Although this list of cooking terms can't possibly cover the vast array of terms used throughout the entire world, I hope that you will find them very useful and helpful in your everyday meal preparation. Now if there's a really, really cool or necessary term that I need to add, just leave me a comment at the bottom of this list and I'll be happy to include it here.
Aerate: Sift or pass through a fine-mesh device to break up large pieces and to incorporate air into the ingredients to make them lighter.
Al dente: Cooked until tender, but slightly firm to the bite.
Au jus: Served in natural unthickened meat juices from roasting.
Bake: To cook, covered or uncovered, usually by dry heat.
Bake Blind: To bake a pastry shell empty, without a filling.
Baste: To brush or spoon liquid fat or juices over meat during roasting to add flavor and to prevent it from drying out.
Batter: A liquid mixture containing flour and other ingredients that can be poured or dropped from a spoon. Also a coating for fried foods.
Beat: To smoothen a mixture by briskly whipping or stirring it with a spoon, fork, wire whisk, rotary beater, or electric mixer.
Bias-slice: To slice food crosswise at a 45-degree angle.
Bind: To thicken a sauce or hot liquid by stirring in ingredients such as eggs, flour, butter, or cream.
Blackened: A popular Cajun-style cooking method in which seasoned foods are cooked over high heat in a super-heated skillet until charred.
Blanch: To boil briefly to loosen the skin of a fruit or 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 peels off and sets the color and flavor.
Blend: To mix or fold two or more ingredients together to obtain equal distribution throughout the mixture.
Boil: To cook food rapidly in a boiling liquid that is bubbling vigorously.
Bone: To remove bones from meat, poultry, or fish.
Bouquet Garni: Bundle of several herbs tied into cheesecloth used to flavor soups and stews.
Braise: A cooking technique that requires browning meat in oil or other fat and then cooking slowly in liquid to tenderize the meat.
Bread: To coat the food with bread or cracker crumbs (sometimes seasoned) before cooking.
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.
Brush: Using a pastry brush, to coat a food such as meat or bread with melted butter, glaze, or other liquid.
Bundt pan: The generic name for any tube-baking pan having fluted sides (though it was once a trademarked name).
Butterfly: To cut open a food such as pork chops down the center without cutting all the way through, and then spread apart.
Carmelization: Browning sugar over a flame or cooking onions until sweet and golden, with or without the addition of some water to aid the process.
Chiffon: Pie filling made light and fluffy with stabilized gelatin and beaten egg whites.
Chill: To refrigerate food or let stand in ice or ice water until cold.
Chop: To cut food 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.
Coat a spoon: Stage reached by a thickened liquid mixture when it leaves a thin film on the back of a metal spoon.
Coddle: A cooking method in which foods (such as eggs) are put in separate containers and placed in a pan of simmering water for slow, gentle cooking.
Combine: To blend two or more ingredients into a single mixture.
Confit: To slowly cook pieces of meat in their own gently rendered fat.
Condiment: A sauce, relish, or spice used to season food at the table.
Core: To remove the inedible center of fruits such as pineapples.
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.
Crepes: Wafer-thin pancakes.
Crimp: To create a decorative edge on a piecrust. On a double piecrust, this also seals the edges together.
Crisp: To restore the crunch to foods, vegetables such as celery and carrots can be crisped with an ice water bath, and foods such as stale crackers can be heated in a medium oven.
Crush: To condense a food to its smallest particles, usually using a mortar and pestle or a rolling pin.
Crystallize: To form sugar or honey-based syrups into crystals. The term also describes the coating.
Cube: To cut into small cubes (about 1/2-inch). In meats, to tenderize by pounding with a special tool that imprints a small checkered pattern on the surface, breaking tough fibers to tenderize the meat.
Curd: Custard-like pie or tart filling flavored with juice and zest of citrus fruit, usually lemon, although lime or orange may also be used.
Curdle: To cause semisolid pieces of coagulated protein to develop in food, usually as the result of the addition of an acid substance, or the overheating of milk or egg-based sauces.
Cure: To preserve or add flavor with an ingredient, usually salt and/or sugar.
Custard: A mixture of beaten egg, milk, and possibly other ingredients such as sweet or savory flavorings, which is cooked with gentle heat, often in a water bath or double boiler. As pie filling, the custard is frequently cooked and chilled before being layered into a prebaked crust.
