I am not sure if it saves time, but there is nothing worse than having garlic burn in the pan while you are too busy prepping the next item to go. Also, it sucks to realize that you are halfway through a dish only to find you are missing an ingredient.

It depends -- on what I'm making and what the instructions are.

If I'm doing stir-fry, then yes, by all means, I prep the food before I do anything else. But if I'm doing something that asks me to "saute the onions for X minutes before adding the Y" (like last night's jambalaya), then I'm going to hold off on chopping the Y until the onions are cooking, because I've got X minutes to work. I also use my food processor and mandoline for most chopping anyway, which saves some time.

(tangentially -- I've found an even bigger time saver in a different place. A good friend of mine, who I still enjoy cooking with, drilled into me the idea of "clean up AS YOU GO." So I'm always washing knives, bowls, etc. as I work -- washing out the odd knife or tablespoon as I use it, and then once I put everything in the oven then I immediately wash all the bowls and chopping boards and such. Then, after dinner, the only thing that needs washing is one pot or pan, and the dining ware -- which, since it's often just me, means it's only one plate.)

I should, but I don't. I always think I have plenty of time to chop onions while the garlic's sautéing and then I don't and I get annoyed with myself.

I'm also one that has to say "it depends".

If I'm doing a new recipe, then yes, I want everything prepped ahead of time so I know I have the right amount of everything first and I can focus more on what to add when. It's easier to look for what to add at the right time then going back and forth between the instructions and the ingredient list.

But if it's a recipe I am very familiar with and know what goes in when, and I know it doesn't take long to measure out or prep the ingredient, then I just wait until that time in the process.

If I'm cooking alone, I always do my prep first and place all the ingredients in separate bowls. For me, cooking is more enjoyable when everything is laid out and ready to go.

When I cook with my husband, one of us will start cooking while the other is prepping.

Well it's not just mise en place for cooking, it's there for baking as well. At least when cooking you can make changes at the drop of a hat and nothing bad will happen. If you're off by more than 10 grams when baking the whole thing would have been a waste of time. I've definitely ruined cookies because there wasn't salted butter handy and I had to incorrectly guess how much salt to put in. Some things are very time sensitive.

That said, I still don't really do it. Mise en place is great when you want to make sure you don't forget anything. I would never have thought it had anything to do with time. More like "let's make sure I don't have to do a store run before I throw this yeast in the pot".

Yes, I do this. It's better than scrambling trying to do something while the pan is burning.

I definitely check for all of my ingredients in the cabinets before starting but no, I have never truly used mise en place because it is slower. Half the fun in cooking (for me) is the feeling that I'm "outsmarting time" I guess, that's how it feels. I get into a rhythm and can bounce around. I push it to the limit some times and head out to the garden (small yard) to pick herbs while the meat browns or the dough mixes, and when I hear sizzling from the window I head back inside. It's hectic but every second is maximized, and it makes me LOVE cooking. Downside? My cooking time is all about concentration, so when the husband comes in to make his salad or ask me questions, I have to shoo him away! It may look like I'm casually making dinner, but I'm concentrating as hard as if I'm solving a math problem!

I like cooking more when I've got things prepped. But most nights, I'm just throwing together an old recipe I've made a million times and so don't tend to do it. I also have to hand wash everything and really hate to have to wash bowl after bowl that held the various ingredients prior to them being added to the dish.

Clearly what I need is an assistant to do my chopping and my dish washing. ...anyone?...anyone?...Bueller?...

In our house, we never do mise en place. My hubby and I generally tag-team dinner with two little kids under foot and frankly, there's not that kind of time! He starts oil heating up while I chop onions, then he's grabs stuff out of the pantry while I grab a bottle for our son, then he's out in the garage grabbing something while I add the onion and stir, etc. etc. It's chaotic but we don't burn things and our food turns out well. I'm sure it's a great option for others, but it doesn't really work in our world!

For baking, yes. It's much easier to measure out stuff up front (things that get dumped in together go in the same little ramekin or dish) and then it's just a matter of mixing it all up. Besides, while I'm measuring all that other stuff, the butter can soften.

