Getting To Know Cooking Jargon (Part 1)
Friday, June 15th, 2007 by The Cooking Guy Subscribe To Our Feed
Here is a question posed by one of my subscribers (in case you didn’t know, you can sign up for my newsletter at my cooking main page):
“I wanted to cook a good meal for my family, which NEVER happens. I was trying to follow the directions from a cookbook but I didn’t understand most of what they were telling me to do. Please tell me what they mean?”
Well, I thought that is a valid question so here is the first part of basic cooking definitions (in alphabetical order). I hope this helps you as it has really helped me when I was starting out.
Aerate
A synonym for sift; to pass ingredients through a fine-mesh device to break up large pieces and to incorporate air into the ingredients to make them lighter.
Bake
To cook in the oven. Food is cooked slowly with gentle heat, causing the natural moisture to evaporate slowly, concentrating the flavor.
Bind
To thicken a sauce or hot liquid by stirring in ingredients such as eggs, flour, butter, or cream
Blanch
To boil briefly to loosen the skin of a fruit or a vegetable. After 30 seconds in boiling water, the fruit or vegetable should be plunged into ice water to stop the cooking action, and then the skin easily slices off.
Blend
To mix or fold two or more ingredients together to obtain equal distribution throughout the mixture.
Boil
To cook food in heated water or other liquid that is bubbling vigorously.
Braise
A cooking technique that requires browning meat in oil or other fat and then cooking slowly in liquid. The effect of braising is to tenderize the meat.
Broil
To cook food directly under the heat source.
Broth or stock
A flavorful liquid made by gently cooking meat, seafood, or vegetables (and/or their by-products, such as bones and trimming) often with herbs, in liquid, usually water.
Brown
A quick sautéing, pan/oven broiling, or grilling method done either at the beginning or end of meal preparation, often to enhance flavor, texture, or eye appeal.
Butterfly
To cut open a food such as pork chops down the center without cutting all the way through, and then spread apart.
Caramelization
Browning sugar over a flame, with or without the addition of some water to aid the process. The temperature range in which sugar caramelizes is approximately 320º F to 360º F (160º C to 182º C).
Chiffon
Pie filling made light and fluffy with stabilized gelatin and beaten egg whites.
Chop
To cut into irregular pieces.
Clarify
Remove impurities from butter or stock by heating the liquid, then straining or skimming it.
Coat
To evenly cover food with flour, crumbs, or a batter.
Confit
To slowly cook pieces of meat in their own gently rendered fat.
Cream
To beat vegetable shortening, butter, or margarine, with or without sugar, until light and fluffy. This process traps in air bubbles, later used to create height in cookies and cakes.
Crystallize
To form sugar- or honey-based syrups into crystals. The term also describes the coating.
Cure
To preserve or add flavor with an ingredient, usually salt and/or sugar.
Dash
A measure approximately equal to 1/16 teaspoon.
Devil
To add hot or spicy ingredients such as cayenne pepper or Tabasco sauce to a food.
Dice
To cut into cubes.
Direct heat
A cooking method that allows heat to meet food directly, such as grilling, broiling, or toasting.
Dredge
To sprinkle lightly and evenly with sugar or flour. A dredger has holes pierced on the lid to sprinkle evenly.
Drizzle
To pour a liquid such as a sweet glaze or melted butter in a slow, light trickle over food.
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