Baguette - a long, thin, crisp loaf of French bread.

Bake - to cook any food in an oven by dry heat

Baking Powder - a powder used to leaven (raise) baked foods. It contains sodium bicarbonate and an acid that releases gas when combined with liquid and heated.

Baklava - a Middle Easter sweet rich with honey and nuts and made from filo, a paper-thin pastry in many flaky layers.

Bamboo Shoot - the crunch tip of a young bamboo tree. It is served in Oriental dishes.

Bannock - a Scottish round cake.

Barbecue - to roast meat slowly over coals on a spit or framework, or to roast in an oven, basting intermittently with a special kind of sauce

Barding - a thin piece of fatty bacon or lard used to cover too-lean meat while it roasts

Barley - a cereal with less gluten and protein than wheat. Sometimes served in the same manner as rice and popular in soups.

Batter - a mixture of flour and liquid that is thin enough to pour

Baste - to spoon pan liquid and/or a sauce over meats while they are roasting to prevent surface from drying.

Batter - a liquid-flour mixture used to coat foods before frying, usually in deep fat.

Bavarian Cream - a soft, sweet egg custard mixed with gelatin and whipped cream, then flavored with fruit.

Bean Curd - a soybean custard used in Oriental dishes

Beat - to mix vigorously with a brisk motion with spoon, fork, egg beater, or electric mixer.

Béchamel - a white sauce of butter, flour, cream (not milk), and seasonings.

Beer - a mild alcoholic drink made by boiling malted barley with hops and then fermenting.

Beurre Manie - thickener made by combining 2 tablespoons butter with 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour. Form into small balls. A thick, buttery paste will result. Beurre Manie is beaten into the cooking liquid of casseroles or soups of sauces that are too thin, or that are meant to be thickened after the cooking is almost complete.

Bind - to cause a mixture to hold together by beating in an egg, sauce, or some other thickening agent.

Bisque - a thick, creamy soup usually of shellfish, but sometimes made of pureed vegetables.

Bitters - an aromatic liquid used to flavor cocktails, soft drinks, as well as soups and sweet dishes, such as ice cream.

Black Butter - butter, melted, clarified, and cooked until it is nut brown.

Blanch - to immerse food briefly into boiling water, then plunge into cold water. The process firms flesh, heightens and sets color and flavor and loosens skin as in tomatoes intended for peeling.

Blancmange - a sweet pudding made with milk and cornstarch flavored with almonds, vanilla, rum, or brandy.

Blend - to stir 2 or more ingredients together until well mixed.

Blini - Russian buckwheat pancakes served with a variety of spreads, notably, sour cream and caviar.

Blintz - a cooked crepe stuffed with cheese or other filling.

Body - describes a characteristic of wines. A “full bodied” wine is rich without bitterness, when it is a good one.

Boil - to cook food in boiling water or liquid that is mostly water (at 212 F. at sea level) in which bubbles constantly rise to the surface and burst

Boiling-Water-Bath Canning Method - used for processing acid foods, such as fruit, tomatoes, pickled vegetables, and sauerkraut. These acid foods are canned safely at boiling temperatures in a water-bath canner.

Bone, to - to remove bones

Boston Baked Beans - American bean dish often made in a crock. These are small white beans (navy beans) cooked with salt pork and s sweetener such as molasses, maple syrup or brown sugar.

Borscht - soup containing beets and other vegetables; it is usually made with a meat stock base.

Bouillabaisse - a highly seasoned fish soup or chowder containing two or more kinds of fish.

Bouillon - clear soup made by boiling meat in water.

Bouquet - aroma, a term used to describe the fragrance of wines and other foods.

Bouquet Garni - a group of herbs tied in cheese-cloth which are used to flavor stocks and stews and removed before serving.

Bourguignon - name applied to dishes containing Burgundy and often braised onions and mushrooms.

Braise - to cook slowly with a small amount of liquid in a covered utensil (less tender cuts of meat may be browned slowly first on all sides in a small amount of shortening; then the meat is seasoned, and water is added).

