Cooking Terms

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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.