Categories
A recipe has many tags at the same time. A dish can be Sichuan, and a main, and braised. You do not put it in only one group.
Each tag belongs to one type of category. The same word can be in two types. “Air-drying” is a technique, and it is also a preservation method. These are two different tags, and each tag has its own explanation.
Course
5 tagsThe part of the meal that the dish is for.
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
2 tagsThe event that the dish is for.
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
11 tagsThe cooking tradition of the dish.
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
3 tagsThe method that keeps the food safe to eat.
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
15 tagsThe action that you do to the food.
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.SimmeringTechniqueHolding liquid just below the boil, around 85–95°C, so bubbles break gently. Keeps stocks clear and proteins tender where boiling would cloud and toughen them.
Texture
3 tagsThe feel of the food in the mouth.
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
8 tagsThe tools that you must have.
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
2 tagsThe foods that the dish does not contain.
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
1 tagsThe time of year for the dish.
SummerSeasonSuited to warm weather, or dependent on produce at its summer peak.