"Mise en place" (French pronunciation: [mi zɑ̃ ˈplas]) is a French culinary phrase which meant "putting in place", as in set up. It is used in professional kitchens to refer to organizing and arranging the ingredients that a cook will require.
Do YOU M.E.P.?? I do!! It is a simple step that helps in SO many unpredictable ways. For years my kitchen looked like a bomb went off, with me chasing around for ingredients like a freaky chicken. Then I learned to M.E.P., and it is such a simple yet powerful tool that I felt I had to Share I use clear food containers and weigh all of my ingredients for all my cakes at once. All the flour, with leavenings mixed in, weighed at once, for however many batches of cake I am making...all the sugar, milk, eggs, weighed and cracked into my little sanitized food-service containers. I also pull out all my pans and cut all parchments at once. I then use one of each group in each cake - one sugar, one butter, one eggs, one flour, one milk. This allows uniformity of your cakes across multiple batches. We all know how crazy the kitchen gets when the cakes start to fly! When it comes time to bake this really helps time management (FAST assembly), eliminates forgotten ingredients (never forget the leavening again!), and easy cleanup (I put empties straight into the dishwasher). The only exception I have is that Extracts (added normally at the egg stage) are still measured out directly into the mixing bowl, as they don't seem to do well in the tupperware with the cracked eggs. This preparation method also allows you to verify that you have all the necessary ingredients. Nothing more frustrating than beginning to bake and realizing hubby 'borrowed' some of the butter! Give it a try if you dont already do this - betcha love it! Stay Sweet xxoo Heather, Art2Eat Cakes |