Crumble

Crumbling means breaking food into small, irregular fragments or crumbs with your fingers, a fork, or by hand. It is a rough, casual action rather than a precise cut, producing loose bits of varying size rather than uniform pieces. The term applies to soft, friable foods that come apart easily, such as cheese, cooked bacon, cake, or crackers.

You crumble feta or blue cheese over a salad, crumble cooked sausage into a pasta sauce, or crumble cookies to make a crust or a dessert topping. The technique is simple but the food's temperature matters: firm cheeses crumble best when cold, while cooked bacon crumbles cleanly once it has cooled and crisped. For an even scatter, crumble the food directly over the dish so the pieces fall in a natural, loose layer rather than clumping together in one spot.