For all of you big lads who are venturing into the realm of the kitchen to become a chef for the first time.
Baking dish--A coverless glass or ceramic vessel used for cooking in the oven. A baking dish can be substituted for a metal baking pan of the same size. For baked items, such as breads and cakes, the oven temperature will need to be lowered 25 degrees to prevent overbrowning of the food.
Baking pan--A coverless metal vessel used for cooking in the oven. Baking pans vary in size and may be round, square, rectangular, or a special shape, such as a heart. The sides of the pan are 3/4 inch high or more.
Baking stone--A heavy, thick plate of beige or brown stone that can be placed in the oven to replicate the baking qualities of brick-floored commercial bread ovens. Baking stones can be round or rectangular and can be left in the oven when not in use.
Batter--A mixture usually made with flour and a liquid, such as milk or fruit juice. It also may include egg, sugar, butter, shortening, cooking oil, leavening or flavorings. Batters can vary in consistency from thin enough to pour to thick enough to drop from a spoon.
Beat--To make a mixture smooth by briskly whipping or stirring it with a spoon, fork, wire whisk, rotary beater or electric mixer.
Blend--To combine two or more ingredients until smooth and uniform in texture, flavor and color; done by hand or with an electric blender or mixer.
Boil--To cook food in liquid at a temperature that causes bubbles to form in the liquid and rise in a steady pattern, breaking on the surface. A rolling boil is when liquid is boiling so vigorously the bubbles can't be stirred down.
Caramelize--To heat and stir sugar until it melts and browns. Caramelized, or burnt, sugar is used in dessert recipes such as flan, candy-coated nuts, and burnt sugar cake and frosting.
Chill--To cool a food to below room temperature in the refrigerator or freezer, or over ice.
Chop--To cut foods with a knife, cleaver or food processor into smaller pieces.
Cream--To beat a fat, such as butter or shortening, either alone or with sugar, to a light, fluffy consistency. This process incorporates air into the fat so baked products have a lighter texture and better volume.
Crème fraîche--A dairy product made from whipping cream and a bacterial culture. The culture causes the whipping cream to thicken and develop a sharp, tangy flavor. Créme fraîche is similar to sour cream but is softer and has a milder flavor. Popular in French cooking, crème fraîche is often spooned over fresh fruit or used in recipes as you would sour cream. It is available at specialty food stores. If you can't find it in your area, you can make a substitute by combining 1/2 cup whipping cream and 1/2 cup dairy sour cream. Cover the mixture and let it stand at room temperature for 2 to 5 hours or until it thickens. Refrigerate for up to 1 week.
Crimp--To pinch or press pastry dough together using your fingers, or a fork or another utensil. Usually done for a piecrust edge.
Cut in--To work a solid fat, such as shortening or butter, into dry ingredients, usually with a pastry blender or two knives.
Dash--A measure equal to 1/16 teaspoon. Can be measured by filling a 1/4-teaspoon measure one-fourth full.
Devonshire cream--A specialty of Devonshire, England, this extra-thick cream is made by heating whole, unpasteurized milk until a semisolid layer of cream forms on the surface. After cooling, the Devonshire, or clotted, cream traditionally is served atop scones with jam.
Dissolve--To stir a solid food and a liquid food together to form a mixture in which none of the solid remains.
Dough--A mixture of flour and liquid to which other ingredients, such as sweeteners, shortening, butter, egg or a leavening agent, may be added. A dough is thick and nonpourable; some doughs can be kneaded. Soft doughs have more liquid and generally are used for biscuits, breads and drop cookies. Stiff doughs are firm enough to be rolled out easily and are used to make items such as piecrusts and cutout cookies.
Dried egg whites--Dried egg whites can be used where egg white is needed, but not meringue powder, which has added sugar. Dried egg whites also are safer than raw egg whites. One handy use for them is in making egg white glazes for baked goods (no yolk is wasted). Dried egg whites are found in powdered form in the baking aisle of many grocery stores.
Dried fruit--Fruit that has been depleted of more than half its water content by exposure to the sun or by mechanical heating methods. Dried fruit is chewy and very sweet due to the concentration of sugars during the drying process.
Drizzle--To randomly pour a liquid, such as powdered sugar icing, in a thin stream over food.
Dust--To lightly coat or sprinkle a food with a dry ingredient, such as flour or powdered sugar, either before or after cooking.
Extract and oil--Products based on the aromatic essential oils of plant materials that are distilled by various means. In extracts, the highly-concentrated oils usually are suspended in alcohol to make them easier to combine with other foods in cooking and baking. Almond, anise, lemon, mint, orange, peppermint and vanilla are some of the extracts sold.
Flavoring--An imitation extract made of chemical compounds. Unlike an extract or oil, a flavoring often does not contain any of the original food it resembles. Some common imitation flavorings available are banana, black walnut, brandy, cherry, chocolate, coconut, maple, pineapple, raspberry, rum, strawberry and vanilla.
