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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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Food related terms:
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Oven temperature chart:
Very slow oven
Slow oven
Moderate
oven
Hot oven
Very hot oven
Extremely hot oven |
250º to 275ºF
300º to 325ºF
350º to 375ºF
400º to 425ºF
450º to 475ºF
500º to 525ºF |
Candy and Frosting temperature chart:
Thread
Soft ball
Firm ball
Hard
ball
Soft crack
Hard crack |
230º to 234ºF
234º to 240ºF
244º to 248ºF
250º to 266ºF
270º to 290ºF
300º to 310ºF |
Thermometer readings for meats:
Beef:
Rare
Medium
Well-done
Veal
Lamb
Fresh pork
Smoked Pork:
Fully cooked
Cook-before-eating |
140ºF
160ºF
170ºF
170ºF
175 to 180ºF
170 to 185ºF
130ºF
160ºF |
Cooking terms:
Bake: To cook covered or uncovered in an oven, or oven-type appliance. For meats cooked uncovered,
it's called roasting.
Bake blind: To bake an unfilled pie crust (shell). (Tip: To keep the shell from
shrinking, prick the bottom and sides all over with a fork, then gently fit in a large square of waxed paper and weight it
down with uncooked rice, dried peas or beans - these may be used over and over again.)
Barbecue: To broil
or roast on grill or spit over coals or other heat. To cook with highly spiced sauce. Also means the picnic or meal of barbecued
foods.
Bard: To cover meat or game with sliced bacon or salt pork.
Baste: To moisten
foods during cooking with pan drippings or special sauce to add flavor and prevent drying.
Beat: To make
mixture smooth by adding air with a brisk whipping or stirring motion using spoon or electric mixer.
Bind:
To make a mixture hold together by adding liquid, beaten eggs, cream, etc.
Blanch: To precook in boiling
water or steam to prepare foods for canning or freezing, or to loosen skin.
Blaze: To pour warmed brandy
or liqueur over food and ignite.
Blend: To thoroughly mix two or more ingredients until smooth and uniform.
Boil: To cook in liquid at boiling temperature (212º at sea level) where bubbles rise to the surface
and break. For a full rolling boil, bubbles form rapidly throughout the mixture.
Bone: To remove bones
from fish, meat, or poultry. This is best done by fish or meat dealer. A special, short, sharp-pointed boning knife is used.
Braise: To brown in fat gently, with a small amount of liquid added, on top of range or in oven. Pan
is covered to preserve juices.
Bread: To coat with bread crumbs before cooking.
Broil:
To cook by direct heat, usually in broiler, or over coals.
Brown: To cook in a little fat at high heat
until brown, sealing juices in; to place under broiler heat, or in oven, to brown top, as casserole or au gratin dishes.
Brush:
To spread light coating of sauce, butter or other liquid on surface of meat, etc., using pastry rush or other brush.
Candied: To cook in sugar or syrup when applied to sweet potatoes and carrots. For fruit or fruit peel,
to cook in heavy syrup till translucent and well coated.
Caramelize: To melt sugar slowly over low heat
until it becomes brown in color.
Chill: To place in refrigerator to reduce temperature.
Chop:
To cut in pieces about the size of peas with knife, chopper, or blender.
Clarify: To clear clouded liquid,
such as aspic, bouillon, stock, by heating gently with raw egg white added, stirring, then straining through fine sieve or
cheesecloth.
Coat: To dip in flour, crumbs or other mixtures before frying.
Coddle:
To simmer gently in liquid.
Cool: To remove from heat and let stand at room temperature.
Combine:
To mix two or more ingredients together.
Core: To remove the seed center of fruit or vegetables, leaving
the rest intact.
Cream: To beat with spoon or electric mixer till mixture is soft and smooth. When applied
to blending shortening and sugar, mixture is beaten till light and fluffy.
Crimp: To flute edges of pie
crust.
Crisp: To restore texture of vegetables by covering with ice water for short period; to heat bread,
crackers, dry cereals, etc., in oven few minutes.
Crumb: To coat with bread or cracker crumbs. So that
the crumbs will stick, the food should first be dipped in milk or beaten egg.
Crumble: To break into
small pieces or crumbs with the fingers.
Crush: To pulverize food with a rolling pin or whirl in a blender
until it is granular or powdered.
Crystallize: To coat with a syrup that crystallizes-turns sugary-on
cooling. Foods most often crystallized: fruits and flowers.
Cube: To cut into small square pieces.
Cure:
To preserve meat, game, etc., with salt, liquid, smoking, etc.
Cut and fold: To blend mixture with liquid
by first turning spoon sideways in a cutting motion as the two are combined, then lifting mixture from bottom and folding
over top with spoon until all is mixed.
Cut in: To mix shortening with dry ingredients using pastry blender
or knives.
Deep Fry: Same as French fry.
Deglaze: To remove the dark clinging particles from
pan in which meat has browned, by adding hot liquid and stirring.
