Descriptionary

creole made with sauteed onions, green peppers, tomatoes, and seasonings.

deep-fry to submerge a food completely in fat or oil and fry it.

deglaze to add wine or stock to a pan and scrape off bits of meat or other browned matter from a cooking, and use everything in a sauce.

dehydrate to remove water or to dry to preserve. desiccate to dry or dehydrate.

devil to add hot seasonings, such as cayenne or mustard, to a food.

dice to cut into tiny cubes.

draw to remove the internal organs, as in a game animal.

drawn butter butter that is melted, clarified, and seasoned.

dredge to coat with flour, bread crumbs, or cornmeal.

dry roast to roast without oils.

duchess pureed potato enriched with cream and molded into ornamental shapes, which are baked and then arranged around a roast or fish platter.

emulsify to bind two ingredients together by stir­ring, whisking, shaking, or adding a third ingredient that acts as a blending agent.

escargot butter butter flavored with lemon, parsley, and garlic.

fillet to cut out the bones of meat or fish.

five-spice powder a Chinese spice mix consisting of cinnamon, pepper, star anise, clove, and fennel.

Florentine in the style of Florence, Italy, served with spinach and a cheese sauce.

fold to use gentle cutting strokes to combine a mixture.

forcemeat any meat or fish finely chopped and sea­soned and used for a stuffing.

fricassee to cut up and brown.

fritter any meat, fish, vegetable, or fruit dipped in batter and either deep fried or sauted.

garnish to decorate a dish, as with parsley.

glaze to coat with sugar syrup, egg, etc.

gratin topped with bread crumbs and/or cheese and browned in the oven.

grecque in the Greek style, with tomatoes, peppers, and fennel.

gremolata a flavoring mixture consisting of parsley, garlic, and lemon peel, used in Hungarian goulash and other dishes.

hard-boil to cook an egg until the yolk becomes solidified.

infuse to impart flavoring from one food item into another, as a tea bag infuses flavor into water.

larding placing vegetables or strips of fat into a piece of cooking meat to keep it from drying out.

macerate to bathe or steep fruits in wine or liquor.

marinate to bathe or steep a food in a seasoned sauce or other liquid for an extended time; to tender­ize and to impart flavor.

mince to chop very finely.

nap to coat lightly with sauce.

nuke slang, to cook in a microwave.

panbroil to cook in a frying pan with little or no grease.

parboil to boil briefly without fully cooking; to soften hard vegetables, such as potatoes or carrots, for cooking with softer vegetables requiring lesser cooking times.

pare to slice off the outermost layer or skin, espe­cially of a fruit.

pickle to preserve in spiced brine or vinegar.

poach to cook, especially eggs, in water at or near the boiling point.

reduce to concentrate and thicken a liquid by boil­ing away water.

refresh to place hot food into cold water to halt the cooking process.

render to melt down or remove fat.

roast to cook in an oven in an uncovered pan.

salt to preserve by coating with salt.

scald to briefly submerge fruits or vegetables into boiling water to loosen their skins for easy peeling.

scallop to bake with a sauce and a topping of bread crumbs. Also, to cut in the shape of a scallop.

scallopini a thin slice of meat sauteed in wine. Also spelled scallopine.

sear to brown meat rapidly with high temperature, either in a frying pan, over a grill, or under a broiler.

seed to remove seeds from a fruit or vegetable.

season to add spices or flavorings to a food. Also, to remove warps from a cast-iron pan by heating it in an oven for an extended time. Oiling the cook­ing surface before the pan is placed in the oven also helps to create somewhat of a natural nonstick surface.

shred to cut into threads and strips.

shirr to bake eggs in a buttered dish, often with crumbs and cheese.

sieve to strain food or liquid through a strainer or sieve.

sift to introduce air and to strain out large clumps by shaking dry ingredients through a mesh device or sifter.

simmer to cook over low heat, just below the boil­ing point.

skin to remove the skin of poultry or fish.

smoke to hang or lay foods over a smoky fire for an extended period to either preserve a food or impart a smoky flavor to it. Can also be achieved with a home smoker.

soft-boil to boil an egg for a brief time so the yolk remains soft.

steam to cook in a steamer basket just above boil­ing water in a covered pan.

sweat to cook vegetables in fat over very low heat.

tenderize to soften and make meat easier to chew by either marinating it or by pounding it for an extended time with a mallet.

truss to tie or bind up for cooking, as a turkey's legs.