the.com/fold in
The gentle cousin of stirring, defined by everyone except those who say it most.
means To combine a delicate ingredient into a mixture using slow, lifting strokes rather than vigorous stirring, so the air stays trapped and the batter stays light.
from A plain compound of "fold" and "in," both old workhorses of English. "Fold" descends from Old English "fealdan," meaning to bend or lay one part over another — the same gesture you make with cloth or paper. Cooks borrowed that bending motion for the kitchen, where you literally fold the batter over itself rather than beating it. The phrasal sense is purely descriptive: you are folding something in.
- meaning
- Combine without deflating the airy bits
- the tool
- A rubber spatula, sweeping in a J-shape
- why bother
- Crushed air means flat soufflés and dense cakes
- pop culture
- Schitt's Creek turned it into comedy gold
- opposite
- Vigorous beating, which it quietly forbids
fold in the hand — poker term where a player discards their cards and exits the current hand
fold in baking — technique of gently combining ingredients like whipped egg whites into batter without deflating