Bread, to - to coat with crumbs, usually in combination with egg or other binder.

Brine - a solution of salt and water used in pickling. Brine draws natural sugars and moisture from foods and forms lactic acids which protects them against spoilage. Usually the strongest brine used in food processing is a 10% solution, made by dissolving 1.5 cups of salt in 1 gallon of liquid, or 6 tablespoons of salt for each quart of liquid.

Brioche - a yeast-raised cake baked to a rich brown usually circular in shape, with a smaller round on top. It is different from other raised doughs in that eggs are added, giving it a characteristic golden tinge, also it is raised in the refrigerator overnight.

Broil - to cook by direct heat, either under the heat of a broiler, over hot coals, or between two hot surfaces.

Broth - a thin soup, or a liquid in which meat, fish, of vegetables have been cooked.

Brown - to cook in a skillet or oven or under a boiler until brown.

Bruise - to partially crush an ingredient, such as herbs, to release flavor for seasoning food.

Brunoise - finely diced or shredded vegetables, usually cooked in butter or stock, and used to flavor soups and sauces.

Burrito - a flour tortilla made with a filling.

Butterfly - to cut food almost in half so that when flattened the two halves resemble butterfly wings.

Cacao - Native South American tree whose seeds are fermented and processed to make cocoa and chocolate.

Calamari - Small squid.

Calmondin - A citrus tree cultivated for its naturally high concentration of vitamin C. It also is used as a base for artificial flavorings.

Canapés - Garnished bite-sized rounds of bread or vegetables (cucumber, zucchini) served with cocktails and at buffets.

Candy Thermometer - a kitchen tool used to determine heat levels in the cooking of candy, jams, and preserves.

Capers - buds from a Mediterranean plant, usually packed in brine and used as a condiment in dressings or sauces

Capon - a male chicken gelded when young and fattened to 6 or more pounds. Exceptionally tender for a large bird.

Caramelize - to cook white sugar in a skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar forms a golden-brown syrup.

Carbohydrates - the food group containing sugars, starches, and cellulose.

Carbonnades - a French beef stew cooked with beer.

Carrageen / Carraghen Moss - an edible seaweed; Irish moss.

Casserole - an ovenproof baking dish, usually with a cover; also the food cooked inside it.

Charlotte - a molded dessert containing gelatin, usually formed in a glass dish or a pan that is lined with ladyfingers or pieces of cake.

Castor / Castor Sugar - English term for superfine granulated sugar.

Caviar - the salted roe of sturgeon. Red caviar is the salted roe of salmon, and considered a less desirable substitute.

Celery Salt - salt flavored with ground celery seed.

Cèpe - a delicious mushroom.

Chambrer - a French term used to describe the gradual raising of the temperature of wines from the cool wine cellar to room temperature. Slightly warmer, the wine flavor is more pungent.

Chantilly - heavy cream whipped then sweetened and flavored with vanilla. Also, a sauce with whipped cream added

Charlottes - mold of biscuits, sponge cake, ladyfinger, etc., or sliced bread, filled with a custard cream and fruit.

Chasseur - game or poultry served ‘hunter style’, with a rich red wine sauce, or a white wine sauce, including mushrooms and shallots.

Château Bottled - wine bottled at the château where it was grown and made. Usually this means a superior wine, one with a distinct flavor of its own. Other wines are the result of grapes grown in a region and brought together at the vintner’s for handling. The results are less distinguished, though these regional wines may be very good.

Cherrystone Clam - clams 3 inches long.

Chiffonade - finely cut vegetable strips used to garnish soups, raw, or simmered in butter. Lettuce and sorrel often are used in this manner.

Chiles Rellenos - hot green peppers stuffed with cheese and dipped in batter and fried.

Chippolata - common name for a tiny sausage, this originally described a garnish of chestnuts, glazed vegetables, and small sausages.

