Garzeit

Garzeit is a term used in cooking and culinary literature to denote the duration required for food to reach the desired level of doneness or safety. The word comes from German garen (to cook) and Zeit (time) and appears in recipe instructions, kitchen guidelines, and food-science discussions as a measure of how long a dish should cook under specified conditions.

Garzeit is conditionally variable. It depends on factors such as size and shape, starting temperature, moisture and fat content, cooking method (boiling, baking, steaming, frying), and equipment (stove, oven, grill). As a result, garzeiten are typically given as ranges rather than a single value.

In practice, examples of garzeit ranges can be found across foods: pasta often requires 8–12 minutes; vegetables 5–15 minutes depending on cut and method; and meats require longer times with internal temperature checks to ensure safety and preferred level of doneness.

In culinary literature, garzeit is used alongside related concepts such as doneness and cooking time, and it is linked to food safety guidelines that specify minimum internal temperatures for various foods.

See also: Doneness; Cooking time; Food safety.