Serves: 5

Just like any other activity, cooking has its own vocabulary. This glossary isn’t a complete list, but it will help you learn some of the most common terms.

Al Dente:
Description for the doneness of pasta cooked until tender but firm to the bite.

Bake:
To cook food in an oven with dry heat. Bake food uncovered for a dry, crisp top (breads, cakes, cookies, chicken) or covered to retain moistness(vegetables, casseroles, stews).

Baste:
Spoon liquid over food (pan juices over turkey) during cooking to keep it moist.

Batter:
An uncooked mixture of flour, eggs, liquid and other ingredients. Batter is thin enough to be spooned or poured (muffins, pancakes).

Blanch:
Plunge food into boiling water for a brief time to preserve color, texture and nutritional value or to remove the skin (vegetables, fruits, nuts).

Boil:
Heat liquid until bubbles rise continuously and break on the surface and steam is given off. In a rolling boil, the bubbles form rapidly and the surface "rolls."

Bread:
Coat a food (fish, meat, vegetables) by dipping into a liquid (beaten egg or milk), then into bread crumbs, cracker crumbs or cornmeal before frying or baking. See also Coat.

Broil:
Cook directly under a red-hot heating unit.

Brown:
Cook quickly over high heat, causing the surface of the food to turn brown.

Caramelize:
Melt sugar slowly over low heat until it becomes a golden brown, caramel-flavored syrup. Or sprinkle granulated, powdered or brown sugar on top of a food, then place it under a broiler until the sugar is melted and caramelized.

Chill:
Place food in the refrigerator until it’s thoroughly cold.

Chop:
Cut food into coarse or fine irregular-shaped pieces, using a knife, food chopper, blender or food processor.

Coat:
Cover food evenly with crumbs or sauce. See also Bread.

Cool:
Allow hot food to stand at room temperature until it reaches a desired temperature. Placing hot food on a wire rack will help it cool more quickly. Occasional stirring will help a mixture cool more quickly and evenly.

Core:
Remove the center of a fruit (apple, pear, pine-apple). Cores contain small seeds (apple, pear) or are woody (pineapple).

Cover:
Place a cover, lid, plastic wrap or aluminum foil over a container of food.

Crisp-tender:
Description of doneness for vegetables cooked so they retain some of their crisp texture.

Crush:
Press into very fine particles for example, crushing a clove of garlic with a chef’s knife or garlic press.

Cube:
Cut food into squares 1/2 inch or larger, using a knife.

Cut up:
Cut food into small irregular pieces, using a kitchen scissors or knife. Or cut a large food into smaller pieces (broiler-fryer chicken).

Dash:
Less than 1/8 teaspoon of an ingredient.

Deep-fry or French-fry:
Cook in hot fat that’s deep enough to float the food. See also Fry, Panbroil, Panfry, Sauté.

Deglaze:
After panfrying a food, remove excess fat from the skillet, then add a small amount of liquid (broth, water, wine) and stir to loosen browned bits of food in the skillet. This mixture is used as a base for sauce.

Dice:
Cut food into squares smaller than 1/2 inch, using a knife.

Dissolve:
Stir a dry ingredient (flavored gelatin, yeast, sugar) into a liquid ingredient (boiling water, hot water, tea) until the dry ingredient dissolves.

Dip:
Moisten or coat a food by submerging it, covering all sides.

Dough:
A stiff but pliable mixture of flour, liquid and other ingredients (often including a leavening). Dough can be dropped from a spoon (cookies), rolled (pie crust) or kneaded (bread).

Drain:
Pour off liquid by putting the food into a strainer or colander that has been set in the sink. If draining fat from meat, place the strainer in a disposable container. If you’re saving the liquid, place the strainer in a bowl or other container.

Drizzle:
Pour topping in thin lines from a spoon or liquid measuring cup in an uneven pattern over food (glaze over cake or cookies).

Dust:
Sprinkle lightly with flour, granulated sugar, powdered sugar or baking cocoa (dusting coffee cake with powdered sugar).

Flake:
Break lightly into small pieces, using a fork (cooked fish).