Chitterlings - part of the small intestine of a pig, cooked.

Chocolate - the liquid product of grinding, fermented, dried, and roasted cacao beans. The liquid is then cooled into slabs or powdered.

Chop - to cut into small pieces. Also, rib section of beef, lamb, pork, or other animals.

Chutney - a relish used in Indian meals with curry, and usually including a fruit. Spicy or sweet, or both.

Cider Vinegar - vinegar of unprocessed apple cider.

Citric Acid - an organic acid common to citrus fruits and used in preserving, retaining color or flavoring drinks.

Citron - a fruit likened to an overgrown knobbly lemon, it is famed for its peel, which is used in marmalades, candies and fruit cakes.

Clarified Butter - butter that has been melted and chilled. The solid is then lifted away from the liquid and discarded.

Clarify - to make a liquid clear and free of sediment. Clarification heightens the smoke point of butter. Clarified butter will stay fresh in the refrigerator for at least 2 months.

Coat - to cover completely, as in “coat with flour”.

Cobbler - a deep-dish fruit pie with a top crust of biscuit dough. Also, a tall drink made of rum, whiskey or claret and garnished with citrus slices or mint or fennel.

Cockle - a small mollusk related to the oyster, usually eaten boiled with condiments or in a sauce.

Cocktail - an appetizer; either a beverage or a light, highly seasoned food served before meal.

Coddle - to gently poach in barely simmering liquid.

Compote - mixed fruit, raw or cooked, usually served in “compote” dishes.

Condiments - seasonings that enhance the flavor of foods with which they are served.

Consommé - clear broth that is made from meat.

Convection oven - an electric oven in which heat is circulated rapidly around the cooking foods by means of a fan, resulting in fast crisping and browning.

Cool - to let food stand at room temperature until not warm to the touch.

Coral - the roe of female lobsters. It turns bright red when cooked and is used in sauces.

Corked / Corky - description of wine whose flavor has been tainted by the odor of the cork. Corked also means a wine bottle with the cork in.

Corn Flour - flour made from ground corn.

Cornstarch - corn milled to an extremely fine white powder and used to thicken sauces and stews; it is a common practice to thicken juices with a solution of 1 tablespoon cornstarch to 1 to 2 tablespoons water.

Cornmeal - a flour used as a hot cereal or in baking muffins. Cornmeal can be either yellow or white and can be purchased in fine, medium, or coarse grinds.

Corn Syrup - a syrup obtained as cornstarch is processed with acid. Used as a binding sweet (like in making candy).

Court Bouillon - a seasoned broth made with water and meat, fish or vegetables, and seasonings.

Couscous - a fine semolina wheat steamed over a pot in which chicken or mutton is cooking with vegetables, then served with the soup and the meat and vegetables.

Cradle - a wicker basket used to decant wine.

Crayfish - a freshwater crustacean similar to lobster but smaller. The salt water variety is know as spiny lobster.

Cream, to - to blend together, as sugar and butter, until mixtures takes on a smooth, creamy texture.

Cream, Whipped - cream that has been whipped until it is stiff.

Creme de Cacao - a chocolate-flavored liqueur.

Cream of Tartar - Potassium bitartrate, a main ingredient of some baking powders. It is refined from the substance deposited by grapes after they are fermented for wine.

Crème Fraîche - this is cream so thick it is a solid. It can be thinned with large amounts of heavy cream and still remain relatively thick. It is served in France, thinned, with berries, particularly wild strawberries, and with other desserts. A substitute is whipping cream mixed with an equal volume of sour cream and allowed to thicken at room temperature for a few hours.

Crêpes - Very thin pancakes.

Crimp - to seal pastry edges together by pinching.

Croissant - French breakfast bread pastry, delicate, flaky and rich. The dough s yeast-raised, then rolled out, spread with soft butter, folded into thirds, rolled out again and buttered, then rolled out yet again, to make a layered puff pastry.

Croquette - minced food, shaped like a ball, patty, cone, or log, bound with a heavy sauce, breaded, and fried.

