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Notation







Glossary of cooking terms (speak as a chef)

 

 

You have probably noticed that many recipes given by chefs are full of incomprehensible jargon. This is because chefs have their own "language".

Here is a small glossary of words and expressions that you are likely to find in recipes.

Words

Expressions

Add liquid

Adding a liquid.

Example :

"Add white wine."

Meaning :

Add white wine.

 

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Add liquid to cover

Filling a receptacle with liquid, until the contents are just covered.

Example :

"Add white wine to just cover pan contents."

Meaning :

 

 

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Arrange on plate

Serving up a dish on a plate which will go directly onto the table in front of your guests. To arrange on the plate.

Example :

"Arrange salad on a plate."

Meaning :

 

 

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Bain-marie

Method of gently heating something over hot water without direct contact with heat.

Example :

"Melt chocolate in a bain-marie."

Meaning :

Break chocolate into small pieces, put in a bowl and proceed as indicated here.

 

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Base

Concentrated stock of various meats, vegetables and spices usually used as a base for sauces. There are several kinds of "fond" (white=poultry, brown=beef and veal fond).

Example :

"Add 20 cl white stock base (fond)."

Meaning :

Add 20 cl white (poultry) stock base (fond).

 

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Blanch

Blanching. Plunging an ingredient (usually vegetables) into boiling salted water for a very short time (a few seconds), and then into very cold water.

Example :

"Blanch the green beans."

Meaning :

Bring a large pan of water to the boil, tip in green beans for one minute, remove with a strainer and put into very cold water (if possible with ice cubes). Leave to cool then drain.

This is ofen done to preserve the couleur of the ingredient in the final dish.

 

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Blanch (almonds etc.)

For almonds (or other nuts), blanching is the process of plunging in boiling water in order to remove the skins easily.

Example :

"Unblanched almonds"

Meaning :

Almonds still in their skins


Note:Can be used as a verb: "blanch the almonds", for example, means "remove the skin from the almonds". A similar method can be used to peel tomatoes easily.

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Boil in water

Cooking in a large pan of salted water. English way of cooking.

Example :

"Boil broad beans in salted water."

Meaning :

Bring a large pan of water to the boil, add about a tablespoon of coarse salt per litre of water, add broad beasns and cook until they are tender.

 

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Broken pieces or crumbs

Remaining parts of a product, after cutting, which are edible but not very attractive.

Example :

"Save broken mushroom pieces to make stuffing."

Meaning :

Keep to one side all unused broken pieces of mushroom, they will be used to make stuffing.

 

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Brunoise (tiny diced vegetables as garnish)

Cutting a product into very small dice.

Example :

"Add a brunoise (tiny dice) of potatoes."

Meaning :

Add potatoes, peeled, washed, and cut in small even dice.

 

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Checking seasoning

Tasting to see if the preparation has enough salt and pepper.

Example :

"Put over low heat and check seasoning"

Meaning :

Taste the preparation, and add salt and pepper if there is not enough already (sometimes also called "adjusting" seasoning).

 

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Clarify

Removing the solids from a mixture to obtain a clear liquid. To clarify.

Example :

"Clarify stock by filtering."

Meaning :

Filter solids from stock to keep only the liquid.

 

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Clean (trim)

Cleaning, removing inedible parts.

Example :

"Peel (or scrape) carrots."

Meaning :

Peel and wash carrots, cut off ends. Ends and peelings are scraps ("parures" in French).

 

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Cover/wrap with plastic film

Covering with a plastic film to protect from air.

Example :

"Cover bowl with plastic film overnight."

Meaning :

Cover bowl with plastic film to protect from air, and leave overnight.

Note: See also the page dedicated to films and papers used in cooking.

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Cut or snip

Cut in fairly thin slices or strips.

Example :

"Chop (or cut) coriander."

Meaning :

Cut coriander leaves into fine strips.

 

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Deglaze

Deglazing. Pouring a little liquid into a pan where cooking has left a deposit on the bottom, then scraping to free all the juices and mix them with the liquid.

Example :

"Deglaze frying pan, where fruits are caramelized, with a little rum."

Meaning :

Remove contents of frying pan , put back on heat, add rum. Scrape bottom of pan with a wooden spatula to dissolve juices in rum.

 

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Dry roasting

Dry roasting (torréfication in French), usually seeds (sesame, linseed,...) or nuts (almonds, walnuts, ...), means to heat without water or fat, in the oven or a heavy pan, to drive off all water they contain.

It make seeds crunchier, very pleasant in the mouth, with an improved flavour.

Example :

"Dry roast almonds in the oven"

Meaning :

Put almonds on a baking tray in an oven at 150°C for about 15 minutes to dry them out and make them crunchier.

Note: Dry roasting is not cooking in the classic sense, it's shorter in time, and lower in temperature. This is the method is used to dry coffee beans for example.

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Feuilletage

Piece of puff pastry.

Example :

"Wrap the fish fillet in puff pastry."

Meaning :

 

 

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Finish sauce (with butter)

Adding cold butter to a hot liquid a little at a time, while beating with a whip to make a smooth sauce.

Example :

"Reduce white wine and onions, then beat in butter to finish."

Meaning :

 

 

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Flour

Dusting, dredging or sprinkling, usually with flour.

Example :

"Flour dough before baking."

Meaning :

Sprinkle dough with flour before baking.

 

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Fumet

Similar to a "fond" (concentrated stock), but made from fish.

Example :

"Add a little fish fumet."

Meaning :

 

 

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Ganache

A mixture of melted chocolate with cream or milk, which allows it to keep a soft consitency which doesn't set on cooling.

Example :

" "

Meaning :

 

 

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Garlic "en chemise"

Said of garlic cloves which are used without being peeled ("in its shirt" in French). In the photo, the left hand clove is peeled as normal, the right hand one is "en chemise".

