default Turkish yoghurt soup and the textbook terbiyeli çorba. Rice simmers in water, yoghurt, flour and egg yolk are beaten s…
Wedding soup
Soups

Wedding soup

A ceremonial soup cooked in meat broth whose identity is its terbiye: strained yoghurt, egg yolk, flour and lemon juice beaten sep…

İç Anadolu, Marmara
Techniques

How you give the heat is what the food becomes.

The same ingredient becomes one thing in the oven, another in water and something else again over embers — because heat arrives three different ways and each works at a different threshold. Every technique has its numbers, how to read them by hand, and the three mistakes people make.

See all →
170–190 °C Deep frying

Deep frying

Surface water flashes to steam and pushes outward — that is the shield keeping oil out. Cold oil never builds it, and the food drinks the fat instead.
160–220 °C The oven

The oven

Air carries heat badly, so a 200 °C oven does not make 200 °C food. The inside stays where water boils, at 100 °C.
100 °C · tavan Boiling & poaching

Boiling & poaching

Water cannot pass 100 °C, so turning the flame up changes nothing. Boiling is set by time and salt, not by temperature.
200 °C+ Grill & BBQ

Grill & BBQ

Embers deliver heat by radiation and the surface passes 200 °C in seconds. Smoke phenols bind to the meat, and that is where the flavour comes from.
pH 4,6 Fermentation

Fermentation

Microbes turn sugar into acid and gas. As the pH falls, flavour deepens and spoilage stops; sourdough and pickles are the same job at different speeds.
Cold 25 °C · hot 80 °C Smoking

Smoking

Cold smoke does not cook — it dries and preserves; hot smoke cooks at the same time. The wood decides the aroma: fruitwood gentle, oak assertive, pine never.
85–95 °C Olive oil dishes

Olive oil dishes

The vegetable cooks in its own water, on a low flame, under a lid. Olive oil is not frying fat here: it carries the aroma and pulls the texture together as it cools.
160 °C Caramelisation

Caramelisation

Sucrose breaks apart at 160 °C into hundreds of new aroma molecules. Fructose does it at 110 °C, which is why anything with honey darkens sooner.
12–16 °C Meze

Meze

A meze table is a composition rather than a plate: acid, fat, salt and freshness sit side by side. Each dish is designed against its neighbour, never alone.
%30 boşluk Plating & table

Plating & table

Focal point, negative space, height, odd numbers. The linen, the napkin and the colour of the light are part of the taste; the table is where the dish continues.
an 85 °C ceiling Terbiye — tempering a sauce

Terbiye — tempering a sauce

Yoghurt tipped into boiling soup splits. Terbiye brings the pot to the yoghurt instead of the yoghurt to the pot: hot liquid goes in a ladle at a time, so the temperature climbs slowly.
twelve hours, 45% loss Straining

Straining

Yoghurt in a cloth bag, letting gravity take the whey. Nothing is added and nothing is cooked: water leaves, and everything left behind concentrates.
10–14 °C Churning

Churning

Shaking yoghurt or cream until the fat separates. Two products come out of it and both are the point: butter, and the buttermilk left behind.
pH 4.6 · 85 °C Heat-acid curdling

Heat-acid curdling

Cheesemaking without rennet. Curdling is an accident in a yoghurt soup; here it is the product. Heat and acid together collapse the casein, and the drained curd is çökelek.
220–260 °C The griddle

The griddle

Hot metal in direct contact, with no fat. Unlike an oven the heat comes only from below and only by conduction, which is why the bread is turned and each face cooks separately.
water activity below 0.60 Drying

Drying

What stops spoilage is not cold but the absence of water. More precisely: water that microorganisms cannot reach.
sixty seconds Blooming in fat

Blooming in fat

Holding a spice briefly in hot fat. In Turkish cooking it is usually the last step: chilli flakes or dried mint go into sizzling butter and the whole thing is poured over the dish.
4–10 °C Cold

Cold

The technique where nothing is cooked. That does not make it the absence of technique: cold changes how flavour is perceived, and a recipe is balanced around that.
The ingredient table

Every ingredient has a job.