Croutons - cubes of bread, toasted or fried, served with soups or salads.

Crudités - French word for an American cocktail appetizer of raw vegetables served with a dip.

Cruller - a doughnut of twisted shape, very light in texture.

Crumb - to moisten food with an adhesive liquid such as milk, beaten egg or batter, then roll it in bread or cracker crumbs.

Crumpet - the original English muffin.

Crustacean - a shellfish, for instance, shrimp, lobster, crab, crayfish.

Crystalize - to preserve fruit, fondant, and edible flowers with a boiled sugar.

Cube, to - to cut food into cube-shaped pieces; to dice.

Cube Steak - meat tenderized by scoring the surface with a pattern of squares or cubes.

Curacao - an orange-flavored liqueur.

Curd - a solid milk product that develops as milk sours and separates into solids (curd) and liquid (whey). In cheese-making, it is induced by the addition of acid or tennet.

Curing - to preserve meat, fish, or cheese with salt or by drying and or smoking.

Curry Powder - as old as civilization, this is a blending of spices and herbs that comes from India. Curry powders are mostly deep yellow, a color they get from turmeric, one of the spices added, but they are a blending of usually four, five and more spices; as many as twenty-eight substances are common.

Cut In, to - to incorporate by cutting or chopping motions, as in cutting shortening into flour for pastry.

Cutlet - a chop from the prime end of the neck of pork, mutton, lamb, or veal.

Daikon - a Japanese radish.

Damson - a type of plum best used in cooking or for jams and jellies.

Dash - a seasoning measure indicating a scant 1/8 teaspoon or less.

Dashi - a clear fish stock which is the basis of Japanese dishes.

Daubiere - a cooking pot with a tight-fitting lid used for braising.

Decant - to pour a liquid, generally wine, from one container to another. Red wine is decanted to remove the sediment deposited during the aging process.

Deep-Fat-Frying - to cook in hot fat (about 360 degrees) that is deep enough for food to float - usually a minimum of 3 inches..

Deglaze - to pour hot stock, wine, or water on the degreased sediment left in the roasting or frying pan in which meat has cooked. The purpose of deglazing is to dissolve the caramelized juices of meats dropped during the cooking process. This process is the secret of rich gravies, and a vital step in making good casseroles and soups.

Dehydration - a process that removes the water content from food.

Demi-Glaze - a rich brown sauce or gravy made by reducing meat stock.

Demijohn - a large glass wine container which can hold up to 10 gallons.

Demi-Sec - a distinctive type of sweet champagne.

Demitasse - a small cup of coffee served after dinner.

Dessert wine - any sweet wine, or a wine that has been fortified by the addition of brandy.

Devil, to - to prepare with spicy seasoning or sauce, for instance mustard and cayenne.

Devonshire Cream - a smooth English clotted cream, akin to crème fraîche.

Dhal - the Indian name for lentils.

Dice - to cut into small cubes.

Digester - the pressure cooker of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Digestives - liquids or cordials often made with herbs and said to aid digestion. Usually drunk at the end of a meal.

Dilute - to thin or reduce in strength by adding liquid.

Dip - an hors d’oeuvres that is a soft savory mixture and served with crackers, vegetables, shrimp, potato chips, or other dipping food.

Dissolve - to mix a dry substance with liquid until the dry substance becomes a part of the solution.

Distilled Water - water from which all gases and minerals have been removed.

Divinities - fudge, made with brown or white sugar.

Dobos Torte - a layer cake rich with chocolate cream and caramel.

Dogfish - a common name for a species of small shark valuable for vitamin C in its liver oil.

Dolci - Italian for sweet dishes.

Dot - to scatter small bits of butter over top of a food.

Doughnuts - a sweet cake fried in deep fat, and made of yeast-leavened or baking powder-raised dough.

Double Boiler - two saucepans, one of which fits into the top of the other. The lower pan is partially filled with water kept boiling or near boiling to keep the food in the upper pan cooking without excessive or uneven heat.