If I know the recipe by heart, I feel confident integrating prep work with cooking steps.

If you are putting together several meals, mise in place saves time and lets you know you have what it takes to do all of the meals.

Complex recipes make it important to have what you need, measured, weighed and processed, ready to go. Because of all the spices and veggies I put in chili and the amount I make, I always do a mise.

Simple evening meals, fixed on the run, not so much. You can pull this together and live with the result, especially if it's something you fix time and again.

I almost never mise unless I'm making a fast-cooking recipe. Occasionally this leads to kitchen disasters, but most of the time I'm good at estimating the amount of time for steps and prep, and it all works out. My husband always mises, and while I think it works well for the way he cooks, it also results in many more dishes to wash after the meal.

I don't do the full on "mise en place" business, but I do tend to get all of the ingredients out and put them together so that I don't forget anything (and I put them away as I use each one). I only pre-cut things if it's necessary for the timing, and often it isn't.

Mise en place works for me precisely because I have a toddler underfoot. I prep things as early as 1 to 2 hours ahead of cook-time. This method also helps me when my daughter wants to help me cook. That way I just have her dump in the ingredients that I've already measured, chopped, etc.

I'm also a clean as you go type of cook. Makes life SO much easier.

@empresscallipygos
I couldn't agree more about cleaning as you go. This has always been one of my (many) problems with Rachael Ray's show. Sure, she might get the food on the table in 30 minutes, but she'll have to spend an hour cleaning up after dinner!

I almost never do this! :) Guess I'm in the minority. It always seemed a little indulgent to dirty all those bowls on TV (and who thinks the chef is really chopping his own onions)...I just thought it was for super fast/unrealistic TV cooking, never really thought it'd work at home.

Obviously I check to see if I've got things I need, and of course sometimes the carrots and mushrooms and cabbage needs to be ready at the same time...but I don't even have the counter space to have all my ingredients out! I take each thing out, measure/add it, and put it back, in one motion. Otherwise it'd be a huge mess and I'd have no room for anything. I can see how it'd be helpful for complex recipes, but I don't make that kind of stuff anyways. Interesting that most people cook/bake this way.

sometimes. Like rosebud I have a little one and find it easier to get it done earlier. But that doesn't mean I always remember to.

If I am working on something very complex, or working on multiple dishes, I find that the quality of my dishes is better, I spend less time on them, and cleaning up as I go along is easier with mise en place. I tend not to destroy my kitchen looking for things, chopping things, getting the things into pans when everything is ready.

If you have time to prep your ingredients, it's definitely worth the convenience of having them ready to toss in when needed. For me, cooking is much more enjoyable (and successful) if I'm not scrambling to chop the next ingredient, leaving my pans sizzling unattended.

Always mise en place, always! For baking, cooking, heck even for simple meals like "wrap night" (i.e. find ingredients, add to a spinach wrap, eat). It doesn't save time, but I don't think it adds any time either: it just organizes time better such that all similar tasks are done at once (all the prep, then all the cooking). I prefer this style of cooking because it gives me a moment to think of substitutions, reconsider ingredients ("oh hey, I found some X in the fridge, i can throw that in too") and to ensure I have every essential item i need. Yes it does mean i have to rinse a couple of extra bowls that were holding chopped carrot or whatever, but i do that as i go.

I don't know if it saves me time, but it makes the cooking process so much more enjoyable and relaxing when I use mise en place. Without it, I tend to be more hectic and frenzied and likely to make a mistake. It also gives me an excuse to use my cute little bowls.

mimee25, I'm with you--I enjoy the challenge of putting everything together in an efficient way. And it's great to train your ears to listen for cues--so you can step away from the stove instead of hovering.

The tyranny of mise en place makes me _mad_. So much cooking info we get today is transmitted directly from restaurants, with virtually no concern for how people cook at home. Mise en place especially can be a colossal waste of time, and it makes cooking seem like a crazy-huge task if you're just coming into it.

In the cookbook I wrote last year, Forking Fantastic (www.forkingfantastic.com), I purposely did not use mise en place. The recipes are like Sarah Moulton's (or hers are like mine! :)), with a list of untouched ingredients, and instructions in the text for when to deal with them. If more recipes were written like this, I think it would be easier for people to learn to cook.