Cut in: To distribute solid fat into dry ingredients with a pastry blender (or two knives scissor-fashion) until particles are desired size.
Dash: A very small amount approximately equal to 1/16th teaspoon.
Deep-fry: To completely submerge the food in hot oil.
Deglaze: To add liquid to a pan in which foods have been fried or roasted, in order to dissolve the caramelized juices stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Degrease: To skim fat from the surface of a liquid.
Devil: To add hot or spicy ingredients such as cayenne pepper or Tabasco sauce to a food.
Dice: To cut into very small pieces (about 1/8 to 1/4 inch).
Direct heat: A cooking method that allows heat to meet food directly such as grilling, broiling or toasting.
Dot: To scatter bits of an ingredient, such as butter, over surface of food.
Dough: A combination of ingredients including flour, water or milk, and sometimes, a leavener, producing a firm but workable mixture for baked goods.
Dredge: To sprinkle lightly and evenly with sugar or flour. A dredger has holes pierced on the lid to sprinkle evenly.
Drippings: Used for gravies and sauces, drippings are the fluids left in the bottom of a roasting or frying pan after meat is cooked.
Drizzle: To pour a liquid such as a sweet glaze or melted butter in a slow, light trickle over food.
Dust: To sprinkle food lightly with spices, sugar, or flour for a light coating.
Egg wash: A mixture of beaten eggs (yolks, whites, or whole eggs) with either milk or water. Used to coat cookies and other baked goods to give them a shine when baked.
Emulsion: A mixture of liquids, one being a fat or oil and the other being water based so that tiny globules of one are suspended in the other. This may involve the use of stabilizers such as egg or mustard. Emulsions may be temporary or permanent.
Entrée: A French term that originally referred to the first course of the meal, served after the soup and before the meat courses. In the United States, it refers to the main dish of the meal.
Fat: Generic term for butter, margarine, lard, vegetable shortening; also the rendered drippings of meat and fowl.
Fillet: To remove the bones of meat or fish for cooking.
Filter: To remove lumps, excess liquid, or impurities by passing through paper or cheesecloth.
Fines Herbes: Equal amounts of fresh or dried parsley, tarragon, chervil, and chives.
Firm-ball stage: In candy making, the point where boiling syrup dropped in cold water forms a ball that is compact yet gives slightly to the touch.
Flake: To lightly break into small, thin pieces, with tines of a fork.
Flambé: To ignite a sauce or other liquid so that it flames.
Flan: An open pie filled with sweet or savory ingredients; also, a Spanish dessert or baked custard covered with caramel.
Floret: A small flower, one of a cluster of composite flowers as in broccoli or cauliflower.
Flute: To create a decorative scalloped or undulating edge on a piecrust or other pastry.
Fold: To gently combine a light, delicate, aerated substance, such as whipped cream or beaten egg whites into a heavier mixture.
Freeze: To chill rapidly at 0-degrees until solid.
Fricassee: Usually a stew in which the meat is cut up, lightly cooked in butter, and then simmered in liquid until done.
Fritter: Sweet or savory foods coated or mixed into batter, then deep-fried (also, in French, beignet).
Frizzle: To cook thin slices of meat in hot oil until crisp and slightly curly.
Fry: To cook food in hot cooking oil, usually until a crisp brown crust forms.
Ganache: A rich chocolate filling or coating made with chocolate, vegetable shortening, and possibly heavy cream. It can coat cakes or cookies, and be used as a filling for truffles.
Garnish: A decorative piece of an edible ingredient such as parsley, lemon wedges, croutons, or chocolate curls placed as a finishing touch to dishes or drinks.
Gel: To congeal, becoming firm enough to retain the shape of its container.
Glaze: A liquid that gives an item a shiny surface.
Gluten: A protein formed when hard wheat flour is moistened and agitated. Gluten is what gives yeast dough its characteristic elasticity.
Grate: To shred or cut down a food into fine pieces by rubbing it against a rough surface.
Gratin: To bind together or combine food with a liquid such as cream, milk, béchamel sauce, or tomato sauce, in a shallow dish. The mixture is then baked until cooked and set.
Grease: To rub fat or oil on surface of utensil to prevent food from sticking.
Grill: To cook on a rack over direct heat.
