Cooking Terms

‘Tis the season to be jolly and relaxed. However, to some people out there, it could make a grueling time slaving in front of the kitchen stove and oven all night and day. Speaking of cooking, why don’t we work on cooking terms this week? (A lot of cooking terms came from France or Italy.) Here they are!

(source from www.dictionary.com )

After going over the following cooking terms, try to fill in the blanks below them.

brine (verb or noun)

Brining (usually a turkey) is basically just the process of adding salt. It can be through a soak in a water mixture or simply by shaking salt directly on to the turkey. This is how you avoid that dry Thanksgiving turkey you may remember as a kid. However, don't tell your mom that!

al dente (phrase)

Al dente is considered the ideal texture for pasta. It’s not too soft, but not too firm. The Italian term literally translates as “to the tooth.” Think of it as pasta with just the right amount of “bite.” It’s not totally raw and crunchy in the middle, but it’s not a pile of mush either. Frequent taste tests during the boiling process will help you learn how to perfect this texture.

au gratin (phrase)

When something is au gratin, it means it’s cooked or baked with a topping of either browned bread crumbs and butter or grated cheese (both if you’re lucky!). It’s as easy as sprinkling some cheese and/or bread crumbs on top of a dish before popping it into the oven. Now instead of saying “cheesy potatoes,” you can say “potatoes au gratin” and sound fancy AF.

Béchamel (noun)

A béchamel is a white sauce. But, not just any white sauce. It’s one of the five “mother sauces”—the foundation sauce categories that practically all sauces are based upon (in French cooking, anyway). To make most of these sauces, start off with a thick paste called a roux (a cooked mixture of equal parts butter, or other fat, and flour). To transform roux into béchamel, add milk until it reaches a more sauce-like consistency. And, this is actually a key step in making macaroni and cheese from scratch.

double boiler (noun)

This is the secret to kitchen witchcraft like melting chocolate on the stove without burning it. It’s a tool that consists of two pots that nest in each other. In the bottom pot, which sits on the stove, add water. As it comes to a boil, it will gently heat the top pot with the power of steam.

stock vs. broth (noun)

They’re right next to each other at the grocery store, and they seem so similar it can be tough to know the difference between the two. Is there even a difference? While both are made by boiling meat, fish, chicken, or vegetables in water for several hours, the process for making stock always includes bones. That said, stock tends to have a thicker, more gelatinous mouthfeel, and it also tends to have more flavor.

to poach (verb)

They say there are 100 ways to cook an egg. Out of all of them, poaching is probably one of the most frustrating. Poaching involves cooking something (whether it’s an egg, fruit, fish, etc.) in a hot liquid that’s kept just below its boiling point. The word comes from the Middle French word poche, which literally means “bag” or “pocket.” Poached eggs tend to come out with the still-runny yolk wrapped inside the solid white (Kind of like a pocket, right?).

to sauté vs. to deep-fry (verb)

When you sauté something, you cook it in a pan with a small amount of oil or other fat, and stir the food by moving the pan to toss it in the air. The word means “jump” in French, so you can think of it as making the food jump as you cook it. This is that fancy signature move you see on all the cooking shows. Pan-frying is basically the same thing. Deep-frying is totally different. It's when you use enough oil to cover the food you are cooking. We’d recommend using a tall-sided pot or pan for that. Safety first.

<Fancy knife work>

to mince: (verb) cutting something (usually food) into very small pieces. Finely cut the veggie in one direction, then cut across those original slices to make teeny-tiny pieces. Voilà: minced veggies.

to dice: (verb) cutting something into small cubes (like a six-sided die). Take a potato, trim off the sides so it is now a rectangular potato, and then cut that rectangle crosswise and lengthwise into little cubes.

To slice: (verb) to slice is to cut a thin, flat piece . . . like sliced ham or bread.

To julienne: (verb) a pretty, chef-y way of saying “cut into thin strips or small, matchstick-like pieces.” It can be an adjective (e.g. “julienne carrots”) or a verb (“Get out there and try julienning some carrots!”).

Check out the cooking terms now!

  1.   When you make Korean Chop-Chae noodle dish, every ingredients needs to be ________________________.

  2.   In order to cook Turkey, _____________________ the poultry for a couple of hours in advance so that the meat is juicy and properly salted.

  3.   For the curry sauce, I will ______________ the carrots, onions, potatoes, and beef into small pieces and _____________________ them in the saucepot with some butter and grape seed oil.

  4.   Many of Southern soul foods in the States are __________________________ and a bit greasy.

  5.   Eggs Benedict is a traditional American brunch or breakfast dish that consists of two halves of an English muffin each of which is topped with Canadian bacon, ham or sometimes bacon, a_________________ egg, and hollandaise sauce.

  6.   A _______________________ is two pots: a large one that looks a lot like a regular saucepan and a smaller, more shallow pan that nestles inside. It's used for cooking delicate ingredients that have a tendency to seize or separate over direct heat, as when tempering chocolate, whisking up a egg-based sabayon, or keeping gravy warm.

  7.   One of the basic skills to hone while learning how to cook sauce, working on ____________________, also known as white sauce, should be the first step. You need whole milk to be heated and thickened with a roux for this sauce.

  8.   Most cooks advise you to cook your pasta ____________________, but I personally prefer softer texture of my noodles.

  9.   Mozzarella cheese sticks wrapped with thinly __________________ ham named Prociutto is such a great and quick protein fix after a long run!

 10. Hans loves Mostaccioli au ___________________ at the Italian restaurant Avanti’s! Something baked with cheese on top is his favorite.

 11. You don’t need to buy beef bones to make some simple and clear _______________. It is not as thick as stock.

 12. I ___________________ beef, kimchi, and mixed them in with mashed tofu and bean sprouts to make Korean style dumplings.

           

Answer Keys 

  1.   julienned

  2.   brine

  3.   dice, sauté

  4.   deep-fried

  5.   poached

  6.   double boiler

  7.   béchamel

  8.   al dente

  9.   sliced

  10. gratin

  11. broth

  12. minced