| Kitchen vocabulary is full of different words | | | | should not boil, but simmer. |
| for different functions. Here's a list of | | | | |
| those you need to know. | | | | Simmer. To simmer means to heat a liquid only |
| | | | until it starts to bubble on the surface. To |
| Terms Applied to Food: | | | | maintain a simmer, you need to turn your |
| | | | burner heat down as low as it will go. |
| Cube. Cutting food into cubes means to cut | | | | |
| them in about 1-inch square pieces. | | | | Poach. Poaching means to simmer fish, chicken |
| | | | or other foods submerged in liquid. |
| Dice. To dice foods, means to cut up into | | | | |
| smaller cubes - between 1/4 and 1/2 inch | | | | Braise. To braise means to cook slowly, |
| square. | | | | covered, in moist heat, either in the oven or |
| | | | on top of the stove. It doesn't mean to |
| Chop. To chop means to cut food into smaller | | | | submerge the food in liquid. |
| pieces than the dice. The pieces don't need | | | | |
| to be perfectly square but should be fairly | | | | Roast. To roast means to cook, uncovered, in |
| uniform in size. | | | | an oven. Be sure the hot air will easily |
| | | | circulate freely around the oven. (Don't |
| Finely Chop. Chop into smaller pieces than | | | | crowd too many items together.) |
| the regularly chopped foods but larger than | | | | |
| minced. | | | | Brown. Browning adds flavor to your foods. |
| | | | Degrees of browning are usually indicated by |
| Mince. To mince a food is to chop it as fine | | | | color; from very dark brown to light golden |
| as possible, to the point of its almost being | | | | brown. Browning is done over a low heat |
| a puree. | | | | rather than a high heat. |
| | | | |
| Shred or Grate. Shredding is coarser than | | | | Terms Applied to Baking |
| grating. You shred cabbage for coleslaw but | | | | |
| grate cheese for pasta. Shred vegetables like | | | | Beat. To beat is a less vigourous mixing that |
| cabbage with a knife by cutting thin. Use a | | | | whipping or whisking. You would beat eggs to |
| box grater to shred carrots or zucchini. | | | | blend them but you would whip cream to form |
| | | | stiff peaks. |
| Slice. Slicing foods takes a bit more skill | | | | |
| than chopping, shredding or grating. The most | | | | Stir. Stirring means to blend ingredients or |
| important thing to have with slicing is a | | | | to keep them moving so they don't burn. |
| sharp knife. Some people can slice vegetables | | | | |
| extremely quickly - without losing a finger. | | | | Knead. Kneading refers to the process of |
| But, most of us need to take more time. | | | | working dough by hand by folding it over onto |
| | | | itself. The gluten binds and stretches as you |
| Terms Applied to Cooking | | | | knead, making the dough smooth and elastic. |
| | | | |
| Saute. To saute means to cook quickly in fat | | | | There you have it. The most important kitchen |
| over medium-high to high heat. Saute doesn't | | | | terms you should know. Knowing these terms |
| mean to brown the meat. | | | | will help you to follow recipes more |
| | | | accurately and therefore get a better result |
| Boil. To boil means to bring a pot of liquid | | | | from your cooking efforts. |
| to a fast, rolling boil. Soups and stews | | | | |