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Part 2 The Management of Food
Cooking Terms
Recipes use a variety of terms to describe exactly how you are to handle the
ingredients. For instance, a recipe that includes carrots is not likely to tell you to cut
the carrots. This term is too general to let you know how the carrots should look in the
fi nished product. Instead, the recipe might tell you to slice, dice, shred, or julienne the
carrots. Becoming familiar with specifi c cooking terms will help your food products turn
out as expected. See 12-3.
12-3 Being able to interpret these terms will help you prepare recipes successfully.
Glossary of Food Preparation Terms
bake. To cook in the oven with dry heat.
barbecue. To cook on a rack or spit over hot coals or
some other source of direct heat.
baste. To spoon pan juices, melted fat, or another
liquid over the surface of food during cooking to keep
the food moist and add fl avor.
beat. To mix ingredients together with a circular up-
and-down motion using a spoon, whisk, or rotary or
electric beater.
bind. To thicken or smooth out the consistency of a
liquid.
blanch. To scald or parboil in water or steam.
blend. To stir ingredients until they are thoroughly
combined.
boil. To cook in liquid at 212°F (100°C).
bone. To remove bones from fowl or meat.
braise. To cook in a small amount of liquid in a tightly
covered pan over low heat.
bread. To coat with dry bread or cracker crumbs.
broil. To cook uncovered under a direct source of
heat.
brown. To turn the surface of a food brown by placing it
under a broiler or quickly cooking it in hot fat.
brush. To apply sauce, melted fat, or other liquid with
a basting or pastry brush.
candy. To cook in a sugar syrup until coated or
crystallized.
caramelize. To heat sugar until a brown color and
characteristic fl avor develop.
chill. To make a food cold by placing it in a
refrigerator or in a bowl over crushed ice.
chop. To cut into small pieces.
clarify. To make a liquid clear by removing solid
particles.
coat. To thoroughly cover a food with a liquid or dry
mixture.
coddle. To cook by submerging in simmering liquid.
combine. To mix or blend two or more ingredients.
cool. To let a food stand until it no longer feels warm
to the touch.
core. To remove the center part of a fruit such as an
apple or pineapple.
cream. To soften solid fats, often by adding a
second ingredient, such as sugar, and working with
a wooden spoon or an electric mixer until the fat is
creamy.
crush. To pulverize.
cube. To cut into small squares of equal size.
cut. To divide into parts with a sharp utensil.
cut in. To combine solid fat with fl our using a pastry
blender, two forks, or the fi ngers.
deep-fry. To cook in a large amount of hot fat.
devein. To remove the large black or white vein
along a shrimp’s back.
dice. To cut into very small cubes of even size.
dissolve. To cause a solid food to turn into or
become part of a liquid.
dot. To place small pieces of butter or another food
over the surface of a food.
Chop
(Continued)