I also did a podcast last year, Cooking in Real Time (www.cookinginrealtime.com), that takes this same approach--definitely chopping while frying, and training your ears to listen for sizzling...and cleaning as you go! You can still make a whole dinner in 45 minutes.

You know what's really interesting? All recipes in Germany are already written this way - it's wonderful!

The ingredients don't include the prep steps, the recipe does! So the list reads "200 grams of tomatoes" instead of "2 cups of chopped tomatoes". It makes shopping AND cooking easier.

And then the recipe would read "put water on to boil, salt it, and then dice your tomatoes. Add oil to a pan and while it is heating, mince garlic. Add garlic to the pan..."

I always wondered how the US American style of recipe writing came to be - it always seemed so impractical to me...

I had never even heard of real people doing this until a few years ago. I just assumed it was something TV chefs did to make the production smoother. I've been cooking since I was four, so I'm usually pretty good at gauging how long something will take. I always chop and measure as I go. I'm far too lazy to wash the extra dishes that are required for mise en place, and I don't have the counter space to lay out all the little bowls.

I never thought people actually did this! I only do it when I am cooking a new recipe, or when I have a ton of time to prep food on a Saturday afternoon. It's a waste of dishes, first of all; and secondly, I don't find it necessary whatsoever as long as I give a little thought to the interweaving of chopping and cooking.

If I am making an elaborate meal I usually prep as much as I can before I start cooking. It makes it easier if all my chopping is done to use the "downtime" in the recipe to do the dishes so I am not left with a huge pileup in the sink when I am done.

I also freeze some chopped up veggies if I don't use the whole thing. We almost always have a bag of minced onions in the freezer for when you just don't want to spend time chopping things up.

I also really learned a lot from the knife skills video below. It makes chopping things just a little bit easier when you use the knife correctly! Makes me wish I lived in Brooklyn so I could take his classes!

http://www.hungrynation.tv/wcfoodies/episode/WCF_20100405/knife-skills-how-to-make-a-chicken-tagine-casserole

I get all the ingredients out and lined up, but I often chop as I go, especially if I'm making something like soup, where I would prep the ingredients that had to cook the longest first, then the later ingredients.

But more often than not? My cooking's not elaborate or time-sensitive enough to warrant mise en place.

Making sure you at least have all your ingredients BEFORE you start? Now that's important. :)

I agree with empresscalipygos - I do a full mise en place, so that I can keep the timing right as I cook, but I clean up while the food is cooking (or at least clear the counters, start the dishwasher, and get all the dirty stuff into the sink). The last thing I want to do after I eat is clean everything up!

If possible, delegate kitchen tasks to whoever else is around - saves time and energy, and is practically essential if cooking for large numbers

Always a full mise en place and clean up as I go. Less frustration.

It doesn't help me save any time, but it does have two benefits:

1) It makes it harder to forget to put an ingredient in.

2) It prevents the horrible feeling of "Oh no! The _______ is already cooking, and I just realized I don't have enough of _______ for the recipe! Now I'll have to turn off/tosst/etc. what's in the pot so I can run to the store!"

When I grow up *yah, not happnin because Im already over 50* I plan to do this instead of cooking/flying by the seat of my pants so to speak! :)

Garlic and onion go in everything I cook (which seems to be why nobody wants dessert at my house). If that's all that needs prep, I forego my little bowls.

Anything beyond that and I always, but always, prep everything first. Have since I was a kid.

Oh, and for me it saves a metric crap-ton of time.

Rachael Ray is always talking about prepping your food when you get home from the store. This is possibly my favorite cooking tip ever. It requires that you plan at least a few of your week's meals, but it works.

I print out my week's recipes and make a list of what I can prep ahead of time. Mostly it involves chopping, slicing, and dicing. I chop meat, garlic, onions, and other vegetables, and prepare marinades and dressings. If I'm feeling particularly industrious, I'll measure out any spices or flour I might need into plastic bags or containers. When it's time to cook, I only need to dump ingredients in at the right times!

