DASH. OF. THIS. AND. THAT

CULINARY GLOSSARY

 

 

 

 

 

 

Al Dente: Firm, not soft to the bite. Especially for pasta.

 

Bake: To cook with dry heat.

 

Barbecue:   Meat, food usually cooked outdoors on an open rack over a low heat, 190 – 300° F (93 – 150° C), low and slow, takes a few hours.

 

Baste:  To moisten foods by brushing or pouring melted fat, drippings, sauces or liquids over it. 

 

Béarnaise: A sauce made of butter and egg yolks, usually flavored lemon or vinegar, shallots, tarragon and peppercorns.

 

Beat:  Adding air to a mixture and making it smooth by brisk repetitive motion.

 

Béchamel: A sauce made by thickening milk with a roux.

 

Bain-Marie: a container holding hot water into which a pan is placed for slow cooking.  

 

Beurre Manie (Burr Mahnyay): A mixture of equal parts  butter and flour mixed together into a smooth paste.

 

Bisque: A rich cream soup.

 

Blanch: To partially cook with boiling water or fat.

 

Blend:  To mix ingredients until each loses it identity.

 

Bloom: To soften gelatin in warm liquid before use.

 

Boil: To cook in water or liquid that is vigorously bubbling, @212º Farenheit  / 100º Celsius. 

 

Bonbon: a sweet dipped in fondant or melted chocolate.

 

Bordelaise: A brown sauce flavored with a reduction of red wine, shallots, pepper and herbs.

 

Bouillabaise:  A chowder made of different fish and white wine.

 

Bouillon: clear delicately seasoned soup usually made with beef stock.

 

Braise: To cook covered in a small amount of liquid, usually after preliminary browning.

 

Brew:  to steep in liquid to extract flavor.  Ie: tea

 

Broil:  Cook food by exposing it to direct heat.

 

Brown Roux:  A cooked mixture of equal parts flour and fat that is lightly browned.

 

Bur noise (Broo nwahz): Cut into very small (1/8 inch) dice.

 

Butterfly: A method of cutting to flatten meat.  Usually a thick piece of meat is cut partially down the center and sliced horizontally just to open each side flat, like wings of a butterfly. 

 

Canapé:  An appetizer made with a small slice of bread, spread with flavorful food.

 

Carmelization: The browning of sugars caused by heat. 

 

Certified Organic:  Grown without the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers and pesticides. 

 

Cheesecloth:  A fine mesh gauze.  

 

Chiffonade:  Finely shredded.  Usually herbs or vegetables.

 

Chop: To cut into smaller pieces.  

 

Chowder:  A hearty soup sometimes made from seafood, potatoes, milk and/or vegetables.

 

Clarified Butter:  Butter which has been melted and rested so that the butter solids sink to the bottom. The clear liquid remaining is clarified butter.

 

Coagulation:  The curdling of protein, usually from heat or acid.

 

Combine:  To mix ingredients.

 

Compound Butter:  A mixture of raw butter and a flavored ingredient/s.

 

Compote: Usually sweetened stewed fruits.

 

Confit:  Meat cooked and preserved in its own fat.  Goose, duck or pork.

 

Consommé:  A clarified rich seasoned soup usually made from meats.

 

Coq au Vin:  A French dish made with chicken braised in wine.

 

Cream:  To work foods together until soft and fluffy.  Ie: Butter and sugar

 

Cream Soup: A thickened soup that milk or cream.

 

Crème Anglaise:  A custard sauce made of milk, sugar, vanilla and egg yolks.

 

Croquettes:   Ground foods held together by eggs, shaped, then dipped into eggs, crumbs then deep fried. Ie: potato croquettes

 

Crumb:  To dip foods into crumbs.  

 

Cube:  To cut into cube shapes from 1/2 to 1 inch in size, (all sides as even as possible)

 

Custard:  A liquid that is thickened  by the coagulation of egg protein.

 

Cut-in:  To incorporate fat and dry ingredients gently , so the fat remains in small particles.  Ie:  pastry dough

 

Deep-Fry:  To cook submerged in hot fat.

 

Deglaze:  To introduce a liquid into a pan to loosen and dissolve some cooked particles.

 

Demi-glace: (or demi-glaze) A combination of one part beef stock and one part brown sauce , cooked and reduced by at least half.  It is extremely rich and concentrated.

 

Devil:  To heighten the flavor of food by adding spicy/hot flavoring.

 

Dice:  To cut into small cubes less than 1/2 inch.

 

Dissolve:  To pass into solution.

 

Dredge:  To coat food with a dry ingredient .  Ie: flour or breadcrumbs

 

Dutch oven:  A covered kettle used for stewing and braising on the stove top or in the oven.

 

Emulsion:  A mixture of two liquids that do not blend well. Ie: oil and vinegar.

 

Espagnole:  A brown sauce thickened with a brown roux.

 

Flake:  to break by gently pulling apart with your fingers or a fork.

 

Fricassee:  A white stew- meat is cooked in fat without browning before liquid is added.

 

Fry:  To cook in hot fat.

 

Fusion:  Any combination of foods or methods,  using two or more different culinary traditions.  Ie:  Tex Mex

 

Garnish:  Decorative items used to ornament food dishes.

 

Giblets:  The heart, liver, and gizzard of poultry. 

 

Glaze:  A stock that is reduced until it coats the back of a spoon.

 

Goulash:  A Hungarian stew flavored with Paprika.

 

Grate:  To reduce to fragments, shreds, or poowder by rubbing against an abrasive surface.

 

Gratin-  A dish with a cheese and/or breadcrumb topping that has been browned.

 

Griddle- A flat heated surface used for cooking foods.

