A

A blanc (a-blanh)
To keep white

A brun (a-bran)
To make brown

A la In the style of

A la carte (-kart)
Separately priced items not part of a set

Accompaniment something added to or served with food or a meal to make it

better or more appealing

Al dente (-dentey)
Cooked that is still tough when bitten (usually, pasta)

Amuse bouche (ah-mooz-boosh)

Means “gratify the mouth”, this is usually a smaller version of a
dish served after the order was taken. Also known as Amuse gueule (ah-mooz-
gœl).

Antipasto (plural, antipasti)

Italian term for hors d’oeuvres which can be any dish including
canapes, bruschette and a plate or a platter of cold antipasti composed of cured
meat, canned seafood items, cheese, relishes, mushrooms and vinaigrette-
soaked beans or other firm vegetables

Appetizer The first dish in a multi-course, sit-down meal traditionally

prepared by the garde manger(gard-mahn-zhey) or the pantry chef

Au beurre (oh-burr)
 With butter

Au bleu (oh-blu)
Beef steaks cooked ‘blue’ or very underdone

Au four (oh-for)
Oven baked

Au gratin (oh-gratin)
Food sprinkled with grated cheese or breadcrumbs and
browned under a hot oven

Au Jus (oh-zhu)
Served with natural cooking juices

B
Bain-marie (ban-marie)
A way of cooking or warming food by placing a container in a
pot of very hot water. Used for preparations that must not cook over direct heat,
for keeping delicate sauces hot, and for melting chocolate

Ballotine (ball-oh-teen)
A large piece of meat or a whole bird that is boned and stuffed

Baste (beyst)
Pour juices or melted fat

Béchamel (beh-sha-mel)
White sauce made from milk and white roux

Beurre Blanc (ber-blahn)

 Sauce made by reducing white wine with vinegar and shallots,
then whisking in cold butter, emulsifying into a thick, buttery sauce

Beurre Manié (ber-man-yey)

Butter and flour mixed together in equal parts and used to
thicken liquids

Beurre Noisette (ber-nwa-set)

Browned butter

Bisque (bisk)
A shellfish soup that been thickened

Bouillon (buh-yawn)
A clear, flavorful broth made by simmering beef, chicken,
vegetable, or other ingredients

Bouquet garni (bo-key gar-ni)

A small bunch of herbs; classically a bay leaf, few parsley
sprigs, and few sprigs of thyme—wrapped in a leek leaf or bunched with a piece
of celery and tied with string

Brunoise (broon-waz)
Vegetables cut into very small diced pieces

C
Canapé (can-ah-pey)
An hors d'oeuvres consisting of a small bread or biscuit base
covered with a flavored topping

Carcass (kar-kahs)
 The whole body minus the head, feet, entrails and hides
(except for pork)

Chalazae (ka-ley-zey)
The membranous strips that connect the eggs yolk to the
eggshell

Charcuterie (shar-koo-te-ree)
A range of dressed meat products

Chateaubriand (sha-tow-bree-an)
A large steak cut from the head of the beef fillet

Chiffonade (shi-fǝ-nad)
Finely shredded lettuce or sorrel used to garnish and flavor
soups

Chinois (shin-wa)
Fine/coarse conical strainer

Chowder A thick chunky seafood soup; comes from the French

chaudière which is a heavy, three-legged iron cauldron used to make stews by
fishermen

Coagulate (kow-ag-yu-leyt)
To turn the state of a substance from liquid into jelly-like

Compote (kawm-powt)
Stewed fruit

Concassé (kon-ka-say)
Roughly chopped
Confit (kon-ka-say)
Roughly chopped

Consommé (kown-so-may)
Broth that has been made clear

Coq au Vin (kok-oh-veen)

Chicken cooked in wine, usually red wine

Cordon Ribbon, indicates a thread or ribbon of sauce used to flavor

and garnish culinary products

Coulis (koo-lee)
Smooth, thick fruit or vegetable sauce made by pureeing or
sieving the fruit

Court-bouillon (kore-bwee-yone)
A flavored cooking liquor used in the cooking of fish and some
internal organs of poultry

Crêpes (krep)
Very thin pancakes

Croquettes (kroh-ketes)
Cooked forcemeats of meat, fish or cooked vegetables, shaped
and prepared for frying

Croûton (kroo tohn)

A slice or piece of toasted bread

Crudite (kru-de-tey)
Raw vegetables usually arranged creatively on trays and served
with a dip. Also known as relishes.
 D

Darne (darn)
A steak of round fish on the bone

Devilled To highly season with hot flavorings

Doneness The condition of being cooked to the desired degree

Duxelle (duke-sell)
A basic preparation of cooked finely chopped mushrooms,
flavored with shallots and seasonings

En croute (ahn-kroot)
Cooked and/or served in a pastry crust

En papillote (on pa-pee-yowt)

Cooking and serving foods in a paper bag

F
Farce (fars)
A stuffing

Filet Mignon (fee-ley meen-yon)

A thick slice of beef cut from the narrow end of a beef
tenderloin

Fillet (fee-ley)
A boneless piece of meat, poultry, or fish; the French version
‘filet’ refers to a cut of beef that is boneless
Flambé (flom-bey)
A technique by which alcohol is added to a dish and ignited,
both for effect and to burn off the alcohol

Fond (fohn)
French word for stock – the flavored liquid base for making
sauce, stew, or braised dishes

Fondue (fone-dew)
From the French word “fondre” meaning to melt; a dish of
warm, melted cheese flavored with wine in which bits of bread are dipped

foreign terms

AL DENTE is translate as on the tooth meaning somehtings can full bait

left which a bit of finners.

