10 cooking terms and definitions

By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. As a verb, to sieve is to separate liquids from solids, usually using a stainless steel strainer-sifter ($25, Crate and Barrel). The small, unopened buds of a shrub that grows from the Mediterranean to China. Silicone spatula: A tool with a heatproof, flexible head used for folding ingredients together and scraping thick foods and batters from bowls and pans. For longer storage, refrigerate or freeze the flour in a moisture- and vapor-proof container. Beat - Mixing rapidly while incorporating some amount of air into the substance. . A casserole dish is a deeper dish. 10 Cooking Terms And Definitions. That's because basting tools, such as brushes and bulb basters, can be sources of bacteria when dipped into uncooked or undercooked meat and poultry juices, then allowed to sit at room temperature before being used for basting. Saut: To cook quickly over high heat in a small amount of fat. To coat a utensil, such as a baking pan or skillet, with a thin layer of fat or oil. Do not mix gelatin with figs, fresh pineapple (canned pineapple is OK), fresh ginger, guava, kiwifruit, and papaya, as these foods contain an enzyme that prevents the gelatin from setting. To slowly heat a beverage, such as cider or wine, with spices and sugar. A condiment available in mild or hot versions made from chile peppers, vinegar, and seasonings. It's also a great way to tenderize the tough fibers in some beef cuts, like chuck or brisket. Interestingly, deep frying, which does not require water, is also dry heat. A slice is when a large ingredient such as potatoes or onions is cut into large, flat pieces of a similar size. This technique is also called browning. Moist Heat Cooking As the name indicates, moist heat cooking relies on the presence of liquid or steam to cook foods. Updated 18 May 2021. Alone, it has a nutty flavor and a firm, chewy texture: it can be sliced like chicken or crumbled and sauted like ground meat. This makes it easy to remove food from the pan. Also known as a saut pan. The flavor ranges from mild and sweet to pungent. Creme: Beat together a fat and a sugar until a smooth mixture is formed. A sauce, the most common version of which is made from finely chopped tomatoes, onions, chiles, and cilantro. Wet heat: Cooking methods using water or liquid as the means of distributing heat. Take time to measure each ingredient correctly and you'll see (and taste) the results. Roast: To cook foods, often at high temperatures (400F or more) in an oven. Some Cajun and Creole rouxs are made with oil or other fat, and are cooked until the flour browns to create extra flavor. As the liquid evaporates, it thickens and intensifies in flavor. Steaming involves boiling water, but the food is never actually submerged. Shallow frying is often for larger pieces of food, such as chicken or fish, though sometimes smaller foods, like sliced shallots, are shallow-fried. Because it melts so well, it's an excellent cooking cheese. Baking utensils are floured to prevent sticking. A high-fat nut that comes from certain varieties of pine trees. A pinch, based on the amount of spice you can literally "pinch" between your fingers, is around 1/16 teaspoon. At home, this is best done outdoors due to the amount of smoke produced. Dice: To chop food evenly into small pieces or cubes. After this red-orange sauce coats the food, it is cooked in the tandoor. Nuts are available in many forms, such as chopped, slivered, and halved. High-speed blenders can smoothly puree foods that regular blenders cant. When fried, they puff into light, crisp strands. In general, our recipes don't call for basting meat and poultry with pan juices or drippings. It's often used on peppers - like bell peppers and jalapeos - to create a soft and smoky interior with a blackened skin that can be peeled away. Clarify - To separate and remove solids from a liquid and make it clear. 4 TODAY LIFESTYLE PROGRAM / COOKING TERMS AND TECHNIQUES Spice means a vegetable or vegetable part used to give foods avor. To reduce cleanup, use a plastic bag set in a bowl or dish to hold the food you're marinating. The skin or outer coating of a food, usually rather thick, and with the exception of candied citrus, rarely eaten. Fine particles of bread. Roasting refers to a dry-heat, oven cooking method used for foods from vegetables to tender pieces of meat. Popular in Mexican cooking, tortillas are usually wrapped around a filling. Roasted foods are intended to brown. Batter: A pourable mixture prior to baking, often used for making pancakes, muffins, and quick breads. For cake recipes, allow eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before using. Antipasto - Italian term for an appetizer, frequently served before main pasta dishes. Products based on the aromatic essential oils of plant materials that are distilled by various means. When the meat is cut into smaller pieces before being covered in liquid, it's called stewing. A 2-piece tool that includes a bowl-shaped vessel ($28, Sur la Table) (the mortar) which holds ingredients to be crushed into a powder or paste by a club-shaped utensil (the pestle). Common thickeners include: Test Kitchen Tip: When using tapioca as a thickener for crockery cooking and freezer-bound foods, you can avoid its characteristic lumpy texture by grinding the tapioca with a mortar and pestle before adding it to the recipe. A pungent brown sauce made by fermenting fish, usually anchovies, in brine. Unlike an extract or oil, a flavoring often does not contain any of the original food it resembles. Cream - To soften a fat by beating it--usually at room temperature. This fairly generic term doesn't always refer to a size, so unless otherwise directed you can assume that "chop" means to cut similar sized square pieces that are roughly half an inch in diameter. A condiment that originated in India as a method of preservation, and has many, many varieties, depending on regional cuisines, ranging widely in ingredients, taste, and texture. In