Noble Notations
This is a store of recipes, ingredients, techniques and batch logs. Each recipe has versions. You make a recipe better in steps. You do not write it again from the start each time.
Isaan duck laab
Duck leg mince rendered dry in its own fat, dressed off the heat with fish sauce and lime. No sugar anywhere — this is the Isaan/Lao register, not the central…
CelebrationOccasionMade for an occasion that justifies the effort or the expense.MainCourseThe centrepiece of a meal, carrying most of its substance.dry-toastingisaan+6 Research
Research on why Wellingtons fail and what the techniques that fix them are actually doing — octagonal searing, duxelles dehydration, layered moisture barriers…
BritishCuisineCooking of the British Isles: roasts, pies, puddings and preserves, built around long oven heat and a strong preserving tradition.CelebrationOccasionMade for an occasion that justifies the effort or the expense.MainCourseThe centrepiece of a meal, carrying most of its substance.SearingTechniqueBrief contact with a very hot surface to drive the Maillard reaction. It browns, it does not "seal in juices".+2 Preparation
A 48–72 hour reduction, done properly
Classical demi-glace with a dual-bone foundation, triple clarification and a staged reduction. A preparation other recipes pull in rather than a dish.
China capEquipmentA rigid cone-shaped metal strainer with perforated holes. Coarser than a chinois; used to strain stocks and to press solids through with a ladle.FrenchCuisineThe codified European tradition of stocks, mother sauces and precise knife work — the source of most professional kitchen vocabulary.RoastingTechniqueDry heat, usually uncovered and at higher temperature than baking, to brown a surface while the interior cooks through.SauceCourseA liquid or emulsion built to dress something else. Unlike a condiment it is usually applied in the kitchen, not at the table.+4 Louisiana-style crayfish boil for fifty, using Berlin’s invasive crayfish
A crayfish boil scaled for 50 people, built around the Louisiana crayfish that have become invasive in Berlin’s waterways. Includes where to actually get them.
BoilingTechniqueCooking in liquid at a full rolling boil, around 100°C. Fast and agitating — it emulsifies and breaks things apart.CajunCuisineLouisiana country cooking from French-speaking Acadian settlers. Built on a dark roux and the "holy trinity" of onion, celery and green pepper, and usually cooked down in one pot.MainCourseThe centrepiece of a meal, carrying most of its substance.PartyOccasionScales to a crowd and holds up on a table without needing to be served hot to order.+4 A refrigerator pickle in a 1:1 vinegar and water brine. Ready in a day, keeps two months.
CondimentCourseServed alongside rather than in a dish — added by the eater, to taste, at the table.CrispTextureFractures cleanly under the tooth with an audible snap.MexicanCuisineMesoamerican cooking built on nixtamalised corn, dried and fresh chillies, and toasted aromatics ground into sauces.PicklingTechniqueSubmerging in an acidic liquid. As a technique this is about the brine ratio, aromatics and steep time.+3 rev 6
Six batches of working out a wash and a dredge
The current specification: a 10 kg batch with 321.7 g of wash and a dredge sized for coverage rather than by ratio alone.
ChewyTextureResists the bite and needs working. In dried meat this is a target, set by how far the drying was taken.CuringPreservationPreserving with salt, and often nitrite, which both draws out water and directly inhibits bacteria — notably Clostridium botulinum.Dry-curingTechniquePacking in salt, and usually nitrite, to draw out water and make the meat inhospitable to spoilage organisms before drying.Drying boxEquipmentAn enclosed cabinet with a fan and often a low heat source, holding steady airflow and humidity for curing meat.+5 Course
MainCourseThe centrepiece of a meal, carrying most of its substance.CondimentCourseServed alongside rather than in a dish — added by the eater, to taste, at the table.DrinkCourseAnything served in a glass, alcoholic or not.SauceCourseA liquid or emulsion built to dress something else. Unlike a condiment it is usually applied in the kitchen, not at the table.SnackCourseEaten between meals and usually out of hand. Occasion
CelebrationOccasionMade for an occasion that justifies the effort or the expense.PartyOccasionScales to a crowd and holds up on a table without needing to be served hot to order. Cuisine