It should be noted that labeling is key for this.

Unless the recipe is five ingredients or less I always mise en place. I'm ADD as it is, so I have to.

I'm fascinated by this idea of prepping food when you get home from the store. I always thought that vitamins 'leak' out of your vegetables as soon as you cut into them, more so the smaller they're cut. So I invariably prep at the last minute, but I love the idea of having a week's worth of diced onions or tomatoes or carrots ready to go. What is the real science on this?

I mise en place on Sundays for the week - chop all the onions, carrots, celery etc. for what I'll need later on. I also do prep in the morning before I go to work. I know it's not what you see on the TV shows but it's still "setting up" before I begin to cook, just not immediatly before. It makes getting dinner on the table when I get home from work so much easier.

mise en place? ha! cooking is a fiery speed sport! garlic burning? WELL BETTER GET CHOPPING ON THOSE ONIONS THEN MRS. CHILD!

It's too fussy for me, and since I often make up recipes as I go, how can I know what to prep?

I've never gotten into using tiny bowls for prep. It seems like it just makes more work for me in the end.

I just prep stuff as I go. And with some dishes where you know you need to add something, then something, then something... I'll go ahead and prep all the veggies on the cutting board or pull out the ingredients I need in advance. No little bowls required.

Mise en place!

Why are you chopping onions while burning garlic?? I've been told to always start with onions, as you have up to a five minute gap before they're properly browned, then the quick to burn garlic jumps in.

@emel3srk couldn't have put it better.

Mise en place!! I use it in everything I cook, but not to save time overall. The first time I did it, I learned that in no way, shape, or form does it save time. It takes a while to chop all those onions, and I figure that amount of time into the whole recipe. I use it so that I'm prepared to add ingredients when I am ready to, not when they are ready to be added, and nothing burns anymore! Plus, I like the way it looks to have all my little bowls and open cans and measuring cups lined up along side the stove waiting to go.

Mise en place for me!

My cooking has gotten better, as I find it more relaxing. I also find that it allows for the opportunity to bring some spontaneity into preparation, as I will have the ability to think more about what I'm working on at that moment.

I also clean as I go. I've got a small kitchen, and want to treat my tools with the utmost respect.

On the other hand, my husband doesn't use mise en place or clean as he goes. This is why we don't have the "you cook, I'll clean" deal. I'd end up on the losing end every time!

I almost never mise. For stir fries, but not otherwise. Maybe if someone bought me a dishwasher, but otherwise, what would I do with the time while waiting for the previous ingredient to cook? And the way to avoid burning your garlic is to save it for close to the end -- garlic shouldn't go in too early anyway, or it loses its essential garlic nature.

For cooking, I do a modified mise en scene. I get everything out so I don't forget an ingredient. Then I prep in waves, depending on stages.

For baking, a do a fill mise en scene.

New recipe: full-on mise.
Made it 100 times: I know how long I've got while X is in the pan before I need Y, so I can fudge.

When I was a kid, one Seattle station had a woman named Bea Donovan demonstrating a recipe as part of one program; everything was laid out on a tray in its own little container (classic 'mise', I guess) and gawd, but she looked bored, like having laid it all out took all the fun out of actually cooking.

I think (YMMV) the only time ingredients really need to be ready in advance is if you have to do something that requires cooking different veg to the same texture, like carrots and zucchini in a stir fry or something needs to go in at a specific place in the cooking process. Otherwise, I toss everything on the counter so I don't forget anything and have it right at hand when I measure/cut and put away as I go as best I can. If you know how a recipe goes together after cooking it a time or two, you kind of get the idea that while X is happening, it's the perfect time to do Y.

I always set out all ingredients - I learned to do that way the heck back in 4H in the 1960s LOL. I prepare the 'fiddly' stuff - mince, julienne, chop. I often don't use the full 'one bowl per ingredient' routine. If the chopped veggies (for example) are going in all together, they are in one pile together.

If there are a lot of spices, I'll premeasure - but again, if they are going in at the same time (sifted in with the flour, for example), everything's in the same dish. But I measure as I go on everything else.