[Skip Breadcrumb Navigation]
:
[Skip Breadcrumb Navigation]
Home
Chapter 18
Glossary of Cookery Terms
Glossary of Cookery Terms
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
Baste
To spoon liquid over food as it cooks. The liquid may be drippings from the food itself.
Beat
To make a mixture smooth using a brisk motion that has an up-and-down movement.
Blanch
To apply boiling water or steam for a few minutes.
Blend
To mix two or more ingredients thoroughly.
Boil
To cook in water at a boiling temperature.
Braise
To cook meat or poultry slowly in a covered utensil in a small amount of liquid or in steam.
Bread
To roll in bread crumbs before cooking.
Broil
To cook by direct exposure to radiant heat.
Brown
To produce a brown surface on a food by the use of relatively high heat.
back to top
Caramelize
To heat sugar until a brown color and characteristic flavor develop.
Chop
To cut into pieces using a sharp knife or other tool.
Clarify
To clear a liquid of all solid particles.
Cream
To mix one or more foods, usually fat and sugar, until smooth and creamy.
Crumb
To coat or top with crumbs, such as topping a casserole dish.
Cut in
To distribute solid fat throughout dry ingredients using two knives or a pastry blender.
back to top
Dice
To cut into small cubes.
Dot
To place small particles at intervals on a surface, as to dot with butter.
Dredge
To sprinkle or coat with flour or other fine substance.
back to top
Fold
To combine by using two motions, cutting vertically through the mixture and turning the mixture over and over.
Fricassee
To cook by braising; usually applied to fowl, rabbit, or veal cut into pieces.
Fry
To cook in fat. Pan-frying is to cook to doneness in a small amount of fat; deep-fat frying is to cook submerged in hot fat.
back to top
Grind
To reduce to small particles by cutting or crushing mechanically.
back to top
Knead
To manipulate by pressure alternated with folding and stretching, as in kneading a dough.
back to top
Lard
To place fat on top or insert strips of fat in uncooked lean meat or fish to give flavor and prevent drying of the surface.
Leaven
To make lighter by use of a gaseous agent such as air, water vapor, or carbon dioxide.
Level off
To move the level edge of a knife or spatula across the top edge of a container, scraping away the excess material.
back to top
Marinate
To let lie in a prepared liquid for a period for tenderizing and seasoning purposes.
Melt
To liquefy by use of heat.
Mince
To divide into very small pieces by chopping or cutting.
Mix
To combine ingredients.
back to top
Oven spring
The rapid increase in volume of yeast bread during the first few minutes of baking.
back to top
Pan-broil
To cook uncovered on a hot surface, pouring off fat as it accumulates.
Panning
The cooking of a vegetable in a tightly covered skillet, using a small amount of fat but no added water.
Pare
To cut off an outside covering such as skins of vegetables.
Peel
To remove outside coverings.
Poach
To cook in a hot liquid. The food is carefully handled to retain its form as in poaching an egg.
Pot-roast
To cook large pieces of meat by braising.
Proofing
The final rising period before baking for yeast doughs that have been molded.
back to top
Render
To melt fat and remove from connective tissue using low heat.
Retort pouch
A flexible laminated package that withstands high-temperature processing in a commercial pressure canner called a retort.
Roast
To cook, uncovered, by use of dry heat.
Roux
A thickening agent made by heating a blend of flour and fat. It may be white or brown and is used in making sauces and gravies.
back to top
Sauté
To cook quickly in a small amount of hot fat; a partial cooking process.
Scald
To heat milk or other liquids just below the boiling point.
Sear
To coagulate or brown the surface of meat by the application of intense heat for a brief period.
Sift
To separate the fine parts of a material from the coarse parts by use of a sieve.
Simmer
To cook in liquid at about 185°F (85°C). The liquid may show slight movement or bubbling, but the bubbles tend to form slowly and to break below the surface.
Steam
To cook in direct contact with steam in a closed container. Indirect steaming may be done in the closed top of a double boiler.
Steep
To extract flavor or color at a temperature below the boiling point of water.
Stew
To simmer in a small to moderate quantity of liquid.
Stir
To mix food materials with a circular motion.
back to top
Toast
To brown by means of dry heat.
Truss
To secure the wings and legs of a bird with pins or twine.
back to top
Whip
To rapidly beat such mixtures as gelatin dishes, eggs, and cream to incorporate air and increase volume.
Copyright © 1995-2008, Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Prentice Hall
Legal and Privacy Terms
[Return to the Top of this Page]
: return
