60 cooking answers · 9 categories
what is…
baking
- What is autolyse in bread baking?
Autolyse is a 20-60 minute rest of flour + water (only) before adding salt or yeast. The flour fully hydrates and enzymes break down starches.
- What is gluten development?
Gluten development is the formation of an elastic protein network from wheat flour proteins (gliadin + glutenin) when mixed with water.
business
- What is customer acquisition cost (CAC)?
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is total sales + marketing spend divided by new customers acquired in that period.
- What is product-market fit?
Product-Market Fit (PMF): you have it when ≥40% of users say they would be "very disappointed" if your product disappeared (Sean Ellis test, 2009).
- What is monthly recurring revenue (MRR)?
MRR is the predictable monthly revenue from active subscriptions, normalized to a monthly basis.
- What is annual recurring revenue (ARR)?
ARR is the annualized value of all active subscription contracts at a point in time. Simply: MRR × 12.
- What is customer lifetime value (LTV)?
LTV (Lifetime Value, sometimes CLV) is the total profit one customer generates over their entire relationship with you.
- What is churn rate?
Churn rate is the % of customers (or revenue) you LOSE in a given period. Customer churn = customers lost / customers at period start.
- What is Net Promoter Score (NPS)?
NPS is a single-question survey measuring customer loyalty: "On a 0-10 scale, how likely are you to recommend us to a friend?" Promoters…
- What is gross margin?
Gross margin is revenue minus cost of goods sold (COGS), expressed as a percentage of revenue.
- What is burn rate?
Burn rate is how fast a company spends cash, usually measured per month. Gross burn is total monthly cash out; net burn is cash out minus cash in.
- What is runway?
Runway is how many months a company can keep operating before it runs out of cash: current cash ÷ net monthly burn.
- What is net margin?
Net margin (net profit margin) is net profit divided by revenue, as a percentage — what remains after ALL costs: COGS, operating expenses, interest, and tax.
- What is contribution margin?
Contribution margin is revenue minus all VARIABLE costs — the amount each sale "contributes" toward covering fixed costs and then profit.
- What is conversion rate?
Conversion rate is the percentage of people who take a desired action out of those who had the chance to. Formula: (conversions ÷ total visitors) × 100.
- What is ARPU?
ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) is total revenue divided by number of users over a period. Formula: revenue ÷ active users.
- What is burn multiple?
Burn multiple is net cash burned divided by net new ARR added in a period — how much you spend to add one dollar of recurring revenue.
- What is value-based pricing?
Value-based pricing sets the price according to the value a product creates for the customer — what they are willing to pay — rather than its cost…
- What is price anchoring?
Price anchoring is a cognitive bias where the first price you see (the anchor) shapes how you judge every later price.
- What is the decoy effect?
The decoy effect (asymmetric dominance) is when adding a third, deliberately inferior option makes one of the original two look more attractive…
- What is the Eisenhower Matrix?
The Eisenhower Matrix is a 2×2 grid that sorts tasks by urgency and importance into four quadrants — Do (urgent + important), Schedule (important, not urgent)…
- What is time blocking?
Time blocking is scheduling your day into dedicated blocks, each assigned to a specific task or type of work, instead of working from an open to-do list.
- What is the Pareto principle (80/20 rule)?
The Pareto principle — the 80/20 rule — observes that roughly 80% of results come from about 20% of causes.
- What is a sales-qualified lead (SQL)?
A sales-qualified lead (SQL) is a prospect that marketing has vetted and sales has accepted as worth pursuing — one who has shown enough fit and intent…
- What is a sales pipeline?
A sales pipeline is the stage-by-stage view of every open deal — from first contact through to close.
- What is sales velocity?
Sales velocity measures how fast revenue moves through your pipeline.
cooking
- What is umami?
Umami is the fifth basic taste — the savory, meaty, deeply satisfying flavor from glutamate amino acid.
- What is the Maillard reaction?
The Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction between amino acids + reducing sugars in food, accelerated by heat (250-350°F+).
- What is pasteurization?
Pasteurization is a heat treatment that kills pathogenic bacteria, yeasts, and molds in food + beverages while preserving flavor + texture.
fermentation
- What is cloudy brine in a fermentation jar?
