Serves: 5

ASPARTAME: an artificial sweetener made from aspartic acid used as a calorie-free sweetener. Commonly known as Nutra Sweet™.

BARBEQUE or B.B.Q.: a mid-western style of cooking foods in indirect heat boxes which fill with smoke from the wood heat source at moderate temperatures for 6 hours or more. Western Americans refer to barbeque as cooking over a direct heat source and quickly cooking foods over open flame which is grilling, not the true way of barbeque.

BLANCH: to partially cook meats, fruits, or vegetables in order to retain color and or texture for a dish. Blanching can be done any number of ways, from frying bacon in a skillet for 1 minute on each side then promptly removing it from heat. To dipping fruits and vegetables in boiling water for 30 seconds up to 2 minutes, depending on the food being prepared.

BROIL: the came as grilling but, the heat source, gas or electric heating elements, are over the top of the food as in a home oven.

CHOP: the act of cutting food into small pieces which are about 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch in size. This can be very coarse and large as in coarsely chopping.

DEGLAZE: to scrape the brown bits off the bottom of a pot or pan left from searing or browning food, using a liquid like broth, water, wine, etc. to loosen the "goodies" to make a sauce or gravy.

DICE: the act of cutting food into small pieces between 1/8-inch and 1/4-inch.

D.O.G. or DOG: abbreviation and slang for "Dutch oven Gathering". A potluck like Dutch oven event where more than 3 people bring Dutch ovens and foods prepared in Dutch ovens to share and eat.

FOLD: as to "fold in" gently incorporating ingredients to keep the air in foods such as whipped cream. This is done correctly by gently placing a stirring spoon or spatula on the side of the mixing bowl into the mixture and sliding the spoon across the bottom of the bowl, then gently pulling through the mixture on the opposite side of the bowl. Each time this motion is done, the cook needs to turn the bowl a little to blend a different spot in the mixture.

GRILL: cooking foods over direct heat on a form of wire rack or cast iron grid to expose the food to the flame and high heat of charcoal briquettes, natural wood, or gas, cooking over the open flame. Western Americans commonly refer this type of cooking as barbeque.

MINCE: The act of cutting food into small pieces which are very small and less than 1/8-inch.

ROUX: or rou, French a mixture of fat, like butter, margarine, bacon fat, or oil and flour cooked together, used to thicken gravies, soups, and stews, etc.

SACCHARIN: an old artificial sweetener that is almost 500 times sweeter than table sugar. Commonly known as Sweet n Low™ it was thought to cause cancer which has been disproven by the FDA.

SAUTÉ: a French word for cooking in a skillet. We in America commonly call it frying. This is usually done over high heat with a lot of stirring, and then a sauce is added to the dish in the skillet to finish.

SEAR: to cook in a heavy pan or pot at very high temperatures, usually meat or fish, to seal in the juices of the meat and caramelize the natural sugars for enhanced flavors. To sear something, the cook needs to preheat the pot or pan and cook the meat for only 2 to 3 minutes on each side, giving a nice medium to dark brown color to the meats surface

SPLENDA®: an artificial sweetener made from sucralose, a sugar alcohol, which is stable in heated applications. .

WHIP or WISK: to incorporate air into an ingredient or mixture by using a wire whip or wisk. Use the same motions as folding but in a much faster motion. You can sometimes use a vigorous back and forth motion in the bowl to achieve a similar texture or results.

XYLITOL: a sugar alcohol, sugar free, sweetener product sold under the brand name of "Miracle Sweet" although made from cane sugar it contains no sugar and has no calories. A word of caution use sparingly per serving, consumption of more than 50 mg or 5 tsp. per day has a laxative effect. I use Xylitol widely in sugar free baking as I find it does not bitter like Nutra-Sweet or Saccharin based artificial sweeteners. I also like it because it measures the same as regular table sugar in recipes, teaspoon for teaspoon.

More Recipes from the Diabetic Cast Iron - Covered Wagon Cookin' Cookbook:
_Baking Temperature Chart for Camp Dutch Ovens
_Cast Iron Basics
_Cooking Measurements
_Terms And Glossary
_Welcome To Diabetic Cast Iron "Covered Wagon" Cookin