Essential Guide to Culinary Terms

Your Essential Guide to Culinary Terms

Welcome to Your Ultimate Culinary Guide!  Here, I'll help you grasp essential cooking terms, ensuring you're fully prepared to navigate my recipes with confidence.  Explore a curated A to Z list of key culinary terms essential for understanding and navigating recipes.

Key Terminology

Culinary Terms

A

B

Brine- a method involving the soaking of food in a liquid solution consisting of water, salt, sugar, and possibly herbs and spices to preserve, tenderize, or flavor various foods and cuts of foods.

C

Clarified butter - Ghee - clarified butter is milk fat rendered from butter to separate the milk solids and water from the butterfat.  To create clarified butter, melt butter and allow the milk fat components to separate by density.  The fat solids, appearing as white particles, will rise to the top.  Skim these fat particles from your butter, leaving behind clarified butter, which is milk fat rendered from butter to separate the milk solids and water from the butterfat.

Cornstarch Slurry - a mixture of a cold liquid with cornstarch that is used as a thickening agent.  A typical cornstarch slurry will consist of 2 parts cold water and 1 part cornstarch.

Custard -  a cooked mixture made of eggs and milk or cream and usually having a thick, creamy consistency

D

Deglaze - a cooking technique for removing and dissolving browned food residue from a pan to flavor sauces, soups, and gravies.  (This method is used in this recipe, Scallops with Mushroom Risotto.)

Dissolve- the process of combining one ingredient with another to form a solution. For example, sugar will dissolve in water to form a solution.  (This method is used in this recipe, Brown Sugar Lemonade.)

Dredge- a cooking technique used to coat wet or moist foods with a dry ingredient before cooking.  (This method is used in this recipe, Chicken Milanese.)

Drizzle- the process of pouring a very fine stream of liquid, such as melted butter or a sugar glaze over food for decorative purposes and/or to add flavor.

E

Emulsify- when you emulsify ingredients, you combine two substances that don't typically mix easily.  This process involves thoroughly mixing them until they form an emulsion.

F

G

H

I

Infused Oil- an infused oil consists of a carrier oil that has been permeated “infused” or "macerated" with one or more herbs and or spices.

J

K

Knead- to work the dough into a soft, uniform, and malleable texture by pressing, folding, and stretching with the heel of your hand.

L

Culinary Terms Continued...

M

Marinate- to loosen bits of food which stuck on the bottom of a pan by adding liquid such as stock or wine.

Mis en Place- a French culinary phrase that means "putting in place" or " everything in its place".  It refers to the setup required before cooking.

N

O

P

Puree- a purée (or mash) is cooked food, usually, vegetables, fruits, or legumes, that have been ground, pressed, blended, or sieved to the consistency of a creamy paste or liquid.

Q

R

Roux- roux consists of flour and fat cooked together to thicken sauces.  It's typically made from equal parts of flour and fat by weight.  The process involves adding flour to melted fat or oil on the stovetop, blending until smooth, and cooking to the desired level of brownness.  (This term is used in this recipe, Mac & Cheese.)

S

Smoke Point- the smoke point is also referred to as the burning point.  

T

To Taste- in the amount needed to give a flavor pleasing to someone eating a dish.

U

V

W

Whisk- to mix very fast oftentimes incorporating air into the mixture

X

Y

Z

Zest- a food ingredient that is prepared by scraping or cutting from the rind of unwaxed citrus fruits such as lemon, orange, citron, and lime.  Zest is used to add flavor to foods.

Happy Learning, Happy Cooking!

With the Food4Foodies Glossary as your guide, embark on a culinary adventure filled with knowledge and flavor.  Let each term you explore be a stepping stone towards culinary creativity and enjoyment.

 Bon Appetit,

Chef Abyssinia

References

• Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Link