Creative Cooking Tips - Cookery Terms and Meanings

Cooking Tips
Cookery Terms and Meanings

Bake: - to cook by dry heat in an oven.
Barbecue: - to roast or broil, usually basting with a special sauce.
Baste: - to moisten foods while cooking, usually with a melted fat or flavored sauce.
Beat: - to mix with a quick, even motion until light and creamy; also to incorporate air.
Blanch: - to dip in boiling water in order to loosen the skin, remove or set color.
Blend: - to thoroughly mix two or more ingredients.
Boil: - to cook boiling liquid (212^o F at sea level) in which bubbles constantly rise to surface and break.
Braise: - to brown in a little hot fat and then cook slowly in a closely covered utensil, usually adding a small amount of liquid to prevent burning.
Broil: - to cook by direct heat, as in a broiler.
Caramelize: - to heat sugar slowly in a skillet until melted and brown.
Chop: - to cut into small pieces.
Coat: - to cover all sides of a food with another ingredient.
Cream: - to make smooth and creamy; usually applied to blending fat and sugar.
Crisp: - to make firm and brittle in cold water, as for celery; to heat in a moderate oven, as for potato chips.
Cut: - to combine shortening and dry ingredients by means of two knives or a pastry blender, to distribute shortening evenly.
Devil: - to combine with hot seasonings.
Dice: - to cut into very small cubes, about 1/4-inch in size.
Dot: - to scatter bits of food over surface of another food.
Dredge: - to coat with some dry ingredients, as flour or sugar.
Dust: - to sprinkle with another ingredient such as flour.
Fold: - to combine ingredients by cutting vertically down through the mixture with spoon or other utensil, sliding it across bottom of bowl, then bringing it up and over.
Fry: - to cook in hot fat.
Grate: - to cut into fine particles, by rubbing against a grater.
Julienne: - food cut into long, slender strips.
Knead: - to work dough with hands until smooth and shiny - folding it toward you, then pressing down and pushing away.
Lard: - to cover meat with strips of fat or to insert ft in meat to add flavor and prevent dryness.
Marinate: - to let stand in liquid, usually an oil-acid mixture.
Melt: - to use heat to make a solid food liquid.
Mince: - to cut into very fine pieces.
Mix: - to combine ingredients until evenly blended.
Panbroil: - to cook uncovered in a skillet without added fat.
Parboil: - to boil food in water until partially cooked.
Poach: - to cook gently in hot liquid just below boiling point.
Puree': - to press through fine sieve.
Saute': - to cook in small amount of hot fat.
Scald: - to heat a liquid to a point just below boiling.
Scallop: - to bake food in a casserole with a liquid or sauce, and crumbs sprinkled over the top until browned.
Score: - to make shallow criss-cross cuts in the surface of a food.
Sear: - to brown the surface of meat by the quick application of intense heat, usually in a hot pan or hot oven.
Shred: - to cut into think strips or pieces with a knife or shredder.
Sift: - to put through a flour sifter or sieve.
Simmer: - to cook slowly in liquid over low heat, the liquid surface barely rippling.
Skewer: - to fasten with wooden or metal pins.
Steam: - to cook directly over boiling water in tightly covered container.
Steep: - to extract color and flavor by allowing to stand in water just below boiling point.
Stew: - to cook slowly in just enough water to cover.
Stir: - to mix with a circular motion for uniform consistency.
Toast: - to brown in a hot oven or roaster.
Whip: - to beat rapidly to incorporate air and cause expansion.

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