SOME KITCHEN GLOSSARY & CULINARY TERMS

ABATS
Meat items such as offals (organ meat), heads, hearts, liver, kidneys, etc.
AGING:
Improve the tenderness of meat
AJINOMOTTO:
A Chinese Salt
AMCHUR:
Unripe Mango dried
AL DENTE:
Italian term used to describe pasta that is cooked until it offers a slight resistance to the
bite.
ASPIC:
Clear meat or poultry jelly.
AU FOUR:
Baked in the oven.
AU JUS:
Served with natural juices or gravy.
BABA:
A yeast raised cake, soaked in rum before serving.
BAIN-MARIE:
A hot water bath, used to keep the preparations warm or for purpose of poaching and
reheating.
BAKE:
To cook by dry heat, usually in the oven.
BARBECUE:
Usually used generally to refer to grilling done outdoors or over an open charcoal or
wood fire. More specifically, barbecue refers to long, slow direct- heat cooking,
including liberal basting with a barbecue sauce.

BASTE:
To moisten foods during cooking with pan drippings or special sauce to add flavor and
prevent drying.
BATTER:
A mixture containing flour and liquid, thin enough to pour.
BEAT:
To mix rapidly in order to make a mixture smooth and light by incorporating as much
air as possible.
BEURRE NOIR:
Butter heated to a dark brown colour.
BLENC:
White.
BLANCH:
To immerse in rapidly boiling water and allow to cook slightly.
BLEND:
To incorporate two or more ingredients thoroughly.
BOIL:
To heat a liquid until bubbles break continually on the surface.
BOMBE:
A frozen dessert.
BOUQUET GARNI:
Leek, Celery, Parsley, thyme & Bay leaf (LCPTB), usually tied together with string and
mainly used to prepare soup, stock, and various stews.

BRINJAL:
Egg plant (Baigan).
BROIL:
To cook on a grill under strong, direct heat.
BRUNNOISE:
Cut into fine dices.

CARDAMON:
Elaichi.
CANAPE:
Small pieces of fried or toasted bread topped with a variety of appetizers.

CARTE DE JOUR:
Menu for the day.
CARAMELIZE:
To heat sugar in order to turn it brown and give it a special taste.
CEPES:
Species of mushrooms.
CHOP:
To cut solids into pieces with a sharp knife or other chopping device.
CHINOIS:
A conical shaped wire mesh strainer.
CINNAMON:
Dalchini.
CLARIFY:
To separate and remove solids from a liquid, thus making it clear.
CLOVES:
Laung.
CONCASSEE:
Coarsely chopped.
CONDIMENTS:
Seasonings.
CORIANDER:
Dhania.
CREAM:
To soften a fat, especially butter, by beating it at room temperature. Butter and sugar
are often creamed together, making a smooth, soft paste.
CROUTONS:
Small dices toasted bread used as a garnish for soups.
CUIT:
Cooked.
CURE:
To preserve meats by drying and salting and/or smoking.

CUMIN SEED:
Jira.
DARNE:
Cutting of fish across the bone of a large round fish.
DEGLAZE:
To dissolve the thin glaze of juices and brown bits on the surface of a pan in which food
has been fried, sauteed or roasted. To do this, add liquid and stir and scrape over high
heat, thereby adding flavor to the liquid for use as a sauce.
DEGREASE:
To remove fat from the surface of stews, soups, or stock. Usually cooled in the
refrigerator so that fat hardens and is easily removed.
DEMI:
Half.
DIABLE:
Devilled.
DICE:
To cut food in small cubes of uniform size and shape.
DISSOLVE:
To cause a dry substance to pass into solution in a liquid.
DREDGE:
To sprinkle or coat with flour or other fine substance.
DRIPPINGS:
The fat and juice which drops from roasting meats.
DRIZZLE:
To sprinkle drops of liquid lightly over food in a casual manner.
DUST:
To sprinkle food with dry ingredients. Use a strainer or a jar with a perforated cover, or
try the good, old-fashioned way of shaking things together in a paper bag.
DUXELLE:
Minced vegetable stuffing consisting mushrooms, parsley and shallots.
ESSENCE:

An extract or concentrate obtained from a plant or other matter and used for flavouring or
scent.

EMINCE:
Cut fine.
EPIGRAMME:
Breast of lamb with bone.
ESCALOPES:
Cut thin slices sideways.
FARCE:
Stuffing.
FORCEMEAT:
Chopped meat.
FILLET:
To remove the bones from meat or fish. A fillet (or filet) is the piece of flesh after it has
been boned.
FLAKE:
To break lightly into small pieces.
FLAMBE':
To flame foods by dousing in some form of potable alcohol and setting alight.
FOLD:
To incorporate a delicate substance, such as whipped cream or beaten egg whites, into
another substance without releasing air bubbles. Cut down through mixture with
spoon, whisk, or fork; go across bottom of bowl, up and over, close to surface. The
process is repeated, while slowing rotating the bowl, until the ingredients are
thoroughly blended.
FRICASSEE:
To cook by braising; usually applied to fowl or rabbit.
FRY:
To cook in hot fat. To cook in a fat is called pan-frying or sauteing; to cook in a one-totwo inch layer of hot fat is called shallow-fat frying; to cook in a deep layer of hot fat is
called deep-fat frying.
FUMET:
A reduced and seasoned fish, meat, or vegetable stock.

