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Great British Kitchen - Food index Category: Food and Drink Date & country: 27/05/2010, UK Words: 221

Bain-marie
A shallow-sided container which is half-filled with water kept just below boiling point. Containers of food are placed in it to keep warm or cook without overheating. A bain-marie is used for cooking custards and other egg dishes and keeping sauces warm. No special container is needed; a roasting tin will do.

Baking
Cooking in the oven using dry heat.

Baking Blind
Method used for cooking flans and tarts without their fillings. Line with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans or rice.

Baking powder
A raising agent consisting of an acid, usually cream of tartar and an alkali (bicarbonate of soda) which react to produce carbon dioxide. This expands during baking and makes cakes and breads rise.

Barding
Covering dry meat or the breast of poultry or game birds with pieces of bacon or fat to prevent the flesh drying out during roasting.

Basting
Pouring the juices and melted fat over meat, poultry or game which is being roasted to keep it moist. Use a large spoon or a special bulb baster.

Beating
A method of incorporating air into an ingredient or mixture by agitating it vigorously with a spoon, fork, whisk or electric mixer. Also used to soften ingredients.

Bicarbonate of soda
Sometimes used in baking to act as a raising agent.

Blanching
Immersing food quickly in boiling water to whiten it, as in sweetbreads, or to remove skin, e.g. peaches and tomatoes. Vegetables which are to be frozen and kept for a certain length of time are blanched to destroy enzymes and preserve the colour, flavour and texture.

Blender
An electric machine usually consisting of a goblet with rotating blades in the base. Used for purÈeing wet mixtures and grinding dry ingredients. Ideal for making fresh breadcrumbs.

Boiling
Cooking in water or stock at 100'C (212'F).

Boning
Taking the bones from meat or poultry, cutting the flesh as little as possible, so that it can be rolled or stuffed.

Bottling
Term used for preserving food or preserves in glass jars under sterile conditions. This is the final stage for home wine making.

Bouillon
Consommè, unclarified, or beef broth, veal broth.

Bouquet garni
Bunch of herbs used for flavouring, parsley, thyme and bay, tied together or wrapped in muslin for easy removal before serving.

Braising
Cooking method used for cuts of meat, poultry and game which are too tough to roast. It is also good for some vegetables. Use a pan or casserole with a tightly fitting lid so that little liquid is lost through evaporation. Place the meat on a bed of chopped vegetables (called a mirepoix) add sufficient liquid to cover the vegetables and cook on the...

Brining
Immersing food in a strong salt and water solution.

Broth
The liquid produced by boiling meat or fish bones in water for a long time. Also sometimes called stock.

Browning
Searing the outside surface of meat to seal in the juices.

Calorie
A scientific term used in dietetics to measure the heat and energy producing quality of a food.

Candying
Method of impregnating pieces of fruit or peel with sugar to preserve them.

Caramel
A substance gained by heating sugar syrup very slowly until a rich brown colour.

Caramelise
To change sugar into caramel by gentle heating so it dissolves and turns brown.

Carbonade
A rich stew or braise of meat including beer.

Casserole
A dish with a well-fitting lid used for cooking meat and vegetables, also applied to food cooked this way.

Celsius
Also known as Centigrade. A scale for measuring temperature in which the freezing point of water is 0ƒ and the boiling point is 100ƒ. Now used for the oven settings on electric cookers, replacing the Fahrenheit scale which is gradually becoming obsolete in Europe.

Charlotte
A hot or cold moulded dessert. For a hot charlotte the mould is lined with bread and for a cold charlotte it is lined with sponge fingers.

Chilling
Cooling food without freezing.

Chining
Severing the rib bones from the backbone by sawing through the ribs near to the spine. Joints such as loin or neck of lamb, veal or pork are best chined as this makes them easier to carve into chops or cutlets after cooking.

Chopping
Cutting food into small neat pieces without damaging the tissues.

Clarifying
The process of extracting sediment or impurities from a food. Butter and dripping may be clarified so that they can be used for frying at higher temperatures.

