Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1 Culinary
Terms
Cooking Terms
À la Nage – Cooking à la nage means poaching food, usually seafood, in a court bouillon
and serving the court bouillon and the vegetables around the food as part the garniture.
When making a court bouillon to use for cooking à la nage, cut the vegetables in a
decorative manner, such as julienne.
Al dente – An Italian expression applied in all western kitchens to pasta cooked just
until enough resistance is left in it to be felt “by the tooth.” Fresh pasta can never by
cooked al dente as it is too soft. The expression is also applied to vegetables that have
been cooked crisp by steaming, boiling, or stir-frying.
Arborio – The name given to some of the best short-grained rices grown in the Po
Valley of Italy, and used to prepare risotto.
Aromatics– Plant ingredients, such as herbs and spices, used to enhance the flavor and
fragrance of food.
Arrowroot – A fine starch extracted from the rhizomes of plants of the genus Maranta.
Aspic – A clear jelly made from stock or occasionally from fruit or vegetable juices.
Egg wash – A mixture of egg or egg white, oil, and water brushed over floured items,
which are then deep-fried or pan-fried in clarified butter or oil.
Emulsion – An emulsion is a smooth mixture of two liquids, such as oil and water that
normally do not mix. Mayonnaise, beurre blank, hollandaise, cream sauces, vinaigrettes,
and béchamel sauce are examples of emulsions.
Enoki mushrooms – Also known as enokitake mushrooms. Thin, long-stemmed
mushrooms with a mild flavor.
Espagnole – Brown sauce made with brown stock, caramelized mirepoix and tomato
puree, and seasonings.
Essence – A concentrated flavoring extracted from an item.
Etouffe – A cooking method similar to braising in which items are cooked with little or
no added liquid in a pan with a tight-fitting lid. Also, a Cajun stew.
Fettuccine – ¼-inch-wide ribbon noodles.
Filé – Ground sassafras leaves used to give the Southern gumbos their distinct flavor.
Fines Herbes – A mixture of chervil, chives, parsley, and tarragon.
Fish sauce – Clear, amber-tinted liquid that is drained from salted, fermented fish. A
very important flavoring in Thai cuisine.
Flambé – To ignite a sauce or other liquid so that it flames. Most of the time flambéing
has no real function other than to delight your guests. If you are going to flambé a dish
keep in mind that it is impossible to flambé a cold dish by sprinkling it with spirits and
trying to light it—the spirits only release their flammable fumes when hot. Do not pour
flaming spirits.
Flan – A liquid or semi liquid mixture, held together with whole eggs, egg whites, or egg
yolks, that is gently baked in a mold or pastry shell. Quiches, crème caramel, and crème
brulee are examples of sweet flans. Any puree, or pureed soup, can be converted to a
flan with the addition of egg. One whole egg, 2 egg whites, or 2 egg yolks will bind ¾
cup of liquid.
Foie Gras – The livers of geese and ducks that have been force-fed a mixture of corn,
lard, and salted water.
Fold – To incorporate an egg-white foam into an egg yolk foam or a flour batter without
deflating it so that it retains its full leavening power.
Forcemeat – A mixture of chopped or ground meat and other ingredients used for
pates, sausages, and other preparations.
Fricassee – A fricassee is almost always a stew in which the meat, usually poultry, is
cut up, lightly cooked in butter, and then simmered in liquid until done.
Frittata – A flat Italian baked or sometimes also half-fried/half-baked omelet.
Fritter – Any food coated with a batter or crumbs and deep-fried.
Fry – To cook in a hot fat.
Ganache – A mixture of grated or finely chopped chocolate, black or white, and scalded
heavy cream, whisked on medium speed until completely cool.
Garnish – To add an interesting and completely edible item to a plate to make it look
more attractive; or any such edible item.
Génoise – A sponge cake made with whole eggs, used for layer cakes and other
desserts.
Gherkin – A small pickled cucumber.
Giblets – The neck, heart, gizzard, and liver of poultry.
Glaze – To give food a shiny surface by brushing it with sauce, aspic, icing, or another
appariel. For meat, to coat with sauce and then brown in an oven.