The colour is not decoration — it names the job the ingredient does. 191 ingredients: filter by family, tap one, see what it is for.

The whole table →
Fl Flour Flour Protein 10–12% · builds gluten St Starch Starch Gelatinises at 62–72 °C Ri Rice Rice Amylose 20–25% · grains stay separate Bu Bulgur Bulgur Pre-cooked · steeps in 12 min Pa Pasta Pasta Durum semolina · 1% salted water Po Potato Potato Starch 15–20% · softens at 60 °C Le Lemon Lemon pH 2.2 · 5% citric acid Vi Vinegar Vinegar pH 2.4–3.4 · 5% acetic acid Yo Yoghurt Yoghurt pH 4.4 · splits above 85 °C Pm Pomegranate Pomegranate pH 3.0 · anthocyanin turns blue in base Tp Tomato paste Tomato paste pH 4.3 · glutamate 250 mg/100 g Eg Egg Egg White 62 °C · yolk 65 °C Be Red meat Red meat Medium 57 °C · collagen melts at 68 °C Ch Chicken Chicken Safe internal temperature 74 °C Fi Fish Fish Sets at 50–55 °C · dries fast Ln Lentil Lentil Protein 25% · breaks down in 20 min Ck Chickpea Chickpea Protein 19% · skin dissolves in alkaline water Wc White cheese White cheese pH 4.6 · 5–7% brine Oo Olive oil Olive oil Smoke point 190–210 °C (EVOO) Bt Butter Butter Smoke point 150 °C · milk solids burn Ta Tahini Tahini 55% fat · inverts when water is added Wa Walnut Walnut 65% fat · goes rancid fast, freeze it Al Almond Almond 50% fat · 21% protein Bs Baking soda Baking soda pH 8.4 · does nothing without acid Ye Yeast Yeast Active 24–40 °C · dies at 55 °C Ga Garlic Garlic Allicin forms 60 s after cutting Cu Cumin Cumin Cuminaldehyde · fat soluble Cf Chilli flakes Chilli flakes Capsaicin dissolves in fat, not water Ci Cinnamon Cinnamon Cinnamaldehyde 60–75% Bp Black pepper Black pepper Piperine · aroma flees once ground Mi Mint Mint Menthol is volatile · add off the heat Ba Basil Basil Linalool · blackens with heat, add last Sa Saffron Saffron Crocin is water soluble · 0.1 g is enough Su Sumac Sumac pH 3.1 · dry acid that adds no water By Bay leaf Bay leaf Eugenol · only opens up with long cooking Sg Sugar Sugar Caramelises at 160 °C Ho Honey Honey Fructose dominant · browns at 110 °C Mo Molasses Molasses Reducing sugar · accelerates Maillard Au Aubergine Aubergine Soaks up 30% of its weight in oil Pp Pepper Pepper Twice the vitamin C when red Ca Carrot Carrot Beta-carotene is fat soluble Sp Spinach Spinach Oxalic acid blocks iron absorption Sw Strawberry Strawberry pH 3.4 · low pectin, hard to set Mk Milk Milk Casein is acid-fragile · whey protein denatures at 72 °C Sa2 Salt Salt 0.8–1.5% of the weight of the food H2O Water Water Starch only gelatinises above 60 °C with water Ks Bulb onion Bulb onion 89.1% water · 40 