Culinary Terms
Some of my favorite resources are listed below, and as a new term or technique is mentioned in a post, I’ll include it here!
Food Lover’s Companion Deluxe (on my wish list!)
Cook’s Wisdom: The A-Z Guide to Ingredients, Equipment, and Techniques
Terms
Baste: to spoon or pour fat or juices over meat while it cooks
Blanch: to partially cook in boiling liquid, then shocking the food in ice water to halt the cooking process. This helps vegetables retain their vibrant color
Boil: to heat liquid until significant bubbles form on surface (rolling boil). Boiling temperature is 212 degrees F
Brown: to partially cook meat to remove excess fat and giving the surface a brown color
Cube: to cut into small, even square pieces, approx. 1/2″ in size
Dice: to cut into small, even square pieces, approx. 1/4″ in size
Emulsion: a mixture of 2 liquids that normally wouldn’t mix (i.e. oil not mixing with water). Combining the 2 liquids slowly gives them a chance to thoroughly mix together, creating an emulsion.
Julienne: to slice vegetables or other food into matchstick sizes (approx. 1/8″ x 2″)
Mince: to cut into very small, even sized pieces, smaller than dice (less than 1/8″)
Puree: thick sauce or paste (act of pureeing turns thicker, solid foods, into a puree)
Sauté: to cook food quickly over higher heat in small amounts of fat
Sear: to cook the outside of meat over high heat, forming a crust
Simmer: to heat liquid until slow, small bubbles form on the surface
Slurry: a mixture of cornstarch and water used to thicken sauces or stews
Measurements
- c: cup
- lb: pound
- oz: ounce
- tsp: teaspoon
- tbsp: tablespoon