COOKING in GENERAL

bind verb bound, bound

When an egg or water is used especially in cooking to bind something it provides a way of making
everything stick together in a solid mass:
The mixture wouldn't bind (together).

butter verb
to spread butter on something

buttered adjective
buttered toast

caramelize verb /’kær!m!,laiz/

to cook a food with sugar so that the food becomes sweet and often brown:
caramelized onions/carrots

concoct verb
to make something, usually food, by adding several different parts together, often in a way that is
original or not planned:
He concocted the most amazing dish from all sorts of unlikely ingredients.

cookbook noun (UK ALSO cookery book)

a book containing recipes which tell you how to prepare and cook particular dishes

cream verb
to make food into a smooth thick liquid:
Cream the butter and sugar together.

cube verb
to cut food into cubes

culinary adjective SLIGHTLY FORMAL

connected with cooking or kitchens:
the culinary delights (= pleasant tasting food) of Beijing
My culinary skills are rather limited, I'm afraid (= I am not very good at cooking)!

dice (CUT) verb

to cut food into small squares:
Peel and dice the potatoes.
diced carrots

do (COOK) verb
to cook or prepare food:
Who's doing the food for your party?

dredge (SCATTER) verb

to scatter flour, sugar, etc. on food:
Lightly dredge the cake with icing sugar.

dress (SALAD) verb

to add a liquid, especially a mixture of oil and vinegar, to a salad for additional flavour:
a dressed salad
fix (PREPARE FOOD) verb INFORMAL
to cook or prepare food or drink:
Whose turn is it to fix dinner?

flavour verb - often passive

to give a particular taste to food or drink:
This sauce is flavoured with garlic and herbs.
You can use fresh herbs to flavour the soup.

flour verb
to put flour on a surface to prevent food from sticking:
Grease and flour (= put a thin layer of flour on) the tins thoroughly.

frost (CAKE) US verb (UK ice)

to cover a cake with frosting/icing (= a food made mainly with sugar):
Leave the cake to cool before frosting it.

garnish verb
to decorate food with a small amount of different food:
Garnish the dish with parsley before serving.

get (PREPARE) verb

to prepare a meal:
I'll put the kids to bed while you're getting the dinner.

glaze (SHINY) verb

to make a surface shiny by putting a liquid substance onto it and leaving it or heating it until it dries:
Glaze the pastry with beaten egg.
The pot had been badly glazed.

glaze noun
a substance used to glaze something:
a cake with a redcurrant glaze

grate (COOKING) verb

to rub food against a grater (= metal device with sharp holes in it), in order to cut it into a lot of
small pieces:
grated cheeseSee picture Kitchen equipment and cooking.

ingredient noun
a food that is used with other foods in the preparation of a particular dish:
The list of ingredients included 250g of almonds.

knead verb
to press something, especially a mixture for making bread, firmly and repeatedly with the hands and
fingers:
Knead the dough until smooth.

leaven verb
to add a substance to bread or another food made with flour to make it get bigger when it is cooked

liquidise
to change food into a thick liquid using a blender (= electric machine with blades that turn very
quickly)
Compare liquefy.

marinate verb
Marinate the chicken in white wine for a couple of hours before frying.

mash verb
to crush food, usually after cooking it, so that it forms a soft mass:
Mash the potatoes and then mix in the butter and herbs.

mashed adjective
crushed:
UK mashed potato/ US AND UK mashed potatoes

mature (FOOD) verb

to make food and wine old enough for the flavour to have developed completely:
The wine has been matured in oak vats.
The cheese is left to mature for two years.

mince verb
to cut meat, or other food, into very small pieces, sometimes using a special machine:
Mince two pounds of chicken finely.

minced adjective (US USUALLY ground)

(especially of meat) having been cut up into very small pieces:
minced beef/lamb/onions

press verb
to put a weight on fruit in order to remove the juice:
to press grapes

recipe noun
a set of instructions telling you how to prepare and cook food, including a list of what food is
needed for this:
For real Indian food, just follow these recipes.
Do you know a good recipe for wholemeal bread?

salt verb
to add salt to or put salt on something:
Don't forget to salt the potatoes.
When it's icy, the city salts the roads to thaw the ice.

season (FLAVOUR) verb

to improve the flavour of savoury food by adding salt, herbs or spices when cooking or preparing it:
Drain the rice, stir in the salmon and season to taste (= so that it has the taste you like).

sieve verb
to put a liquid or powder through a sieve:
To make the pastry, sieve the flour and salt into a mixing bowl.

sift (SEPARATE) verb

to put flour, sugar, etc. through a sieve (= wire net shaped like a bowl) to break up large pieces:
When the cake is cooked, sift some icing sugar over the top of it.
skim (REMOVE) verb -mm-
to remove something solid from the surface of a liquid:
Strain the cooking liquid and skim off the fat.

sliced adjective
cut into thin flat pieces:
sliced bread/ham/tomato

spice verb
to use spice to add flavour to food or drink:
coffee spiced with cinnamon
a highly spiced curry

stir (MIX) verb -rr-

to mix a liquid or other substance by moving an object such as a spoon in a circular pattern:
Stir the sauce gently until it begins to boil.
Stir the egg yolks into the mixture.
Slowly add the flour, stirring until completely blended.

stir noun
the act of stirring a liquid or other substance in order to mix it:
Could you give the soup a quick stir?

strain (SEPARATE) verb

to separate liquid food from solid food, especially by pouring it through a utensil with small holes in
it:
Could you strain the vegetables, please.
I usually strain the juice off the pineapple and use it in another recipe.

stuff verb
to fill something with stuffing:
Stuff the turkey, then put it into a pre-heated oven.

sweeten verb
to make something taste sweet:
The apple mixture can be sweetened with honey.

thicken verb
Thicken the sauce with a little flour.

thin verb -nn-

to make a substance less thick, often by adding a liquid to it:
Thin the sauce down with a little stock.

toss verb
When you toss food you shake or mix small pieces of it together with a sauce or dressing:
a tossed salad
carrots tossed in butter

toss verb
toss a pancake to quickly and suddenly lift the pan in which a pancake (= thin, flat round cake) is
cooking so that the pancake goes up into the air and turns over before falling back into the pan
whip (BEAT FOOD) verb -pp-
to beat food, especially cream with a special utensil in order to make it thick and firm:
Could you whip the cream for me?
Try whipping a little brandy or other liqueur into the cream.
Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of sugar.

whisk (BEAT FOOD) verb

to beat eggs, cream, etc. with a special utensil in order to add air and make the food light:
Whisk the egg whites until stiff.
Remove mixture from heat and whisk in the brandy and vanilla essence.

fold sth in/fold sth into something phrasal verb

(in cooking) to mix a substance into another substance by turning it gently with a spoon:
Fold the egg whites into the cake mixture.
Fold in the flour.

mash up sth phrasal verb

to crush something, especially food:
He always mashes up his peas before he eats them.

rustle sth up phrasal verb INFORMAL

to make something quickly, usually a meal from the food that is available:
Give me a minute and I'll rustle something up for supper.

whip sth up (FOOD) phrasal verb INFORMAL

to make food or a meal very quickly and easily:
I think I've just about got enough time to whip up an omelette.

can't boil an egg HUMOROUS

Someone who can't boil an egg, is unable to cook even the simplest meal.