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Culinary Arts & Cooking vocabulary · Recipes, Measurements & Costing

Portion

Meaning in culinary arts & cooking, with examples

/ˈpɔːrʃən/nounCore term

In culinary arts & cooking, portion means: The amount of a food served to one person. As a verb, to portion means to divide food into equal amounts for serving.

In Turkish: porsiyon

How it is used

Portion control keeps costs steady and plates consistent. Chefs portion meat and fish by weight during prep, and recipes state the portion size (180 g portion). Portion out and pre-portioned are common.

Example sentences

  1. Portion the salmon into 160-gram pieces and label them.

  2. These portions are too big; we're losing money on every plate.

Common collocations

  • portion size
  • portion control
  • portion out
  • pre-portioned
  • single portion
  • yieldThe amount or number of portions a recipe produces; also the usable weight of an ingredient left after trimming, boning or peeling.
  • food costThe cost of the ingredients used to make a dish or menu, often shown as a percentage of the selling price.
  • recipeA set of instructions for making a dish, with a list of ingredients, their quantities and the steps, times and temperatures needed.
  • plateTo arrange cooked food on a plate so that it is ready to be served and looks attractive. The noun plating means the way a dish is arranged.

More terms: Recipes, Measurements & Costing

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