Sherri's Helpful Hints

Cooking Terms M-Z

Macedoine: A cooked or uncooked combination of fruits or vegetables that have been cut into small cubes.

Marinate: To let food stand in a highly seasoned liquid or marinade, to tenderize or to add flavor.

Meuniere: A sauce of lemon juice, butter and parsley.

Mince: To cut or chop into very small pieces.

Mix: To thoroughly combine ingredients until evenly distributed.

Mold: To give food a specific form by pressing it into or letting it gel in a container

Pan-broil: To cook uncovered; fat is removed as it accumulates.

Pan-fry: To fry in an uncovered pan in the fat that accumulates from the cooking meat.

Parboil: To boil partially in a liquid. Cooking is unusually completed by baking.

Parch: To brown by means of dry heal. Generally, this is applied to grains.

Pare: To remove the peel or outer covering from a fruit or vegetable with a knife.

Pasta: A dough such as macaroni, noodles or spaghetti.

Paste: A thick creamy mixture, made by mixing dry ingredients with a liquid or by pounding fresh herbs, meats, or nuts with a mortar and pestle.

Pit: To remove the pit or pits from fruits.

Poach: To cook in a simmering liquid.

Precook: To cook partially or completely before a final cooking or reheating.

Preheat: To heat an oven or broiler in advance of use to assure that it will he the proper temperature when ready to use.

Purée: To press through a sieve to make food the consistency of a thick paste.

Ragout: Thick, highly seasoned stew.

Ramekin: Small fireproof or ovenproof casserole, used for individual servings.

Reconstitute: To restore concentrated foods to normal state, usuallly by adding water.

Reduce: To boil a liquid and reduce its quantity through evaporation.

Render: To melt down solid fats to get a liquid oil. Sometimes done using water to boil off flavors of meat.

Roast: To cook in an oven, uncovered and without water.

Roulades: Slices of rolled meat often stuffed with spicy fillings.

Roux: Fat and flour mixed to a paste for thickening soups, gravies and sauces.

Sauté: To cook in a skillet in a small amount of fat or liquid.

Scald: To heat just below the boiling point. Also to pour boiling water over the food or to dip food briefly into the boiling water.

Scallop: To bake in a sauce, usually covered with seasoned bread crumbs.

Scallopine: Pieces of thinly sliced meat, usually veal.

Score: To make a sharp narrow slits or cuts in the outer surface of food to

Sear: To brown the surface of food, usually meat, by exposing it to high heat for a comparatively short time.

Set: A term applied to gelatins, baked custards or puddings when they have congealed,

Shred: To form small and narrow pieces by rubbing food against a shredder.

Shuck: To remove shells of clams, corn or oysters.

Sift: to put dry ingredients through a sifter or sieve.

Simmer: To cook just below the boiling point so that only an occasional bubble appears on the liquid's surface.

Skim: To remove foam, fat or a solid substance from a mixture's surface.

Steam: To cook over, but not in, boiling water.

Steep: To soak in a liquid at a temperature below the boiling point.

Sterilize: To destroy microorganisms with boiling water, dry heat or steam.

Stew: To boil slowly or with simmering heat.

Stir: To mix ingredients until well blended.

Stir-fry: To cook bite-sized pieces of food quickly in a wok while tossing and turning in a little oil over high heat.

Stock: The liquid in which meat, fish or vegetables have been cooked.

Toss: To mix ingredients lightly without mashing them.

Truss: To bind the wings or legs of a fowl before cooking.

Whey: A nutritious liquid that is drained off in the process of making cheese or the liquid that forms on yogurt.

Whip: To beat quickly and steadily with either a hand or an electric beater.

Whisk: To stir rapidly, using a whisk, to blend ingredients or introduce

Zest: The oily, thin outer part of citrus skin that is grated and used as a flavoring.