What does incorporate mean in cooking terms?

In cooking, "incorporate" means to combine ingredients thoroughly and evenly, usually by mixing or stirring. It's often used for:

* Dry ingredients: Incorporating flour, sugar, and spices into a batter or dough ensures a consistent texture.

* Wet ingredients: Incorporating butter into a batter, or eggs into a mixture, helps create a smooth, uniform consistency.

* Solid ingredients: Incorporating chopped nuts or chocolate chips into a cookie dough ensures they're evenly distributed.

Here's how "incorporate" differs from "mix" or "stir":

* Mix: Generally implies less thorough combining than incorporating, and could involve different methods (blending, kneading).

* Stir: Specifically refers to using a utensil to move ingredients around, but may not result in complete incorporation.

Key points to remember about incorporating:

* It's not just about combining ingredients; it's about achieving a specific texture. For example, incorporating air into whipped cream creates a light and fluffy texture.

* The method used for incorporating can vary based on the recipe. Some recipes may call for folding, whisking, or kneading.

Examples of using "incorporate" in recipes:

* "Incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients."

* "Gently incorporate the chopped nuts into the batter."

* "Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gently incorporate them into the batter."