A
B
Bake: To cook covered or uncovered in an oven, or oven-type appliance. For meats cooked uncovered, it's called roasting.
Bake blind: To bake an unfilled pie crust (shell). (Tip: To keep the shell from shrinking, prick the bottom and sides all over with a fork, then gently fit in a large square of waxed paper and weight it down with uncooked rice, dried peas or beans - these may be used over and over again.)
Barbecue: To broil or roast on grill or spit over coals or other heat. To cook with highly spiced sauce. Also means the picnic or meal of barbecued foods.
Bard: To cover meat or game with sliced bacon or salt pork.
Baste: To moisten foods during cooking with pan drippings or special sauce to add flavor and prevent drying.
Beat: To make mixture smooth by adding air with a brisk whipping or stirring motion using spoon or electric mixer.
Bind: To make a mixture hold together by adding liquid, beaten eggs, cream, etc.
Blanch: To precook in boiling water or steam to prepare foods for canning or freezing, or to loosen skin.
Blaze: To pour warmed brandy or liqueur over food and ignite.
Blend: To thoroughly mix two or more ingredients until smooth and uniform.
Boil: To cook in liquid at boiling temperature (212º at sea level) where bubbles rise to the surface and break. For a full rolling boil, bubbles form rapidly throughout the mixture.
Bone: To remove bones from fish, meat, or poultry. This is best done by fish or meat dealer. A special, short, sharp-pointed boning knife is used. Braise: To brown in fat gently, with a small amount of liquid added, on top of range or in oven. Pan is covered to preserve juices.
Bread: To coat with bread crumbs before cooking.
Broil: To cook by direct heat, usually in broiler, or over coals.
Brown: To cook in a little fat at high heat until brown, sealing juices in; to place under broiler heat, or in oven, to brown top, as casserole or au gratin dishes.
Brush: To spread light coating of sauce, butter or other liquid on surface of meat, etc., using pastry rush or other brush.
C
Candied: To cook in sugar or syrup when applied to sweet potatoes and carrots. For fruit or fruit peel, to cook in heavy syrup till translucent and well coated.
Caramelize: To melt sugar slowly over low heat until it becomes brown in color.
Chill: To place in refrigerator to reduce temperature.
Chop: To cut in pieces about the size of peas with knife, chopper, or blender.
Clarify: To clear clouded liquid, such as aspic, bouillon, stock, by heating gently with raw egg white added, stirring, then straining through fine sieve or cheesecloth.
Coat: To dip in flour, crumbs or other mixtures before frying.
Coddle: To simmer gently in liquid.
Cool: To remove from heat and let stand at room temperature.
Combine: To mix two or more ingredients together.
Core: To remove the seed center of fruit or vegetables, leaving the rest intact.
Cream: To beat with spoon or electric mixer till mixture is soft and smooth. When applied to blending shortening and sugar, mixture is beaten till light and fluffy.
Crimp: To flute edges of pie crust.
Crisp: To restore texture of vegetables by covering with ice water for short period; to heat bread, crackers, dry cereals, etc., in oven few minutes.
Crumb: To coat with bread or cracker crumbs. So that the crumbs will stick, the food should first be dipped in milk or beaten egg.
Crumble: To break into small pieces or crumbs with the fingers.
Crush: To pulverize food with a rolling pin or whirl in a blender until it is granular or powdered.
Crystallize: To coat with a syrup that crystallizes-turns sugary-on cooling. Foods most often crystallized: fruits and flowers.
Cube: To cut into small square pieces.
Cure: To preserve meat, game, etc., with salt, liquid, smoking, etc. Cut and fold: To blend mixture with liquid by first turning spoon sideways in a cutting motion as the two are combined, then lifting mixture from bottom and folding over top with spoon until all is mixed.
Cut in: To mix shortening with dry ingredients using pastry blender or knives.
