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with Marie Lockwood
This is a list of common cooking terms you are likely to find on my site or even in a cook book.
This list should help explain what any of them are if you come across one you don't know or understand.
Au gratin - Topped with crumbs and/or cheese and browned in oven under broiler.
Au jus - Served in it's own juices.
Bake - To cook by dry heat, either covered or uncovered, in an oven or oven-type appliance.
Baste - To moisten meat or other foods with pan drippings, fruit juice or a sauce. Prevents drying of food surface and adds flavor.
Beat - To make a mixture smooth by introducing air with a brisk over and over motion using a spoon, or a rotary motion using an egg beater or electric mixer.
Bisque - A thick cream soup.
Blanch - To preheat in boiling water or steam. Helps loosen skins of fruits, vegetables or nuts: also used to prepare food for canning, freezing or drying.
Blend - To combine two or more ingredients thoroughly.
Boil - To heat a liquid until bubbles continuously break on the surface.
Braise - To cook slowly in a small amount of liquid in a covered pan.
Bread - To coat with flour, then dip into slightly diluted beaten egg or milk, and finally coat with bread, cereal or cracker crumbs.
Broil - To cook by direct heat, under a broiler or over hot coals.
Caramelize - To melt sugar, or foods containing sugar, slowly over low heat without burning, until it melts and becomes brown in color.
Chop - To cut food into small pieces with a knife.
Clarify - To make a liquid (stock, broth, butter) clear by skimming away or filtering out fat or other impurities.
Coat - To cover food evenly with flour, crumbs or batter.
Coddle - To cook food slowly in water just below the boiling point.
Compote - Fruit stewed or cooked in syrup, usually served as a dessert.
Cool - To let food stand at room temperature until it is no longer warm to the touch.
Cream - To make a fat, such as butter, soft and smooth by beating with a spoon or mixer. Also, to combine a fat with sugar until mixture is light and fluffy.
Crimp - To seal the edges of a two-crust pie either by pinching them at intervals with the fingers or by pressing them together with the tines of a fork.
Crudites - An assortment of raw vegetables (i.e. carrots, broccoli, celery, mushrooms) that is served as a hors d'oeuvre, often accompanied by a dip.
Cube - To cut a solid food into cubes of about 1/2 inch or more.
Cut in - To mix evenly a solid fat into dry ingredients (e.g. shortening and flour) by chopping with two knives or a pastry blender.
Degrease - To remove fat from the surface of stews, soups or stock. Usually cooled in the refrigerator so that fat hardens and is easily removed.
Dice - To make small cubes of 1/8 to 1/4 inch.
Dredge - To cover or coat food with flour or a similar fine, dry substance.
Dust - To sprinkle lightly with flour or sugar.
Entree - The main course.
Fillet - A piece of meat, poultry or fish without bones.
Flake - To break food into small pieces, usually with a fork.
Flute - To make decorative indentations around edge of pastries, fruits or vegetables.
Fold - To combine two ingredients. Using a spoon or rubber spatula, go down through the mixture on the far side of the bowl, bring the spoon across the bottom of the bowl and up the near side, turn the mixture over the top. Turn the bowl slightly and repeat till mixture is blended.
Fry - To cook in hot fat; pan-fry or saute in a small amount of fat, deep-fat fry in deep layer of fat that covers food.
Glaze - To coat with a smooth mixture to give food a glossy appearance.
Grate - To rub food against a grater to form small particles.
Grill - To cook on a rack over hot coals or other direct heat.
Grind - To reduce to particles in a grinder, blender or food processor.
Julienne - To cut meat, vegetables or fruit into long matchlike strips.
Knead - To manipulate with a pressing motion accompanied by folding and stretching. For yeast bread: fold dough toward you, push dough away using the heel of your hand. Rotate 1/4 turn and repeat. For tea biscuits: kneading process is much less vigorous and requires less time.
Marinate - To let food stand in a seasoned sauce called a marinade to tenderize and increase flavor.
Meuniere - Dredged with flour and sauteed in butter.
Mince - To cut or chop into very small pieces, but smaller than diced.
Mix - To combine ingredients until evenly distributed.
Panbroil - To cook uncovered on a hot surface removing fat as it accumulates.
Parboil - To cook food in a boiling liquid until partially done. Cooking is usually completed by another method.
Pare - To remove outer covering of fruit or vegetable with a knife.
Peel - To strip off or pull away outer covering of fruit or vegetable.
Poach - To cook slowly in simmering liquid such as water or milk.
Puree - To put food through a sieve, blender or processor to produce the thick pulp or paste with juice.
Reduce - To rapidly boil down the volume of a liquid to concentrate flavor.
Refresh - To run cold water over food that has been parboiled in order to stop the cooking process quickly.
Roast - To cook meat in an uncovered pan by dry heat in an oven.
Saute - To brown or cook in a small amount of fat (see fry).
Scald - To heat milk to just below the boiling point, when tiny bubbles appear around the edge of the pan; to dip certain foods briefly into boiling water (see blanch).
Score - To make shallow slits into the surface of a food in a diamond or rectangular pattern.
Sear - To brown and seal surface of meat quickly with intense heat.
Shred - To cut into long, this strips with a knife or shredder.
Simmer - To cook in liquid just below boiling point; bubbles from slowly and burst before reaching surface.
Sliver - To cut into long thin pieces with a knife; e.g. almonds or pimiento.
Steam - To cook in a covered container above boiling water.
Steep - To let stand for a few minutes in water that has just been boiled to enhance flavor and color.
Stew - To simmer slowly in liquid deep enough to cover.
Stir - To mix ingredients in a circular motion until blended with uniform consistency.
Stir fry - To cook in a frypan or wok over high heat in a small amount of fat, tossing or stirring constantly.
Toast - To brown with dry heat in an oven or toaster.
Toss - To combine ingredients with a repeated lifting motion.
Whip - To beat rapidly with a wire whisk, beater or mixer to incorporate air to lighten and increase volume.