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Goodcooking - Wine definitions database Category: Food and Drink > Wine Date & country: 18/05/2010, USA Words: 474

Achiote
The seed of the annatto tree, pounded into a powder and mixed with garlic, vinegar and spices. It's used in Southwestern, Mexican and Caribbean Cuisines.

Aerate
To incorporate air to make ingredients lighter. Sifting flour is an example of the process. Whipped butter is another. Air is whipped in, thus making the butter lighter and increase in volume.

Aging
Keeping meats and a or cheese in a controlled environment for a specific amount of time in a controlled and ventilated atmosphere to permit natural flavoring and tenderizing.

Al dente
'To the tooth,' in Italian. Pasta is cooked just to a firm and chewy texture.

Al dente
To the tooth, in Italian. Pasta is cooked just to a firm and chewy texture.

Albaricoque
Spanish for Apricot.

Allemande
In French Cooking it means in the German style. Sauce Allemande is made from veal stock, cream, egg yolks and lemon juice.

Allium cepa
The Latin name for onions.

Annuals
Plants that grow from seeds and complete their lifecycle in less than 12 months.

Apfel
German for Apple.

Aromatics
Seasonings to enhance the flavor and aroma usually herbs and spices and some vegetables.

Artischocken
German for Artichoke.

Aspartame
An artificial sweetener known as Nutra-Sweet.

Asperge
French for Asparagus.

Aspic
A transparent meat flavored jelly/jello that is firm when cold. Used to flavor and add moisture to pate, charcutière and cold food preparations.

Aspic
A transparent meat flavored jelly/Jell-O that is firm when cold. Used to flavor and add moisture to pate, charcutière and cold food preparations.

Au Jus
This is the natural pan drippings or juice that comes from a roasting pan after deglazing.

Aubergine
French for Eggplant.

Azuki Beans
Small red beans frequently used in Japanese Cooking.

Bacteria
Microscopic organisms, some of which can cause sickness including food-borne infections. Others can be perfectly safe and help tenderize or even add flavor. The blue veining in cheese is an example of the 'good' type.

Bake
To cook in the oven as baking a cake, but also may be used in meat cookery such as baked leg of lamb.

Baste
To brush or spoon liquid fat or juices over meat, fish poultry or vegetables during cooking to help keep moisture on the surface area.

Batter
A mixture of flour and liquid that is beaten or stirred in preparation of baking, i.e. cake batter.

Beat
Briskly whipping or stirring it with a spoon, fork, wire whisk, beater or mixer.

Betterave
French for Beets.

Beurre Noir
Heating salted butter until dark brown and foamy but not smoking. A type of butter sauce called black butter sauce.

Bias-slice
Slicing a food crosswise at a 45-degree angle.

Bierre douce
A Louisiana Creole beer made from pineapple skins, sugar, rice and water.

Bind
To thickening a sauce or hot liquid by stirring in ingredients such as roux, flour, butter, cornstarch, egg yolks, vegetable puree or cream.

Birne
German for Pear.

Bisque
A rich thick shellfish soup with cream.

Blackened
Cajun-style cooking method in which highly seasoned foods are dipped in liquid butter then cooked over high heat in a super-heated heavy skillet until charred.

Blanch
To partially cook vegetables by parboiling them in highly salted water then cooling quickly in ice water.

Blend
Mixing two or more ingredients together to obtain an equally distributed mixture.

Boil
To heat water or other liquids to 212 degrees Fahrenheit, 100 degrees Celsius and to keep it bubbling and shimmering in the pot.

Bouillabaisse
A Mediterranean fish soup made from several varieties of fish, tomatoes, saffron, fennel and wine.

Bouillon
Clear soup made from slow simmering lean meat, bones and seasonings and vegetables. Strained and served with the shredded cooked meat it was made from.

Bouquet Garni
A bundle of seasonings; bay leaf, thyme and parsley stems tied with leeks, carrot and celery stalk. It's used to season braised foods and stocks.

Braise
Meat browned in fat with vegetables, seasonings and then cooked slowly in liquid so it is partially submerged then cooked in an oven, this combines moist and dry heat cooking. Making a pot roast is an example.

Brassica
Large genus of plants known as the 'cabbage' family.

Bread
To coat the food with bread crumbs. Standard method is to first dip in salted flour, then beaten egg and then bread crumbs. Items prepared like this are usually pan fried in oil or clarified butter until golden and crispy.

Broil
To cook food directly under a very hot 500 degree F. heat source.

Brombeeren
German for Blackberries.

Broth or stock
A liquid made by gently simmering meats, fish, or vegetables and/or their by-products, such as bones and trimming with herbs, in liquid, usually water. Broths usually have a higher proportion of meat to bones than stock.

Brown
A quick sautéing/searing done either at the beginning or end of meal preparation, often to enhance flavor, texture, or eye appeal.

Brush
To coat food with melted butter, glaze, or other liquid using a pastry brush.

Bundt pan
The name for a tube baking pan having fluted sides.

Burrito
A tortilla rolled with various ingredients, usually including beans, vegetables and spices.

Buttercream
A frosting made from sugar, sweet butter, milk, egg yolks and flavoring. Confectioner's or powdered sugar is often used buy not required.

Butterfly
To cut food down the center without cutting all the way through to open and then spread it apart. Shrimp cut this way is popular. Meat may be butterflied when cooking it well done so it isn't burned during the process as if it remained thick. 

BYOB
A slang term for 'Bring your own bottle' or 'Bring your own booze'.

Cake pan
Round baking pan with straight sides. It comes in 8', 9' and other sizes.

Calamari
Plural for squid in Italian.

Caracoles
Spanish for Snails.

Caramel
Brunt sugar used for sauces, coloring, flavoring and candy.