cooking, this French word, which means "made of rags," refers to a method for cutting stacked and rolled fresh herbs and greens into long, thin strips. A category of sugar substitutes that have no nutritional value. Egg yolks are high in fat and flavor, while egg whites (a mixture of protein and water) add moisture and contribute to the structure in baked products. They're easily snipped with scissors. Immersion blender: A blender on the end of a stick-like appliance that can be inserted into liquid so foods can be blended directly in the pot they were cooked in. Rice vinegar is interchangeable with rice wine vinegar, which is an alcohol made from fermented rice. Dough: A cohesive unbaked mixture of flour and other ingredients thats too stiff to pour, and thicker than a batter. If you're stumped by a recipe, or just want to expand your culinary knowledge, we've gathered up 25 common cooking terms to help you become a better cook. Shortening commonly is used for baking or frying. Deglaze: To add liquid, often stock or alcohol, to a pan or pot after cooking meat or vegetables in a small amount of fat. To moisten and add flavor to foods during cooking or grilling using fats or seasoned liquids, which prevent drying. To cut narrow slits, often in a diamond pattern, through the outer surface of a food. Master recipes like a pro with our extensive list of common cooking terms, global ingredients, cooking methods, and tips from our Test Kitchen. Thermometer, instant-read: A thermometer, either dial or digital, with a probe to be inserted into cooked foods to get a rapid temperature readouts. To fold, use a rubber spatula to cut down vertically through the mixture from the back of the bowl. Mince: To chop as finely as possible. Giblets are sometimes used to make gravy. Better Homes & Gardens - 100 years of powering your passions at home. When baked, the butter produces steam between the layers, causing the dough to puff up into many flaky layers. FOLLOWING A RECIPE will be easy for you if you know the meanings of all the terms used. Use this method to make healthy dishes without any added fat or oil. A southern Italian cheese made from cow's milk. A two-pan arrangement in which one pan nests partway inside the other. Boil - Heating a liquid until it bubbles. This can be done with a fork, potato masher ($47, Williams Sonoma) food mill, food ricer, or electric mixer. The process of browning, crisping, or drying a food by exposing it to heat. A butter-rich, multilayer pastry. A piece of meat or fish that has had the bones removed. When marinating foods, do not use a metal container, as it can react with acidic ingredients and give foods an off-flavor. In the U.S., shortening is more commonly used than lard. May be done with an electric mixer or a rotary beater, or by hand with a wooden spoon. It can be whipped to twice its volume. Wonton wrappers are similar to egg roll wrappers, but smaller. Fine dice is 1/4, medium dice is 1/2, and large dice is 3/4. Convection oven: An oven with fans that circulate air for even browning and oftentimes faster cooking. To shallow-fry is to cook a food, usually breaded or coated in batter, using about an inch of hot fat or oil. Fold: To gently mix one substance into another using a folding motion with a silicone or rubber spatula. The skin or outer covering of a vegetable or fruit (sometimes called the rind). Baking, broiling, grilling, sauting, stir-frying, and roasting all use dry heat. Ribbon stage: The stage in baking when you beat whole eggs, alone or with sugar, until they become pale, fluffy, and a ribbon-like trail falls into the bowl when you lift the whisk or beater above the mixture. To immerse food for a short time in a liquid or dry mixture to coat, cool, or moisten it. To evenly cover food with crumbs, flour, or a batter. For baking, cooking oils cannot be used interchangeably with solid fats (like butter), since they don't hold air when beaten. Look for hoisin sauce alongside the soy sauce in most supermarkets or in Asian markets. An aromatic long-grain brown or white rice from South Asia (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh), also grown in California. Also called coffee cream or table cream. Simmer: To heat liquid so it bubbles gently, not rapidly. To put one or more dry ingredients, especially flour or powdered sugar, through a flour sifter ($12, Crate and Barrel) or sieve to remove lumps and incorporate air. Drippings: The fat and liquid that drips out of meat as it roasts or browns. A term referring to a whole fish, with or without scales, that has had its internal organs removed. An Indian method of cooking. When you're grinding nuts, take extra care not to over-grind them, or you may end up with a nut butter. For roux to properly thicken, it needs to be added to the sauce and simmered for a period. To add visual appeal to a finished dish with herbs, flowers, greens, and more. A thick, sticky food produced by bees from floral nectar. A pastry brush ($11, Bed Bath & Beyond) works well to grease pans. What is the Definition of Stir-Frying? Sous vide: Cooking method using water heated by an immersion circulator to cook food, often (but not always) sealed in plastic pouches. Pan fry (shallow fry): To fry food by partially submerging in several inches of hot fat. For example, you'd want thinner slices for au gratin potatoes, but thicker slices for homemade cottage fries. 10 Essential Cooking Methods and Techniques Everyone Should Know 1. What Does Saut Mean? Rest: To allow roasted or grilled meat to rest after cooking and before carving or slicing, so juices can redistribute throughout the meat. "Partially set" means the mixture looks like unbeaten egg whites. For newer cooks, this food dictionary is the perfect place to begin to understand those strange cooking terms you find in the recipes you look through. A pungent seasoning made from dried, salted shrimp that's been pounded into a paste. Honey is available in more than 300 varieties in the United States alone.

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