kcal Ao Avocado Avocado 15% fat · monounsaturated K5 Red onion Red onion Anthocyanin · less sulphur Ts Spring onion Spring onion 89.8% water · 32 kcal Do Tomato Tomato 94.5% water · 18 kcal Sl Cucumber Cucumber 95.2% water · 15 kcal Ka Courgette Courgette 94.8% water · 17 kcal Pi Leek Leek 83% water · 61 kcal Kk Celeriac Celeriac 88% water · 42 kcal En Globe artichoke Globe artichoke 84.9% water · 47 kcal Bm Okra Okra 89.6% water · 33 kcal Se Purslane Purslane 92.9% water · 20 kcal Pz Swiss chard Swiss chard 92.7% water · 19 kcal Bl White cabbage White cabbage 92.2% water · 25 kcal Kr Cauliflower Cauliflower 92.1% water · 25 kcal Br Broccoli Broccoli 89.3% water · 34 kcal Bz Green peas Green peas 78.9% water · 81 kcal Bar Borlotti beans (dry) Borlotti beans (dry) 23% protein · 335 kcal Tf Green beans Green beans 90.3% water · 31 kcal Kf White beans (dry) White beans (dry) 23.4% protein · 333 kcal Bo Black-eyed peas (dry) Black-eyed peas (dry) 23.5% protein · 336 kcal Kt Red radish Red radish 95.3% water · 16 kcal Sk Turnip root Turnip root 91.9% water · 28 kcal Bal Pumpkin Pumpkin 91.6% water · 26 kcal Km White button mushroom White button mushroom 92.5% water · 22 kcal Ma Romaine lettuce Romaine lettuce 94.6% water · 17 kcal Ro Rocket Rocket 91.7% water · 25 kcal Te Garden cress Garden cress 89.4% water · 32 kcal My Parsley Parsley 87.7% water · 36 kcal De Dill Dill 86% water · 43 kcal Ay Grape leaves (fresh) Grape leaves (fresh) 73.3% water · 93 kcal Sh Black carrot Black carrot ? El Apple (with skin) Apple (with skin) 85.6% water · 52 kcal Ar Pear Pear 84% water · 57 kcal Av Quince Quince 83.8% water · 57 kcal Ky Apricot Apricot 86.4% water · 48 kcal Ki Sweet cherry Sweet cherry 82.3% water · 63 kcal Vs Sour cherry Sour cherry 86.1% water · 50 kcal In Fig (fresh) Fig (fresh) 79.1% water · 74 kcal Uz Grapes Grapes 80.5% water · 69 kcal Kv Cantaloupe melon Cantaloupe melon 90.2% water · 34 kcal Kar Watermelon Watermelon 91.5% water · 30 kcal Pr Orange Orange 86.8% water · 47 kcal Mn Mandarin Mandarin 85.2% water · 53 kcal Lk Lemon peel Lemon peel 81.6% water · 47 kcal Er Plum (ripe) Plum (ripe) 87.2% water · 46 kcal Sf Peach Peach 88.9% water · 39 kcal Du Mulberry (fresh) Mulberry (fresh) 87.7% water · 43 kcal Mu Banana Banana 74.9% water · 89 kcal Hu Date (Medjool) Date (Medjool) 21.3% water · 277 kcal Ku Raisins (seedless) Raisins (seedless) 79.3% carbohydrate · 299 kcal Kur Dried apricots (sulphured) Dried apricots (sulphured) 62.6% carbohydrate · 241 kcal K2 Dried figs Dried figs 63.9% carbohydrate · 249 kcal Ym Green lentils (dry) Green lentils (dry) 