FrenchCuisineThe codified European tradition of stocks, mother sauces and precise knife work — the source of most professional kitchen vocabulary.BritishCuisineCooking of the British Isles: roasts, pies, puddings and preserves, built around long oven heat and a strong preserving tradition.CajunCuisineLouisiana country cooking from French-speaking Acadian settlers. Built on a dark roux and the "holy trinity" of onion, celery and green pepper, and usually cooked down in one pot.GermanCuisineCentral European cooking with a deep charcuterie and pickling tradition: cured pork, sour vegetables, rye and beer.MexicanCuisineMesoamerican cooking built on nixtamalised corn, dried and fresh chillies, and toasted aromatics ground into sauces.PortugueseCuisineAtlantic cooking of salt cod, piri-piri, olive oil and slow pork — a major influence on South African and Mozambican food.South AfricanCuisineA layered cuisine of Dutch, Malay, British, Portuguese and indigenous traditions. Strong on open-fire cooking and dried, spiced meat.isaanlaothaiAmericanCuisineThe regional cooking of the United States — a parent grouping for its distinct local traditions rather than a style in its own right. Preservation
Air-dryingPreservationPreserving by lowering water activity until spoilage organisms cannot grow. The same physical act as the technique of the same name, classified here by what it achieves.CuringPreservationPreserving with salt, and often nitrite, which both draws out water and directly inhibits bacteria — notably Clostridium botulinum.PicklingPreservationPreserving by dropping pH below about 4.6, where most pathogens cannot grow. Either by added acid or by fermentation. Technique
Air-dryingTechniqueRemoving moisture by moving unheated air across the surface. As a technique this is about airflow, humidity and time — the physical act rather than its preserving effect.BakingTechniqueCooking by dry, enveloping oven heat, where the food browns from the outside in.BoilingTechniqueCooking in liquid at a full rolling boil, around 100°C. Fast and agitating — it emulsifies and breaks things apart.ClarificationTechniqueRemoving suspended solids from a liquid to leave it transparent — by raft, straining, gelatin filtration or settling.Dry-curingTechniquePacking in salt, and usually nitrite, to draw out water and make the meat inhospitable to spoilage organisms before drying.GrindingTechniqueReducing solids to particles. Grind coarseness controls how fast aromatics release and how a spice reads on the palate.PicklingTechniqueSubmerging in an acidic liquid. As a technique this is about the brine ratio, aromatics and steep time.ReductionTechniqueSimmering a liquid to evaporate water, concentrating flavour and thickening through dissolved solids rather than added starch.RoastingTechniqueDry heat, usually uncovered and at higher temperature than baking, to brown a surface while the interior cooks through.SearingTechniqueBrief contact with a very hot surface to drive the Maillard reaction. It browns, it does not "seal in juices".dry-toastingmincingButcheryTechniqueBreaking down a carcass or primal cut: seam-cutting along muscle groups, trimming silverskin, and cutting with or against the grain.Dry-briningTechniqueSalting a surface and letting the drawn-out moisture dissolve the salt and reabsorb. Seasons throughout and improves browning without adding water, unlike a wet brine. Texture
ChewyTextureResists the bite and needs working. In dried meat this is a target, set by how far the drying was taken.CrispTextureFractures cleanly under the tooth with an audible snap.SilkyTextureSmooth and coating on the tongue, with no perceptible grain — usually from emulsification or fine straining. Equipment
China capEquipmentA rigid cone-shaped metal strainer with perforated holes. Coarser than a chinois; used to strain stocks and to press solids through with a ladle.Drying boxEquipmentAn enclosed cabinet with a fan and often a low heat source, holding steady airflow and humidity for curing meat.Fine-mesh sieveEquipmentA woven wire strainer fine enough to catch spice grit and coagulated protein — the last pass before a liquid is called clear.Propane burnerEquipmentA high-output outdoor gas ring. Delivers far more heat than a domestic hob, which matters for large stockpots and hard boils.Spice grinderEquipmentA blade or burr mill for whole spices. Grinding to order preserves the volatile aromatics that pre-ground spice has already lost.StockpotEquipmentA tall, narrow, high-volume pot. The shape limits the evaporating surface so a long simmer reduces slowly.mortar-and-pestlewok Diet
Gluten-freeDietContains no wheat, barley, rye or their derivatives. Check the specific brands used — malt vinegar and soy sauce are common hidden sources.VeganDietNo animal products at all, including dairy, egg and honey. Season
SummerSeasonSuited to warm weather, or dependent on produce at its summer peak. How this works
Revisions, not rewrites
A recipe has a name that does not change. Its ingredients and steps belong to a version. You cannot change a version after you make it. Each version records why you made it. The record of how a dish became good is the most useful part.
Referential by design
Each ingredient is one record. It is not free text on a page. This lets you ask “show all dishes with gochujang” and “what can replace tandoori masala”.
Written to by an agent
An MCP connector lets a Claude conversation search this store and add versions to it. An improvement that you make in a chat comes here. It is not lost.
The archive is kept
The Markdown archive keeps each old note exactly as it was. The database also writes back to Markdown.