A recipe is a series of written instructions, which describes how to make or prepare something, specifically a dish of cooked food. It can be as elaborate or as simple as one wishes, but they are usually accompanied by specific quantities and instructions. In fact, recipes have become an integral part of the cuisine, with cooking competitions often deciding the outcome of a dish based on the ingredients and methods of preparation used. However, what exactly constitutes a recipe and what parts are there? What are the different styles or methods used in preparing a particular recipe and what types of ingredients are used?

In general, recipes consist of at least six parts and consist of three main sections, namely ingredients, cooking process and cooking time. The first two are pretty self explanatory and consist of the measurements and instructions for the total time taken to prepare the recipe, including the temperature at which it needs to be cooked. The third section will describe what the recipe requires from you and usually includes information such as the ingredients used and the percentage of each ingredient used. In short, the recipe will tell you what to do and what to look out for and the total time it takes to prepare it.

Most recipes however take into account certain factors such as cooking temperature, cooking time and other important factors. When preparing a recipe, you will find that certain things are preset and cannot be altered whereas others can be modified and are dependent on the ingredients used. For instance, when making a soup recipe, water and vegetable stock are the basic ingredients which need to be included in the recipe. You cannot alter the amount of either of these ingredients in the recipe, whereas if you wish to adjust the cooking time by reducing the amount of liquid you add, you can alter the amount of time it takes to cook the soup. The recipes, which allow you to adjust the cooking time according to your personal taste are called adjustable recipes and can be adjusted accordingly.