Flute--To make a scalloped, decorative pattern or impression in food, usually a piecrust.
Fold--A method of gently mixing ingredients—usually delicate or whipped ingredients that cannot withstand stirring or beating. To fold, use a rubber spatula to cut down through the mixture, move across the bottom of the bowl, and come back up, folding some of the mixture from the bottom over close to the surface.
Food coloring--Either liquid, paste or powdered edible dyes used to tint foods.
Frost--To apply a sweet cooked or uncooked topping to cakes, cupcakes or cookies that is soft enough to spread but stiff enough to hold its shape.
Ganache--A rich chocolate icing made of bittersweet chocolate and whipping cream heated and stirred together until the chocolate melts. The mixture is cooled until lukewarm and poured over a cake or torte for a satiny, glossy finish.
Garnish--To add visual appeal to a finished dish by decorating it with small pieces of food or edible flowers. The term also refers to the items used for decoration.
Glaze--A thin, glossy coating on a food. There are numerous types of glazes. A mixture of powdered sugar and milk can be drizzled on cookies, cakes or breads for a glaze.
Gluten--An elastic protein present in flour, especially wheat flour, that provides most of the structure of baked products.
Grate--To rub food—especially hard cheeses, vegetables, and whole nutmeg and ginger—across a grating surface to make very fine pieces. A food processor may also be used.
Grease--To coat a utensil, such as a baking pan or skillet, with a thin layer of fat or oil.
Grind--To mechanically cut a food into small pieces, usually with a food grinder or a food processor.
Ice--To drizzle or spread baked goods with a thin frosting.
Knead--To work dough with the heels of your hands in a pressing and folding motion until it becomes smooth and elastic; an essential step in developing the gluten in many yeast breads.
Marble--To gently swirl one food into another; usually done with light and dark batters for cakes or cookies.
Marscapone cheese--A very rich cream cheese made primarily of cream.
Mash--To press or beat a food to remove lumps and make a smooth mixture. This can be done with a fork, potato masher, food mill, food ricer or an electric mixer.
Meringue--Sweetened, stiffly beaten egg whites used for desserts. There are two basic types of meringues. Soft meringues are moist and tender and are used for topping pies and other desserts. Hard meringues are sweeter than soft meringues and are baked to form crisp, dry dessert shells or cookies, such as macaroons. Meringue shells often are filled with fresh fruit or puddings.
Peel--The skin or outer covering of a vegetable or fruit; also called the rind. Also refers to removing the covering.
Pipe--To force a semisoft food, such as whipped cream, frosting or mashed potatoes, through a bag to decorate a food.
Plump--To allow a food, such as raisins or dried cherries, to soak in a liquid.
Proof--To allow a yeast dough to rise before baking. Also a term that indicates the amount of alcohol in a distilled liquor.
Puree--To change a solid food into a liquid or heavy paste, usually by using a food processor, blender or food mill. Also refers to the resulting mixture.
Roll--To form a food into a shape. Dough, for instance, can be rolled into ropes or balls. The phrase "roll out" refers to mechanically flattening a food—usually a dough or pastry—with a rolling pin.
Section--A pulpy segment of citrus fruit with the membrane removed. The phrase also refers to the process of removing those segments.
Shred--To push food across a fine or co**** shredding surface to make long, narrow strips. A food processor may be used.
Sift--To put one or more dry ingredients, especially flour or powdered sugar, through a sifter or sieve to remove lumps and incorporate air.
Simmer--To cook a food in liquid that is kept below the boiling point; a few bubbles will form slowly and burst before they reach the surface.
Snip--To cut food, often fresh herbs or dried fruit, with kitchen scissors into very small, uniform pieces, using short, quick strokes.
Sponge--A batterlike mixture of yeast, flour and liquid used in some bread recipes. The mixture is set aside until it bubbles and becomes foamy, which can be several hours or overnight. During this time, the sponge develops a tangy flavor; the remaining ingredients are added to the sponge, and the dough is kneaded and baked as usual.
Steam--To cook a food in the vapor given off by boiling water.
Vanilla bean--The pod of an orchid plant that is dried and cured. During curing, the pod turns a dark chocolate color and shrivels to the size of a pencil.
Weeping--A condition in which liquid separates out of a solid food, such as jellies, custards and meringues.
Whip--To beat a food lightly and rapidly using a wire whisk, rotary beater or electric mixer to incorporate air into the mixture and increase its volume.
Whisk--A kitchen utensil made of a group of looped wires held together by a long handle. Whisks are used in baking for whipping ingredients such as eggs and cream to incorporate air into them.
Zest--The colored outer portion of a citrus fruit peel. It is rich in fruit oils and often used as a seasoning. To remove the zest, use a grater, a fruit zester or a vegetable peeler; be careful to avoid the bitter white membrane beneath the peel.
source:
MSN Cooking 101