Flute:
Pinching pastry with your fingers to make a finished, decorative edge.

Fry:
Cook in hot fat over moderate or high heat. See also Deep-fry, Panbroil, Panfry, Sauté.

Garnish:
Decorate food with small amounts of other foods that have a distinctive color or texture (parsley, fresh berries, chocolate curls).

Glaze:
Brush, spread or drizzle an ingredient (meat stock, jam, melted chocolate) on hot or cold food to give it a glossy appearance or hard finish.

Grate:
Rub a hard-textured food (chocolate, citrus peel, Parmesan cheese) against the small, rough, sharp-edged holes of a grater to reduce it to tiny particles. When grating citrus peel, be sure to grate only the outer skin, not the bitter white inner membrane.

Grease:
Rub the bottom and sides of a pan with shortening, using pastry brush, waxed paper or paper towel. Or spray with cooking spray. Grease pans to prevent food from sticking during baking (muffins, some casseroles). Don’t use butter or margarine for greasing, unless specified in a recipe, because they usually contain salt that may cause hot foods to stick.

Grease and flour:
After greasing a pan with shortening, sprinkle it with small amount of flour and shake the pan to distribute it evenly. Then, turn the pan upside down and tap the bottom to remove excess flour. Grease and flour pans to prevent sticking during baking.

Grill:
See the chapter on Grilling.

Heat oven:
Turn the oven control(s) to the desired temperature, allowing the oven to heat thoroughly before adding food. Heating, also called preheating, takes about 10 minutes for most ovens.

Hull:
Remove the stem and leaves with a knife or huller (strawberries).

Husk:
Remove the leaves and outer shell (corn on the cob).

Julienne:
Cut into thin, matchlike strips with a knife or food processor (fruits, vegetables, meats).

Knead:
Work dough on a floured surface into a smooth, elastic mass, using your hands or an electric mixer with dough hooks. Kneading develops the gluten in flour and gives an even texture and a smooth, rounded top.

Marinate:
Let food stand in a marinade--a savory, acidic liquid--in a glass or plastic container for several hours to add flavor or to tenderize. Always refrigerate marinating foods.

Melt:
Turn a solid (chocolate, butter) into liquid by heating.

Microwave:
Cook, reheat or thaw food in a microwave oven.

Mince:
Cut food into very fine pieces--smaller than chopped, but bigger than crushed--with a knife.

Mix:
Combine ingredients evenly, using any method.

Panbroil:
Cook meat or other food quickly in an ungreased or lightly greased skillet.

Panfry:
Fry meat or other food in a skillet, using varying amounts of fat and usually pouring off the fat from the meat during cooking. See also Deep-fry, Fry, Panbroil, Sauté.

Peel:
Cut off the outer covering with a knife or vegetable peeler (apples, potatoes). Also, strip off the outer covering with your fingers (bananas, oranges).

Poach:
Cook in simmering liquid just below the boiling point (eggs, fish).

Pound:
Flatten boneless cuts of chicken and meat, using a meat mallet or the flat side of a meat pounder, until they’re a uniform thickness.

Puree:
Blend food until it’s smooth, using a blender or food processor.

Reduce:
Boil liquid, uncovered, to evaporate some of the liquid and intensify the flavor of the remaining liquid.

Reduce heat:
Lower the heat on the stove top so that a mixture continues to cook slowly and evenly without scorching.

Refrigerate:
Place food in the refrigerator to chill or store it.

Roast:
Cook meat, uncovered, on rack in a shallow pan in the oven without adding liquid.

Roll:
Flatten dough into a thin, even layer, using a rolling pin (cookies, pie crust).

Roll up:
Roll a flat food spread with a filling--or with the filling placed at one end--beginning at one end until it is tube-shaped (jelly roll, enchilada).

Sauté:
Cook over medium-high heat in a small amount of fat, using a frequent tossing or turning motion. See also Deep-fry, Fry, Panbroil, Panfry.

Scald:
Heat liquid to just below the boiling point and tiny bubbles form at the edge. A thin skin will form on the top of scalded milk.

Score:
Lightly cutting the surface of a food about 1/4 inch deep, using a knife. Scoring helps cooking and flavoring or it may be used for appearance (meat, yeast bread).

