Cooking Terms

 Baste- To moisten meat with a liquid, such

as melted butter or a sauce, while cooking.

 Beat- To make mixture smooth by lifting it

over and over quickly with a big beating
stroke or to incorporate air through the
mixture.

 Blanch-Blanching is boiling water, putting

food in for quick heating, then removing and
placing in cold/ice water to quickly chill.
 Blend-To combine or mix so that the constituent
parts are indistinguishable from one another.

 Coat/dredge -To lightly coat food in a powdered

substance such as breadcrumbs, cornmeal, flour.
Most foods require dipping in a liquid, such as egg
or milk, in order for the powdered substance to
adhere to the food.

 Chop-To cut into small pieces.

 Combine-To join (two or more substances) to

make a single substance, mix.
 Cream-To beat sugar and fat
together until fluffy.

 Cube- to cut food into small cube

shapes, larger than diced, usually about
1/2 inch.

 Cut-in-To cut fat into flour with

two knives, or a pastry blender, until it
is distributed in small particles
throughout the mixture.
 Fold-in- To mix ingredients by gently turning
one part over another with a rubber scraper.

 Knead- To work dough with the “heel” of the

hands, using a pressing motion,
accompanied by folding and stretching until
smooth and elastic.

 Marinate- Marinate means to coat or immerse

foods in an acidic-based liquid or dry rub, to
tenderize and flavor before cooking. Food is
marinated in a marinade.

 Mince- To cut or chop food as finely as

possible.
 Mix- To combine or blend into one mass or
mixture

 Pare-To remove the outer covering or skin

of with a knife or similar instrument.

 Scald- To heat milk almost to boiling point.

 Score-To make shallow cuts (usually in a

diamond pattern) in the surface of certain
foods, such as meat or fish.
 Shred- A long irregular strip that is cut or
torn off.

 Sift- To put (flour, for example) through a

sieve or other straining device in order to
separate the fine from the coarse particles.

 Skim-To remove floating matter from a

liquid.

 Whip- To beat rapidly to introduce air

bubbles into food. Applied to cream, eggs,
and gelatin.
 Simmer- . To cook below the boiling point,
bubbles form slowly and break on the
surface.

 Poach- Cooking food either partially or completely

covered by a liquid which is brought to, and
maintained at a temperature just below boiling point.

 Saute- To cook in a small amount of fat.

 Roast-To oven-cook food in an uncovered

pan.