flour
das Mehl, die Mehle
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flour
A fine powder produced by grinding grains, especially wheat, and used as a basic ingredient for baking bread, cakes, and other dough products.
Für diesen Pizzateig benötigst du Mehl, Wasser, Hefe und Salz.
For this pizza dough, you need flour, water, yeast, and salt.
meal / powder
A powder obtained by grinding other solid substances, for example bone meal or fish meal.
Knochenmehl ist ein organischer Dünger, der reich an Phosphor ist.
Bone meal is an organic fertilizer that is rich in phosphorus.
| gender | neuter das |
|---|---|
| plural | die Mehle |
| genitive | des Mehls |
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | das Mehl | die Mehle |
| accusative | das Mehl | die Mehle |
| dative | dem Mehl | den Mehlen |
| genitive | des Mehls des Mehles | der Mehle |
The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.
'Mehl' (flour) is closely related to the verb 'mahlen' (to grind), which means 'to grind something into powder.' Flour is therefore the result of grinding.
In der alten Mühle wird heute noch Getreide zu Mehl gemahlen.
In the old mill, grain is still ground into flour today.
'Mehl' (flour) is a substance noun and therefore usually uncountable. It is generally used without an article and in the singular when talking about the substance in general.
Hast du noch Mehl zu Hause? Ich möchte einen Kuchen backen.
Do you still have flour at home? I want to bake a cake.
Für dieses Rezept braucht man 500 Gramm Mehl.
For this recipe, you need 500 grams of flour.
In the context of baking and cooking, 'Mehl' (flour) is often used with verbs such as 'sieben' (to sift), 'zugeben' (to add), 'kneten' (to knead), or 'mit etwas vermischen' (to mix with something).
Bevor du den Teig machst, solltest du das Mehl sieben.
Before you make the dough, you should sift the flour.
Gib das Mehl langsam zum Wasser hinzu.
Add the flour slowly to the water.
When 'Mehl' (meal/powder) is not made from grain, this is almost always made clear by a compound word. Look out for words such as 'Knochenmehl' (bone meal), 'Fischmehl' (fish meal), or 'Gesteinsmehl' (rock flour).
Fischmehl wird oft als Tierfutter verwendet.
Fish meal is often used as animal feed.