Hard-ball stage: In candy making, the point at which syrup has cooked long enough to form a solid ball in cold water.
Hull (also husk): To remove the leafy parts of soft fruits, such as strawberries or blackberries.
Ice: To cool down cooked food by placing in ice; also, to spread frosting on a cake.
Infusion: Extracting flavors by soaking them in liquid heated in a covered pan. The term also refers to the liquid resulting from this process.
Jell (also gel): To cause a food to set or solidify, usually by adding gelatin.
Jerk or Jamaican jerk seasoning: A dry mixture of various spices such as chilies, thyme, garlic, onions, and cinnamon or cloves used to season meats such as chicken or pork.
Julienne: To cut into long, thin strips.
Jus: The natural juices released by roasting meats.
Knead: To work dough with the heels of your hands in a pressing and folding motion until it becomes smooth and elastic.
Larding: Inserting strips of fat into pieces of meat, so that the braised meat stays moist and juicy.
Leavener: An ingredient or process that produces air bubbles and causes the rising of baked goods such as cookies and cakes.
Line: To cover the inside or bottom of a baking dish or pan with parchment paper, waxed paper, or crumbs before adding food.
Loin: A cut of meat that typically comes from the back of the animal.
Marble: To gently swirl one food into the other.
Marinade: A seasoned liquid, usually containing acid, such as vinegar or wine, in which food soaks, tenderizing it and enhancing the flavor.
Marinate: To combine food with aromatic ingredients to add flavor.
Marzipan: A paste (of ground almonds, sugar, and egg whites) used to fill and decorate pastries.
Mash: To beat or press a food to remove lumps and make a smooth texture.
Mask: To cover completely with a sauce, aspic, jelly, mayonnaise, or cream.
Medallion: A small round or oval bit of meat.
Meringue: Eg whites beaten until they are stiff, then sweetened. It can be used as the topping for pies, or baked as cookies.
Mince: To chop food into tiny, irregular pieces.
Mix: To beat or stir two or more foods together until they are thoroughly combined.
Moisten: Adding enough liquid to dry ingredients to dampen but not soak them.
Mull: To slowly heat wine or cider with spices and sugar.
Pan-broil: To cook food in a skillet without added fat, removing any fat as it accumulates.
Pan-fry: To cook in a hot pan with small amount of hot oil, butter, or other fat, turning the food over once or twice.
Parboil: To partly cook in a boiling liquid.
Parchment: A heavy, heat-resistant paper used in cooking.
Pare: To peel or trim a food, usually vegetables.
Peaks: The mounds made in a mixture. For example, egg white that has been whipped to stiffness. Peaks are “stiff” if they stay upright, or “soft” if they curl over.
Peel: To strip, cut off, or pull away skin or rind.
Pesto: A sauce usually made of fresh basil, garlic, olive oil, pine nuts, and cheese. The ingredients are finely chopped and then mixed, uncooked, with pasta.
Pinch: Same as dash.
Pipe: To force a semisoft food through a bag (either a pastry bag or a plastic bag with one corner cut off) to decorate food.
Pit: Using a sharp knife to take out the center stone or seed of a fruit, such as a peach or a mango.
Poach: To simmer in liquid.
Precook: To cook food partially or completely before final cooking or reheating.
Preheat: To heat oven or griddle to desired temperature before beginning to cook.
Pressure-cooking: A cooking method that uses steam trapped under a locked lid to produce high temperatures and achieve fast cooking time.
Proof: To let yeast dough rise.
Punch down: To deflate a risen yeast dough by pushing it down with fist to expel air.
Puree’: To sieve or whirl food into a smooth thick mixture.
Ramekin: A small baking dish used for individual services of sweet and savory dishes.
Reconstitute: To take a dried food such as milk back to its original state by adding liquid.
Reduce: To cook liquids down so that some of the water evaporates.
Refresh: To pour cold water over freshly cooked vegetables to prevent further cooking and to retain color.
Render: To melt down fat to make drippings.
Roast: To cook uncovered in the oven.
Roux: A cooked paste usually made from flour and butter used to thicken sauces.
Salad oil: Vegetable oil.
Sauté: To cook food quickly in a small amount of oil in a skillet or sauté pan over direct heat.
Scald: Cooking a liquid such as milk to just below the point of boiling, also used to loosen the skin of fruits or vegetables by dipping them in boiling water.
