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Culinary Arts & Cooking vocabulary · Cooking Methods & Techniques

Curdle

Meaning in culinary arts & cooking, with examples

verbCommon term

In culinary arts & cooking, curdle means: To separate into lumps and liquid, especially when milk or an egg mixture changes structure.

In Turkish: kesilmek, pıhtılaşmak

How it is used

Often describes an unwanted change in a sauce; curdled is the common adjective.

Example sentences

  1. The custard curdled and lost its smooth texture.

    Lumps signal that the mixture no longer has a uniform texture.

  2. Adding the lemon made the milk curdle in the bowl.

    Here the separation follows the addition of an acidic ingredient.

Common collocations

  • curdled custard
  • milk curdles
  • emulsionA smooth mixture of two liquids that do not normally mix, such as oil and water or vinegar, held together by whisking and often by egg yolk or mustard.
  • simmerTo cook food gently in liquid kept just below boiling point, so that only small bubbles rise slowly to the surface.

More terms: Cooking Methods & Techniques

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