Cooking Lingo

Here are some commonly used cooking terms that are used in recipes.  

Bake: To cook in an oven. 

Baste: To put drippings over food while it is cooking.

Beat: To blend ingredients together.

Blanch: To plunge food into boiling water for less than a minute and then immediately plunge into iced water.

Boil: To boil means to bring a pot of liquid to a fast, rolling boil.

Braise: To cook slowly, covered, in moist heat It doesn't mean to submerge the food in liquid.

Browning: To add flavor to your foods by browning over a low heat rather than a high heat.

Caramelize: Heat sugar over low heat until it melts and develops a golden-brown color. 

Chop. To cut food into smaller pieces.

Clarify: To make a liquid clear, by removing sediments and impurities by straining or using a fine sieve. (there is a process depending on the ingredient being clarified).

Coat: To cover a food item surface by dusting it or coating it before the food is cooked.  

Cream: Working the mixture with the back of a wooden spoon; to make creamy and fluffy.

Cube. To cut into about 1-inch square pieces.

Cut Into: To mix ingredients together coarsely, so they resemble little crumbs. 

Dice.  To cut up into smaller cubes - between 1/4 and 1/2 inch square.

Dilute: Adding a liquid to reduce a mixture's strength.

Dredge: To dust or cover a food with a dry ingredient before cooking it.

Drizzle: To pour a fine, stream moving over a surfac.

Dollop: A small gob of soft food.

 

Dust: Lightly coating a food with a powdery substance, (eg. Flour or powdered sugar).

Egg wash: Beaten egg with milk or water to brush over a food for a sheen and golden-brown color.

Finely Chop:  Chop into smaller pieces but larger than minced.

Fold: It is to incorporate the ingredients without the ingredient being mixed in.  It is the process of turning over and under the mixture. (best to use a spatula).

Glaze: To brush or coat food with a liquid that to create a glossy or shiny appearance.

Julienne: To cut into strips or match-like sticks.

Knead:  Kneading is the process of working dough by hand by folding it over and onto itself. The gluten binds and stretches as you knead, making the dough smooth and elastic.

Marinate: To soak food in a prepared liquid to tenderize and add flavor.

Mince. To mince a food is to chop it as fine as possible, to the point of its almost being a puree.

Pan-fry: To fry foods in a small amount of oil that coats the base of the pan.

Paring: To cut off the outer skin. (eg. potatoes or apples.)

Pinch: The amount of dry ingredients you can hold in between your thumb and forefinger (equivalent to 1/16 teaspoon).

Poach: Means to simmer fish, chicken or other foods submerged in liquid.

Puree': To grind or mash food until it becomes a smooth thick mixture.

Roast:  To cook, uncovered, in an oven. Hot air should be able to easily circulate freely around the oven. (Don't put too many items close together.)

Roll Out: To flatten and spread with a rolling pin.

Saute: To cook quickly in fat over medium-high to high heat.

Scald: To heat liquid, just below the boiling point.

Sear:  To cook food over high heat to brown quickly and seal in juices.

Shred or Grate. Shredding is coarser than grating.

Sift: To put a dry ingredient through sifter or fine sieve.

Simmer: To heat a liquid until it starts to bubble on the surface. Then turn heat down as low as it will go.

Skim: To remove fat or froth from the surface of simmering food

Slice. To cut cut through with a knife or into thin, flat pieces.

Steep: Soak in hot liquid to absorb flavor.

Stir: Means to blend ingredients or keep them moving so they don't burn.

Toss: To mix lightly.

Whip: To whip means to beat, to add air.

Whisk: Using a utensil with looped wires in the shape of a teardrop, which is used for whipping.

Zesting: Creating threadlike strips of peel by removing only the colored outer portion of the peel.