24.6% protein · 352 kcal Tm Sweet corn Sweet corn 18.7% carbohydrate · 2% fibre Ms Wholegrain cornmeal Wholegrain cornmeal 76.9% carbohydrate · 7.3% fibre Ir Semolina Semolina 72.8% carbohydrate · 3.9% fibre Yu Oats Oats 66.3% carbohydrate · 10.6% fibre As Orzo pasta Orzo pasta 74.7% carbohydrate · 3.2% fibre Tl Vermicelli Vermicelli 74.7% carbohydrate · 3.2% fibre Ei Egg noodles (dry) Egg noodles (dry) 71.3% carbohydrate · 3.3% fibre Yf Yufka (uncooked börek sheets) Yufka (uncooked börek sheets) 50.1% carbohydrate · 3.1% fibre Gy Güllaç sheets Güllaç sheets 82.7% carbohydrate · 2.5% fibre Tk Shredded kadayıf pastry (uncooked) Shredded kadayıf pastry (uncooked) 61.7% carbohydrate · 3.5% fibre Tr Tarhana (dry) Tarhana (dry) 65.3% carbohydrate · 3.8% fibre Kb Fine bulgur Fine bulgur 75.9% carbohydrate · 12.5% fibre Pb Coarse bulgur Coarse bulgur 70.4% carbohydrate · 6.8% fibre Kay Kaymak (pasteurised) Kaymak (pasteurised) 1% protein · 585 kcal Lp Lor whey cheese Lor whey cheese ? Co Çökelek curd cheese Çökelek curd cheese 26.9% protein · 177 kcal Ke Keş dried yoghurt curd Keş dried yoghurt curd ? Tu İzmir tulum cheese İzmir tulum cheese 19.1% protein · 329 kcal Tz Fresh kaşar cheese Fresh kaşar cheese 27% protein · 353 kcal Vo Van herbed cheese Van herbed cheese ? Sy Strained yoghurt Strained yoghurt 9.4% protein · 120 kcal La Labneh Labneh ? Kef Kefir (plain) Kefir (plain) ? Kre Heavy cream (unsweetened) Heavy cream (unsweetened) 2.8% protein · 340 kcal Man Buffalo milk Buffalo milk 3.8% protein · 97 kcal Kz Lamb Lamb 16.9% protein · 267 kcal Kuz Lamb foreshank Lamb foreshank 18.9% protein · 201 kcal Dk Beef mince (15% fat) Beef mince (15% fat) 18.6% protein · 215 kcal Tb Chicken thigh (skin on) Chicken thigh (skin on) 16.5% protein · 221 kcal He Turkey meat (skinless) Turkey meat (skinless) 22.6% protein · 115 kcal Ds Beef sucuk Beef sucuk 23.8% protein · 454 kcal Ps Pastırma cured beef Pastırma cured beef 28.6% protein · 252 kcal Di Beef tripe Beef tripe 12.1% protein · 85 kcal Kp Lamb trotters Lamb trotters ? Mm Sheep intestine Sheep intestine ? Ha European anchovy European anchovy 20.4% protein · 131 kcal Lv European sea bass European sea bass 19.5% protein · 128 kcal Cp Gilthead sea bream Gilthead sea bream 19.1% protein · 130 kcal Pl Atlantic bonito Atlantic bonito 20.2% protein · 216 kcal Md Mussels (raw meat) Mussels (raw meat) 11.9% protein · 86 kcal Fn Hazelnut kernels (raw) Hazelnut kernels (raw) 60.8% fat · 628 kcal Af Pistachio kernels (raw) Pistachio kernels (raw) 45.3% fat · 560 kcal Cm Pine nuts Pine nuts 68.4% fat · 673 kcal Ss Sesame seeds (unhulled) Sesame