Sear:
Brown meat quickly over high heat.

Season:
Add flavor with salt, pepper, herbs, spices and seasoning mixes.

Shred:
Cut into long, thin pieces using the round, smooth holes of shredder, a knife or food processor.

Simmer:
Cook in liquid on the stove top just below the boiling point while bubbles rise slowly and break just below the surface. Simmering usually is done after reducing heat from a boil.

Skim:
Remove the top layer of fat or foam that floats on top from a soup or broth, using a spoon, ladle or skimmer (a flat utensil with holes in it).

Slice:
Cut into flat pieces about the same size (bread, meat).

Snip:
Cut into very small pieces with a kitchen scissors.

Soft Peaks:
Egg whites or whipping cream beaten until the moist, glossy peaks are rounded or curl when you lift the beaters from the bowl. See also Stiff Peaks.

Soften:
Let cold food stand at room temperature, or microwave at low power setting, until no longer hard (butter, margarine, cream cheese).

Steam:
Cook food by placing it on a rack or in a special steamer basket over a small amount of boiling water in a covered pan.

Stew:
Cook slowly in a small amount of liquid for a long time (stewed fruit, beef stew).

Stiff Peaks:
Egg whites or whipping cream beaten until moist, glossy peaks stand up straight when you lift the beaters from the bowl. See also Soft Peaks.

Stir-fry:
A Chinese method of quickly cooking similar-size pieces of food in a small amount of hot oil over high heat, lifting and stirring constantly with a turner or large spoon.

Strain:
Pour a mixture or liquid through a fine sieve or strainer to remove larger particles.

Tear:
Break into pieces with your fingers.

Toast:
Brown lightly in a toaster, oven, broiler or skillet (bread, coconut, nuts).

Toss:
Mix ingredients lightly with a lifting motion (salads, pasta with sauce).

Whip:
Beat ingredients to add air and increase volume until the ingredients are light and fluffy (cream, egg whites).

Zest:
The outside colored layer of citrus fruit (oranges, lemons) that contains aromatic oils and flavor. It also means to remove the outside layer of citrus fruit in fine strips, using a knife, citrus zester or vegetable peeler.


From "Betty Crocker's Complete Cookbook, Everything You Need to Know to Cook Today, 9th Edition." Text Copyright 2000 General Mills, Inc. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

More Recipes from the Betty Crocker's Cookbook, 9th Edition Cookbook:
BUTTER, MARGARINE AND VEGETABLE OIL SPREAD FAT COMPARISON
COOKING TERMS GLOSSARY
HELPFUL HOW-TO #1 PEEL
HELPFUL HOW-TO #10 CRUSH
HELPFUL HOW-TO #11 SIMMER
HELPFUL HOW-TO #12 BOIL
HELPFUL HOW-TO #13 CUTTING AN ORANGE INTO SECTIONS
HELPFUL HOW-TO #14 PEELING AND CUTTING UP PINEAPPLE
HELPFUL HOW-TO #15 REMOVING THE HULL FROM A STRAWBERRY
HELPFUL HOW-TO #16 SEEDING A JALAPENO CHILI
HELPFUL HOW-TO #17 SEEDING A TOMATO
HELPFUL HOW-TO #18 SEPARATING EGGS
HELPFUL HOW-TO #2 SLICE
HELPFUL HOW-TO #3 JULIENNE
HELPFUL HOW-TO #4 CUBE OR DICE
HELPFUL HOW-TO #5 CHOP
HELPFUL HOW-TO #6 SNIP
HELPFUL HOW-TO #7 CUT UP
HELPFUL HOW-TO #8 SHRED
HELPFUL HOW-TO #9 GRATE
INGREDIENTS GLOSSARY
INTRODUCTION
MEASURING INGREDIENT--GRADUATED NESTING MEASURING CUPS
MEASURING INGREDIENTS--GLASS MEASURING CUPS
MEASURING INGREDIENTS--GRADUATED MEASURING SPOONS
MIXING INGREDIENTS
POTS AND PANS
STOCKING THE PANTRY