What Does “stir Frequently” Mean?
If you get hung up on details and definitions, recipe cooking can make the pedantic part of your brain go overboard. Words and phrases that are intuitive to more experienced home cooks can be downright cryptic to beginners, especially those related to the construction of time.
Even as a cook, I have difficulty with phrases like “stir often” because the definition of “often” can vary greatly depending on context. I was told that I post memes “too often”, but if I stirred a pan of hot vegetables as fast as I post memes, they will burn (like my hot memes).
As with sending memes, it’s important to know your purpose when shuffling. There are several reasons you stir food: to keep it moving in the pan, promoting even cooking and preventing burning (such as scrambled eggs and chips), to emulsify the ingredients into one smooth, smooth liquid (as in sauces and gravies); and to combine ingredients and create an even distribution of aroma. Some people also wiggle to reduce their anxiety or feel like they are contributing in the kitchen, but this is not necessary and can be counterproductive in some cases.
Understanding why a recipe talks about stirring is much more beneficial than counting the minutes between spoon rotations. The easiest way to understand is to “stir constantly”, which means exactly what is written. You need to keep food moving for as long as the recipe requires, usually to emulsify or prevent food from burning or sticking to the bottom of the pan or pot. This is especially true when thickening the liquid with starch (such as with a sauce or custard) or anything that contains a lot of dairy (this can cause burns).
Stir often and stir occasionally are a little more vague, but clues can be gleaned from the rest of the recipe, the temperature you use, and how you want the final product to look and taste. Think of a bow: do you want the charred edges to darken slightly while still retaining the chunk and texture? Stir every couple of minutes over medium to high heat, or even more often over high heat. Want soft, caramelized onions that almost melt? Cook over low heat, stirring just enough to make sure everyone is getting the same amount of heat and no one is burning (this is especially important if you have shitty, uneven burners). Trying to reduce your soup or sauce? You will want to stir even less – just to make sure nothing is stuck on the bottom, and scrape the sides of the pan, as stirring produces heat, and heat is what you need to ward off excess water. One thing you don’t want to get in the way? Anything deep-fried – just let the hot oil do it and remove as soon as you have a crispy crust.
Another way to think about it is where I need to be physically in relation to food. If I’m stirring a skillet with vegetables over high heat or beating eggs, I need to be here, keep an eye on things and stir frequently, maybe check Twitter between stirring. But if I cook a stew or brown a sausage, I have more freedom. I can wash a few dishes, make a cocktail, or go see what my cat has dumped in another room, returning from time to time to interfere.
It is important to remember that food is not cooked in a vacuum. Pots, pans, and stoves differ from kitchen to kitchen more than you think, and you need to use your eyes, ears, and nose. If you stir “occasionally”, but your nose tells you that something is too cooked, stir a little more or turn down the heat. If you’ve cooked something for the prescribed amount of time but it doesn’t have the color you want, slow down and let the food hang in the pan without touching it for a little more. Finally, remember to relax. The worst thing that can happen is a little pinning or a little fire, and all this is not a big tragedy.