User:Valereee/Sub-recipe

A sub-recipe is a recipe for an ingredient that will be called for in the instructions for the main recipe.

Sub-recipes are often for spice blends, sauces, confits, pickles, preserves, jams, chutneys, or condiments. Sometimes the sub-recipe calls for the ingredient to be held for several hours, overnight, or longer, which home cooks sometimes find frustrating as it means the main recipe cannot be made in a single session or day. Sub-recipes discovered late and calling for an ingredient the cook doesn't have on hand means a special shopping trip or trying to find a substitute.

Sub-recipes, and the cookbooks that contain them, are often described as not being targeted at casual cooks.

Unexpected benefits
Reviewers have mentioned finding alternate uses for leftover sub-recipes.

Cookbooks containing sub-recipes

 * Christina Tosi's Momofuku Milk Bar (2011)
 * Terry Bryant's Vegetable Kingdom (2020)