The Importance of Mise en Place
From what I have noticed, many people don’t enjoy cooking because they find it a stressful activity. So much is going on. Heat, open flame, things burning, overcooking, UNDERcooking - it’s enough to stress anyone out. As someone who is famously anxious, even the slightest bit of chaos - especially in the kitchen, can send me spiraling. That’s why the concept of Mise en Place absolutely changed my life.
Mise en Place sounds like some crazy French cooking technique, but really it is just the process of gathering all the tools and prepping all of the ingredients that you will need whilst cooking before you start. It’s a technique used in every professional kitchen and one that you can easily begin to utilize in your kitchen today.
How does one Mise en Place?
The first step is perhaps the most important - read through the ENTIRE recipe before you begin. This way there are no big surprises and more than anything else - and you can really get a sense of how long things might take and how much downtime there is. This will inform you of what you need to get done before you start, and what you can work on while things are cooking.
After reading through your entire recipe, get all the ingredients you will need OUT and within arms reach. If you’re working on multiple dishes at once, sort them into little groups, consider what tools you will need to prep your ingredients, and make yourself a mental list of what you need to start working on first.
Then it’s time to get out any tools you may need, and if you’re hosting a larger party it can also be super helpful to get out the serving dishes you plan on using so you don’t need to go running around for them when things are hot and ready to be served. Then make sure to grab spoons, juicers, blenders, or anything else you’re going to use WHILE cooking so they’re easily accessible. Don’t burn your sauce because you’re running around looking for something to stir it with.
Prep is important, trim your meats, grind your spices, and toast your nuts before you start cooking the final dish. The goal is to be able to focus on any time-sensitive steps without having to worry about anything else. This results in a calmer cooking experience, and fewer kitchen accidents. With many recipes, you will see how things should be chopped/prepped in the ingredients section (e.g. 5 cloves of garlic, minced) The easiest way to start to mise en place is to follow all of those prep instructions before turning any heat on. Sometimes I will take things the extra mile and sort things into small bowls together depending on the order they need to be added to the recipe. For example, if I see that butter, garlic, and chili flakes need to be added at the same time, I will put them in a small bowl on the side together. If your recipe doesn’t give you instructions in the ingredients section, make sure to carefully read through the recipe to ensure you prep everything correctly.
Once you have completed your prep, it’s now time to cook. If you’ve never attempted a mise en place before, it can initially seem strenuous or annoying. This process may take some time to master, but when done right, it can actually speed up your cooking process. Not to mention, being able to clean up during your cooking downtime rather than furiously chopping is a real game-changer. Now get cooking, and thank me later.
