Learn Hardcore German: Ohne Mixer dauert die Soße länger, aber die Köchin kennt jede Zutat und passt die Portionen an. - Without a blender the sauce takes longer, but the cook knows every ingredient and adjusts the portions.

ohne Mixer = without a mixer / without any mixer (in general)
- This sounds more generic and is very common with mit/ohne in everyday German.
- Similar to English: We cook without salt (not without a salt).
ohne einen Mixer = without a (particular) mixer
- Slightly more specific, like there is one particular mixer you don’t have available.

In many fixed or semi‑fixed expressions with mit and ohne, German often omits the indefinite article:

mit Messer und Gabel – with a knife and fork
ohne Zucker – without sugar
ohne Mixer – without a mixer

What case does ohne take, and how does that affect Mixer?

The preposition ohne always takes the accusative case.

The base form is der Mixer (masculine noun).
Accusative singular with article is den Mixer.

So the fully “visible” form would be:

ohne den Mixer – without the mixer

When you drop the article (as in the sentence), the noun Mixer itself doesn’t change its form in the accusative, so you simply get:

ohne Mixer

Why is it Ohne Mixer dauert die Soße länger and not Ohne Mixer die Soße dauert länger?

German main clauses follow the verb-second (V2) rule:

The finite verb (here: dauert) must be in second position in the sentence.

A whole phrase can occupy the first position. Here, the prepositional phrase Ohne Mixer is in the first position, so the verb must come next:

Ohne Mixer – position 1 (a prepositional phrase)
dauert – position 2 (finite verb)
die Soße – position 3 (subject)
länger – rest of the clause (adverb)

So Ohne Mixer dauert die Soße länger is correct word order.
Ohne Mixer die Soße dauert länger breaks the V2 rule and is wrong.

What exactly does dauern mean here? Could I use another verb instead?

dauern means “to last / to take (time)”.

Die Soße dauert länger.
Literally: The sauce lasts longer.
Natural English: The sauce takes longer (to make).

You could also say:

Die Soße braucht länger. – The sauce needs/takes longer.
Die Soße ist aufwendiger. – The sauce is more elaborate.

But dauern is the most direct equivalent of English “to take (time)” in this context.

Why is Soße written with ß? Is Sauce also possible?

Yes, both words exist:

die Soße
- Traditional German spelling, pronounced like “zo-se”.
- ß represents a long s sound after a long vowel or diphthong.
die Sauce
- A loanword from French/English.
- Also means “sauce” and is often used in more “fancy” or international contexts (e.g., Tomatensauce, Béchamelsauce).

In everyday cooking German, Soße is very common. The sentence would still be correct if you wrote Sauce instead:
Ohne Mixer dauert die Sauce länger …

What is länger grammatically, and why not something like mehr lang?

länger is the comparative form of the adjective/adverb lang (long).

lang – long
länger – longer
am längsten – (the) longest

German (like English) uses comparative forms, not mehr + adjective in cases like this:

Die Soße dauert lang. – The sauce takes a long time.
Die Soße dauert länger. – The sauce takes longer.

Using mehr lang here would be incorrect (*mehr lang).

Why is there a comma before aber, and does aber change the word order?

aber is a coordinating conjunction (like but in English). In German:

It normally connects two main clauses.
It gets a comma before it.
It does not change the verb-second rule in the clause that follows.

So we get:

…, aber die Köchin kennt jede Zutat …
- die Köchin – position 1 (subject)
- kennt – position 2 (finite verb)

This is why the word order after aber looks just like an ordinary main clause.

Why is it aber and not sondern?

Both aber and sondern can translate as but, but they’re used differently:

aber = but / however
- Introduces a contrast or limitation.
- The first part is still true; the second part adds something contrasting.
sondern = but rather / but instead
- Corrects or replaces something that was said (typically after a negation).

Examples:

Es dauert länger, aber die Köchin kennt jede Zutat.
It takes longer, but the cook knows every ingredient. (both clauses are true)
Es ist nicht der Koch, sondern die Köchin.
It is not the male cook, but rather the female cook. (replacement)

In the sentence, nothing is being corrected; a contrast is being added, so aber is the right choice.

