Cooking One: Terminology Used in English (Vocabulary) Beginner, Intermediate & Advanced.

Bread:

To coat with crumbs or cornmeal before cooking.

Brine:

The process in which meat is exposed to salt before cooking. A wet brine is when the meat is soaked in a salt water solution. A dry brine is when the salt is rubbed directly onto the meat. The amount of time that a piece of meat is brined for depends on the size of the piece of meat—larger pieces are soaked or exposed to the salt for longer than smaller pieces.

Broil:

To cook directly over or under high heat, usually in an oven.

Brown:

To cook over a high heat, usually on the stove, in order to brown the outside of food. Often used to seal flavor and moisture into meat or poultry.

Butterfly:

To cut a piece of meat through the middle, without cutting completely in half, and then to spread it out so that it resembles a butterfly. Often done with pork chops and shrimp, this action will speed up the cooking of the meat.

Candy:

To impregnate or coat food with sugar.

Caramelize:

To cook sugar until it browns and releases a nutty flavor. The term is also used to describe the act of slowly cooking a food until it turns brown, which is when the natural sugars in the food are released—a prime example being onions.

Chiffonade:

To cut leafy vegetables into thin, ribbon-like strands.

Chop:

To cut up food into smaller pieces. For a more extensive explanation of chopping terms and styles, including visual guides.

Cream:

To thoroughly mix butter and sugar together, usually with a hand mixer or in a standing mixer, until the mixture is pale yellow and fluffy. This technique is often used when baking cookies or cakes to form the base to which other ingredients are added.

Deglaze:

To loosen the brown bit from a pan by adding liquid and then scraping the bits off the pan.

Dice:

To cut food into very small (1/8 to ¼-inch) cubes. For a more extensive explanation of chopping terms and styles, including visual guides, go here.

Double boiler:

A special pot that consists of two saucepans that fit together so that water can be put in the lower pan to boil, sending heat up into the second saucepan in which food is cooked. A double boiler can also be improvised with a heat-safe bowl that is placed on top of a saucepan.

Dredge:

To coat uncooked food, usually with flour, cornmeal, or bread crumbs.

Drippings:

The juices and fats that come out of meat or poultry during cooking.

Dutch oven:

A thick-walled pot with a tight-fitting lid. It can be used both on the stove top and in the oven and are useful for braises, stews, soups, and sauces.

Emulsify:

To combine two ingredients together which normally would not mix by agitating them with a whisk, blender, or some other agitation method. An example would be oil and vinegar to form a salad dressing.

Fold:

To combine light, air-filled ingredients, such as whipped cream or beaten eggs, into a heavier mixture, using a gentle over-and-under motion.

Garnish:

An embellishment or decoration put on food or drink (usually on top) in order to accentuate its taste and/or appearance. Examples would include herbs or a vibrantly-colored spice, such as paprika, sprinkled on top of a dish.

Giblets:

The edible organs of poultry, usually the heart, gizzard, and liver. Sometimes these can be found in a sealed bag in the cavity of a whole chicken, turkey, or duck.

Grease:

To rub the inside of a cooking dish or pan with fat or oil, to prevent sticking.

Julienne:

To cut a food into long thin pieces, like matchsticks. The small, thin nature of these pieces means that the food will cook very quickly. A good technique to use when preparing a stir-fry, for example. For a more extensive explanation of chopping terms and styles, including visual guides, go here.

Knead:

To work a dough, like bread or pasta dough, usually with your hands by stretching, folding, and pushing. This is done in order to develop the gluten in the dough, which will add strength and texture to the final product.

Leavening:

An agent added to a dough or batter in order to help the food to rise during cooking. Common leavening agents include baking soda, baking powder, yeast, air, and steam.

Marinate:

To place foods into a flavored liquid in order to transfer the flavors.

Mince:

A chopping technique in which you are cutting a food up into relatively uniform, very small pieces (smaller than a dice or chop). For a more extensive explanation of chopping terms and styles, including visual guides, go here.

Panfry:

See Sauté.

Parboil:

To partially cook by boiling. Usually done as a first step before finishing the cooking with another method.

Pith:

The spongy white tissue lining the rind of an orange, lemon, and other citrus fruits.

Poach:

To cook gently, over a low heat, in barely simmering liquid that barely covers the food.

Proof:

This terms has two different definitions in cooking. One is to allow yeast to combine itself with water until bubbles begin to form, which activates the yeast so that it will serve as a leavening agent. It also refers to a rest period given to certain doughs, after they have been formed into the shape in which they will be baked.

Puree:

To mash or blend food until is has become a liquid such as soup.

Reconstitute:

To rehydrate a dried food by soaking it in water.

Reduce:

To thicken a liquid or sauce by boiling, in order to concentrate the flavor.

Render:

To cook the fat out of meat or poultry over a low heat, in order to preserve the drippings.

Rind:

The thick outer layer of some fruits, such as oranges, lemons, and limes, as wel as certain cheeses such as brie, Parmesan, and camembert.

Roast:

To cook a large piece of meat or poultry, uncovered, using dry heat in an oven. Or to cook vegetables, coated in a small amount of oil, in a high, dry heat.

Roux:

Flour and fat that has been cooked together to form a paste which will thicken a sauce.

Sauté:

To cook food in a small amount of fat over a relatively high heat.

Scald:

To heat liquid to just short of boiling, until bubbles begin to form around the edge, but a boil has not begun.

Sear:

To brown the surface of meat with a quick cook over a high heat so that the juices are sealed in.

Score:

To make shallow cuts in the surface of meat or dough. This can be done for decoration, but also to allow marinades to soak in or fat to drain off.

Simmer:

To cook in liquid that is just below boiling, bubbles are forming but do not burst.

Skewer:

A thin wooden or metal shaft that is used to hold together meat and/or vegetables for grilling, broiling, or roasting.

Skim:

To remove any surface foam or fat from a liquid.

Slurry:

A mixture of starch (usually cornstarch or flour, and sometimes arrowroot or potato starch) and cold water that is whisked together and then used to thicken soups or sauces. (Note: if, instead, the starch is just added directly to the hot liquid it will clump, leaving your sauce or soups with lumps in it.)

Spatchcock:

To split poultry by removing the backbone so you can flatten it, resulting in crispier skin and even, quicker cooking.

Springform pan:

A kind of bakeware where the sides can be separated from the bottom. This helps to eliminate the risks associated with remove cakes from traditional pans. They are very useful for cheesecakes, crusted tarts, and ice cream cakes because they can be removed without damage to their tops, bottoms, or sides.

Steam:

To cook food on a rack or in a steamer that has been set over a pot of boiling water.

Steep:

To soak coffee, tea, or herbs in hot or boiling water so that the liquid takes on the flavor of the food being soaked.

Stew:

To cook food covered and over a low heat in liquid.

Stir-fry:

To quickly cook small pieces of food over a high heat, using a relatively small amount of fat or liquid, and stirring constantly.

Stock:

A strained liquid that is the result of cooking vegetable, herbs, and possibly meat or fish in water over a low heat for hours. The flavorful liquid is often used in soups, stews, and sauces.

Tenderize:

To prepare meat in such a way that it will be more tender. This can be done by pounding, piercing, marinating, or braising the meat.

Truss:

To tie whole poultry with string or skewers in order to ensure even cooking.

Whip:

To beat food with a whisk or mixer in order to incorporate air and build volume.

Yeast:

A living microscopic organism that turns sugars or starch into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Baker’s yeast is used in the leavening of certain doughs, which brewer’s yeast is used in the brewing of beer and making of wine.

Zest:

The outer, colored part of the peel of citrus fruit. Often used as a flavor enhancer.