AU- JUS whch its own juice fromasking afterrefersto steak of other
meat.

French
(1) To trim the meat from the end of a bone
(2) To cut an item in thin lengthwise strips

Fumet (few-may)
Essence of fish stock

Fungi (foon-jahy)
Plant-like organisms that feed on decomposed matters

G
Garde manger (gard-mahn-zhey)
The pantry chef

Gastric (ga-streek)
A mixture of sugar and vinegar used to sharpen the flavor of
tomato sauce or soup

Giblets (jib-lets)
The edible internal organs of a bird such as the liver, gizzard
and heart

Gravy Traditionally mean naturally concentrated juices that come

from meat as they roast; these juices can be combined with liquids such as white
or brown stock, milk, wine, then thickened with flour, cornstarch, or other agents
to make it thicker and sauce-like.

Hollandaise (awl-lawn-daze)
A mother sauce made from emulsified egg yolks and clarified
butter and flavored with lemon juice.

Hors d’Oeuvre (awr-durv)

Small food items served on passed-around trays or on
attractively-arranged platters during receptions and cocktail events.

Jardinière (zhar-dee-nyair)
A term used to denote vegetables cut into bâtonette

Julienne (zhoo lee yen)

A term used to denote foods cut into thin strips
Jus (zhoo)
With juice or gravy

Jus lié (-lee)

Thickened gravy

Jus rôti (-rotee)

Roast gravy, unthickened

L
Lard (lahr)
Solid fat from pork. Lard gras contains fat only, while lard
maigre (bacon) contains meat as well.

Lentils (len-teels)
Edible bean that grow in pods

Liaison (ley-yey-son)
Mixture of egg yolks and cream used to thicken and enrich
culinary products

Macerate To soak in liquor in order to soften and add flavor; often

applied to fresh fruits

Maillard Reaction (ma-yard-)

The chemical reaction between the protein and carbohydrates
when heat is applied to the meat

Mandolin (man-do-leen)
 A special vegetable slicer

Marinade (mah-ree-neyd)
A preparation used to flavor meat, poultry, fish and vegetable

Marinate To subject an item in a dry or wet marinade in order to soften

and add flavor; often applied to meat, poultry and seafood

Médaillon (may-die-yohn)
A round shaped portion of meat or fish

Meringue (me-rang)
Mixture of beaten egg whites and sugar

Meuniere (mun-yair)
A cooking technique where an item (especially fish) is dipped
in flour and shallow-fried in butter

Minute (á la) (mee-nut)

Cooked very quickly ‘in a minute’

Mirepoix (meer-pwah)
A vegetable flavoring, roughly cut to various sizes according to
requirements

Mise-en-place (meez-ahn-plahs)
Put in place, in culinary jargon refers to advanced preparation

Mousse (moos)
Any number of frothy, airy dishes, both sweet and savory
usually lightened with whipped egg whites or cream
 N
Nicoise (nee-swahs)
Prepared with olives and tomatoes

O
Off-cuts The pieces of meat obtained from trimming and fabricating

Offals (oh-fahls)
The internal organs of animals consumed as meat; also
referred to variety meats

P
Parfait (pahr-fey)
Specialty single flavored ice-cream set in a mould

Paupiette (poh-pyet)
A stuffed portion of meat/fish rolled into a cylindrical shape

Paysanne (á la) (pay-zahn)

Peasant style, also indicates the use of particular shapes, i.e.
circles, squares, and triangles

Petits fours (pe-tee-furz)

Selection of after dinner sweet items

Pinfeather A feather just emerging through the skin

Prosciutto (pro-shu-to)
Dry-cured Italian ham usually sliced thin

Provençale (á la) (pro-von-sal)

Regional or provincial style
Pulse (pawls)
The edible seed of various crops

Purée (pyu-rey)
A smooth, creamy substance made of liquidized or crushed
fruit or vegetables

Q
Quenelle (kuh-nels)
A dumpling of various shapes made of fine forcemeats
produced from veal, chicken, fish, and game that is poached in water or stock and
usually served with a sauce

R
Ratatouille (ra-tah-too-wee)
Dish made from red bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, zucchini,
eggplant and often, olives

Roulade (roo-lahd)
A slice of usually stuffed meat that is rolled, browned, steamed
and/or braised

Roux (roo)
A mixture of butter and flour cooked together; used as a
thickener

Sinews (see-nyoos)
Strong tissue that connects muscles to bones

Sorbet (sor-bey)
Frozen ices lightened by the addition of Italian meringue
Soufflé (soo-fley)
A very light sweet or savory product

Spatchcock (spach-kak)
A poultry or game bird split into two, usually, for grilling

Suprême (soo-prem)
Denotes use of delicate cuts taken from the breast of poultry
or game. Also a cut of fish on the slant, free from bone

T
Thaw (tho)
To return to a normal temperature after being very cold

Truss (trahs)
A procedure to secure items (usually a poultry) using a string

Velouté (ve-loo-tay)
A thickened sauce made from white stock and a roux

Vin (au) (veen)

In wine

Vinaigrette (vee-ne-gret)
Also known as French dressing, literally means “little vinegar”
in French; fairly thick salad dressing from a mixture of olive oil, wine vinegar, and
salt and pepper and flavored accordingly

Viscera (vee-se-rah)
(singular, viscus); The innards or internal organs of animals
 Y
Yield (yeeld)
The amount or quantity produced