Preparation

and Cooking
Terms
The Language of the Recipe
The Language of the Recipe
• Become familiar
• Terms are
important tools for
the cook.
• Each has its own
meaning.
• Achieve best
results.
Techniques of
Preparation
BASTE
• To spoon pan juices,
melted fat or another
liquid over the
surface of food
during cooking to
keep the food moist
and add flavor.
BREAD
• To cover a food with a
coating of crumbs made
from bread, crackers, or
cereal. The food is often
dipped in a liquid such
as milk or egg before
coating.
•To make a food
cold by placing it
in a refrigerator
or in a bowl over
crushed ice.
BRUSH
• To spread a
liquid
coating on a
food, using a
pastry brush
or paper
towel.
DREDGE
• To cover a food with
a dry ingredient such
as flour or sugar.
The food may be
rolled in or shaken in
a bag together with
the dry ingredient.
• To form a standing edge on a
pastry, such as pie crust, before
baking. Press the dough with
your fingers to create this
scalloped edge, or use a fork to
“crimp” the edge.
GREASE
•To rub shortening,
fat, or oil, on the
cooking surface of
bake-ware.
MARINATE
• To soak in a
seasoned
liquid, called
a marinade,
to add flavor
and/or to
tenderize.
•To put dry
ingredients
through a sifter
or a fine sieve to
eliminate lumps.
CLARIFY
•To make a
liquid clear by
removing solid
particles.
•To thoroughly
cover food with
a liquid or dry
mixture.
•To let the food
stand until it
no longer feels
warm to touch.
DEVEIN
•To remove the
large black or
white vein in
along shrimp’s
back.
DISSOLVE
•To cause a
solid food to
turn into or
become part of
a liquid.
DRAIN
•To remove
liquid from
a product.
•To slightly
sprinkle the
surface of a food
with a sugar,
flour, or crumbs.
•To break layers
of food into
small pieces.
GARNISH
• To decorate foods
by adding other
attractive and
complementary
foodstuffs to the
food or serving dish.
•To apply liquid
that forms a
glossy coating.
GRIND
•To mechanically
break down a
food into a finer
texture.
•To change from
a solid to a
liquid through
the application
of heat.
RECONSTITUTE
•To return to its
previous state by
adding water.
REFRESH
•To quickly plunge
blanched
vegetables in cold
water to stop the
cooking process.
THICKEN
•To make a liquid
more dense by
adding a food like
flour, cornstarch
or egg yolks.
Techniques
of Mixing
•To mix with
an over-and-
over motion.
BLEND
 •To combine
thoroughly two
or more
ingredients.
COMBINE
•To mix together,
usually by
stirring, two or
more ingredients.
CREAM
•To soften and
blend until
mixture becomes
smooth and light.
KNEAD
•To work dough by
folding, pressing,
and turning, until
it is smooth and
elastic.
To combine two or
more ingredients,
usually by
stirring.
To mix with a
circular motion
of a spoon or
other utensil.
To beat rapidly,
to make light
and fluffy
mixture.
•To mix
lightly
Techniques
of Cutting
 To cut into
small pieces
To remove the
center part of
a fruit.
To cut into
small squares
To divide foods
into small
pieces.
To cut into
very small
cubes
To rub food against a
grater to obtain fine
particles or texture.
JULIENNE
 To cut food
into long, thin
strips.
To crush food
until it
becomes
smooth.
MINCE
To cut into very
small pieces
with a sharp
knife.
To cut away the
skin or a very thin
layer of the outside
of fruits or
vegetables.
To make thin,
straight cuts
through the outer
edge of fat on meat.
SCRAPE
To rub a vegetable,
with the sharp edge of
a knife in order to
remove only the outer
layer of skin.
SHRED
To tear or cut
into thin pieces
or strips.
 To cut food
into flat pieces.
SLIVER
 To cut in long,
thin pieces.
TRIM
To cut away
most of the fat
from the edges
of meat.
Techniques
of Cooking
•To cook in an
oven using
either covered
or uncovered
pan.
BARBEQUE
• To cook meat or
poultry slowly over
coals on a spit or in
the oven, basting it
often with a highly
seasoned sauce.
 To cook in
liquid, usually
water, over
212°F.
BLANCH
•To scald or
parboil in
water or steam.
BRAISE
To cook meat
slowly, covered and
in a small amount of
liquid.
To cook under
direct source of
heat or over
coals.
BROWN
To make the surface
of a food brown in
color by frying,
broiling, baking in
the oven, or
toasting.
CANDY
•To cook in
sugar syrup
until coated or
crystallized.
CARAMELIZE
•To heat sugar
until brown
color and
characteristic
flavor develop.
DEEP-FRY
To cook in
hot fat
that
completely
covers the
food.
To place small
particles of a solid,
such as butter, on
the surface of a
food.
To cook
in hot
fat.
•To broil over
hot coals or to
fry on a
griddle.
POACH
 To cook
gently in
hot liquid
below the
boiling
point.
PREHEAT
To set the oven to
cooking temperature
in advance so that it
has time to reach the
desired temperature
by the start of cooking.
REDUCE
•To decrease the
quantity of a
liquid and
intensify the
flavor by boiling.
To cook by dry
heat, uncovered,
usually in the
oven.
SAUTE
 To cook
uncovered in a
small amount
of fat in a pan.
To heat a liquid to just
below the boiling
point; or to pour
boiling water over
food or to dip food
briefly into boiling
water.
SIMMER
To cook in liquid just
below the boiling
point. The tiny
bubbles that form
should break before
they reach the
STEAM
To cook over
steam rising
from boiling
water.
 To cook in
liquid slowly
and for a long
time.
STIR-FRY
To fry small pieces
of food very
quickly in a small
amount of very hot
fat while stirring
constantly.
To brown by
direct heat in a
toaster or in the
oven.
The End