Sugar stages, emulsions, tempering — a craft measured in degrees.
Practise this list
From these 38 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.
More about this list
« Piping bag », « glucose syrup », « buttercream »: English builds a compound by putting one noun in front of another and leaving the reader to work out the relation between them. Italian cannot do that. It has to insert a preposition, and the preposition it picks says the relation out loud. La sacca da pasticcere uses da, which marks what a thing is for — a bag for a pastry cook — and the same da returns in la glassa da colare, a glaze made to be poured. Put di there instead and the sense shifts to what a thing is made of or holds: lo sciroppo di glucosio is syrup consisting of glucose, and una sacca di zucchero would be a bag with sugar inside it. A marks the flavouring or the manner, which is why this list has la crema al burro, la ganache al cioccolato and la meringa all’italiana. Three prepositions, three relations, and the noun pile that hides all three in English is why a beginner reaches for di every time.
The words
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Verb (5)
impazzireto split (of a cream)VerbC2
La crema impazzisce se la panna è troppo fredda.The cream splits if the double cream is too cold.
montare a cremato cream (butter and sugar)VerbC2
Si monta a crema il burro con lo zucchero.You cream the butter with the sugar.
mettere a lievitareto set to proveVerbC2
L’impasto si mette a lievitare in un posto tiepido.The dough is set to prove somewhere lukewarm.
portare a bolloreto bring to the boilVerbC2
Si porta a bollore il latte con la vaniglia.You bring the milk to the boil with the vanilla.
dressareto pipeVerbC2
Si dressano i bignè a distanza regolare.The choux buns are piped at regular spacing.
Phrase (4)
temperare il cioccolatoto temper chocolatePhraseC2
Chi tempera il cioccolato lavora con il termometro accanto.Anyone tempering chocolate works with the thermometer beside them.
incorporare in più ripreseto fold in in stagesPhraseC2
La farina si incorpora in più riprese, senza fretta.The flour is folded in in stages, with no hurry.
bucherellare il fondoto dock the basePhraseC2
Si bucherella il fondo perché non si gonfi.You dock the base so that it does not puff up.
stemperare le uovato temper the eggsPhraseC2
Si stemperano le uova con un poco di latte caldo.The eggs are tempered with a little hot milk.