Clotting
A gentle heat applied to cream which results in the thick clotted cream of the south-west of England.

Coddling
A method for soft boiling eggs.

Colander
Perforated metal or plastic draining basket.

Compote
A mixture of fruit stewed in sugar and water.

Concasser
Literally to pound, crush or grind. In cookery, to chop roughly. It is most often applied to skinned, seeded and chopped tomatoes.

Conserve
Jam containing whole fruits.

Consistency
Term used to describe the texture of a mixture, e.g. firm, dropping or soft.

Consommè
Concentrated stock which has been clarified.

Corned beef
Pieces of beef cured in salt and sugar, pressed together into blocks and canned.

Cornflour
Flour from maize. Also known as cornstarch.

Crackling
The crisp skin on roasted pork.

Cream of tartar
Raising agent which is an ingredient of baking powder and self-raising flour.

Cream, double
Double cream is the name in Britain for a very rich cream - containing 48% butterfat. Whipping cream in the US, by contrast, contains between 30% and 40% butterfat. Double cream is so rich that it is easy to overwhip it and get it too thick. Some cooks add a tablespoon or so of milk to 8 to 10 ounces of double cream before whipping it to keep it lo...

Cream, single
Single cream in Britain is comparable to American half and half (and may also be called pouring cream), with between 10% and 12% fat. Lower fat content than double cream and should not be used for whipping

Creaming
Beating together fat and sugar until the mixture resembles whipped cream in texture and colour (pale and fluffy). Used in cakes and puddings which contain a high proportion of fat and require the incorporation of a lot of air.

Crimping
Decorating the edges of a pie, tart or shortbread by pinching it at regular intervals to provide a fluted effect. Also using special icing tools to decorate fondant iced cakes.

Croquettes
Minced food, coated with egg and breadcrumbs, shaped into a roll and fried.

Curd
The parts of milk which coagulate when natural fermentation takes place, or when a curdling agent, such as rennet or an acid is added. The term also refers to a creamy preserve made from fruit (usually lemon or orange) and sugar, eggs and butter.

Curdle
To separate fresh milk or a sauce either by adding an acid such as lemon juice or by over heating. Also used to refer to creamed mixtures which have separated when the egg has been beaten in too quickly.

Cure
To preserve fish, meat or poultry by salting, drying or smoking.

Dariole
Individual cup shaped mould used for making puddings, sweet and savoury jellies, and creams.

Deep-frying
Frying food by placing it in deep hot fat or oil.

Demi-glace
Brown sauce, semi-clear and syrupy in texture.

Dice
To cut food into small cubes.

Dough
A thick mixture of uncooked flour and liquid, usually combined with other ingredients. The term is used to refer to mixtures such as pastry, scones and biscuits as well as those made with yeast.

Drawing
Removing the entrails from poultry and game.

Dredging
To cover generously with sifted flour or sugar.

Dressing
Plucking, drawing and trussing poultry and game. Garnishing a dish. Coating a salad.

Dripping
Fat obtained from roasting meat or pieces of fat which are rendered down deliberately (see also Rendering).

Drizzle
To slowly pour a liquid mixture in a very fine stream over food.

Dropping consistency
A term used to describe the correct texture of a cake or pudding mixture prior to cooking. Test for it by taking a spoonful of the mixture and holding the spoon on its side above the bowl. The mixture should fall off its own accord within 5 seconds.

Drying
Preserving food by dehydration. This is usually done commercially (e.g. dried milk granules, dried peas) but it is possible to dry herbs and fruit at home.

Dust
To sprinkle lightly with flour, cornflour or icing sugar.

Egg wash
A term given to a mixture of egg and salt used for glazing pastry, bread and buns when a shiny surface is required.

Emulsion
A mixture of two liquids which do not automatically dissolve into each other, e.g. oil and water. They can be made to emulsify by vigorous beating or shaking together, as when combining oil and vinegar in a French Dressing.

