ajouter versus rajouter

[alan gould]

i guess if i'm cooking and i'm told to add wine (for the first time), that's "ajouter" and if i then add more of it, that's "rajouter"?  correct?  

[Chantal Savignat]

to add wine in the dish ?

in cooking there is a specific vocabulary in french. We don't joke with cooking. ;-)

if you add wine in the dish for the first time you probably read "déglacer", if you add a lot of wine it's "mouiller".

But you may find "ajouter" or "rajouter" without rules. The most used is "ajouter".  "ajouter" is to add and rajouter is to add again. But a  lot of people don't do difference between these two words in this situation. Because for exemple  in a dish you  put carrots and you add potatoes and meat. So when you add wine, you may consider that you add wine for the first time, so it's "ajouter". But you may consider that you add again something to something so it's "rajouter".

But in cooking, there is a big big probability that you read "déglacer".

[alan gould]

actually i went to a french cooking school (in new york) so i'm familiar w the terminology.  i shouldn't have used wine as my example.  but as i suspected, if i add something for the first time, i will "ajouter" and if i add more of the ingredients i already added, that will b "rajouter"