Food For Thought

Here are some more cooking terms and definitions from my cookbook:

Garnish- An edible decoration added for appearance, taste and texture to a finished dish. A garnish may be added on top, under, or around the food, and can be integral to the dish or simply an embellishment. Also refers to the act of placing a garnish on a dish.

Glace- Stock that has been reduced until it reaches a thick and syrupy consistency. Often used as a base for or to enhance soups and sauces, or to add shine to broiled or grilled meats. Pronounced (GLAHS).

Glaze- To add shine to a food item. You can glaze foods many ways such as brushing grilled meat with glace, brushing an egg wash on pastry before baking, or sautéing foods in butter and sugar.

Mince- To cut food into very small pieces. Pronounced (MIHNS). Minced food pieces are smaller than chopped food pieces.

Mirepoix- A mixture of 1 part chopped carrots, 2 parts diced onions and 1 part diced celery sautéed in butter used frequently in cooking. Mirepoix is used to season and flavor soups, stews, and sauces, and sometimes as a bed on which to roast or braise meats. The size to which the mirepoix vegetables are cut depends on their intended use and length of cooking time. A larger dice is preferred for longer cooking times and use as a bed for roasting, while a much smaller dice is used for shorter cooking times. Pronounced (mihr-PWAH). Alternate spelling: mirepois. See also: Aromatics.

Parboil- To cook food in boiling or simmering water. See also: Blanche.

Par-cook- To partially cook food by any method. This technique is used when you have several individual foods that may take different amounts of time to cook. Par-cooking allows you to bring each food to a certain degree of doneness so that they can be completed together at the same time.

Pate a choux- A paste or batter made of milk or water, flour, butter and eggs. It is used to make hollow pastries that are often filled such as éclairs and cream puffs. Pronounced (PAHT-ah-SHOO).

Peel- To remove the outer layer (skin or peel) from fruits, vegetables and sometimes cheeses.

Puree- A sauce or soup that is made from ingredients that have been cooked, blended, processed, or strained until a thick, smooth consistency is achieved. Pronounced (pyur-AY).

Reduction- To simmer or boil a liquid to evaporate its water, reduce its volume, and concentrate its flavor.

Rendering- To heat fat-containing animal products to melt and separate the fat from the meat or tissue.

Roux- A mixture of cooked fat (often butter) and flour used to thicken soups and sauces. The ratio of fat to flour is generally 1:1. The roux may be cooked to varying degrees of doneness depending on the desired flavor and color. The longer you cook the roux, the darker it is and the stronger the flavor. Pronounced (ROO).

Shock- To submerge or run a blanched food under cold water to stop the cooking process and set the color. This is also sometimes known as refreshing. See also: Blanch.

Sieve- A wire mesh kitchen utensil used for straining liquids or sifting dry ingredients. Pronounced (SIHV).

Sweating- To cook a food item in a pan over a low heat without browning or adding any color until the food is tender and begins to release its moisture. Sweating helps foods release their flavor quickly when combined with other foods. Onions are an example of a food that is commonly sweated, turning almost translucent when done correctly.

Tempering- The process of gradually introducing or adding a hot or acidic ingredient to other ingredients in order to avoid cooking or curdling (like eggs or chocolate).

Whisk- 1. A looped wire kitchen utensil, also known as a whip that is used for whipping or stirring. 2. A term used for whipping ingredients vigorously to incorporate ingredients or air into other ingredients.

I have been cooking for a very long time, but I still sometimes run into a term or a word that I am not familiar with, or for which I need clarification. When this happens, I make it a habit to write it down (with its definition) in a notebook that I keep in my kitchen. Over time, I have collected quite a few of these words and terms, and am planning to include them in my upcoming cookbook “The Smarter Cook”. Here are a few that I have found most helpful (be sure to look out for these plus a few more in “The Smarter Cook” due to come out in the Fall of 2009.)

Al dente- An Italian phrase meaning “to the tooth”, used to describe cooking pasta only until it offers a slight resistance when bitten into, but is not soft or mushy. Pronounced (al-DEN-tay).

Aromatics- Herbs, spices and certain vegetables used alone or in combination to enhance the flavor of foods.

Au gratin- A “gratin” is a dish topped with cheese and/or breadcrumbs mixed with butter and browned in the oven or under a broiler. The term “au gratin” refers to any dish prepared in this way. Pronounced (oh-Grah-tn or oh-grah-TAN).

Blanching- To quickly and partially cook food (usually fruits and vegetables) in boiling water or hot oil, and then immediately plunge them into cold water to stop the cooking process. Blanching is usually done to aid in the preparation of a food item. Uses for blanching include: to loosen skins for removal (like peaches and tomatoes), and to “set” the color and flavor of vegetables before freezing. Alternate term: Parboil.

Bouquet garni- A bunch or bundle of herbs tied together with twine or butcher’s string or placed in a cheesecloth bag and used to flavor soups, stews, stocks or sauces. Tying the herbs together or bagging them in cheesecloth allows their easy removal from the dish after cooking. In classic French cuisine, the herbs would typically be parsley, thyme and bay leaf. Pronounced (boo-KAY-gahr-NEE).

Broth- A liquid resulting from cooking meats, vegetables, or aromatics in water. Used as the base for soups, stews and sauces. Alternate term: Stock

Caramelize/Caramelization- 1.To heat sugar until it melts and becomes a clear syrup. 2. To brown the sugars found inside and on the surface of many foods. Browning fruits, vegetables or proteins is often referred to as caramelization. Pronounced (KEHR-ah-meh-lyz).

Cheesecloth- A cotton gauze-like cloth used in cooking for straining liquids, enclosing spices and herbs to be immersed during the cooking process, and to bind ingredients together.

Chiffonade- Thin strips of leafy greens or herbs such as spinach or basil. The strips are the result of stacking the leaves together, one on top of the other, rolling the stack into a cylinder, and cutting the cylinder into thin strips. The strips are used as a garnish, as a bed for other ingredients, or as part of a salad. Pronounced (shihf-uh-NAHD).

Chop- To cut food into bite-sized pieces. Chopped food pieces are larger and coarser than minced food pieces.

Clarify- To turn a cloudy liquid into a clear one by removing any solid impurities or sediment.

One way to clarify a liquid is to add egg whites to the broth or liquid and simmer for 15 minutes. The egg whites will attract sediment and particles like a magnet so that after cooling, you can remove them by pouring the mixture through a cloth-lined strainer. Pronounced (KLEHR-ih-fi).

De Glaze-The process of heating a liquid, usually stock, broth, or wine, in a pan in which food has been cooked to remove the browned bits of food (and their flavor) from the pan. This is achieved after the cooked food has been removed from the pan, by adding the liquid to the pan, then heating it while stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen the browned bits of food. The resulting mixture is often used as a base for a sauce to accompany the food cooked in the pan. Pronounced (dee-GLAYZ).

Dice- To cut food into tiny (1/8 to ¼ inch) cubes.

Dredge- To dip or submerge a food in a dry ingredient in order to coat it prior to cooking. Many foods are dredged in flour or a flour mixture prior to sautéing, pan-frying, or deep-frying. Pronounced (DREHJ).