seeds (unhulled) 49.7% fat · 573 kcal Cr Nigella seeds Nigella seeds 6% water · 387 kcal Ac Sunflower kernels (raw) Sunflower kernels (raw) 51.5% fat · 584 kcal Kc Pumpkin seed kernels Pumpkin seed kernels 49.1% fat · 559 kcal Kus Zante currants (dried) Zante currants (dried) 77% carbohydrate · 290 kcal Is Urfa pepper Urfa pepper ? Kek Dried oregano Dried oregano 9.9% water · 265 kcal Me Dried marjoram Dried marjoram 7.6% water · 271 kcal Rt Fennel seeds Fennel seeds 8.8% water · 345 kcal At Anise seeds Anise seeds 9.5% water · 337 kcal Yn Allspice Allspice 8.5% water · 263 kcal K3 Cloves Cloves 9.9% water · 274 kcal Hc Desiccated coconut (unsweetened) Desiccated coconut (unsweetened) 64.5% fat · 660 kcal Ze Ground turmeric Ground turmeric 12.9% water · 312 kcal Zn Fresh ginger Fresh ginger 78.9% water · 80 kcal Mh Mahleb Mahleb ? Sal Salep powder (pure) Salep powder (pure) 23.7% carbohydrate · 58.8% fibre Da Mastic resin Mastic resin ? Za Za’atar (sesame blend) Za’atar (sesame blend) ? Ne Pomegranate molasses Pomegranate molasses 21.6% water · 308 kcal Lt Citric acid (food grade) Citric acid (food grade) ? Bi Red pepper paste Red pepper paste ? Kir Sweet paprika Sweet paprika 11.2% water · 282 kcal Ht Ground mustard seed Ground mustard seed 5.3% water · 508 kcal Kis Coriander seeds Coriander seeds 8.9% water · 298 kcal Yz Green olives (brined) Green olives (brined) 15.3% fat · 145 kcal Sz Black olives Black olives ? S2 Pickled cucumber Pickled cucumber 94.3% water · 12 kcal Up Grape pekmez Grape pekmez 58.7% carbohydrate · 240 kcal Dp Mulberry pekmez Mulberry pekmez ? Kec Carob pekmez Carob pekmez ? Cv Soapwort root Soapwort root ? Kab Baking powder Baking powder 4% water · 51 kcal Vc Vanilla pod Vanilla pod ? Gl Glucose (anhydrous powder) Glucose (anhydrous powder) ? Si Extra virgin olive oil Extra virgin olive oil ? Rz Refined and virgin olive oil blend Refined and virgin olive oil blend ? Ayc Sunflower oil (linoleic) Sunflower oil (linoleic) 100% fat · 884 kcal Iy Raw beef suet Raw beef suet 94% fat · 854 kcal Kuy Raw lamb tail fat Raw lamb tail fat 86.1% fat · 787 kcal Yr Peanuts (raw kernels) Peanuts (raw kernels) 49.2% fat · 567 kcal K4 Fava beans (dry) Fava beans (dry) ? Pu Rice flour Rice flour 80.1% carbohydrate · 2.4% fibre Kak Cocoa powder (unsweetened) Cocoa powder (unsweetened) 3% water · 228 kcal Dv Hulled wheat Hulled wheat 71% carbohydrate · 12.2% fibre Es Meat stock Meat stock Carries gelatine · 4–6 kcal per 100 ml Sd Ghee (clarified butter) Ghee (clarified butter) 99.5% fat · 876 kcal Ys Oat milk Oat milk 90.6% water · 48 kcal
Recipes