Gnocchi – Gnocchi are starchy dumplings that are made in various shapes. There are
two basic types of gnocchi: those based on potatoes and those based on flour or
cornmeal.
Grand sauce – (or Mother sauce). One of several basic sauces that are used in the
preparation of many other small sauces. The grand sauces are: demi-glace, veloute,
béchamel, hollandaise, and tomato.
Gratin – A way of binding together, or combining, cooked or raw foods (usually
vegetables or pasta—baked macaroni and cheese is a gratin) with a liquid such as
cream, milk, béchamel sauce, or tomato sauce, in a shallow dish and baking until cooked
and set. Typically the gratin is sprinkled with cheese or bread crumbs so a crunchy,
savory crust forms on top. A gratin is really the same thing as a casserole, except a gratin
is usually baked in a special oval, shallow dish.
Gravy – A gravy is an American-style jus that has been thickened with a roux. This roux
can be made using butter and flour or by cooking flour into some of the fat skimmed off
the jus. Cornstarch mixed with a little water can also be whisked into the jus and the jus
brought to a simmer to get the cornstarch to thicken. Once the gravy is thickened, other
ingredients, such as herbs or chopped giblets, can be added to it to give it extra flavor.
Vegetable purees can also be used to thicken a natural jus and turn it into a flourless
gravy. Garlic, roasted along with meats and poultry, or separately, is excellent pureed
and whisked into the jus to thicken it.
Grill – To cook above the heat source (traditionally over wood coals) in the open air.
Grind – To pass meats or nuts through a grinder or a food processor to reduce to small
pieces.
Gumbo – An African word for okra, it is now the name of a soup of shellfish made
famous in Louisiana. It is lightly thickened with okra or the powdered sassafras leaves
called filé.
Haloumi – Firm white cheese made from sheep’s milk. It has a stringy texture and is
usually sold in brine.
Haricot – French for bean.
Harissa – A hot paste of red chilies, garlic and olive oil. Available in tubes or jars.
Hash – Chopped, cooked meat, usually with potatoes and/or other vegetables, which is
seasoned, bound with a sauce, and sautéed. Also, to chop.
Hoisin sauce – A thick, sweet-tasting Chinese sauce made from fermented soy beans,
sugar, salt, and red rice. Used as a dipping sauce or glaze.
Hollandaise – One of the Grand or Mother sauces. It is made with a vinegar
reduction, egg yolks, and melted butter flavored with lemon juice.
Jambalaya – A Cajun and Creole composition of rice, smoke sausage, cubed ham,
aromatics, and any meat that interests the cook.
Jardiniere – French for a main course made mostly of new spring vegetables, like
lettuce, peas, green beans, carrots, turnips, and flavored with bacon or salt pork. It may
also contain baby artichokes and young celery and fennel hearts, or cauliflower.
Julienne – To cut into long thin matchstick size strips.
Jus – The natural juices released by roasting meats and poultry.
Kaffir lime – A variety of lime with a knobby outer skin. The fragrant leaves are crushed
or shredded and used in cooking, and the limes are used for their juice, mainly in Thai
cuisine.
Kosher – From the Hebrew kasher. When talking about food, to prepare it at every
stage in strict observance of the Jewish dietary laws. When talking about salt, kosher
salt is a coarse salt that does not contain magnesium carbonate.
Lard – To insert strips of fatback into a piece of meat to be braised, using a special cutter
with a hollow blade called a lardoir. Also, to wrap a tenderloin of beef in a thin sheet of
fatback before roasting it.
Lasagne – Wide strips of thin pasta.
Lemongrass – A tall, lemon-scented grass, used in Thai cooking.
Liqueur – A spirit flavored with fruit, spices, nuts, herbs, and / or seeds and usually
sweetened.
London Broil – A large steak generally grilled or broiled and cut out of the rib cap, flank,
or chuck of beef.
Low-fat Milk – Partially defatted milk containing 1 to 2 percent fat.
Lox – Yiddish word derived from the German word lachs for salmon and the name of
salt-cured belly of salmon.