Devil: To use hot seasoning or sauce
to flavor a mixture.
Dice: To cut food in small cubes of uniform size and shape.
Dilute:
To thin by adding liquid. To diminish strength or flavor of liquid.
Dissolve: To disperse a dry substance
in a liquid to form a solution.
Dot: To scatter small pieces of butter or other food over surface of
mixture before cooking.
Drain: To strain or pour off liquid from solid food.
Draw:
To remove entrails of poultry, game, etc. To eviscerate.
Dredge: To sprinkle or coat with flour or other
fine substance.
Dress: To eviscerate. Also, to add dressing to a salad.
Drizzle:
To pour melted butter or margarine, marinade or other liquid over food in a thin stream.
Dust: To cover
lightly with flour, confectioners' powdered sugar or other dry ingredient.
Eviscerate: See Draw.
Fillet, filet: To remove the bone from meat, fish, etc. Also the boneless piece of meat, fish, etc.
Filter: To strain liquid through several thicknesses of cheesecloth or a special paper filter.
Flake:
To break lightly into small pieces.
Flour: To coat with flour.
Flute: To crimp the
edge of a pie crust in a fluted design.
Fold: To add ingredients gently to a mixture. Using a spatula,
cut down through mixture; go across bottom of bowl and up and over, close to surface. Turn bowl frequently for even distribution.
Fold in: To mix a light, fluffy ingredient such as beaten egg white into a thicker mixture, using a gentle
over-and-over motion.
Freeze: To chill in freezing compartment until solid.
French fry:
To fry in deep fat.
Fricassée: To cook by braising with slightly more liquid than in braising. This is
usually chicken or veal stewed in cream sauce, with seasoning and white wine added, or in brown sauce or stock.
Frizzle:
To fry in hot fat until edges curl: frizzled chipped beef.
Frost: To cover cake with icing. To coat rim
of glass by dipping it in orange juice or other liquid, then into sugar.
Fry: To cook in hot shortening
in a frying pan.
Pan frying: To cook in a small amount of shortening.
Deep-fat frying: To cook immersed in large amount of shortening.
Garnish: To decorate with colorful and/or fancily cut pieces of food.
Glaze: Apply
a mixture to food that hardens or becomes firm and/or adds flavor and a glossy appearance. Also, brown particles left in pan
in which meat or poultry roasted. Also means to brown the top sauce which has been poured over a dish set under broiler or
in oven.
Grate: To rub on a grater that separates the food into very fine particles.
Grease:
To rub butter, margarine or other fat over a food or container.
Grill: To cook on a grill, or to broil.
Grind: To put through a food mill.
Hang: To age meat or game by hanging in cool unrefrigerated place.
Hull: To remove
stems and leaves from berries.
Husk: To remove husks from ears of corn.
Ice: To chill over ice. Also, a frozen, water-based, fruit-flavored dessert. Also to cover with frosting.
Infuse: To steep coffee grounds, tea or herbs in boiling liquid until it absorbs the flavor.
Julienne: To cut food into thin strips.
Knead: To work the dough with the heel of the hand with a pressing, folding motion
Lard: To insert small cubes (lardoons) of fat in a piece of meat prior to roasting.
Leaven:
To add leavening (baking powder, baking soda or yeast) to a cake or bread to make it rise.
Line: To cover
the bottom, and sometimes sides, of a pan with paper or thin slices of food.
Macerate: To let food, principally fruits, steep in wine or spirits (usually kirsch or rum).
Marinate:
To allow a food to stand in liquid to tenderize or to add flavor.
Mash: To reduce to pulp.
Mask:
To cover completely with sauce, mayonnaise, gelatin, etc.
Melt: To heat a solid such as chocolate or
butter until liquid.
Mill: To beat to a froth with a whisk beater, as in the preparation of hot chocolate
and other milk drinks.
Mince: To cut or finely chop food int very small pieces.
Mix:
To combine ingredients, usually b stirring, till evenly distributed.
Moisten: To add small amount of
liquid.
Mould, or mold: To shape gelatin-stiffened mixture, or ice cream or other dessert.
Mull:
To heat beverage, such as cider or wine, with sugar and spices; should be slow heat to bring out flavors.
Oil: To rub a pan or mold with cooking oil.
Pan broil: To cook uncovered on hot sur face, removing fat as it accumulates.
Pan fry:
To cook in small amount of hot shortening.
Parboil: To boil until about half done; vegetables to be cooked
en casserole are usually parboiled.
Parch: To dry out or brown without the addition of any fat.
Pare:
To remove the skin of a fruit or vegetable.
Peel: Same as pare.
Pickle: To preserve
in brine or vinegar.
Pipe: To press frosting, whipped cream, mashed potatoes or other soft mixture through
a pastry tube or bag to make a decorative pattern or edging.
Pit: To remove pits from fruits.