Score: To tenderize meat by making a number of shallow diagonal cuts across its surface. This technique is also useful in marinating, as it allows for better absorption of the marinade.
Sear: To brown meat briefly over high heat to seal in juices.
Season: To enhance the flavor of foods by adding ingredients such as salt, pepper, oregano, basil, cinnamon, and a variety of other herbs, spices, condiments, and vinegars. Also, to treat a pot or pan (usually cast iron) with a coating of cooking oil and baking in a 350˚F oven for approximately 1 hour (this process seals any tiny rough spots on the pan’s surface that may cause food to stick).
Seize: To form a thick, lumpy mass when melted (usually applies to chocolate).
Set: Let food become solid.
Shortening, solid: A white solid fat made from refined vegetable oil that has been partially hydrogenated, chilled, and whipped.
Shred: To cut or tear into long narrow strips, either by hand or by using a grater or food processor.
Sift: To remove large lumps from a dry ingredient such as flour or confectioners’ sugar by passing through a fine mesh. This process also incorporated air into the ingredients, making them lighter.
Simmer: Cooking food in a liquid at a low enough temperature that small bubbles begin to break the surface.
Skim: To remove the top fat layer from stocks, soups, sauces, or other liquids such as cream from milk.
Springform pan: A two-part baking pan in which a spring-loaded collar fits around a base, the collar is removed after baking is complete. Used for foods that may be difficult to remove from regular pans, such as cheesecake.
Steam: To cook in water vapors, on a rack or in a steam basket, in a covered pan above boiling water. This method keeps foods’ shape, texture, and nutritional value intact better than methods such as boiling.
Steep: To soak dry ingredients (tea leaves, ground coffee, herbs, spices, etc.) in liquid until the flavor is infused into the liquid.
Stewing: Browning small pieces of meat, poultry, or fish, then simmering them with vegetables or other ingredients in enough liquid to cover them, usually in a closed pot on the stove, in the oven, or with a slow cooker.
Stir: Using a spoon or whisk in a broad circular motion, to mix ingredients without beating, or to prevent them from sticking.
Stir-fry: The fast frying of small pieces of meat and vegetables over a very high heat with continual and rapid stirring.
Tart: A shallow open-faced pie with a filling.
Tent: To cover meat or poultry loosely with a piece of foil.
Texture: The structural quality of a food…roughness, smoothness, graininess, or creaminess.
Thin: To reduce a mixture’s thickness with the addition of more liquid.
Toss: To mix lightly but rapidly by lifting and turning ingredients with two forks or spoons.
Truss: To secure poultry or meat with skewers or string so that it will retain its shape during cooking.
Unleavened: Baked goods that contain no agents to give them volume, such as baking powder, baking soda, or yeast.
Vinaigrette: A general term referring to any sauce made with vinegar, oil, and seasonings.
Water bath: A gentle cooking technique in which a container is set in a pan of simmering water.
Whip: To incorporate air into ingredients such as cream or egg whites by beating until light and fluffy, also refers to the utensil used for this action.
Whisk: To mix or fluff by beating with a wire whisk until blended and smooth.
Yeast: A leavening agent activated by warm water.
Zest: The thin, brightly colored outer part of the rind of citrus fruits. It contains volatile oils, used as a flavoring.
Always Enjoy!
I was invited to a friend’s home this Thanksgiving where one of the courses served was Patti LaBelle’s magnificent macaroni and cheese. It’s been about three years since I made it myself and boy oh boy…did it bring back memories. Patti’s recipe is hands down, THE BEST that I have ever had the pleasure of preparing. Okay, okay, what I really meant to say is that the pleasure factor in eating this scrumptiously creamy mixture of good stuff will almost bring tears to my eyes! All right, maybe one or two have fallen but not in my macaroni and cheese. Nope…I had the good sense to turn my head. The saltiness of my tears would have completely messed up the balance of Patti’s ingredients. Speaking of tears, did you know that it’s healthy to shed them? The American International Worldwide Domestic & Foreign Embassy Society of The National Association of The Tear Shedding Consortium (aka “TAIWDFESTNATTSC”) says so right there in their brochure. I ordered one and was elated to find that I had been practicing healthy macaroni and cheese eating habits all along.
