Cooking Terms



Baste - To moisten food with melted butter, pan drippings, marinades or other liquid to add more flavor and juiceness.
Beat - A rapid movement to combine ingredients using a fork, spoon, wire whisk or electric mixer.
Blanch - To immerse, usually vegetables or fruit, briefly into boiling water so as to inactivate enzymes, loosen skins, or soak away excess salt.
Blend - To combine ingredients until just mixed.
Boil - To heat liquids until bubbles form that cannot be "stirred down". In the case of water, the temperature will reach 212 degrees.
Bone - To remove all meat from the bone before cooking.
Braise - To cook covered in a small amount of liquid or in steam, especially meats.
Brew - To prepare a beverage by allowing boiling water to extract flavor and/or color from certain substances.




Cream - To beat ingredients together to a smooth consistency, usually in the case of butter and sugar for baking.
Curdle - To congeal milk with heat until solid lumps or curds are formed.
Cut-in - To disperse solid shortening into dry ingredients with a knife or pastry blender. The texture of the mixture should resemble coarse cracker meal.
Dash - A small amount of seasoning, less than 1/8 teaspoon.
Deep-fry - To cook in a deep pan or skillet containing hot cooking oil. Deep-fried foods are generally completely immersed in the hot oil.
Dice - To cut into small cubes about a quarter-inch in size.
Dredge - To coat foods with flour or other dry ingredients. Most often done with pot roasts and stew meat before browning.
Ferment - To change the chemical compostion of certain foods through the action of microorganisms. For example, yeast acts on malt to produce beer.



Fold - To blend a delicate, frothy mixture into a heavier one preferably with a rubber spatula so that none of the lightness or volume is lost. The motion used is one of turning under and bringing up.
Fry - To cook in a pan or skillet containing hot cooking oil. The oil should not totally cover the food.
Glaze - To cover or coat with sauce, syrup, or egg white. After applying, it hardens and becomes firm adding color and flavor.
Grate - To rub food against a rough, perforated utensil reducing the foods to slivers, chunks and curls.
Grind - To cut, crush, or force through a chopper so as to preduce small bits.
Jell - To become semisolid either through chilling or the addition of gelatin or pectin.
Julienne - To cut vegetables and fruit especially, into long thin strips. Used most often for salads and sitr-fry dishes.
Knead - To press, fold and stretch dough until smooth and uniform.



Marinate - To soak usually in a highly seasoned oil-acid solution so as to flavor and/or tenderize food.
Mince - To cut or chop into very fine pieces. Used often for garlic or fresh herbs.
Panbroil - To cook in a skillet or pan using no fat other than what is needed to prevent sticking.
Parboil - To partially cook in boiling water. Most parboiled foods require additional cooking.
Parch - To dry or roast slightly through exposure to intense heat.
Partially set - Describes the consistency of gelatin after it has been chilled for a small amount of time. Mixture should resemble the consistency of egg whites.
Poach - To cook in a small amount of gently simmering liquid.
Preserve - To prevent food spoilage by pickling, salting, dehydrated, smoking, or boiling in syrup.



Puree - To process foods to a smooth mixture. Can be prepared in an electric blender, food processor, food mill or sieve.
Saute - To fry quickly in a small amount of fat, stirring almost constantly. Most often done with onions, mushrooms and other chopped vegetable.
Scald - To heat a liquid almost to the boiling point.
Scallop - To bake with a sauce in a casserole. The food may either be mixed or layered with the sauce.
Score - To cut slits partway through the outer surface of foods. Often used with meat.
Shuck - To remove the husk from corn or the shell from oysters, clams, etc.
Sieve - To pass dry and liquid ingredients through a closely meshed metal utensil so as to separate liquid from solid and fine from course.



Sift - To pass usually dry ingredients through a fine wire mesh so as to produce a uniform consistency.
Simmer - To cook in a liquid at or just below the boiling point.
Skewer - To thread usually meat and vegetables onto a sharpened rod, as in shish kabobs.
Skim - To ladle or spoon off excess fat or skum from the surface of a liquid.
Smoke - To preserve or cook through continuous exposure to wood smoke for a long time.
Steam - To cook with water vapor either in a steamer, on a rack, or in a double boiler.
Sterilize - To cleanse and purify through exposure to intense heat.



Stir-Fry - To cook meats and/or vegetables with a constant stirring motion in a small amount of oil in a wok or skillet over high heat.
Strain - To pass through a strainer, sieve or cheesecloth so as to break down or remove solids or impurities.
Stuff - To fill or pack cavaties especially those of meats, vegetables, pasta and poultry.
Toast - To brown and crisp usually by means of direct heat.
Whip - To beat a mixture until air has been thoroughly incorporated and the mixture is light and frothy.
Wilt - To apply heat so as to cause dehydration and a droopy appearance.

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