Lyonnaise – Lyons-style; with onions and usually butter, white wine, vinegar, and
demi-glace.
Macaroni Italian Macaroni – Handmade eggless pasta made from flour or a
combination of flour and semolina, water, and a small amount of salt. Often used to
refer to elbow-shaped pasta.
Mahimahi – A firm-fleshed fish with a light, delicate flavor.
Mandoline – A slicer that can be fitted with diverse cutting blades.
Marinade – A mixture of ingredients used to flavor and moisten foods. May be liquid of
dry. Liquid marinades are usually acidic based and dry marinades are usually salt based.
Marinate – To combine foods—usually meat or seafood, and occasionally vegetables—
with aromatic ingredients in order to flavor the food.
Marsala – An Italian fortified wine made in the vicinity of Marsala in Sicily.
Melt – To liquefy a fat or a gel by heating it.
Meringue – Egg whites beaten until they are stiff, with added sugar or sugar syrup,
used as a topping or shaped and baked until stiff.
Mince – To chop very fine.
Mirepoix – Many cooking preparations, particularly braises, stews, roasts, and soups,
call for sweating various mixtures of chopped aromatic vegetables before liquid is
added. These mixtures are designed to add freshness and flavor to meats and seafood.
The best-known mixture is the French mirepoix, a mixture of 2 parts onion, 2 parts
carrot, and 1 part celery, but other countries and regions have their own variations. Italy
has its soffritto (onion, carrot, celery, and usually, garlic). Spain has its sofregit and
sofrito (onion, carrot, celery, ham, and sometimes tomato). Indonesia has bumbu
(garlic, shallots, spices, and shrimp paste).
Mirin – Heavily sweetened rice wine used as cooking wine. You can substitute sweet
white wine.
Miso – A thick paste made from fermented and processed soy beans. Red miso is a
combination of barley and soy beans and yellow miso is a combination of rice and soy
beans.
Mix – To combine ingredients by hand or with a mixer with the goal of blending them
well and uniformly together.
Mousse – A general term that can describe any mixture lightened with something
airy, usually beaten egg whites or whipped cream.
Mousseline – A sauce made by folding whipped cream into hollandaise. Or, a very
light forcemeat based on white meat or seafood lightened with cream and eggs.
Mozzarella – Italian cheese made of pasta filata, a cheese paste that pulls into strings
when cooked to approximately 96 to 98 degrees F.
Napoleon – A pastry made with alternating layers of puff pastry and a cream of your
choice and glazed.
Noodles – Pasta made with flour or a mixture of flour and semolina, whole eggs, or egg
whites.
Nori sheets – Dried seaweed pressed into square sheets. Used for nori rolls, soups and
Japanese cuisine.
Oeuf – Egg
Omelet – Beaten eggs that are cooked in butter, then rolled or folded into an oval. They
may be filled with any variety of ingredients before folding.
Oyster mushrooms Thin-ridged, delicately flavored, cultivated mushrooms with a slight
taste of oysters.
Paella – A Spanish dish of rice cooked with onion, tomato, garlic, saffron, vegetables,
and various meats, including chicken, chorizo, and/or shellfish.
Panfry – Most cooks use the terms panfry and sauté interchangeably, but strictly
speaking, there is a difference. Although both terms refer to cooking in a small amount
of hot oil, butter, or other fat, sautéing means to toss foods over high heat, while pan-
frying describes cooking pieces of meat, seafood, or large pieces of vegetables in a hot
pan, turning with tongs, a spatula, or a fork only once or twice.
Pan gravy – A sauce made by deglazing pan drippings from a roast and combining them
with a roux or other starch and additional stock.
Papillote – Food wrapped in parchment paper for aluminum foil and baked in an
oven where it will steam in its own moisture and that of any vegetable added to the
package to flavor the meat.
Parboil – To cook partially in boiling water.
Parchment paper – Heat-resistant paper used in baking to line pans. It does not need to
be buttered or greased, and it keeps rich cookies from losing their shape and from
sticking to the pan.
Paring knife – A short knife used for paring and trimming fruits and vegetables. Its blade
is usually 2 to 4 inches long.