 

Grill:  to cook on an open grid over high heat ,400 – 550° F (232 – 288° C), hot and fast, takes minutes. 
 

Grind: To put food through a chopper.  

 

Herbs:  Various aromatic leaves used for seasoning.

 

Hollandaise:  A  rich sauce made of egg yolks and butter.

 

Holy Trinity: A mixture of chopped celery, onions and peppers.

 

Ice bath:  A combination of water and ice.

 

Infusion:  Extracted liquid.

 

Julienne: Cut into small thin strips (1/8 inch x 2 ½ inches). Match-like sticks.

 

Kneading:  To manipulate with a folding, stretching and pressing motion. Ie: kneading pizza dough.

 

Lard:  To add fat- usually to leans meat or fish.  

 

Leaven:  To cause foods to rise. Ie: adding yeast, baking powder.

 

Liaison:  A binding mixture of cream and egg yolks.

 

Macedoine:   A mixture of vegetable or fruits.

 

Mask:   To completely cover with a sauce or thick substance.

 

Macerate:   Food softened by liquids. Ie: fruits sprinkled with sugar-impart their own juices for macerating.

 

Maitre d'Hotel Butter:  A compound butter of parsley and lemon juice.

 

Marinate:   To soak food in a seasoned liquid.

 

Melt:  To liquefy by heat.

 

Marzipan:   A paste of almonds and sugar.

 

Meringue:  Stiffened primarily made of egg whites and sugar.  

 

Microwave:  Special oven using radiation to cook or heat foods.

 

Mince:  To chop into very fine pieces.

 

Mirepoix (meerpwah):  A mixture of chopped celery, carrots and onions.

 

Mise-en-Place (meez on plahss):   French term meaning "everything put in place." Having everything prepared and organized before the production.

 

Miso:   A puree of fermented soybeans, grain and salt. 

 

Mix:  To combine until evenly distributed.

 

Mold:   To shape food. 

 

Mornay:  A sauce made with Bechamel and cheese.

 

Mousse:  Soft and creamy, sweet or savory foods lightened by the addition of beaten egg whites and/or cream.

 

Organic: See Certified Organic

 

Pan-Broil:   To cook in a heated uncovered pan using no additional oils and  pouring off any accumulated fat.

 

Pan-fry:  To cook in fat in an uncovered pan.

 

Parboil:  To cook partially in a boiling/simmering liquid.

 

Parch:  To brown by using dry heat.

 

Pare:  To trim off the outside sheathing.  Ie: potatoes, carrot.

 

Parfait:  A layered dessert

 

Pasta:  A food of various shapes made with flour, water and sometimes egg.

 

Pasteurize:  To preserve food by using heat to destroy micro-organisms and stop fermentation.  

 

Poach: To cook gently in hot water or other liquids at about 140º F-180 º F.

 

Puff Pastry: Layered pastry of fat and dough that rises with steam during baking.

 

Puree: Food that is mashed or strained into a smooth pulp.

 

Quenelle:  An elliptical shape often molded with two spoons.

 

Radiation: The transfer of energy by waves.

 

Reduce/ Reduction:  A method used to concentrate flavors by means of evaporation, decreasing in volume by simmering or boiling.

 

Render:  A point where fat separates from other organic materials.  Ie: Solid fat in bacon separates into liquid form.

 

Rissole (Riss oh lay): A small browned patty or shaped mixture. 

 

Roast: Food cooked by hot dry air in an oven or rotisserie over an open fire.

 

Rolled-in-dough: A dough layered with fat by using a rolling and folding procedure.

 

Roux: A cooked (but not browned) mixture of equal parts flour and fat. 

 

Sachet: A mixture of herbs and spices tied with cheesecloth.

 

Sanitize:  To make clean and hygenic.

 

Sauce: A reduced or thickened liquid used to moisten and enhance flavors of foods.

 

Sauté: To cook quickly in a small amount of fat.

 

Score:  to cut the surface usually in a decorative even pattern.  This allows seasonings to absorb and fats to drain.

 

Sear: To brown the surface of a food quickly at a high temperature.

 

Shred:  To cut or tear in long narrow pieces.

 

Shortening: A solid fat made from vegetable oil.

 

Simmer: To cook in water or liquid at about 185º F -200 ºF. A little bubbling.

 

Sliver:  To slice into long slender pieces.

 

Slurry: A mixture water and another substance-usually raw starch.

 

Smoking: The exposure of meats and foods to smoke using very low heat, 52 – 140° F (12 – 60° C), can take 1 hour to 2 weeks, depending on food and temperature. 

 

Soufflé: A sweet or savory, light and puffy baked egg dish.

 

Spaetzle: Small dumplings or noodles made from flour and eggs.

 

Spice: A part of a plant, other than the leaves (known as herbs) used in flavoring.

 

Steam: To cook by direct contact with steam.

 

Sterilize:  To free from bacteria and other living microorganisms.

 

Stew: To simmer foods in a small amount of liquids.

 

Stock: A clear, thin liquid made from extracting meat, poultry and/or fish, bones, vegetables and seasonings.

 

Supreme Sauce: A sauce made of veloute and heavy cream.

 

Temper: To raise the temperature of a cold liquid gradually by slowly stirring in a hot liquid.

 

Tournedos (Toor nuh doe): A small beef steak cut from the tenderloin.

 

Truss: To tie poultry.

 

Veloute: A sauce made by thickening white stock with a roux.

 

Wash: To brush or coat with a liquid.  Ie: egg wash for bread.

 

Whip:  To beat rapidly, incorporating air and producing expansion.  

 

Whitewash: A thin mixture of flour and cold water.

 

Zest: The colored part of the peel of citrus fruit.