Caramelization
Natural sugars turn brown when exposed to direct heat over a flame, with or without the addition of some oil to aid the process. Onions when fried in butter over high heat causes them to turn brown and have a sweet toasted flavor. Carrots in a roasting pan turn golden with a roast chicken. This process and color change from raw to cooked is carmelization.

Caramelize
The process of cooking sugar until it begins to color. Also, while slowly cooking some vegetables e.g. onions, root vegetables, the natural sugars are released and the vegetables will caramelize in their own sugars, usually oil is used in the pan to help the process.

Cebolla
Spanish for Onion.

Cerveza
Spanish for Beer.

Channa
Indian for Chick Peas.

Chervil
A delicate parsley like plant with faint licorice flavors.

Chicory
A lettuce used for salad and sometimes called curly endive. Also added to coffee in the deep South.

Chiffon
Usually a pureed filling made light and fluffy with beaten egg whites, gelatin and or whipped cream. Lemon chiffon pie is one example.

Chiffonade
Lettuces, sorrel, basil leaves and other leafy vegetables cut into julienne strips.

Chinoise
A very fine conical wire mesh strainer. Using a chinoise removes the small impurities from the liquid that is strained. It is a must in any professional kitchen.

Chop
To cut into irregular pieces with no set size as a result. Chopping parsley is a good example.

Chou
French for Cabbage.

Chow-Chow
A sweet relish of pickles and other vegetables.

Chutney
A spicy relish made with fruits, spices, sugar and herbs. Usually served with curry.

Cilantro
Parsley like herb with a basil, mint and green onion flavor, popular in Chinese and Mexican/Latin cuisine

Clarify
A process of making a liquid clear by adding beaten egg whites, ground meat and tomato, then simmering slowly. The liquid is then strained and the result is consommé. Also---melting butter over medium heat so the milk solids settle to the bottom and impurities float to the top. The foamy top is discarded and pure golden liquid butter is ladled off into a clean container for other cooking uses.

Coat
Evenly covering food with flour, crumbs, herbs, oil or batter.

Coddle
To cook slowly and gently in a liquid just below the boiling point. Usually eggs are coddled when making traditional Caesar salad to help them absorb and emulsify evenly with the lemon juice and olive oil. Coddled eggs for breakfast a different than poached as they relatively soft but fully heated through.

Combine
The mixing of two or more ingredients into a single mixture.

Concasse
Applying to raw or cooked tomatoes: Peeled, seeded and diced/chopped fine, raw; or then sautéed with minced onions in olive oil, cooked.

Concasser
To chop coarsely.

Confit
Slowly cook pieces of meat in their own gently rendered fat until very soft and tender. With seasonings, brandy/wine and sometimes vegetables. Duck and pork are two popular meats to be used in confit. When cooked and cooled the meat is keep submerged in its cooking fat as a preservative and as a seal against oxygen.

Core
To remove the inedible center of fruits such apples and pears.

Cream
To beat vegetable shortening, butter, or margarine, with or without sugar, until light and fluffy.

Crimp
To create a decorative edge on a piecrust, also seal the edges together.

Crisp
To restore the crunch to vegetables such as celery and lettuce. This can be done with an ice water bath. Stale crackers can be crisped in a medium oven. Also a type of a pan baked dessert made of cooked fruit with a crunchy flour and sugar topping. Apple or peach crisp are examples.

Croquettes
Chopped seasoned food held together by cream sauce, eggs, flour/breadcrumbs, shaped and then breaded with bread crumbs and deep fried. Crab cakes that are deep fried, not sautéed are really crab croquettes.

Crush
To reduce a food to small particles, usually using a mortar and pestle, rolling pin or bottom of a pot. To crush crackers you may place them in a double bag and roll a rolling pin over them.

Crystallize
To form sugar or honey syrups into crystals buy cooking it to hard crack and letting it cool on an oiled surface. The term also describes a sugar coating surrounding a fruit dipped in a egg white and granulated sugar mixture.

Cube
To cut in even pieces. May be 1/4 inch/ 1/2 inch or 1 inch. Sides must be of even size to be conceded cubed. This is a description used in dicing as an exact dice.

Cull
The term for a lobster with one claw.

Curd
Custard-like pie or tart filling made with whole eggs, sugar,juice and zest of citrus the fruit, usually lemon. May also be the solidified nuggets of milk after citric acid has been added and rennet introduced. The curding process is an important stage in the cheese making process.

Curdle
Separation of a milk/cream based sauce or the cooking of eggs when over cooked. Sauces look like egg drop soup when curdled.

Cure
Marinating to preserve an ingredient with salt and/or sugar and spices. Preparing gravlax, marinated salmon, is an example of curing.

Custard
A mixture of beaten egg, egg yolks, milk, and other ingredients. Which is cooked with gentle heat, often in a water bath. A custard differs from a pudding in that it isn't stirred during the cooking process.

Cut in
Working butter or vegetable shortening, margarine, into dry ingredients for equal distribution. This is done with the help of a pastry blender and is an important procedure in making flaky pie crusts.

Dahchini
Indian for Cinnamon.

Dash
A measure approximately equal to 1/16 teaspoon, a pinch or less.

Dashi
A Japanese soup stock based on dried bonito and kelp.

Datteri
Italian for Date.

Découper
French-to cut up, to carve.

Deep-fry
To partially or completely submerge and cook food in hot oil until golden brown.

Deglaze
Adding liquid to a pan in which foods have been sautéed, fried or roasted to dissolve the caramelized juices stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Devil
To add hot or spicy ingredients such as cayenne pepper, mustard or Tabasco sauce to a food. Sauce Diable is a classic French sauce made with demi-glace and Dijon mustard.

Diablo
Italian cooking term for for a hot and spicy tomato sauce, deviled.