Enzyme
Substances present in all foods which have not been subjected to processing and which work within them continuously. Most enzymes are killed by cooking.

Escalope
A slice of meat such as veal, turkey or pork cut from the top of the leg and normally egged and crumbed, then fried.

Extract
Concentrated flavouring which is used in small quantities, e.g. meat extract, yeast extract.

Faggot
A mixture of pork offal, onion and breadcrumbs which is baked and eaten with gravy. The term is also used to describe a small bunch of herbs tied like a miniature faggot of wood, such as a bouquet garni.

Fahrenheit
System of measuring temperature which is being replaced with Celsius. Its freezing point is 32ƒ and boiling point 212ƒ.

Fillet
A name given to the undercut of a loin of beef, veal, pork or game, for boned breasts of poultry and for boned slices of fish.

Fines herbes
A mixture of chopped herbs, normally parsley, tarragon, chives and chervil.

Flambé
Alcohol, usually brandy or liqueur, poured over a dish and set alight, as a flavouring.

Flan
Open tart, cooked in a ring.

Fluting
Decorating the edges of a pie, tart or shortbread by pinching it at regular intervals to provide a fluted effect. Also using special icing tools to decorate fondant iced cakes.

Folding in
Method of combining a whisked or creamed mixture with other ingredients so that it retains its lightness. Used mainly for meringues, soufflÈs and certain cake mixtures. Folding is best done with a metal spoon.

Fool
Cold dessert consisting of purÈed fruit with whipped cream or custard blended into it.

Forcemeat
Stuffing for meat, fish or vegetables.

Frothing
Dredging the surface of roast meat, usually game, with flour and heating to a brown colour in a hot oven.

Frying
Method of cooking food in hot fat or oil. There are various methods: shallow frying in a little fat in a shallow pan; deep frying where the food is totally immersed in oil; dry-frying in which fatty foods, such as bacon and sausages, are cooked in a non-stick pan without extra fat.

Galantine
A dish of white meat which has been boned, sometimes stuffed, rolled, cooked, pressed and glazed with aspic to be served cold.

Game chips
Potatoes sliced very thinly and fried.

Garnish
The small ornamental items that can be eaten and that give colour and attraction to a dish, e.g. small glazed onions or carrots, sliced sautÈed mushrooms and so on, or for a fried dish, fried parsley. Often a dish will be named after the garniture.

Gelatine
An animal-derived setting agent sold in powdered form in sachets, and as leaf gelatine.

Gill
A liquid measure equivalent to 150ml (º pint).

Glacé
French word meaning iced or glossy e.g. Glacé Cherries and Glacé Icing.

Glaze
Foods used to give a glossy finish to sweet and savoury dishes to improve their appearance and sometimes flavour. Ingredients for glazes include beaten egg, egg white, milk and syrup.

Gluten
A constituent of wheat and other cereals. The amount present in varying flours produces the different textures of cakes and breads.

Grating
Shredding cheese, carrots and other hard foods with a grater or food processor attachment.

Griddle
A flat, heavy, metal plate used on top of the cooker for baking scones.

Grilling
Cooking beneath direct heat, also called broiling.

Grinding
Reducing foods to small particles in a food mill, pestle and mortar, electric grinder or food processor. Foods ground include coffee beans, nuts and spices.

Gut
To clean out the inside of a fish, removing all the entrails.

Hanging
Leaving meat or game suspended in a cool, dry place to allow air to circulate around it to tenderise the flesh and develop the flavour.

Hors d'oeuvre
Often used as a term for a starter but, really means a selection of cold foods served together as an appetiser.

Hulling
Removing the stalk and leaves from soft fruits, e.g. strawberries.

Infusing
Method of transferring flavour to a liquid. Flavouring, herbs, spices or coffee beans are soaked in milk or water.

Jardiniére
Refers to dishes garnished with mixed fresh spring vegetables or green peas and sprigs of cauliflower.

Jugged
Traditional method of cooking hare in a tall covered pot until very tender and rich dark brown in colour. The blood is added at the end of the cooking time.