Plank:
To broil steak, chops or fish on a well-seasoned (oiled) hardwood plank.
Pluck: To remove feathers from
poultry; also to remove the heart, liver and lungs (called the pluck) from an animal after it has been slaughtered.
Plump:
To soak raisins or other dried fruits in liquid until they plump up.
Poach: To cook in hot liquid, being
careful that food holds its shape while cooking.
Pound: To beat with heavy implement, such as a mallet
for meat or pestle for herbs, etc.
Precook: To cook food partially or completely before final cooking
or reheating.
Preheat: To bring an oven or broiler to the recommended temperature before cooking food.
Prick: To make holes in the surface of pastry or other food using the tines of a fork.
Proof:
To let a yeast mixture bubble and rise.
Puree: To reduce food to a smooth, velvety medium by whirling
in an electric blender or pressing through a sieve or food mill; also the food so reduced.
Reduce: To boil, uncovered, until quantity of liquid is concentrated.
Render:
To cook or heat meat until the fat liquefies and can be strained off.
Rice: To force cooked food through
a ricer or sieve.
Roast: To cook uncovered without water added, usually in an oven.
Roll:
To press and shape dough or pastry with a rolling pin.
Sauté: To brown or cook in a small amount of hot shortening.
Scald: To bring to
a temperature just below the boiling point where tiny bubbles form at the edge of the pan.
Scallop: To
bake food, usually in a casserole, with sauce or other liquid. Crumbs are often sprinkled atop.
Score:
To cut ridges or lines into meat or fish with shallow slashes, usually in a diamond pattern, before cooking.
Scrape:
To remove fruit or vegetable skin by scraping with a knife.
Sear: To brown the surface of meat very quickly
by intense heat.
Season: To add salt, pepper, and other seasonings called for in a recipe.
Seed:
To remove seeds from such vegetables as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and certain fruits, such as grapes and pomegranates.
Shirr: To cook whole eggs with cream and crumbs in dish.
Shred: To rub on a shredder
to form small, long narrow pieces.
Sieve: To put food through strainer or sieve.
Sift:
To put one or more dry ingredients through a sieve or sifter.
Simmer: To cook in liquid over low heat
at a temperature of 185º to 210º where bubbles form at a slow rate and burst before reaching the surface.
Singe:
To burn off the down or hairs from plucked game or fowl over a flame.
Skewer: To thread food on a long
metal or wooden pin before it is cooked; also the pin itself.
Skim: To remove fat and other floating
matter from surface of cooking liquid with spoon, strainer spoon, or skimmer.
Sliver: To cut in long,
thin pieces.
Soak: To let stand in liquid.
Spice: To add spice and seasonings to
a mixture.
Spit: To thread food on a long rod and roast over glowing coals or under a broiler; also the
rod itself.
Steam: To cook in steam with or without pressure. A small amount of boiling water is used,
more water being added during steaming process if necessary.
Steep: To extract color, flavor, or other
qualities from a substance by leaving it in liquid just below the boiling point.
Sterilize: To kill bacteria
by rapidly boiling water or steam, dry heat, or repeated boilings, as for jelly glasses and fruit jars.
Stew:
To simmer slowly in a small amount of liquid.
Stiff peaks: To beat egg whites till peaks stand up straight
when beaters are lifted, but are still moist and glossy.
Stir: To mix ingredients with a circular motion
until well blended or of uniform consistency.
Strain:To remove liquid from solid food. Also, to purée
food through strainer.
Stud:To force cloves or other flavoring into surface of food.
Stuff:
To fill with forcemeat or other mixture.
Tenderize: To marinate, pound or use a commercial tenderizer on meat.
Thicken:
To make a liquid thicker usually by adding flour, cornstarch or egg.
Thin: To make a liquid thinner by
adding liquid.
Toast: To brown by direct heat. Usually bread or bread products browned in oven or electric
toaster.
Top: To lay or sprinkle on top of.
Toss: To mix ingredients lightly.
Trim:
To cut away excess fat, dangling ends of meat, before or after cooking. Also applied to vegetables.
Truss:
To secure fowl or other meat with skewers (or string) to hold its shape during cooking.
Try out: See
Render.
Whip: To beat rapidly to incorporate air and produce expansion, as in heavy cream or egg whites.
Work:
To knead or mix slowly.
Food related terms:
À la king: Food prepared in a rich cream sauce.
À la mode: "In the manner of."
For desserts it means "with ice cream."
Al dente: An Italian phrase meaning "to the tooth," used to describe
spaghetti or other pasta at the perfect stage of doneness-tender, but with enough firmness to be felt between the teeth.
Albondigas:
The Spanish word for meatballs.
Amandine: With almonds.
Angelica: The “herb
of the angels,” believed in ancient times to ward off the plague. Today its pale green celery-like stalks are candied
and used to decorate cakes, cookies and candies.
