Ever wondered the difference between sauteing and stir-frying?
Or a skillet and a saucepan?
Our cooking terms glossary to the rescue!
Simply Recipes / Alison Czinkota
Simply Recipes / Alison Czinkota
Every craft has its own language, and that includes cooking.
Recipes can be full of words that you dont hear in everyday conversation.
We’ll also continue adding definitions as we think of them.
Chef’s knife.Alison Bickel
A
Air fry:To cook in a quick-heating countertop convection oven.
Air frying is not actually frying.
Aromatics:Ingredients such as herbs, spices, and vegetables used to add flavor and aroma to dishes.
Dry ingredients.Kalisa Marie Martin
B
Bake:To cook in an oven, usually at moderate temperatures (around 350F).
Baking sheet:A large, flat metal sheet such as a cookie sheet or sheet pan.
Some are totally flat; some have rims.
Folding in ingredients.Alison Bickel
Beat:To mix ingredients vigorously.
Bechamel:A sauce made from a cooked flour-and-butter paste (a roux) and thickened with milk.
Blanch:To quickly boil foods, often vegetables.
A hollandaise sauce.Cambrea Bakes
Blanching often only partially cooks food.
Blender, high-speed:A blender with a powerful motor and pitcher made of sturdy, shatterproof plastic.
High-speed blenders can smoothly puree foods that regular blenders cant.
Marinating chicken.Sally Vargas
Boil:To cook immersed in rapidly bubbling liquid.
Braise:To cook foods only partially immersed in liquid using low heat.
A lid may or may not be used.
Potatoes in a pressure cooker.Emma Christensen
Broil:To cook in an oven with high heat using only the top heating element.
When broiling, the food is typically 5 or less from the heat source.
Broth:A flavorful liquid made from the bones and meat of animals or fish.
A roux.Sally Vargas
Often the terms stock and broth are used interchangeably.
Brown:To cook food until it becomes brown, but not burned.
C
Casserole:A sturdy baking dish or pan.
Seared pork chops.Sally Vargas
Chiffonade:To shred leafy foods, such as lettuce or herbs, very finely with a knife.
Chefs knife:An all-purpose knife, typically with a blade that’s 6-10 long.
Chop:To cut food into smaller pieces.
Thermometers.Elise Bauer
Colander:A perforated metal or plastic bowl with handles used for draining foods cooked in liquid.
Convection oven:An oven with fans that circulate air for even browning and oftentimes faster cooking.
Cooling rack:A sturdy wire rack to set hot baked goods on so they cool evenly.
D
Deep fry:To cook food by fully immersing it in hot fat.
Dice:To chop food evenly into small pieces or cubes.
Fine dice is 1/4, medium dice is 1/2, and large dice is 3/4.
Drippings:The fat and liquid that drips out of meat as it roasts or browns.
Dry heat:Cooking methods that dont use water or water-based liquid.
Baking, broiling, grilling, sauteing, stir-frying, and roasting all use dry heat.
Interestingly, deep frying, which does not require water, is also dry heat.
Dry ingredients:The ingredients in a recipe that do not have moisture.
Flour, sugar, salt, and cocoa powder are all dry ingredients.
Dutch oven:A large cast iron or enameled metal pot with a lid.
Improperly made, an emulsion can break and separate back into two distinct liquids.
Food processor:An appliance for pureeing, slicing, grating, and chopping food.
G
Ganache:A smooth mixture of melted chocolate and/or butter.
Griddle:A flat, heated surface used for cooking.
Indirect grilling is best for foods that need to cook longer, such as whole chicken or pork ribs.
Grilling, direct:To grill directly over the coals or flames.
Direct grilling is best for quick-cooking foods, or for giving grill marks to foods that cook longer.
H
Heavy-bottomed pot:A pot with a base thats sturdy enough not to overheat easily.
Heat distributes better in pots with heavy metal bottoms, making food less likely to burn.
Hollandaise is served over seafood, steaks, and eggs Benedict.
J
Julienne:To cut food finely into matchsticks.
Mince:To chop as finely as possible.
Foods can be baked inparchment packetsso they steam in their packet.
Paring knife:A short knife (2 to 4 long) used for trimming and peeling foods.
Poach:To cook foods gently by submerging them in barely simmering (not boiling) water.
Vegetables, seafood, and chicken are foods that are often poached.
The high temperature accelerates cooking, making pressure cooking faster than conventional cooking.
Puree:To blend into a smooth paste.
As meat rests, its internal temperature often goes up several degrees.
Roast:To cook foods, often at high temperatures (400F or more) in an oven.
Roasted foods are intended to brown.
Roasting pan:A large, deep pan made to hold large cuts of meat.
For roux to properly thicken, it needs to be added to the sauce and simmered for a period.
The blade shape originates from Japan, and the tip is not as pronounced as a chefs knife.
Saucepan:A deep pan with one long handle on the side.
Saute:To cook quickly over high heat in a small amount of fat.
Scalding dairy changes the structure of its proteins and helps it perform better in recipes.
Searing can be done with or without fat.
Shock:To quickly stop cooking by immersing hot foods in an ice water bath.
Sift:To blend and aerate dry ingredients by forcing them through a wire mesh strainer or sifter.
Sifting helps dry ingredients incorporate into batters more evenly.
Silpat is a popular brand.
Simmer:To heat liquid so it bubbles gently, not rapidly.
Simmering is several steps down in intensity from boiling.
Skillet:A large, shallow pan, typically with one long handle and no lid.
Also known as a saute pan.
Slow cook:To braise in a slow cooking appliance, such as a crock pot.
Smoke:To infuse a food with wood smoke.
Steam:To cook food with vaporized water.
When steaming, the food sits above the steam, often in a rack.
Stock:A flavorful liquid simmered with bones and aromatic vegetables.
Often used interchangeably with broth.
Stockpot:A large pot for cooking liquid foods such as stock, or for boiling pasta.
Candy thermometers are meant to be left in liquids as they cook on the stovetop.
Most instant-read thermometers are not ovenproof.
Boiling, steaming, poaching, cooking sous vide, and all forms of pressure cooking use wet heat.
Whisk:To mix or beat with a whisk.
Whip:To incorporate air into an ingredient by beating rapidly, often with a whisk.
