What does deconstructed mean when discussing food?

Deconstruction is just that, taking something apart to find out what's in it so you can make your own without knowing anything about how the original was made. My mom was a case on point with her mother and mother-in-law. She would watch and record what each did in the kitchen so she did not have to deconstruct what each made for dinner. Neither of my grandmothers ever wrote down any recipe and could NOT describe what they did, so my mom would literally measure out what their "handfull" was in another measure. Both of my grandmothers had calibrated hands and never used traditional measuring devices like a measuring cup. They both literally cooked from memory using their calibrated hands as the only measuring device. I learned to be good in the kitchen from my mother and grandmothers. If I have a recipe, I can do a reasonably good job, but I am a miserable failure at deconstructing a dish made by someone else.
 
This is a term thrown around in food preparation. It's "chef speak" for re-creating a dish. When we talk about "deconstructing" that means to take the original recipe to a new level. Literally, taking it apart and putting it back together again.

Example: New England Clam Chowder. There is a basic recipe and there are variations on the theme. You can vary the basic recipe to make it your own, but to deconstruct means to go out of the box.

Perhaps a creamy seafood chowder with braised fennel and chunks of fried chorizo.

or maybe adding steamed artichokes and spinach

see what I mean?

I hope so
 
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