Antipasto: A course of assorted appetizers and relishes,
such as olives, anchovies, sliced sausage, artichoke hearts. (Italian)
Apéritif: An alcoholic drink such
as a cocktail, sherry or wine sipped before meals to sharpen appetites.
Arrowroot: The starch of a tropical
plant used as a thickener for soups and sauces. Unlike flour, arrowroot does not cloud up as it thickens; thus chefs choose
it whenever a soup, sauce, gravy, glaze or pudding must be sparkling-clear.
Appetizer: A small portion
of a food or drink served before or as the first course of a meal.
Aspic: Clear, savory jelly used in
moulds (molds) to garnish cold dishes; made with gelatin or from meat bones, etc.
Au beurre: French term
meaning cooked in or with butter.
Aubergine: The French word meaning eggplant, now used in many English-speaking
countries.
Au gratin: French term meaning a creamed dish with broiler-browned or oven-browned topping
of buttered crumbs or crumbs-and-cheese.
Au jus: A roast, usually beef, served with its own pan juices.
Baba: A small, rich, round, yeast-leavened cake soaked in syrup or rum. It's said that babas were created
by a 17th-century Polish king, who named them after his favorite storybook hero, Ali Baba.
Baguette:
The everyday bread of France, baked in long, slender loaves.
Bain-marie: French cooking utensil similar
to double boiler. Consists of one utensil for heated water, in which other utensils are set to keep food warm.
Bannock:
A large, flat, round, Scottish bread, often made with whole wheat, oats or barley; sometimes contains dried currants or raisins.
Barbecue: A meat or vegetable that is barbequed. Also means the picnic or meal of barbecued foods.
Batter:
Semi-liquid mixture of flour, water, ilk, eggs, etc. A coating for food to be fried. A cake, waffle, or pancake mixture before
baking.
Beignets: French for deep-fried sweet fritters and other foods.
Beurre manié:
A French term meaning "kneaded butter." Beurre manié actually is butter (or margarine) kneaded with flour into a soft paste,
which is used to thicken soups, sauces and gravies. Its advantages are that it can be added pinch by pinch until the sauce
is exactly the consistency the cook wants and also that it can be added shortly before serving.
Beurre noir:
French for "black butter": butter heated until dark brown, to be added to sauce, etc.
Bisque: Thick soup
of pureed shellfish, game or poultry, usually in cream. Also frozen cream dessert.
Blintzes: Thin pancakes
folded or rolled around a filling of cheese or fruit, then fried or baked.
Bombe: Ice cream combined
with fruit, custard, or other centers in mould (mold), bombe, or melon shape, held at freezing temperature until serving time.
Bouillon: A clear, usually seasoned broth made by straining the water in which chicken, beef or other
meat has been cooked. Also made by dissolving commercially prepared bouillon cubes or instant bouillon in hot water.
Bouillon
cube: Concentrated, dehydrated form of bouillon. With boiling water added, cubes make bouillon for sauces, etc.
Bouquet
garni: A small herb bouquet, most often springs of fresh parsley and thyme plus a bay leaf, tied in cheesecloth.
Dried herbs can be used in place of the fresh. This is dropped into stocks, stews, sauces, and soups as a seasoner and is
removed before serving - usually as soon as it has flavored the dish. Also called Faggot.
Bread crumbs:
Soft bread crumbs, made by crumbling fresh bread, are used for stuffings and to increase bulk of mixtures. Dry crumbs are
used for breading, to coat foods for frying, etc.
Brine: strong salt-and-water solution used for pickling
vegetables and other foods.
Brioche: Sweet-dough French roll, very light in texture.
Brochette:
The skewer and the method of cooking. To cook small pieces of meat, vegetables, fish, chicken, etc., on long metal skewer,
under broiler heat or over barbecue grill.
Broth: A clear meat, fish, poultry or vegetable stock or a
stock made of a combination of them.
Brûlé, Brûlée: French word meaning burnt: as for caramelized sugar,
cream dessert.
Calorie: A unit of heat used to measure potential energy value of food in the body.
Canapé:
A thin piece of bread, toast, etc., spread or topped with cheese, caviar, anchovies or other foods.
Capers:
Flower buds from shrub (also from nasturtiums) preserved in vinegar, used as condiment and in sauces. Usually imported in
bottles.
Capon: A male chicken castrated while young so that it grows plump, fat and tender.
Caramel:
Liquid burnt sugar used for coloring and flavor.
Caviar: The roe (eggs) of sturgeon or other fish, usually
served as an appetizer.
Chantilly: Heavy cream whipped till soft, not stiff; it may be sweetened or not.
The name comes from the French village of Chantilly where a particularly thick, rich cream was produced by the royal dairy
(this is the same town that produces the famous Chantilly lace).
Chapon: Small cube of French bread rubbed
with garlic to be tossed with green salad.
Chiffonade: Chopped, butter-saut6ed lettuce and sorrel (or
other green vegetables and herbs) used to garnish soups.
