Have you ever looked through a cookbook or cooking magazine and been totally bumfuzzled? (I love that word...can you tell?) All of the jargon that gets thrown around regarding food prep, kitchen utensils, and methods of cooking can sometimes make your head swim and wear you out before you`ve even begun a recipe! I wanted to try and remedy that by taking some typical (and some atypical/fancy) kitchen lingo and putting it into layman`s terms because, afterall, this is coming from myself...not Emeril Lagasse.
Cooking
saute- a quick method of cooking involving a skillet pan over heat and a small amount of oil
al dente- cooked til it`s done, but not mushy (the food still retains some texture when you bite into it)
baste- to brush meat with liquid or fat while it`s cooking
braise- to brown food, then add a small amount of liquid and cook covered over low heat for a long period of time
dredge- to coat a piece of meat in flour or other starch (such as bread crumbs) before cooking it in oil
roux- equal parts flour and fat cooked together and used as a thickener
simmer- to cook in liquid at a low temp only until small bubbles begin to appear (NOT boiling)
smoke point- this just refers to the temperature at which an oil begins to smoke and give off a bad flavor and smell (different temps for different oils)
al dente- cooked til it`s done, but not mushy (the food still retains some texture when you bite into it)
baste- to brush meat with liquid or fat while it`s cooking
braise- to brown food, then add a small amount of liquid and cook covered over low heat for a long period of time
dredge- to coat a piece of meat in flour or other starch (such as bread crumbs) before cooking it in oil
roux- equal parts flour and fat cooked together and used as a thickener
simmer- to cook in liquid at a low temp only until small bubbles begin to appear (NOT boiling)
smoke point- this just refers to the temperature at which an oil begins to smoke and give off a bad flavor and smell (different temps for different oils)
Baking
knead- Do you need to know how to knead? You do if you are going to make bread! Kneading means to man-handle bread dough in preparation for rising. It may involve punching, rolling, massaging, etc. the dough.
leavening- those ingredients (or combinations of ingredients) that make a bread product rise
cut in- to combine a cold fat (ex. butter) into flour or sugar using knives or a pastry blender
proof- the process by which a bread product sits in a hot, humid environment and rises (typically, it will double in size)
leavening- those ingredients (or combinations of ingredients) that make a bread product rise
cut in- to combine a cold fat (ex. butter) into flour or sugar using knives or a pastry blender
proof- the process by which a bread product sits in a hot, humid environment and rises (typically, it will double in size)
Utensils
spatula- a kitchen tool with a long skinny handle and a flat wide, flat head that is used to scrape ingredients from a bowl
collander- a bowl with many holes in it used to strain things that have been cooked in liquid
tongs- that two sided "thing" you use to turn a piece of chicken on the grille with
wok- a fancy name for an asian skillet (it`s shaped like an upside down conical asian hat)
skimmer- a shallow spoon with a large head made of mesh that is used to skim soup, milk, etc. and remove those bi-products which you do not want in your food (the fat that floats to the top of cold soup, the casein in warm milk)
spatula- a kitchen tool with a long skinny handle and a flat wide, flat head that is used to scrape ingredients from a bowl
collander- a bowl with many holes in it used to strain things that have been cooked in liquid
tongs- that two sided "thing" you use to turn a piece of chicken on the grille with
wok- a fancy name for an asian skillet (it`s shaped like an upside down conical asian hat)
skimmer- a shallow spoon with a large head made of mesh that is used to skim soup, milk, etc. and remove those bi-products which you do not want in your food (the fat that floats to the top of cold soup, the casein in warm milk)
Food-Prep
mince- to chop finely
dice- a quick, even chop that results in small pieces of the food
julienne- to cut (generally a vegetable) into long, thin slivers
mince- to chop finely
dice- a quick, even chop that results in small pieces of the food
julienne- to cut (generally a vegetable) into long, thin slivers
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