A technique of lightly sprinkling or coating food with a fine powder, such as flour, powdered sugar, cocoa, or spices, either for preparation before cooking or as a finishing touch for presentation. The application should be light and even.
From Old English 'dust,' originally meaning fine particles of matter. The culinary application developed as cooks adopted the term to describe the light, particle-like application of dry ingredients, emphasizing the delicate, barely-there quality of proper dusting.
Dusting is all about restraint and technique—whether you're dusting fish with flour before pan-frying or finishing a dessert with powdered sugar, the goal is an almost imperceptible layer that enhances without overwhelming. Professional pastry chefs often use fine-mesh sieves or even tea strainers to achieve that perfect, snow-like dusting that looks effortless but requires real skill to execute evenly.
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