Definition of Cooking Terms for Amateurs

When you read any cookbooks, food blogs or watch a cooking TV show you will come across a lot of cooking terms that define a particular technique in cooking. Amateur cooks or beginners sometimes find it hard to understand what the terms exactly mean thus making it hard for them to figure the whole process of the recipe. Hence, I have come up with this post which briefly explains some very commonly used cooking terms. Understanding the basic cooking terms will make you to understand a recipe better.

COOKING TERM	DEFINITION
Barbeque	To cook foods on a rack or spit over coals
Baste	To moisten food with marinade / fat for added flavor and to avoid drying while cooking
Batter	An uncooked pour-able mixture
Beat	To stir rapidly to make a mixture smooth
Blanch	To cook briefly in boiling water to seal in the color and flavor.
Blend	To thoroughly mix two or more ingredients by hand / whisk / mixer
Bone	To remove bones from poultry / fish / meat
Braise	To cook first by browning, then gently simmer in a small amount of liquid over low heat covered till tender
Bread	To coat with breadcrumbs before cooking
Broil	To cook on a rack or spit under or over direct heat, usually in an oven
Brown	To cook over high heat usually on a stove
Caramelize	To heat sugar until it liquefies and becomes a syrup ranging from golden to dark brown colour
Core	To remove the seeds and tough woody center from fruits and vegetables
Cream	To beat ingredients usually sugar and fat
Cube	To cut food in ½ inch piece
Cut - In	To distribute fat into flour in a cutting motion with a pastry blender untill divided evenly into tiny pieces, usually in pastry making.
De - glaze	To loosen brown bits from a pan by adding a liquid, then heating while stirring and scrapping the pan.
Dollop	A spoonful of soft food such as cream or mashed potato
Dot	To scatter bits of butter over a food

Dredge	To cover or coat uncooked food food with usually breadcrumbs, eggs etc
Dress	To coat foods such as salads with sauce
Drippings	Juices and fats rendered by meat or poultry during cooking
Drizzle	To pour melted butter, oil, syrup, melted chocolate or other liquid in a back and froth motion over a food
Dust	To coat lightly with confectioners sugar or cocoa powder or another powdery ingredient
Fillet	A flat piece of boneless meat, poultry or fish. Also to cut bones from meat, poultry and fish
Flambe	To drizzle liquor over a food while it is cooking, then when the alcohol has warmed ignite the food right before serving.
Fold	To combine light ingredients like whipped cream or beaten egg whites with a heavier mixture, using a gentle over and under motion with a spatula.
Glaze	To coat mixture with glossy mixture such jellies ot sauce
Grate	To rub food against a serrated surface to produce shredded or fine bits.
Grease	To rub the interior surface of a cooking dish with oil / butter / shortening to prevent food from sticking
Julienne	To cut into long thin strips
Knead	To blend dough with hand or in a mixer to form a pliable mass
Macerate	To soak in a flavored liquid, usually refers to fruits
Marinate	To soak in flavored liquid usually referring to meat, poultry and fish
Mince	To cut into tiny pieces , usually with a knife
Parboil	Parcially Cook by boiling
Poach	To cook in very low heat bearly simmering liquid just to cover
Puree	To mash or grind food untill completely smooth
Reduce	To thicken a liquid to concentrate the flavour by gently boiling

Roast	To cook a large / whole piece of meat, poultry or vegetable uncovered in dry heat usually in an oven
Saute	To cook food in small amount of fat on a pan over high heat
Sear	To brown the surface of the meat quickly by cooking over high heat to seal the juices
Shred	To cut in a narrow strips with a knife or a grater
Simmer	To cook in low heat just below the boiling point
Skim	To remove surface form or fat from a liquid
Steam	To cook food on a rack over boiling water covered
Steep	To soak under the liquid just below the boiling point to extract flavor
Stew	To cook covered over low heat on liquid
Stir Fry	To quickly cook small pieces of food over high heat
Whip	To beat food with a whip or mixture to incorporate air and produce volumn
Whisk	To beat ingredients such as heavy cream, eggs, salad dressing with a fork or whisk to encorparate air.
Zest	The outer color part / peel of a citrus fruit
Flake	To gently separate into small pieces usually with your fingers or fork. Most commonly refers to cooked fish because of its flaky texture.
Leaven	To add an ingredient such as yeast, baking powder or baking soda that adds gas to the dough or batter, causing it to expand, or rise, and lighten the texture of a finished product
Pare	To remover skin/peel from fruits and vegetables with knife or a peeler
Pit	To remove a seed from a piece of fruit by cutting around the sides of the fruit and pulling the seed away from the flesh
Preheat	To heat the oven to a specified temperature before baking.
Proof	To activate yeast or other leavening agent before using in a recipe

Punch Down	To deflate a raisen dough with your hand to help escape gas
Pulse	Pressing the start button of the blender or mixer on and off rapidly several times until the appropritae texturer is achieved
Score	To cut slits on to food before cooking for decoration / ease of cutting after cooking / tenderization / to allow flavours to penetrate the surface
Sift	To pass dry ingredients through a fine mesh screen to loosen the particles, incorporate air and lighten the resulting product.
Strain	To pass moist mixture through a colander, seive or cheese cloth to remove solid particles
Sweat	To cook foods, usually chopped vegetables, over medium heat until they excude some of their moisture which in turn , steams and softens the food without browning