GARNISH:
To decorate a dish both to enhance its appearance and to provide a flavorful foil.
Parsley, lemon slices, raw vegetables, chopped chives, and other herbs are all forms of
garnishes.
GHERKINS:
Small cucumber.
GLAZE:
To cook with a thin sugar syrup cooked to crack stage; mixture may be thickened
slightly. Also, to cover with a thin, glossy icing.
GLUTEN:
Vegetable protein found in cereal.
GRATE:
To rub on a grater that separates the food in various sizes of bits or shreds.
GRATIN:
From the French word for "crust." Term used to describe any oven-baked dish--usually
cooked in a shallow oval gratin dish--on which a golden brown crust of bread crumbs,
cheese or creamy sauce is form.
GRILL:
To cook on a grill over intense heat.
GRIND:
To process solids by hand or mechanically to reduce them to tiny particles.
JULIENNE:
To cut vegetables, fruits, or cheeses into thin strips.
KNEAD:
To work and press dough with the palms of the hands or mechanically, to develop the
gluten in the flour.
LUKEWARM:
Neither cool nor warm; approximately body temperature.
MARINATE:
To flavor and moisturize pieces of meat, poultry, seafood or vegetable by soaking them
in or brushing them with a liquid mixture of seasonings known as a marinade. Dry
marinade mixtures composed of salt, pepper, herbs or spices may also be rubbed into
meat, poultry or seafood.
MEUNIERE:
Dredged with flour and sauteed in butter.

MINCE:
To cut or chop food into extremely small pieces.
MIX:
To combine ingredients usually by stirring.
PAN-BROIL:
To cook uncovered in a hot fry pan, pouring off fat as it accumulates.
PAN-FRY:
To cook in small amounts of fat.
PARBOIL:
To boil until partially cooked; to blanch. Usually this procedure is followed by final
cooking in a seasoned sauce.
PARE:
To remove the outermost skin of a fruit or vegetable.
PEEL:
To remove the peels from vegetables or fruits.
PICKLE:
To preserve meats, vegetables, and fruits in brine.
PINCH:
A pinch is the trifling amount you can hold between your thumb and forefinger.
PRINTANIERE:
Spring vegetable.
PLANKED:
Cooked on a thick hardwood plank.
PLUMP:
To soak dried fruits in liquid until they swell.
POACH:
To cook very gently in hot liquid kept just below the boiling point.
POISSON:
Fish in French.
PUREE:
To mash foods until perfectly smooth by hand, by rubbing through a sieve or food mill,
or by whirling in a blender or food processor.
REDUCE:
To boil down to reduce the volume.

REFRESH:
To run cold water over food that has been parboiled, to stop the cooking process
quickly.
RENDER:
To make solid fat into liquid by melting it slowly.
RISSULES:
Small rolls.
ROAST:
To cook by dry heat in an oven.
SAUTE:
To cook and/or brown food in a small amount of hot fat.
SCALD:
To bring to a temperature just below the boiling point.
SCALLOP:
To bake a food, usually in a casserole, with sauce or other liquid. Crumbs often are
sprinkled over.
SCORE:
To cut narrow grooves or gashes partway through the outer surface of food.
SEAR:
To brown very quickly by intense heat. This method increases shrinkage but develops
flavor and improves appearance.
SHRED:
To cut or tear in small, long, narrow pieces.
SIMMER:
To cook slowly in liquid over low heat at a temperature of about 180. The surface of the
liquid should be barely moving, broken from time to time by slowly rising bubbles.
SKIM:
To remove impurities, whether scum or fat, from the surface of a liquid during cooking,
thereby resulting in a clear, cleaner-tasting final produce.
STEAM:
To cook in steam in a pressure cooker, deep well cooker, double boiler, or a steamer
made by fitting a rack in a kettle with a tight cover. A small amount of boiling water is
used, more water being added during steaming process, if necessary.
STEEP:
To extract color, flavor, or other qualities from a substance by leaving it in water just
below the boiling point.

STERILIZE:
To destroy micro organisms by boiling, dry heat, or steam.
STEW:
To simmer slowly in a small amount of liquid for a long time.
STIR:
To mix ingredients with a circular motion until well blended or of uniform consistency.
TOSS:
To combine ingredients with a lifting motion.
TRUSS:
To secure poultry with string or skewers, to hold its shape while cooking.
WHIP:
To beat rapidly to incorporate air and produce expansion, as in heavy cream or egg
whites.
WOK:
A concave pan used for stir frying.
ZEST:
The rind orange or lemon grated and used for flavouring. The outer part of orange or
lemon.