Cheatsheet: Culinary Arts and Patisserie¶

Quick-reference card for the most important cuts, sauces, ratios, and temperatures. Use this as a kitchen companion once you have studied the relevant modules in depth.

Table of Contents¶

Knife Cuts Reference
The Five Mother Sauces
Common Culinary Ratios
Safe Food Temperatures
Baker's Percentage Guide
Chocolate Tempering Temperatures

Knife Cuts Reference¶

Cut	Dimensions	Description	Common Uses
Chiffonade	Thin ribbons	Roll and slice leafy greens	Basil garnish, salad
Mince	< 1 mm	Very fine irregular chop	Garlic, shallots for sauces
Brunoise	1–2 mm cube	Fine dice	Consommé garnish, fine mirepoix
Small dice	6 mm cube	Standard fine dice	Soups, stuffings, salsa
Medium dice	12 mm cube	Standard dice	Stews, braises
Large dice	18–20 mm cube	Chunky dice	Roasted vegetables
Julienne	3 × 3 × 60 mm	Matchstick strips	Stir-fries, garnish, slaw
Batonnet	6 × 6 × 60 mm	Thick sticks	Crudités, fries
Tourné	7-sided barrel	Football shape, 5–6 cm	Classical garnish, roast vegetables

The Five Mother Sauces¶

flowchart TD
    B["Béchamel\n(Roux + Milk)"]
    V["Velouté\n(Roux + White Stock)"]
    E["Espagnole\n(Brown Roux + Brown Stock)"]
    H["Hollandaise\n(Egg Yolk + Clarified Butter)"]
    T["Sauce Tomat\n(Tomato + Stock)"]

    B --> Morney["Mornay (+ cheese)"]
    B --> Soubise["Soubise (+ onion purée)"]
    V --> Suprême["Suprême (+ cream)"]
    V --> Allemande["Allemande (+ egg yolk, lemon)"]
    E --> Demi["Demi-glace (reduced)"]
    Demi --> Bordelaise["Bordelaise (+ red wine, shallots)"]
    H --> Béarnaise["Béarnaise (+ tarragon, shallots)"]
    H --> Maltaise["Maltaise (+ blood orange)"]
    T --> Portugaise["Portugaise (+ onion, garlic)"]

The five mother sauces and representative derivatives

Common Culinary Ratios¶

Sauce and Emulsion Ratios¶

Preparation	Ratio	Notes
Vinaigrette (classic)	3 parts oil : 1 part acid	Emulsify with mustard for stability
Roux (white)	1 part butter : 1 part flour (by weight)	Cook 1–2 min, do not brown
Béchamel	1 L milk : 60 g butter : 60 g flour	Season with nutmeg
Hollandaise	3 egg yolks : 200 g clarified butter	~67 g butter per yolk
Ganache (soft)	1 : 1 cream to chocolate (by weight)	For sauces and glazes
Ganache (truffle)	1 : 2 cream to chocolate (by weight)	For centres, hand-rolling
Ganache (firm)	1 : 3 cream to chocolate (by weight)	For slicing, moulding

Stock Ratios (per litre of finished stock)¶

Stock	Bones/Veg	Water	Aromatics
White chicken stock	500 g bones	2 L	Mirepoix, bouquet garni
Brown veal stock	500 g bones (roasted)	2 L	Mirepoix, tomato paste, bouquet garni
Fish stock (fumet)	500 g fish bones	1.5 L	White mirepoix, white wine
Vegetable stock	500 g mixed veg	2 L	Aromatics, no starch veg

Pastry Ratios¶

Pastry	Flour	Fat	Liquid	Sugar
Pâte brisée	100%	50% butter	20–25% water	None
Pâte sucrée	100%	50% butter	1–2 eggs per 500 g flour	35% icing sugar
Pâte feuilletée	100%	100% butter (détrempe + beurrage)	50% water	None
Choux pastry	100%	100% butter	200% water	None

Safe Food Temperatures¶

Protein	Safe Internal Temperature	Notes
Poultry (whole)	74 °C (165 °F)	All parts, including stuffing
Poultry (ground)	74 °C (165 °F)
Beef, lamb, veal (whole cuts)	63 °C (145 °F) + 3 min rest	Medium-rare; safe for intact cuts
Ground beef/pork	71 °C (160 °F)
Pork (whole cuts)	63 °C (145 °F) + 3 min rest
Fish	63 °C (145 °F)	Or opaque and flakes easily
Custards and crème anglaise	82–84 °C	Nappe stage; stop before scrambling
Hollandaise	63–65 °C	Hold above 60 °C for service

Temperature Danger Zone¶

[!WARNING] The danger zone for bacterial growth is 5 °C – 60 °C. Do not leave perishable food in this range for more than 2 hours total. Use an instant-read thermometer — guessing temperatures is never safe.

Baker's Percentage Guide¶

In baker's percentages, flour is always 100%. Every other ingredient is expressed as a percentage of the total flour weight.

Example — Basic White Bread:

Ingredient	Weight	Baker's %
Flour	500 g	100%
Water	350 g	70%
Salt	10 g	2%
Instant yeast	4 g	0.8%

To scale up: multiply all weights by the same factor.

Common Hydration Levels:

Dough Type	Hydration (%)	Texture
Bagels	55–60%	Stiff, dense crumb
Sandwich bread	60–65%	Soft, close crumb
Baguette	65–70%	Open crumb, crisp crust
Ciabatta	75–80%	Very open, irregular crumb
Sourdough (medium)	70–75%	Open crumb, chewy

Chocolate Tempering Temperatures¶

Chocolate Type	Melt To	Cool To	Reheat To
Dark (64–72% cacao)	50–55 °C	27–28 °C	31–32 °C
Milk	45–50 °C	26–27 °C	29–30 °C
White	40–45 °C	25–26 °C	27–28 °C

[!TIP] These are target ranges, not exact points. An accurate digital thermometer and clean marble slab are essential for the tabling method. See Module 08 for the full tempering procedure.