Cloudy brine is normally a sign the ferment is working — it is suspended lactic-acid bacteria plus starch and cellular material released by the vegetables.
finance-light
- What is compound interest?
Compound interest is interest earned on both the principal AND previously-earned interest. Formula: A = P(1 + r/n)^(nt).
- What is inflation?
Inflation is the rate at which prices rise over time, reducing purchasing power. Measured via CPI (Consumer Price Index) in the US.
- What is an ETF (exchange-traded fund)?
An ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund) is a basket of securities — stocks, bonds, commodities, or a mix — that trades on a stock exchange like a single stock.
- What is an index fund?
An index fund is a mutual fund or ETF that passively tracks a market index (S&P 500, total stock market, etc.) instead of trying to beat it.
- What is dividend yield?
Dividend yield is annual dividend per share divided by stock price, expressed as a percentage.
- What is APR?
APR (Annual Percentage Rate) is the yearly cost of borrowing as a percentage — it bundles the interest rate PLUS required fees…
- What is APY?
APY (Annual Percentage Yield) is the yearly return on savings INCLUDING the effect of compounding — the true rate you actually earn.
- What is amortization?
Amortization is paying off a loan through fixed regular payments split between interest and principal.
- What are mortgage points?
Mortgage (discount) points are an upfront fee you pay the lender to lower your loan's interest rate.
- What is a mortgage escrow account?
A mortgage escrow account is where your lender's servicer holds money for property taxes and homeowners insurance.
- What is a zero-based budget?
A zero-based budget gives every dollar of take-home income a specific job — spending, saving, or debt — until income minus all assignments equals zero.
- What is a sinking fund?
A sinking fund is money set aside a little at a time toward a specific, known, future expense — so the cost is pre-funded instead of arriving as a shock.
- What is a savings rate?
Your savings rate is the share of take-home income you save: savings divided by take-home pay.
- What is a debt-to-income ratio?
Your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio is your total monthly debt payments divided by your gross monthly income, as a percentage.
- What is net worth?
Net worth is everything you own (assets) minus everything you owe (liabilities) at a single point in time.
- What is the debt snowball method?
The debt snowball pays minimums on every debt and puts all extra money toward the smallest balance first; each payoff rolls its payment into the next debt.
- What is dollar-cost averaging?
Dollar-cost averaging invests a fixed amount at regular intervals rather than all at once, buying more shares when prices are low and fewer when high.
general
- What is the best telescope for a beginner?
The consensus pick among astronomy educators is a 6–8 inch Dobsonian reflector: the most aperture per dollar on the simplest possible mount.
health
- What is REM sleep?
REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep is the sleep stage where most vivid dreaming occurs, the brain is highly active, and the body is temporarily paralyzed (atonia).
- What is the circadian rhythm?
The circadian rhythm is the body’s internal ~24-hour clock that regulates sleep, alertness, hormone release, body temperature, and metabolism.
- What is VO2 max?
VO2 max is the maximum rate at which your body can take in and use oxygen during intense exercise…
- What is progressive overload?
Progressive overload is the training principle of gradually increasing the demand placed on the body so it keeps adapting.
pets
- What is a cat-safe houseplant?
Per the ASPCA's toxic-plant database: spider plants, Boston ferns, areca and parlor palms, calathea, peperomia, African violets…
self-help
- What is deep work?
Deep Work (Cal Newport, 2016): "Professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their…
- What is flow state?
Flow is a mental state of complete absorption in an activity, identified by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in 1975 — time distorts…
- What is procrastination?
Procrastination is voluntarily delaying an intended task despite expecting to be worse off for the delay.
- What is a growth mindset?
A growth mindset is the belief that abilities can be developed through effort, strategy, and feedback — coined by psychologist Carol Dweck.
- What are atomic habits?
Atomic habits are small, foundational routines — the basic units of a larger system of behaviour — that compound over time.
- What is habit stacking?
Habit stacking is a behavior-change technique that anchors a new habit to an existing one using the formula "After [CURRENT HABIT]…
- What are keystone habits?
Keystone habits are routines that trigger a cascade of other positive changes.