Koktider

Koktider, literally “cooking times” in Swedish, is a culinary term used to indicate how long a dish or ingredient needs to be heated, cooked, or processed to reach the intended doneness or texture. In home cooking and professional recipe development, koktider are used alongside prep times and total times to help plan steps and coordinate meal preparation. The times are typically given in minutes or hours and may refer to a specific method (boiling, steaming, baking, frying) or to a target state (firmness, tenderness, internal temperature).

Factors that influence koktider include the cooking method, the size, shape, and starting temperature of the pieces, the amount and temperature of cooking liquid, altitude, equipment efficiency, and the desired level of doneness. Because these variables vary, koktider are approximate and are often presented as a range or with notes such as “until tender” or “al dente.”

Common examples (approximate ranges) include: potatoes in chunks 15–20 minutes; carrots 8–12 minutes; leafy greens 2–5 minutes; pasta 8–12 minutes; rice 15–20 minutes; chicken breasts 12–15 minutes (boiled) or 18–25 minutes (baked); salmon fillet 6–10 minutes; eggs hard-boiled 9–12 minutes.

In digital recipes and cooking apps, koktider frequently appear as metadata alongside prep time, total time, and yield, aiding meal planning and the coordination of multiple cooking steps. In Swedish cooking literature, koktider may be linked to specific techniques such as boiling, steaming, frying, or baking.