Chutney: A sauce or relish of East Indian origin
containing both sweet and sour ingredients, with spices and other seasonings.
Choux paste: Cream-puff
pastry made in saucepan over heat.
Clarified butter: Melted butter, strained or skimmed.
Coat
the spoon: The liquid mixture is thick enough to adhere in a thin layer to the stirring spoon.
Cocotte:
Loosely, the French equivalent of a covered casserole. En cocotte means, then, "cooked in a covered baking dish or pot."
Compote:
Fruit stewed or cooked in a syrup, usually served as a dessert.
Consommé: A clear, strong soup made by
boiling meat and bones long and slowly in order to extract their nutritive properties.
Court bouillon:
A delicate simmered stock of white wine, water, herbs, fish bones, or vegetables, used in poaching fish and in making fish
sauces.
Couscous: A fine semolina (wheat) grain, a staple in North Africa. It is steamed in a couscousier
(perforated container) over a bubbling, piquant lamb or chicken stew. For serving, the couscous is mounded on a platter, the
stew wreathed around it and a fiery sauce passed separately. Couscous is now available, boxed, in gourmet departments of some
large supermarkets.
Creole: A dish made with tomatoes and peppers; usually served over rice.
Cracklings:
The crisp, brown bits left after lard has been rendered. In the South, cracklings are baked into a corn bread known as "crackling
bread."
Crêpes: Thin, light, delicate pancakes.
Croissants: Rich, flaky, crescent-shaped
French rolls.
Croquettes: Chopped or ground cooked foods, bound with sauce or beaten egg, formed into
rolls, balls, or other shapes, coated with crumbs or flour, and deep-fat fried.
Crofite: French for pastry
crust in which casserole mixture is baked.
Croûte: French for pastry crust in which casserole mixture
is baked.
Croûtons: Fried or toasted bread cubes, used as garnish on fish, meats, poultry, etc.
Croustade:
A toast case used for serving creamed meats, fish, poultry or vegetables.
Cutlet: A small, thin, boneless
piece of meat-usually veal.
Dacquoise: A dessert of almond meringue layers sandwiched with rich French butter cream.
Dash:
A very small amount-less than 1/8 teaspoon.
Demitasse: French for “half cup”; it refers to
small cups used for after-dinner coffee and also to the strong, black coffee served in them.
Dough: Spongy
mixture of flour, other dry ingredients, and liquid, thick enough to knead. Drawn butter: see Clarified butter.
Drippings:
Fats and juices that come from meat as it cooks.
Duchesse: Mashed potatoes mixed with egg, butter or
margarine and cream, piped around meat, poultry or fish dishes as a decorative border, then browned in the oven or broiler
just before serving.
Dumplings: Small balls of dough simmered and/or steamed in soups or stews.
Duxelles:
Finely chopped mushroom garnish used in fish cookery and with certain delicate poultry dishes.
Éclair: A sweet baked rectangular roll which is filled with a cream filling.
En brochette:
See brochette.
En papillote: Cooked and served in a wrapping of foil or oiled paper. Usually meat or
fish is cooked this way. (French)
Enchiladas: A spicy Mexican classic -rolled tortillas with a meat or
vegetable filling. Served with a spicy tomato sauce.
Entrée: The main course of the meal.
Entremets:
Side dishes served at a meal. They may be savory or sweet.
Espresso: Robust, dark, Italian coffee brewed
under steam pressure. It is traditionally served in small cups and, in this country (though usually not in Italy), accompanied
by twists of lemon rind.
Essence: Concentrated flavoring.
Faggot: see Bouquet garni.
Farce: Forcemeat; stuffing.
Fat:
Butter, margarine, lard, vegetable shortening, rendered drippings from meats, also fatty sections of meats.
Flambé:
Food served in flaming liquor (usually brandy).
Fell: The thin, parchment-like membrane covering the
outside of lamb and mutton. It should be left on when the lamb is young and delicate (to help meat hold its shape during cooking),
but it should be removed from older lamb and mutton as it toughens in cooking.
Filé: (also known as filé
powder and gumbo filé) A powder made of dried sassafras leaves which is used to thicken Creole soups and stews. Creole cooks
learned the secrets of filé powder from the Choctaw Indians who invented it.
Fillet: A thin, boneless
piece of meat or fish.
Fines herbes: Mixture of chopped fresh or dried herbs, such as parsley, chives,
basil.
Flambé, flambéed: French words meaning "flaming." In the culinary sense, the verb flamber means
to pour warm brandy or other alcoholic spirits over a food and to set afire with a match. (Caution: Use a long match when
igniting spirits and do not stand too close.)
Florentine: in the style of Florence, Italy, which usually
means served on a bed of spinach, topped with a delicate cheese sauce and browned in the oven. Fish and eggs are two foods
often served Florentine style.
Foie gras: Goose-liver pâté.
