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Cooking Terminology & Food Dictionary
Ever wondered what a flambe is? Want to know the difference between boiling and sauteing? See our terms and definitions below for a quick reference. We'll be continually adding terms and definitions to this page as time goes on so please check back if we don't have what you are looking for or make a suggestion.
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- Al Dente: cooked until it's firm to the bite, not too soft. Normally refers to pasta.
- Clarified Butter: butter that has been slowly heated, usually over a double boiler, and had the deposits of milk skimmed off the top and the water evaporated out. It is fairly clear (although still yellow) and has a higher smoke point (350°F, 177°C) than non-clarified butter so it is preferred by professional chefs.
- Creaming / Cream: - as a verb, to beat and mix an ingredient or a combination of ingredients to a smooth, creamy consistency. It is used most often with butter and sugar. Ingredients are creamed by hand by mashing the ingredients up against the side of a mixing bowl with a spoon, fork or spatula, and then beating until the mixture is smooth. Electric mixers are the more pratical tool here.
- Deglaze / Deglazing: use of wine or stock in a saute pan (frying pan) to bring up the deposit left in a pan after sauteing food, used mostly with meats. Not only does it add additional flavor to your sauce when making it in the same pan, but it also prevents any deposits from burning up too much, ruining your sauce.
- Emulsion: is a mixture of 2 or more unblendable liquids, or when fat molecules bond to water molecules. Common emulsions include mayonnaise, Hollandaise sauce and viniagrettes. Egg yolks contain chemicals known as emulsifiers, which is why eggs are commonly used for emulsions.
- Flambe: to pour liquor over a dish and ignite. This can slightly singe the top and dry off excess liquid, though it is often used for flair more than anything.
- Ice Bath: a container full of water and a good amount of ice used to immediately cool food after cooking; it stops the cooking process. Applications: asparagus, roasted red peppers, shrimp.
- Pancetta: pork belly that has been salt cured and spiced (nutmeg, pepper, fennel, dried ground hot peppers and garlic are often featured), and dried for about three months, but usually not smoked. Sometimes refers to smoked bacon or ham.
- Poach: to cook in a hot liquid (usually just water) that is kept just below the boiling point.
- Rasher: A thin slice of fried or broiled bacon. Also a name for a fish that is found among rocks along the northern coasts of Europe and America.
- Roux: a mixture of flour and fat, typicall butter but any type of edible fat can be used like vegetable oil or lard. It is the base for many sauces in classical French cooking. It can be used as a base for soups, stews, gravy, soufflés, and even to thicken a basic sauce.
- Satay: A dish of southeast Asia and Indonesia consisting of strips of marinated meat, poultry, or seafood grilled on skewers and dipped in peanut sauce. Traditionally grilled or barbecued over a wood or charcoal fire, then served with various spicy seasonings.
- Sieve: separates wanted/desired elements from unwanted material using a tool such as a mesh, net or other filtration or distillation methods. See Strainer.
- Smoke Point: the point at which oil or fat used in cooking begins to burn or smoke, hence the term.
- Smoker: an apparatus used for smoking food, a cooking technique.
- Smoking: a cooking technique for flavoring food by burning wood chips or plants and placing the food over them, usually in a smoker or grill with a lid so that the smoke encompasses the food.
- Strainer: a strainer is a type of sieve typically associated with draining liquids from solids.
- Temper: the process of slowing heating a liquid so that it does not curdle or cook when added to a hot sauce or butter. Used most often with eggs and chocolate. Chocolate is tempered so that it is stable when cooling for coatings or candies.
With eggs, you often use this technique when making creme brulee or hollandaise sauce.
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