Parmigiano-Reggiano – The king of Italian hard-grating cheeses made from cow’s
milk. Once you have tasted this cheese grated over the top of a pasta dish you will
always have it on hand!
Pasta – The Italian generic name for all forms of alimentary pastes made from a mixture
of flour, semolina, and whole eggs or egg whites, but no water, as opposed to macaroni,
which contains water and no eggs.
Pastasciutta – Literally “dry pasta,” meaning fresh or dried pasta with sauce (as opposed
to a soup or a baked pasta dish).
Pasticcio – A baked dish of pasta and other ingredients, moistened with one or more
sauces.
Pâté – A rich forcemeat of meat, game, poultry, seafood, and /or vegetables, baked in
pastry or in a mold or dish.
Pâté à choux – Cream puff paste, made by boiling a mixture of water, butter, and
flour, then beating in whole eggs.
Pâté brisee – Short pastry for pie crusts.
Pâté en croute – Pâté baked in a pastry crust.
Pecorino – really good in risotto recipes with pecorino A hard grating cheese derived
from ewe’s milk mostly made in the Roman Lazio countryside and Sardinia.
Persillade – Finely or coarsely chopped mixture of garlic and parsley.
Pesto pesto recipes – From the Italian pestare, a verb that means to pound or crush.
Pesto is traditionally made of crushed fresh basil leaves pounded with garlic, Pecorino,
either pine nuts for walnuts, and olive oil.
Phyllo dough – Pastry made with very thin sheets of a flour-and-water dough layered
with butter and / or crumbs; similar to strudel. Also called filo dough.
Pilaf A technique for cooking rice in which the rice is sautéed briefly in butter, then
simmered in stock or water with various seasonings.
Poach – To cook completely submerged in barely simmering liquid.
Porcini mushrooms -Seafood Risotto With Porcinis Mushrooms with a meaty texture
and a woody, earthy taste. Available fresh and dried. Dried porcini should be soaked in
hot water before using.
Prosciutto -see eggplant Italiano for an example of using prociutto. A salt-cured, air-
dried Italian ham that originated in the area around the city of Parma. This dense-
textured, intensely flavored ham is served as an appetizer with melon or figs, and also
used in cooking, often to flavor sauces. Prosciutto has been produced in the United
States for years, but imported Italian prosciutto is also available. The finest is labeled
“Prosciutto di Parma.” Prosciutto crudo is raw and prosciutto cotto is cooked.
Puree – To work or strain foods until they are completely smooth.
Quenelle – A paste made of fish, poultry, or veal meat mixed with eggs, cream,
panade, and/or beef suet. Or, an oblong dumpling made from such a paste or other
more modern and lighter pastes, shaped between two spoons, poached in stock, and
served with a sauce and garnish.
Quiche – Originally a pie made with a butter crust and filled with eggs beaten with
heavy cream and very smoky bacon. American cooks have created a plethora of recipes
for quiche.
Quick bread – Bread made with chemical leaveners, which work more quickly than
yeast.
Ragout – Stew.
Ragừ – A complex meat sauce that may or may not contain tomato. Our timpano
recipe link uses one of these!
Ramekin – A small, ovenproof dish, usually ceramic.
Ratatouille – An ancient Mediterranean mixture of vegetables cooked slowly until
they make a well-bound compote.
Reduce or Reduction – The technique of cooking liquids down so that some of the
water they contain evaporates. Reduction is used to concentrate the flavor of a broth or
sauce and, at times, to help thicken the sauce by concentrating ingredients such as
natural gelatin.
Refresh – To rinse just-boiled vegetables under very cold water to stop their cooking.
Resting – Roasted meats should not be served straight out of the over, but should be
allowed to rest in a warm place for 20 to 30 minutes, loosely covered with aluminum
foil. (The foil keeps the meat warm; loose wrapping ensures that the outside of the
meat doesn’t steam and lose its crispness.) Resting allows the meat to relax so the juices
become redistributed in the meat and aren’t squeezed out onto the platter during
carving.