Fondue: Switzerland's
gift to good eating: a silky concoction of melted cheese, white wine and kirsch served in an earthenware crock set over a
burner. To eat the fondue, chunks of bread are speared with special, long-handled fondue forks and then twirled in the semi-liquid
cheese mixture. Fondue Bourguignonne is a convivial Swiss version of a French dish: Cubes of raw steak are speared with the
fondue forks, fried at table in a pot of piping hot oil, then dipped into assorted sauces.
Forcemeat:
Seasoned stuffing, finely minced, pounded, ground, or combined in mixer or cooked separately and served as garnish.
Frappé:
French for frozen. Also a cordial served over cracked or shaved ice, or other beverage shaken with or poured over shaved ice.
Also lightly frozen fruit or vegetable juice, to be served as appetizer.
Fritter: A crisp, golden, deep-fried
batter bread, often containing corn or minced fruits or vegetables. Also, pieces of fruit or vegetable, batter-dipped and
deep-fried.
Fromage: French for cheese.
Fumet: Concentrated fish or meat stock.
Game: Wild animals, birds or some fish hunted for sport and served as food.
Ganache:
A French term referring to a smooth mixture of chopped chocolate and heavy cream.
Garlic: A bulb with
pungent odor and flavor, used raw and cooked. The bulb consists of a cluster of smaller ones, each called a clove Should be
peeled for use or crushed unpeeled in a handy garlic press.
Garnish: A food item added to a plate as
an edible decoration.
Giblets: The heart, liver, gizzard and neck of a fowl, often cooked separately.
Glacé: French word for iced, glazed, or frozen foods.
Glace de viande: Concentrated
meat glaze made by reducing strong brown stock to jelly-like consistency. Used to flavor and color sauces and dishes.
Glaze:
Coating of syrup, gelatin, or aspic for hams, roast chicken, etc. Also, brown particles left in pan in which meat or poultry
roasted. Also means to brown the top sauce which has been poured over a dish set under broiler or in oven.
Gluten:
The protein of wheat flour that forms the framework of cakes, breads, cookies and pastries.
Goulash: A
paprika-flavored stew.
Gravy: Sauce made in pan in which meat, fish, or poultry was cooked. It includes pan drippings,
usually flour, seasonings, cream or milk, or stock.
Granité: A mushy, frozen dessert based on water rather
than milk or cream.
Grease: The cold fat left in frying pan or kettle. Should be reheated, clarified
by filtering and stored in refrigerator for second use.
Grissini: Long, slim, Italian bread sticks.
Gumbo:
A Creole stew made with chicken, ham or seafood and tomatoes and okra. Filé powder is sometimes used as a last-minute gumbo
thickener.
Hors d'oeuvre: An appetizer (either a relish or a more elaborate preparation) served before or as the
first course of a meal. Usually a finger food.
Icing: Frosting for cakes, cookies, etc.
Infusion: Liquid drawn off tea, coffee,
herbs which have steeped in boiling water.
ltalienne, à l': Served Italian style with a garnish of pasta.
Jigger: A bartender's measure holding 1 1/2 fluid ounces.
Julienne: Food cut in
thin strips.
Junket: A milk dessert thickened with rennet.
Kabob: Also spelled kebab. Cubes of meat, fish or poultry and/or vegetables threaded on long skewers
and grilled over coals or under the broiler.
Kasha: Buckwheat groats braised or cooked in liquid and
served in place of rice, potatoes or another starch.
Kisses: "Mini" meringues baked and served as candies
or cookies.
Kosher: Food prepared or processed according to Jewish dietary law under strict rabbinical
supervision.
Lard: Creamy-white rendered pork fat.
Leeks: Long, cylindrical onion-like vegetable;
usually served cooked.
Legumes: Vegetables which bear their fruit or seeds in pods-for example, peas,
beans or lentils.
Liquor: Liquid from shellfish. Liquid from food as it cooks.
Luau:
The traditional outdoor Hawaiian feast of pit-roasted whole pig and poi (fermented taro paste).
Lyonnaise:
Seasoned in the style of Lyons, France, meaning with parsley and onions.
Macédoine: Mixture of fruits or vegetables.
Macéré: French word. Steeped in wine,
or pickled.
Madrilene: Consommé flavored with tomato. It is served hot, cold or jellied.
Maître
d'hôtel: Simply cooked dishes seasoned with minced parsley, butter and lemon. Maître d'hôtel butter is a mixture
of butter (or margarine), parsley, lemon juice and salt. it is most often used to season broiled fish, grilled steaks or chops,
or boiled young carrots.
Marinade: Mixture of seasoned liquids in which food is soaked to tenderize or
add flavor.
Marron: French for chestnut.
Marrons glacés: Candied chestnuts, dry
or in syrup, whole or chopped.
Marrow: Soft fatty substance from cavity of meat bones.
Matzo:
Large, flat, unleavened Jewish bread, much like a cracker, traditionally eaten during Passover.
