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What is mise en place?

Mise en place (meez ahn plahs) means every ingredient is measured and prepped before cooking starts; Mise en Party builds it into every recipe and plans when each bowl is prepped.

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Mise en place (pronounced meez ahn plahs) is French for "putting in place": every ingredient is measured, prepped and set out before cooking starts. Auguste Escoffier made it the rule of the professional kitchen in the late 19th century, as part of the brigade system restaurant kitchens still run on. Mise en Party builds mise en place into every recipe and plans when each bowl is prepped.

Why cook with mise en place

Mise en place greatly simplifies the cooking process. Because all the ingredients are prepared before cooking begins, the actual cook is reduced to just adding ingredients at the right time; no more burning garlic while you rush to finish chopping the onions.

  • Nothing is forgotten: a bowl left over at the end is an ingredient that never went in.
  • Timing holds: each addition takes seconds, so the recipe's timing depends on the pan, not on how fast you chop.
  • The kitchen stays clear: one board, one knife and a row of bowls instead of a pile of packaging.

How to set up mise en place

Getting started with mise en place is easy; simply prepare your ingredients before cooking with the following four steps:

  1. Read the recipe through once.
  2. Measure each ingredient.
  3. Prep it as the recipe says: dice, mince, grate, zest.
  4. Set the prepped ingredients out in the order they are used.

How Mise en Party uses mise en place

One Pot Chickpeas' prep bowls: soaked chickpeas, the aromatic base and the spice bowl, each sized small, medium or large

Every recipe in Mise en Party is written with its mise en place built in. Ingredients that need prep work go into prep bowls and, to minimize the number of bowls you need, ingredients added at the same time share a bowl. The planner then schedules each bowl's prep so those ingredients are ready on time while minimizing how long the whole meal takes. Unlike true mise en place, this may mean chopping while other ingredients cook, but Mise en Party's scheduler takes the chopping time into account.

Some ingredients do not require any prep, such as a splash of oil or a pinch of salt; these ingredients are called loose within Mise en Party.

Questions

Is mise en place only for restaurants? No. It helps in most home kitchens too; simplifying the meal lessens the mental burden of cooking.

Does mise en place take longer? The prep takes the same time; it just happens first. The cooking gets shorter and calmer.