Why is it die Köchin and not der Koch?

German has gendered job titles:

der Koch – the (male) cook
die Köchin – the (female) cook

The use of die Köchin tells you that the cook is female. The definite article:

die = nominative singular feminine
matches Köchin, which is a feminine noun.

So die Köchin simply means the (female) cook or the cook (who is a woman).

Why is it kennt jede Zutat and not kennt jeden Zutat or kennt jede Zutate?

Several things are going on:

Gender of Zutat
- die Zutat – ingredient (feminine noun).
Case of Zutat
- In kennt jede Zutat, Zutat is the direct object of kennt → accusative case.
Ending of jede-
- Feminine singular nominative and accusative both use jede.
- So you get:
  - jede Zutat – every/each ingredient (subject or object, singular, feminine)
No plural here
- The plural of die Zutat is die Zutaten.
- If it were plural, it would be alle Zutaten (all ingredients), not jede Zutate.
- Zutate is not a correct form.

So kennt jede Zutat literally means “knows each ingredient” and is grammatically:

kennt – verb (3rd person singular)
jede – determiner, feminine accusative singular
Zutat – noun, feminine accusative singular

Why is jede singular when in English we often say “knows all the ingredients”?

German (like English) can express this idea in two slightly different ways:

kennt jede Zutat – knows each ingredient (singular with jede)
kennt alle Zutaten – knows all the ingredients (plural with alle)

Both emphasize thorough knowledge, but:

jede Zutat focuses on each individual ingredient.
alle Zutaten focuses on the whole set.

The sentence chose jede Zutat to stress that the cook is familiar with every single ingredient.

What’s going on with passt … an? Why is an at the end?

anpassen is a separable verb:

infinitive: anpassen – to adjust, to adapt
stem: pass-
separable prefix: an

In a main clause in the present or simple past, separable verbs split:

The finite verb (conjugated part) goes in second position.
The prefix moves to the end of the clause.

So:

Sie passt die Portionen an. – She adjusts the portions.
- passt – position 2
- die Portionen – object(s) in the middle
- an – at the end

In a structure where the verb is at the end (e.g. infinitive, subordinate clause), it stays together:

Sie will die Portionen anpassen. – She wants to adjust the portions.
…, weil sie die Portionen anpasst. – … because she adjusts the portions.

Why is it die Portionen and not die Portion?

Both are possible, but they mean slightly different things:

die Portion (singular) – one portion, one serving
die Portionen (plural) – portions, multiple servings

passt die Portionen an suggests that:

The cook is dealing with multiple servings (for several people, or different dish sizes).
She adjusts all the individual portions as needed (for guests, for diets, etc.).

If the sentence were passt die Portion an, it would sound like she is adjusting only one specific portion.

What case and number is die Portionen, and how do we know?

Portionen is:

Plural of die Portion (portion, serving).
In the sentence, it is the direct object of passt an → accusative plural.

For feminine nouns, the plural with the article die looks the same in nominative and accusative:

Nominative plural: die Portionen sind klein. – The portions are small.
Accusative plural: Sie passt die Portionen an. – She adjusts the portions.

We know it’s accusative here because it receives the action of the verb (passt … an).

Could the sentence also be Ohne einen Mixer dauert die Soße länger, aber die Köchin kennt alle Zutaten und passt die Portion an? How would that change the nuance?

Yes, that version is grammatically fine, but the nuances shift:

ohne einen Mixer
- Slightly more specific: emphasizes without a (particular) mixer rather than “without mixers in general”.
kennt alle Zutaten
- Focuses on the collection as a whole (all the ingredients) rather than “each individual ingredient”.
passt die Portion an
- Suggests she is adjusting one portion (e.g. a single serving for one person), not several portions.

The original version:

ohne Mixer – more generic
jede Zutat – stresses each individual ingredient
die Portionen – multiple servings

So the original sentence paints a picture of a cook who individually knows every ingredient and adjusts several portions as needed.