Marzipan:
A confection made from almond paste, sugar and egg whites-often colored and shaped into tiny fruit and vegetable forms.
Meat
glaze: See Glace de viande.
Meringue: Egg whites beaten stiff, combined with sugar. May mean
small or large baked rounds or other forms of the egg white and sugar mixture, or soft, uncooked mixture.
Mirepoix:
French for chopped vegetables, fat, and seasoning added to the casserole or dish in which poultry and some meats are to be
braised.
Mocha: Flavoring obtained from coffee or from a combination of chocolate and coffee.
Monosodium
glutamate: A white, crystalline and tasteless compound used extensively in Chinese and Japanese cookery. It enhances
the flavor of foods, particularly meats.
Mousse: Frozen dessert of heavy-cream mixture. Also, gelatin
mixture of finely ground fish, ham, chicken, etc., combined with cream and chilled, or served hot.
Mousseline:
A hollandaise or other sauce to which whipped cream has been added.
Mulled: A beverage, such as cider
or wine, with sugar and spices that has been slowly heated to bring out flavors.
Nesselrode: A mixture of preserved fruits, nuts and the like; used as a sauce or in puddings, pies,
ice cream and other desserts.
Newburg: A rich cream-and-sherry sauce for shellfish-usually lobster or
shrimps.
Niçoise: Prepared in the manner of Nice, France-with tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and ripe olives.
Paella: A popular, one-dish dinner, containing rice, chicken, shellfish and vegetables. Paella is cooked
and served in a shallow, metal pan. Garlic and saffron are the dominant seasonings. (Spanish)
Papain:
An enzyme, found in papaya, that breaks down proteins. Used in commercial meat tenderizers.
Parfait:
Rich, frozen dessert, served in tall glass with long-handled spoon.
Pasta: The all-inclusive Italian
word for all kinds of macaroni, spaghetti and noodles.
Paste: A smooth, creamy mixture of two ingredients.
Pastry: A stiff dough, made from flour, water and shortening, used for pie crusts, turnovers and other
dishes; it is also a rich cooky-type dough used for desserts.
Pastry bag: A cornucopia made of heavy
white cotton cloth, with small end having an opening just larger enough to hold various metal tubes. Used for shaping doughs,
making decorations of mashed potatoes, whipped cream, etc.
Pâté: A well-seasoned mixture of finely minced
or ground meats and/or liver. Pâté de foie gras is made of goose livers and truffles.
Petits fours:
Tiny, fancily frosted cakes.
Pickle: Any food product that has been pickled in brine or vinegar.
Pilaf:
Rice cooked in a savory broth, often with small bits of meat or vegetables, herbs and spices.
Pinch:
The amount of a dry ingredient that can be taken up between the thumb and index finger-less than 1/8 teaspoon.
Polenta:
A cornmeal porridge popular in Italy. Usually cooled, sliced or cubed, then baked or fried.
Pot roast:
A large, not-very-tender cut of beef (often rump or chuck) that is browned, then cooked, covered, in the company of vegetables
and some liquid. Other kinds of meat are said to be "Pot roasted" when similarly cooked, but technically, a pot roast is a
cut of beef.
Potato starch: Four made from potatoes. It can be used in place of flour or cornstarch as
thickener for gravies and sauces.
Potpie: A meat or poultry and vegetable stew, topped with a pastry
or biscuit crust and baked in a casserole or individual baking dishes.
Prosciutto: Spiced ham, often
smoked, that has been cured by drying; always sliced paper-thin for serving. (Italian)
Purée: Food forced
through food mill or pulped in blender.
Quenelles: Delicate fish, chicken or veal dumplings poached in hot liquid, then topped with a silky
sauce.
Quiche: An open-face tart or pie, usually savory rather than sweet. The best known is Quiche
Lorraine, which is filled with a bacon-studded, cream-and-egg custard.
Ragoût: Rich brown stew.
Rennet: Material obtained from pig or calf's stomach;
it is used to curdle milk in making soft cheese and junket.
Rijsttafel: Literally, "rice table" an opulent,
Indonesian, curry dinner sometimes featuring as many as 40 different dishes.
Risotto: An Italian dish
made with rice browned in fat and combined with tomatoes, mushrooms, onions or truffles. It is usually thick and topped with
grated cheese.
Rissolé: A small, savory, meat pie fried in deep fat.
Roe: The eggs
of fish: sturgeon, salmon (caviar) or shad; considered delicacies.
Roux: Mixture of butter and flour
cooked to smooth paste, either cooked only until thickened or until lightly browned. Used for thickening sauces..
Scallop: A type of shellfish. Also a thin, boneless slice of meat, such as veal.
Scone:
Scottish biscuits-sweetened or plain-shaped into small rounds or triangles and baked in the oven.
Semolina:
The pale, golden heart of durum (hard) wheat. It may be as finely milled as flour or as granular as couscous.
