| Baste |
to moisten food during cooking by spooning liquid over, or by brushing with
liquid |
| Beat |
to very vigorously mix ingredients (e.g. milk and egg) to thoroughly mix
together |
| Blend |
to simply stir together ingredients until thoroughly mixed |
| Boil |
to heat a liquid until large bubbles break the surface |
| Bouillon |
stock or broth that forms the basis of soups and sauces, very often dried into
compact form (cube or granules) |
| Braise |
(v.) to cook in a small amount of liquid in a tightly
covered pan over low heat |
| Broil |
(v.) to cook food directly under or over the heat source |
| Brown |
to cook by high heat, causing the surface of the food to turn dark, imparting a
rich cooked flavor |
| Broth |
a liquid resulting in cooking meat, fish, poultry or vegetables with water |
| Butterfly |
to cut open and spread the sides apart, especially with fish or meat |
| Caramelize |
to cook a food over direct heat until its sugars are reduced to a clear syrup
that turns a shade ranging from golden to dark brown |
| Chile |
any number of pungent fruits of the Capsicum botanical family; usually used to
denote one that is piquant - mildly hot to scorching |
| Chop |
(v.) to coarsely cut food with a knife or a food processor; (n.) a small cut of
meat, usually taken from the loin of pork, beef, lamb, veal |
| Core |
(n.) the center of some fruits, containing seeds and pithy, woody material;
(v.) to remove the core of said fruits |
| Crisp-tender |
the state of a cooked food, especially vegetables, which would offer slight
resistance to a knife or tooth |
| Cube |
to cut food into cubes about 1/2 inch across (larger than dice or mince) |
| Dash |
an informal measure of food, meant to indicate just the downward shake of the
wrist (as in a bottle of seasoning liquid, like Worcestershire, or a shake of a
seasoning shaker, like salt or garlic powder); measure meant to be less than
1/8 teaspoon. |
| Defrost |
to thaw a frozen food so it is ready to cook |
| Deglaze |
to dissolve the sediment on the bottom of a skillet (left by cooking food in a
little bit of fat) with a liquid such as wine, broth or water |
| Drain |
to pour off liquid or fat from a food |
| Drippings |
the melted fat, with other liquids, that are left in a pan after cooking food |
| Floret |
the single small piece(s) of cauliflower or broccoli into which these heads of these vegetables can be broken |
| Grate |
to shred a food, such as a root vegetable or cheese, into very small pieces with a grater |
| Grease |
(v.) to very lightly coat a cooking pan or baking dish with fat |
| Grill |
(v.) to cook food directly over a live fire heat source; (n.) the implement on which food can be placed to cook directly
over heat source |
| Greens |
one or a mixture of fresh leafy vegetables that can be cooked or eaten raw (e.g. endive, romaine, iceberg, lolla rossa, mustard, kale) |
| Herb |
one of many fragrant and flavorful leaves of various plants that are used for
culinary seasoning (e.g. basil, chives, cilantro, marjoram, tarragon, thyme) |
| Lemon Pepper |
a commercial seasoning blend of ground black pepper, lemon peel, salt |
| Marinade |
a liquid including seasoning and acid (vinegar, wine or citrus juice) in which
food is soaked before cooking in order to impart extra flavor |
| Marinate |
letting food soak in a marinade, very briefly or for hours or days |
| Mince |
to cube food into very small pieces, usually less than 1/4 inch |
| Panbroil |
(v.) to cook food in a pan on top of the stove without adding any water or fat
|
| Peel |
(v.) to remove the peel of fruits or vegetables |
| Puree |
(n.) a food that is mashed-or blended or processed-to a smooth, thick
consistency; (v.) to reduce a food to a puree |
| Roast |
(v.) to cook food by exposing to dry heat (as in an
oven or before a fire) or by surrounding with hot embers, sand, or stones
|
| Reduce |
to gently simmer or boil a liquid in a pan to evaporate water out of the liquid
and concentrate the flavors in the liquid |
| Sauté |
(v.) to cook food in a skillet over moderately high heat in a very little bit of fat
|
| Skewer |
(n.) a very thin wooden or metal stick with one sharpened end, used to hold
uniform-sized pieces of food together, usually before grilling or broiling;
(v.) to align pieces of food on a skewer |
| Spice |
a wide variety of seasonings made from the bud, bark, root, fruit seed or stem
of various plants; spices are generally ground to use in seasoning food, but
can also be used whole (e.g. caraway seed); spices are also sold as blends,
such as curry powder |
| Steam |
(v.) to cook food by surrounding it with steam in a covered pan; food is
usually suspended above boiling liquid in a pot with a lid |
| Stew |
(v.) to cook food slowly in a small amount of liquid without letting it come to a boil.
|
| Stir-fry |
to quickly cook small pieces of food in a large skillet over fairly high heat
in a small amount of fat, briskly stirring food to cook and brown as evenly and
as quickly as possible |