Scaled to however many of you there are.

Change the headcount and the amounts follow — salt and spice do not scale in a straight line, and we account for that. The shopping list is one tap away.

Ali Nazik

Ali Nazik

The Gaziantep classic: charred aubergine crushed with garlicky yoghurt under sautéed lamb. Everything rests on properly charring the aubergine — made with oven-roasted aubergine, this is simply not the dish.

55 min 520 kcal
Green beans in olive oil

Green beans in olive oil

A classic that cooks in the vegetable’s own water, with none added. The secret is patience and a low flame: the beans sweat, they never boil.

50 min 240 kcal
Semolina halva with milk

Semolina halva with milk

A three-ingredient dessert on the table in twenty-five minutes. Its entire aroma comes from one step: toasting the semolina.

25 min 290 kcal
Menemen

Menemen

Pepper, tomato and egg. Know the order and the heat and it takes fifteen minutes; miss them and you get a watery omelette.

15 min 290 kcal
Red lentil soup

Red lentil soup

Turkey’s default soup. Four ingredients, thirty-five minutes and one rule: the lemon is squeezed at the table.

35 min 210 kcal
Butter and cheese pasta

Butter and cheese pasta

Three ingredients. What makes the difference is not an ingredient but the ladle of cooking water you keep.

18 min 480 kcal
Chickpea stew

Chickpea stew

Dried chickpeas, tomato paste and olive oil — and a pinch of bicarbonate that halves the cooking time.

50 min 330 kcal
Buttered pilaf

Buttered pilaf

Separate grains are not a recipe but two steps: rinse it, and leave the lid alone.

30 min 350 kcal
Crêpes

Crêpes

Flour, egg, milk. The one condition for crêpes that do not tear is half an hour of rest.

25 min 260 kcal
Crushed potatoes with yoghurt

Crushed potatoes with yoghurt

Boil, crush, roast. A rough surface means more crust.

45 min 380 kcal
Tahini and honey bowl

Tahini and honey bowl

Two ingredients, five minutes. It seizes as you stir; keep going and it loosens.

5 min 320 kcal
Fried eggs in butter

Fried eggs in butter

Eight minutes and one number: the butter must not pass 150 °C.

8 min 220 kcal
Baked rice pudding

Baked rice pudding

That mottled skin is Maillard, and it forms in the last ten minutes under the grill.

60 min 310 kcal
Pasta with tomato paste

Pasta with tomato paste

There is no sauce until the paste has been fried: raw paste stays sour and metallic.

20 min 420 kcal
Spinach and eggs

Spinach and eggs

Crack the eggs before the spinach has given up its water and a green puddle collects on the plate.

15 min 240 kcal
Fault catalog

The one who burned it a hundred times knows.

What went wrong, why it went wrong, and what to do when you have no thermometer. A kitchen is not a lab: most of the time your hands know.

01 The cake sank in the middle ⌄
What happened

The gas expanded before the structure could carry it. Opening the door drops the temperature and the risen batter collapses; too much leavener does the same, the crumb cannot hold its own roof.

By the numbers

Do not open the door for the first 20 minutes. Maximum 3 g of baking powder per 100 g of flour — more does not lift, it collapses.

Without a thermometer

3 g of baking powder is one level teaspoon. Look through the glass instead of opening the door. To test it, press the centre lightly: if it springs back without leaving a dent, it is done.

02 The mayonnaise split ⌄
What happened

The oil went in faster than the lecithin could coat it. Uncoated droplets found each other, merged, and the mixture fell back into a fat phase.

By the numbers

Whisk a fresh yolk in a clean bowl and dribble the broken mixture onto it. One yolk carries 200 ml of oil; do not push past that.

Without a thermometer

Out of eggs? A teaspoon of mustard does the same job and is more forgiving. The easiest rescue: put a tablespoon of warm water in the bowl, trickle the split mayo onto it, whisk in one direction.

03 The meat came out dry and tough ⌄
What happened

The meat passed 70 °C. Past that point the muscle fibres contract and wring out their water, while collagen never gets the time to turn into gelatine. It loses moisture and never tenderises.

By the numbers

Beef medium at 57 °C, chicken at 74 °C. Rest it for 10 minutes off the heat; unrested meat leaves its juice on the plate.

Without a thermometer

The palm test: touch thumb to index finger and press the pad below your thumb — that firmness is rare. Middle finger is medium, ring finger is well done. Watch the juice too: pinkish and clear means you are there, running white means you went too far.

04 The yoghurt sauce curdled ⌄
What happened

The yoghurt passed 85 °C. The casein micelles lost their charge, the protein clumped and released the water it was holding. Once split, it does not come back.

By the numbers

Stabilise 500 g of yoghurt with a tablespoon of starch and one yolk, stir in one direction, never boil.

Without a thermometer

Catch the threshold by eye: the moment a few large bubbles appear on the surface you are around 85 °C, take it off. The sauce is ready when it coats the back of a spoon — draw a line with your finger and the line should hold.

