COOKING TERMS BAKE - To cook in the oven. The terms baking and roasting are used interchangeably, but roasting usually implies cooking at a higher temperature—at least at the beginning— to get the surface of the foods to brown. BARBECUE - Grilling over a wood or charcoal fire. Usually some sort of rub, marinade, or sauce is brushed on the item before or during cooking. BASTE - To moisten food during cooking with pan drippings, sauce, or other liquid basting prevents food from drying out. BEAT - To agitate a mixture with the goal of making it smooth and introducing as much air as possible into it. BLANCH - A method of cooking in which foods are plunged into boiling water for a few seconds, removed from the water and are refreshed under cold water, which stops the cooking process. Used to heighten color and flavor, to firm flesh and to loosen skin. BRAISE - To cook in a small amount of liquid. Usually the purpose of braising is to concentrate the food’s flavors in the surrounding liquid so that it can be made into a sauce. BUTTERFLY- To cut and open out the edges of meat or seafood like a book or the wings of a butterfly, eg. Shrimp. DREDGE - To coat a food with flour, any finely crumbled ingredient, or in pastry, with fine sugar. FLAMBE - To ignite a sauce or other liquid so that it flames. Most of the time it has no real function other than to delight your guests. It is impossible to ignite a cold dish. – the spirits only release their flammable fumes when hot. DO NOT POUR FLAMING SPIRITS. GLAZE - To give food a shiny surface by bushing it with sauce, aspic or icing. For meat - coat with sauce and then brown in an oven. JULIENNE - To cut into long thin matchstick size strips. JUS – The natural juices released by roasting meats and poultry. PAPILLOTE - Food wrapped in parchment paper or aluminum foil and baked in and baked in an oven where it will steam in its own moisture and that of any vegetables added to the package to flavor the meat. POACH - To cook completely in submerged in barely simmering liquid.