Shallot:
Brown onion with strong but mellow flavor.
Sherbet: Frozen fruit-juice mixture containing milk or white
or egg, or both.
Short: An adjective used to describe a bread, cake or pastry that has a high proportion
of fat and is thus ultra tender or crisp.
Shortening: A solid fat, usually of vegetable origin, used
to add tenderness to pastry, bread, cookies.
Skewer: A long wooden or metal pin used to hold fowl or
meat in position for cooking. Also, a metal rod used for barbecue and broiling small pieces of meat, poultry, fish, vegetables.
Slivered: Cut into thin, small pieces.
Soft peaks: To beat egg whites or whipping
cream till peaks are formed when beaters are lifted, but tips curl over.
Spatula: Flexible metal knife,
used to remove food from one dish to another or to turn certain foods in cookery. Or a wooden or rubberized utensil designed
for mixing food stuffs.
Stock: A liquid flavor base for soups and sauces made by long, slow cooking of
meat, poultry or fish with their bones. Stock may be brown or white, depending on whether the meat and bones are browned first.
May also be made from vegetables.
Stroganoff: Meat browned with onion and cooked in sauce of sour cream,
seasonings, and usually mushrooms.
Stuffing: Seasoned filling.
Suet: Hard, fatty tissue surrounding
certain cuts of beef.
Sukiyaki: Main dish made with thin slices of beef, and usually containing soy sauce,
bean curd and greens. (Japanese)
Sweetbread: The pancreas or the thymus gland of a calf or lamb.
Timbale: A savory meat, fish, poultry or vegetable custard, baked in a small mold. Also, pastry shells
made on special iron molds Swedish Rosettes, for example.
Tomalley: Fatty, soft, so-called liver of lobster,
greenish gray in color when raw, turning to bright green when cooked. Used to thicken sauces for lobster. Cannot be boiled
after tomalley is added or sauce will curdle.
Torte: A very rich, many-layered cake made with eggs and,
often, grated nuts. Usually it is filled, but frequently it is not frosted.
Turnover: A folded pastry
usually made by cutting a circle or square, adding a dollop of sweet or savory filling, folding into a semicircle or triangle,
then crimping the edges with the tines of a fork. Most turnovers are baked but some are deep fat fried.
Tutti-Frutti:
A mixture of minced fruits used as a dessert topping.
Tripe: Stomach tissue of beef or lamb.
Vanilla bean: Use to flavor hot liquid. Split bean and cook piece in liquid. To flavor dish which does
not contain hot liquid, split bean, scrape out seeds and pulp, and add to dish. Amount to use for recipe to serve four, about
1/8 teaspoon.
Vanilla sugar: After using vanilla beans, wash and dry them. Add to jar of granulated sugar.
Cover tightly and let stand few days. Use vanilla sugar in making custards, ice cream, other desserts.
Vinaigrette:
A sauce made with vinegar or a combination of oil, vinegar and seasonings.
Vermicelli: Very fine spaghetti.
Véronique: A dish garnished with seedless green grapes.
Vinaigrette: A sauce, French
in origin, made from oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and herbs; usually served on cold meat, fish or vegetables.
Vol-au-vent:
Puff-pastry shells, large or small, filled with creamed chicken, seafood or mushrooms.
Zakuski: The Russian equivalent of hors d'oeuvres.
Zest: The oily, aromatic, colored
part of the rind of citrus fruits. Used for flavoring drinks, desserts, many dishes.
Cookware:
Cocoftes: Small porcelain dishes, similar to ramekins, used for baking. Coquille: A
shell or small dish made in the shape of a shell. Used for baking and serving various fish or meat dishes prepared with a
sauce. Demitasse: A small cup or serving of very strong black coffee. Double boiler:
Two saucepans in one-an upper pan fitted over a lower one. For cooking purposes, water is simmered in the lower pan, under
a delicate, curdle-prone mixture such as a custard or egg-thickened sauce in the top pan. The simmering water heats the delicate
mixture without allowing it to reach the point at which it boils and curdles. Dutch oven: A large, heavy,
metal cooking pot with a tight-fitting cover; used for cooking pot roasts and stews, and for braising large cuts of meat and
poultry. Marmite: An earthenware cooking utensil usually taller than it is round. A soup casserole. Also
used for stews and long, slow-cooking dishes. Mill: Small mixers, choppers, and similar devices. Mortar:
Deep, heavy bowl of wood, marble, ceramics, in which spices, herbs, etc., are crushed or ground by hand with pestle. Ramekin:
Small individual baking dish. Skewer: Long wooden or metal pin used to hold fowl or meat in position
for cooking. Also, metal rod used for barbecue and broiling small pieces of meat, fowl, fish, vegetables, etc. Spit:
For barbecuing and roasting. A pointed metal rod on which poultry and meat are fastened for cookery. Wok:
A round-bottomed' bowl-shape Chinese cooking utensil used for stir-frying.
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