Terms Commonly Used in the Kitchen

Cooking should be enjoyable and fun; the chef should enjoy preparing a dish as much as the guests enjoy having it served. We aren't all graduates from culinary school and do not have the definitions of each term used in cooking or baking committed to memory. If you aren't sure of using a method in cooking, the outcome can be disastrous. If you know the details ahead of time, blanching, braising, clarifying, or scalding can be simple.

Appetizer - A small serving of food served before or as the first course of a meal.

Bake - To cook covered or uncovered in an oven or oven-type appliance. For meats cooked uncovered; this is also called roasting.

Barbecue - To roast or broil whole, as a hog, fowl or etc. Usually done on a revolving frame over coals or upright in front of coals. To cook thin slices of meat in a highly seasoned vinegar.

Baste - To moisten foods during cooking with pan drippings or special sauce to add flavor and prevent drying.

Beat - To make a mixture smooth by adding air with a brisk whipping or stirring motion using a spoon or electric mixer.

Blanch - To place fruits or nuts in boiling water to remove skins, also to dip vegetables in boiling water in preparation for freezing, canning or drying.

Blend - To thoroughly mix two or more ingredients until smooth and uniform.

Boil - To cook in liquid at boiling temperature (212 degrees at sea level) where bubbles rise to the surface and break. For a full rolling boil, bubbles form rapidly throughout the mixture.

Bouillabaisse - A chowder made from several varieties of fish and wine.

Braise - To cook by searing in fat and then cooking slowly with a small amount of liquid in tightly covered pan on top of range or in oven.

Brew - To cook in hot liquid until flavor is extracted.

Broil - To cook by direct heat, usually in broiler or over coals.

Candied - To cook in sugar or syrup when applied to sweet potatoes and carrots. For fruit or fruit peel, to cook in heavy syrup until transparent and well coated.

Chill - To place in refrigerator to reduce temperature.

Chop - To cut into pieces about the size of peas with knife, chopper, or blender.

Clarify - To make a liquid clear by adding beaten egg white and egg shells. The egg coagulates in a hot liquid and cloudiness adheres to it. The liquid is then strained.

Cocktail - An appetizer served before or as the first course of a meal. An alcoholic beverage served before the dinner; or cut shellfish, with tart sauce served at the start of a meal.

Cool - To remove from heat and let stand at room temperature.

Cream - To beat with spoon or electric mixer until mixture is soft and smooth. When applied to blending shortening and sugar, mixture is beaten until light and fluffy.

Cut In - To mix shortening with dry ingredients using pastry blender or knives.

Dice - To cut food in small cubes of uniform size and shape.

Dissolve - To disperse a dry substance in a liquid to form a solution.

Dough - A mixture of flour and liquid that is stiff enough to be kneaded.

Entree - A dish served between the chief courses, before the roast.

Fold - To combine, using a motion beginning vertically down through the mixture, continuing across the bottom of the bowl and ending in an upward and over motion.

Glaze - A mixture applied to food which hardens or becomes firm and adds flavor and a glossy appearance.

Grate - To rub on a grater that separates the food into very fine particles.

Marinate - To allow food to stand in a liquid to tenderize or to add flavor.

Mince - To cut or finely chop food into very small pieces.

Mix - To combine ingredients, usually by stirring, until evenly distributed.

Poach - To cook in hot liquid, being careful that food holds its shape while cooking.

Precook - To cook food completely or partially before final cooking or reheating.

Roast - To cook uncovered without water added, usually in an oven.

Saute - To brown or cook in a small amount of hot shortening.

Scald - To bring to a temperature just below boiling point where tiny bubbles form at the edge of the pan.

Scallop - To bake food, usually in a casserole, with sauce or other liquid. Crumbs are often sprinkled on top.

Steam - To cook in steam with or without pressure. A small amount of boiling water is used, more water is added during the steaming precess if necessary.

Stir - To mix ingredients with a circular motion until well blended or of uniform consistency.

Toss - To mix ingredients lightly.

Truss - To secure fowl or other meats with skewers to hold its shape during cooking.

Whip - To beat rapidly to incorporate air and produce expansion, as in heavy cream or egg whites.