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Basic Culinary Terms
from: Karlie BestlerBefore you apply to a cooking school or culinary arts school and throughout your culinary arts education, it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with the following culinary cooking terms:
Al dente: Pasta (and, in some cases, vegetables) cooked only to the point where they have a slightly tender consistency. In other words, they are intentionally left slightly undercooked.
Acidify: To add acid (lemon, juice or vinegar) to a culinary preparation to make your dish a bit sour or piquant.
Appetizer: A small portion of food served prior to the main meal.
Appetizers may be hot or cold or served as finger food. These can also be called hors d'oeuvres or starters.
Au gratin: Foods that have cheese baked into them.
Baste: To spoon, brush or pour drippings or liquid over a food prior to or while cooking in order to keep the food moist or to add flavor.
Blanch: Briefly cooking food in boiling water, and moving it into cold water to stop the cooking process.
Brine: A saltwater solution that can be used to preserve foods.
Butterfly: A method of cutting food right down the center, almost completely in half. The item is then pulled open and cooked or fried. The "fan" resembles a butterfly.
Consomme: A type of broth that is similar to a clarified bouillon. Used in sauces and soups.
Cut-in: Mixing a solid fat, such as lard or butter, with a dry ingredient such as flour. This can be done with a pastry blender or by simply using a fork.
Dice: Cutting a food item into tiny pieces or cubes, usually only a quarter of an inch in size.
Dredge: To coat food with flour, cornmeal or bread crumbs. This is normally done immediately before you intend to fry the food.
Escalope: A thinly-sliced food, such as meat, fish, or a vegetable.
Filet mignon: A small, boneless cut of beef from the small end of the tenderloin.
Flake: To shred, tear or otherwise transform food into small pieces. It is often done using a fork.
Flambe: To add alcohol to a dish and then ignite it. This is done to sear the outside of the food.
Garnish: An edible accompaniment to a dish, used purely to make the dish look more attractive. A garnish may be eaten, but generally that is not its purpose.
Julienne: To cut a food in very thin strips, one or two inches in length.
Jus: A lightly reduced stock that is used as a sauce for roasted meats, such as beef.
Kosher: Any food that is prepared in accordance with Orthodox Jewish law.
Marinate: To leave food in a mixture called a marinade or a dry rub for an extended time before it is cooked. This is done to either add flavor to the food or to tenderize it.
Mince: To cut food into very small pieces of indiscriminate shape.
Poach: To gently cook food in water or a broth. Food should be removed from heat just below the boiling point.
Puree: The process of pressing food through a sieve or blending it until it has a smooth consistency.
Reduce: Boiling a liquid until some of it has evaporated and it has a lesser volume. This serves to thicken the liquid and intensify its flavor.
Score: Making shallow cuts in a meat before it is cooked, which helps to make the meat more tender.
Sear: Frying a meat for a very short period at a hot temperature with the goal of sealing in its juices.
Simmer: Cooking a liquid at slightly below the boiling point.
Skim: To remove fat and possibly other substances from the surface of a cooked liquid, or one that is cooking.
Steam: To cook a food in a perforated container that is suspended over boiling water.
Stock: A broth made from cooking meat, fish or vegetables. It is the basis for soup making.
Zest: The skin of a citrus fruit. Only the colored layer should be included, not the white.
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