05 The cookies spread across the tray ⌄
What happened

The butter was already soft when it went in. The dough melted and ran outward before any structure had a chance to form.

By the numbers

Chill the shaped dough for an hour. Butter is worked at 18 °C, not at 25 °C.

Without a thermometer

Find the right butter with your finger: it should take a dent without smearing. If it smears, give it 15 minutes in the fridge. In a hot kitchen, freeze the tray for 20 minutes and go into the oven straight from there.

06 The bread came out heavy and dense ⌄
What happened

Either the yeast died or the fermentation was cut short. Water above 55 °C kills yeast, and in a cold kitchen dough rises by volume, never by the clock.

By the numbers

Keep the water at 30–35 °C. Wait until it has doubled; ignore the clock.

Without a thermometer

Test the water on your wrist: it should feel like baby formula, warm but never hot. To check the rise, poke half a centimetre into the dough — the dent should fill back halfway, slowly. Springing straight back means too early; not moving at all means over-proofed.

07 The fried food went soggy and oily ⌄
What happened

The oil was not hot enough. Surface water never flashed to steam and never pushed outward, so no shield formed and the oil walked straight in.

By the numbers

Hold the oil at 170–190 °C. Do not crowd the pan; every batch drops the oil 10–15 °C, so let it recover in between.

Without a thermometer

Drop in a cube of stale bread: golden in 30–40 seconds means 180 °C. Dark in 15 seconds is too hot; longer than a minute is too cold. Or stand a wooden spoon handle in the oil — a steady stream of small bubbles around it means you are there.

08 The rice turned to mush ⌄
What happened

Too much water gelatinised the starch, the granules burst and glued together. Stirring only pushed more starch out.

By the numbers

Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. One part rice to one and a half parts water. Do not lift the lid or stir while it steams.

Without a thermometer

No measuring cup? Use your knuckle: rest a finger on the levelled rice and let the water come up to the first joint. When you leave it to steam, trap a clean cloth under the lid so condensation cannot drip back onto the grains.

09 The aubergine drank all the oil ⌄
What happened

Aubergine flesh is a sponge with air trapped between the cells. Hot oil fills those pockets within seconds — it is not absorbed so much as inhaled.

By the numbers

Salt it for 20 minutes and squeeze out the water. Or skip oil altogether: at 200 °C in the oven the cells collapse before they can take any on.

Without a thermometer

After salting, press it between two plates with a weight on top to draw the water faster. In a hurry, soak it in milk for 10 minutes: the milk fills the pores so there is no room for oil. Pat it properly dry before frying — wet aubergine spits and drinks even more.

Who you cook for

One table, different needs.

6–12 MO Babies

Babies

Texture and portion by month, an allergen introduction calendar, choking-risk lists and safe cutting shapes.

  • 6–8 mo: purée textures
  • 8–10 mo: finger foods
  • A separate BLW track
  • Iron and zinc focused picks
THE 15 RULE Children

Children

You do not win a picky eater by arguing. Repetition, texture bridging and letting them cook is what works.

  • Repeated exposure, tracked
  • Hidden vegetable techniques
  • Texture bridging
  • Cook-together missions
1,6 G/KG Athletes

Athletes

Strength and endurance do not want the same plate. It is planned around your training hour, with protein spread across the day.

  • Pre- and post-workout
  • Carb loading
  • Protein timing
  • Hydration and electrolytes
The table

A dish is not done until it sits on the plate.

Focal point, negative space, height. The shape of the plate, the linen, the napkin, the colour of the candlelight. Half the flavour is eaten with the eyes.

Plate composition Linen & napkins Light & colour
A set table
Membership

The kitchen is open. The depth is in the membership.

Recipes, techniques and the daily suggestion are open to everyone. Unlimited workshop, weekly planning, pantry tracking and shopping lists come with Pro.

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