Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
light
English answer:
consistency - not heavy
English term
Italy
Translator for the publishing industry
Native in: Italian 
Works in: English to Italian, Spanish to Italian, Portuguese to Italian, and 1 more.
light
Could you please help me to solve a doubt?
Many times, when talking about batters for muffins, cupcakes and cakes or butter and sugar mix, I find the term "light". It is usually paired with another adjective, mainly "light and fluffly" or "light and creamy" or "light and smooth". I was wondering if light in this context refers to colour or consistency. I tend to think about consistency because in some cases I found "pale" which is certainly referred to colour, but I would like to hear the opinion of mothertongue speakers!
Thank you very much for your help and best wishes,
Laura
| 4 +11 | consistency - not heavy |
Jenni Lukac (X)
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| 4 +2 | airy |
Tina Vonhof (X)
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| 4 | both colour and texture! |
British Diana
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Nov 4, 2012 18:31: Catharine Cellier-Smart changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"
Non-PRO (3): Lindsay Spratt, PoveyTrans (X), Catharine Cellier-Smart
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Responses
consistency - not heavy
| agree |
JaneD
1 min
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Thanks very much, Jane. Have a good afternoon.
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| agree |
kmtext
8 mins
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Thanks, kmtext.
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| agree |
Tony M
14 mins
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Thanks, Tony.
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| agree |
Carol Gullidge
15 mins
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Thanks, Carol.
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| agree |
Demi Ebrite
17 mins
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Thanks, Demi.
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| agree |
P.L.F. Persio
1 hr
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Thanks very much, missdutch.
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| agree |
Lindsay Spratt
1 hr
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Thanks very much, Lindsay.
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| agree |
PoveyTrans (X)
1 hr
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Thanks very much, Simon.
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| agree |
Catharine Cellier-Smart
3 hrs
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Thanks very much, Catherine.
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| agree |
Daniel Weston
3 hrs
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Cheers and thanks, Daniel.
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| agree |
Phong Le
11 hrs
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Thank you very much, Phong.
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airy
| agree |
Carol Gullidge
: this works too, although Jenni had really already answered the question: colour or consistency
9 mins
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Thank you Carol. I had not seen Jenni's answer while I was still thinking of the best explanation.
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| agree |
P.L.F. Persio
1 hr
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Thank you missdutch.
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Germany
enthusiast
Native in: English (Variant: British) 
Works in: German to English, English to German, English, and 1 more.
both colour and texture!
| neutral |
Tony M
: Although that certainly may fortuitously be true in some circumstances, I honestly don't believe that the colour is what is usually meant by 'light' in this sort of expression. Yes, sometimes; but usually 'pale', 'white', not 'light'. Often eggs + sugar
17 mins
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Tony, I'm sure I've read a recipe which told you to go on beating the batter until it became lighter in colour. Unfortunately I don't know where to look for this piece of evidence..
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Discussion
The opposite of 'heavy' or 'gloopy'...