Ricotta – A fresh, creamy white cheese, smoother than cottage cheese, with a
slightly sweet flavor. It is available in whole milk and part-skim milk versions, and is often
used in lasagna and stuffed pastas. A little can be stirred into a sauce to add richness as
well as creamy body. Refrigerate and use within a week.
Risotto Risotto recipes – Risotto is a creamy rice dish made with short-grain or Arborio
Italian rice. The rice is gently cooked in butter or olive oil. Liquid, usually broth, is then
added a small amount at a time until the rice is cooked and bathed in creamy liquid.
Risotto must be stirred almost constantly to release the starch from the rice so the
starch thickens the broth, giving the dish its characteristic creamy consistency.
Roast – The purpose of roasting is to create a golden brown crust on whatever it is we
are roasting and, at the same time, make sure the meat, fish, or vegetable properly
cooks in the center. When roasting, no liquid such as broth, wine, or water comes in
contact with the food—only hot air, or, if the roast is being basted, hot fat. Roasting is
both simple and complex—simple because there’s very little to do except slide the food
into the oven; complex because if the temperature isn’t right, the food may never
brown or cook properly.
Roma tomatoes – Also known as egg tomatoes. Oval-shaped tomatoes, which are great
for cooking and eating.
Romano cheese – A hard, salty grating cheese. Pecorino Romano is the best known, and
is made with sheep’s milk, while many other types are made with cow’s milk or a blend
of cow’s and goat’s milk. Grate as you would Parmesan and use as a tangy accent for
pasta dishes.
Roulade – A slice of meat or fish rolled around a stuffing.
Roux – A mixture of flour and butter used to thicken sauces, soups, and gravies.
Usually the butter is cooked with the flour in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat.
Most roux are white roux, made by cooking the flour for only a minute or two. Brown
roux—made by cooking the flour until pale brown to dark brown—is also used in many
recipes, especially Cajun cooking.
Sabayon –A light, frothy mixture made by beating egg yolks with water or other liquid
over gentle heat.
Sake – Japanese fermented rice wine. Used in cooking to tenderize and add flavor. Store
in a cool, dark place and use soon after opening. Substitute dry white wine.
Salsa – Tomato sauce or other type of sauce flavored with a fairly wide variety of
ingredients.
Sashimi tuna – Finest quality tuna cut in an Asian or Japanese style. It is very tender and
used raw in Japanese cuisine.
Sauté – To cook over high heat in a small amount of fat in a sauté pan or skillet.
Scald – To heat milk just below the boiling point. Or, to immerse a vegetable or fruit in
boiling water in order to remove its skin easily.
Scallions – Immature onions (also called green onions) with a milk and slightly sweet
flavor. Both the white bulb and the green tops can be used in cooking. The green tops
also make an attractive garnish.
Sear – To brown the surface of pieces of meats and or fish by submitting them to
intense initial heat.
Sea salt – Salt produced by evaporating sea water. It is available refined, or unrefined,
crystallized, or ground.
Semolina – The coarsely milled hard wheat endosperm used for gnocchi, some pasta,
and couscous.
Shallot – A member of the onion family, looking rather like large cloves of garlic. Shallots
are used to infuse savory dishes with a mild, delicate onion flavor. Refrigerate for not
more than 1 week to maintain maximum flavor.
Shred – To cut into fine strips. Shredding is similar to cutting into chiffonade but less
precise.
Shitake mushroom – A meaty, Oriental variety of mushroom with an almost steak-like
flavor, used in pasta sauces and salads for depth. Choose fresh shitakes that are plump
and unblemished, and avoid broken or shriveled caps.
Simmer – To maintain the temperature of a liquid just below boiling.
Skim – To lift and discard any unwanted foam or fat from the surface of a stock, broth,
sauce, or soup.
Smother – To cook in a covered pan with little liquid over low heat.
Sommelier – The wine steward or waiter.
Sorbet – A frozen dessert made with fruit juice or another flavoring, a sweetener
(usually sugar), and beaten egg whites, which prevent the formation of large ice crystals.
Souffle – A preparation made with a sauce base, whipped egg whites, and
flavorings. The egg whites cause the soufflé to puff during cooking.
