What’s In a Name? Cooking Terms and What They Mean
February 1, 2013
•Emily Murray
•Dallas
• 0 Comments
What’s In a Name? Cooking Terms and What They Mean
If you’re just starting out in the kitchen, cooking can be an overwhelming experience. Why wouldn’t it? It’s not like you’re born a five-star chef, but there are many steps you can take to ease your way into the kitchen. A major step in becoming comfortable in the kitchen is recognizing common terms you may find in recipes. Here are 10 common terms in recipes.
Al Dente: If you’re cooking pasta you’ll find this term commonly used. It simply means to cook the pasta until it’s barely done. You’ll want it not to be soft or overcooked.
Blanch: A term refers to stopping the cooking process. You’ll place food into boiling water briefly and then into ice-cold water to halt the process. This is often done with fruits and vegetables.
Butterfly: A term referred to when cutting meat or fish. You cut half way through the meat so that it can be split open. When it’s lays flat on your cutting board it looks like a butterfly.
Caramelize: This term has a couple of meanings. One occurs when cooking sugars over low heat. “Carmelization” refers to the browning process. You might see this when cooking onions.
Deglaze: If you’re making a sauce or gravy you will probably see this term. It means to add liquid to a pan after browning. When heated the liquid will loosen the cooked food to add flavoring to a sauce.
Dredge: When you dredge something it simply means to coat your food lightly with flour, bread crumbs or cornmeal.
Julienne: No, not a girl, it means to cut a fruit or vegetable into a matchstick.
Reduce: When you reduce something you simply boil a liquid in an uncovered pot or pan to evaporate the liquid. It reduces the volume and helps concentrate the flavor to help thicken your mixture.
Sauté: When you sauté your food you stir your food in a small amount of fat over direct heat.
Zest: Often scene in dessert recipes, when you zest something it refers to the skin of a fruit. Like an orange or lemon, simply shave the skin into your recipe.
There are thousands of cooking terms you will find has your cooking knowledge expands. These are ten common terms you may see in any recipe. Don’t worry they sound difficult but they’re quite a bit easier to understand than you think.
This article is presented by Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Dallas. Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Dallas offers culinary arts and pâtisserie and baking training programs. To learn more about the class offerings, please visit Chefs.edu/Dallas for more information.
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