Example :

"Adding two cloves of garlic "en chemise""

Meaning :

Add two cloves of garlic without peeling, they will be removed later.

 

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Glaze (with apricot jelly)

Glazing a tart or cake with a little apricot jelly (using a brush) to make it glossy and appetising.

Example :

"Glaze the tart before putting it in a cool place."

Meaning :

Using a brush, glaze a cooked tart with strained apricot jam before putting it in the fridge.

 

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Ingredient, product

Everything used as a raw material in the kitchen: vegetables, meat, fish, spices, fruit, etc.

Example :

"Good cooking starts with good ingredients."

Meaning :

 

 

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Julienne

Cutting an ingredient into small sticks.

In French it's also the name of a sea fish (ling).

Example :

"Make a julienne of vegetables."

Meaning :

Cut vegetables into thin strips.

 

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Lèchefrite (oven tray)

Large rectangular metal oven tray sold with cooker

Example :

"A kind of skimmer, like a shallow wire basket on a long handle. It's ideal for removing something solid from a liquid, like vegetables in water for example. "

Meaning :

 

A "lèchefrite" is a large (full-size) oven tray for collecting cooking juices under poultry roasted using a rotisserie (the most usual way to roast poultry in France), but it can also be use as a huge rectangular baking tray.

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Line (with pastry)

Lining a tart mould or tin with a circle of pastry.

Example :

"Line mould or tin with sweetcrust pastry."

Meaning :

Line mould or tin with circle of sweetcrust pastry, press it well into bottom and sides, then trim off excess around edge.

 

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Ménagère

Housewife. The term, unfortunately condescending and rather pejorative, used by chefs to refer to someone who cooks at home and is therefore not a professional chef.

Example :

"To cook like a housewife."

Meaning :

This is not a compliment in a professonal chef's kitchen, and that's sad...

 

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Mirepoix (diced vgetables)

Cutting a product into dice.

Example :

"Add diced turnips (mirepoix)."

Meaning :

Add turnips, peeled, washed and cut in large dice.

 

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Mixture or batter

Preparation with several ingredients.

Example :

"Make a soufflé mixture."

Meaning :

Mix together ingredients needed for a souffle. This mixture is called "appareil" in French.

 

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Oven floor or sole

Word meaning the floor or bottom of your oven.

Example :

"Place rounds of dough directly on the sole (floor) of oven."

Meaning :

 

Items are seldom placed directly on it to cook because it's very hot. One notable exception: pizzas.

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Peel fruit completely

Removing all skin, seeds, pith, etc. of a fruit, to keep only flesh.

Example :

"Peel oranges completely."

Meaning :

 

 

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Peel tomatoes

Peeling, removing the skin.

Example :

"Peel tomatoes after blanching in boiling water."

Meaning :

Remove tomato skins.

 

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Poolish

Poolish is a fermented batter, generally a mixture of water, flour and yeast which acts as the leaven for certain kinds of bread dough.

There are distinct bread types, depending on the rising agent: yeast-raised bread, poolish bread, and leavened bread.

Although it doesn't have the full flavour of a leavened bread, poolish gives a bread with more flavour than one just using yeast.

.[Translator's note: the term poolish is more common in French baking than in English. For more information see the Pre-ferment, article on Wikipedia.].

Example :

"Prepare a poolish by mixing the water, flour, yeast and a teaspoon of sugar."

Meaning :

Mix the ingredients thoroughly but gently, preferably using a whisk, until the mixture is quite smooth.

The prepared mixture is covered and left in a warm place to ferment. This produces a rather sticky batter full of bubbles, the poolish, which can then be mixed with flour and water to make bread.

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Reduce

Reducing. Leaving a liquid on the heat until it reduces in volume by evaporation, to the desired quantity.

Example :

"Reduce the syrup by half."

Meaning :

Put syrup on medium heat until the volume reduces by half.

 

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Rise (or prove)

Removing for use the best part of a fish, poultry, etc.

Example :

"Ask your fishmonger to fillet the salmon. "

Meaning :

Ask your fishmonger to prepare salmon by skinning and filleting, and keep only these fillets.

 

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Rolled out pastry

Pastry, rolled out with a rolling pin, usually in a circle.

Example :

"Put rolled out pastry in fridge to rest."

Meaning :

Take the rolled out pastry, and put it in the fridge to rest.

 

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Round slice of onion

Slice of something with round shape.

Example :

"Fry sliced onions."

Meaning :

Cut onion in thin slices and then fry.

 

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Scraps (inedible parts)

Scraps, inedible parts. Applies to vegetables, fruit (skins, core, ...), meat (bones, veins, skin, ...) and fish (heads, skin, bones...).

Example :

"Set aside fish scraps."

Meaning :

Don't throw away skin, head and bones of the fish.

 

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Seam

The seam. On a formed loaf prior to baking, the underside where the edges of the dough have been rolled towards the centre.

Example :

"Get a stainless one, preferably from a professional catering supplier where you will find different sizes."

Meaning :

 

Every loaf is formed with a "top", well rounded, and a "seam" on the underside where all the folds from the kneading process join.

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Set aside

Set aside or put away.

Example :

"Keep hot."

Meaning :

Set aside in a hot place.

 

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Sweat in butter

Cooking vegetables briefly in a little butter until they become slightly transparent.

Example :

"Sweat the chopped onions in butter."

Meaning :

 

 

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Without colouring

Removing something cooking from heat, just before it begins to brown.

Example :

"Cook chopped onions without letting them colour."

Meaning :

 

Frequently refers to cooking onions and shallot in a little butter or oil. The aim is to cook them gently without letting them fry and brown.

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