Spatzle – Small flour, egg, and milk dumplings resembling fine noodles which are
poached in water and then buttered.
Spring-form pan – A cake pan with a detachable bottom and a clamp on its side that can
be released to easily unmold the cake. You make Tiramisu link in one of these.
Steam – To cook in steam by suspending foods over (not in) boiling water, in a covered
pot or steamer.
Stew – A cooking method nearly identical to braising but generally involving smaller
pieces of meat, and hence a shorter cooking time. Also, the dish prepared by using this
method of preparation.
Stir-fry – Chinese technique of cooking think slivers of meat, shellfish, and vegetables in
hot oil.
Stock link – A rich meat, fish, or vegetable broth. It is used as a base for soups, sauces,
and other preparations.
Sugo – A simple tomato sauce or other type of sauce comprised of relatively few
ingredients.
Sun-dried tomatoes – Plum tomatoes that have been dried slowly to produce a chewy,
intensely flavorful sauce ingredient. They are available in both oil-packed and dry-
packed. For many recipes, the dried tomatoes must be soaked in hot water to soften
them before using.
Sweat – To cook foods over gentle heat, usually covered or partly covered, until they
release their moisture. Vegetables, meats, and seafood are often sweated when making
soups, stews, and sauces so that the foods release their juices into the pan and
surrounding liquid. Sweating is the opposite of sautéing.
Table salt – Refined, granulated rock salt.
Tamarind paste – A product from the ripe bean pods of the tamarind tree. It can be
purchased as pulp or in the more convenient form of tamarind concentrate ready to
use.
Tart – A pie that has only a bottom crust.
Tempura – A Japanese method of cooking vegetables and shellfish. They are coated with
a light cornstarch batter and deep-fried.
Terrine – A loaf of forcemeat, similar to a pate, but cooked in a covered mold in a bain-
marie. Also, the mold used to cook this item.
Timbale – A small pail-shaped mold used to shape rice, custards, mousselines, and
other foods. Also, a preparation made in such a mold.
Tomato paste – A concentrated essence of cooked tomatoes, sold in cans and tubes. It is
commonly used to thicken and accent the flavor and color of sauces; however it is
slightly bitter and should not be used alone or in large quantities. If you are using only
part of a can, save the remainder by freezing it in a plastic bag.
Tournedos – A ¼ -inch-thick steak cut from the tenderloin.
Veloute – One of the Grande or Mother sauces. A sauce of white stock thickened
with white roux. Also, a cream soup made with a veloute sauce base and flavorings that
is usually finished with a mixture of egg yolks and cream.
Vinaigrette – The classic French salad dressing made of one part vinegar and three
parts oil. Mustard and cream can be added if desired.
Wasabi – A spice that comes from a knobby green root of the Japanese plant wasbia
japonica. A traditional condiment served with Japanese sushi and sashimi. It has the
same warming or stinging nasal sensation as horseradish.
Whip – To beat a preparation with the goal of introducing air into it. Or, the balloon wire
whisk often used to do so.
White chocolate – Cocoabutter flavored with sugar and milk solids.
White mirepoix – Mirepoix that does not include carrots and may include chopped
mushrooms or mushroom trimmings. It is used for pale or white sauces and stocks.
White sauce – Traditional white sauces are divided into two types: those based on
béchamel sauce and those based on velouté sauce. A basic béchamel sauce is made by
adding hot milk to a white roux, and a basic veloute sauce is made by adding hot broth
to a white roux.
White stock – A light-colored stock made with bones that have not been browned.
Wok – A round-bottomed pan, usually made of rolled steel, used for virtually all
Chinese cooking methods.
Yogurt – Milk cultured with bacteria to give it a slightly thick consistency and sour
flavor.
Zabaglione – A whipped custard made with egg yolks and sugar gradually diluted
over heat with Marsala or other wine, fruit juice, or liqueur.
Zest – The thin, brightly colored outer part of the rind of citrus fruits. The oils make
it ideal for use as a flavoring. Remove the zest with a grater, citrus zester, or vegetable
peeler. Be careful to remove only the colored layer, not the bitter-white pith beneath it.