Dragée - colored sugar-coated nuts or candies.

Draw - to remove the entrails of poultry, game.

Drawn Butter - melted butter, sometimes clarified butter.

Dredge - to coat lightly with a dry ingredient, for instance, flour, sugar, bread crumbs, or cornmeal.

Dress - to draw and clean a fowl for cooking. Also, to add dressing to a salad; to garnish.

Drippings - the fat, juices, and other residues separated from meat during cooking and left in the pan, or crusted onto the bottom of the pan. What actually happens is that the substance in the animal juices caramelizes, just as sugar does, on the bottom of a hot pan. Diluting and scraping these up, the cook created the basis for the flavor of the best stews and soups and gravies. Drippings from roasts or sautéed meats in cast iron utensils caramelize exceptionally well, and make possible tastier casseroles and gravies.

Dry Ice - used for refrigeration, this crystallized carbon dioxide is ice that does not produce water when melted. Don’t touch with bare hands and avoid prolonged breathing in an atmosphere saturated by melting dry ice.

Duchesse - a term for potatoes pureed with milk and butter.

Dumpling - a small ball of dough or bread or potatoes, steamed, or simmered in a stew or soup. Sweet dumplings are usually baked and contain fruit.

Dundee Cake - a rich fruitcake covered with blanched almonds.

Durum Wheat - a variety of hard wheat used for making pasta.

Dust - to lightly sprinkle with a dry ingredient, such as flour.

Dutch Oven - a cast iron pot with a tightly fitting lid used to braise and sometimes to bake.

Duxelles - a hash of minced mushroom, shallots and herbs simmered in butter, used to flavor soups, sauces, and stuffings or to garnish.

Dredge - to coat with something, usually flour or sugar.

Eau-De-Vie - also aqua vitae, or “water of life” literally. A term commonly applied to homemade brandies and distilled white spirits, made from the lees of wine.

Éclair - a pastry cake shaped like a long finger. Éclairs can be filled with custard or cream and are usually glazed with chocolate.

Eggnog - a frothy drink made from cream or milk, egg yolks, sugar and flavorings such as rum or brandy. Eggnog is a tradition Christmas drink.

Egg Roll - Chinese pastry stuffed with a mixture of shredded meats, shrimp, cabbage or lettuce, and vegetables, then deep-fried.

Egg Timer - a small, hourglass-shaped container that holds a fixed amount of sand. When the timer is turned upside down, the sand moves from one half to another in a three-minute period, the time required to cook a medium-sized egg to the soft-boiled stage.

Elixirs - cordials or essences that are said to be life-prolonging.

Emincé - a term used to describe meat, vegetables, or fish sliced very thinly, placed in an earthenware dish and simmered in added sauce.

Entrecôte - a cut of beef taken from between the ribs. Sometimes the term refers to a rumpsteak or sirloin.

Entrée - today the term refers to the main course of a meal, but originally it was the second course of many. French, meaning “entrance”.

Entremets - side dishes, literally “between dishes”; can be savory or sweet.

Epergne - a serving dish of numerous separate bowls attached to one main stem.

Epicure - a gourmet who gives special attention to the knowledge of food and wine.

Escalope - refers to a thin slice of meat or fish, without bones, gristle, or skin.

Espresso - an Italian way of preparing coffee using steam.

Essences - condensed flavors made as their source is distilled or pressed, then mixed with liquid. Examples are almond extract, rose water, etc.

Farce - stuffing.

Farfel - a soup garnish made of minced noodle dough.

Fell - a thin, papery tissue found on the outside of the surface of a leg of lamb.

Fenugreek - an Asiatic herb with a bitter celery-like flavor. Its chief use is in curry powders and stews.

Filé - powder made of sassafras leaves used to season and thicken foods.

Fillet / Filet - boneless piece of meat or fish.

Fillet Mignon - a small cut of beef taken from the end of the fillet, considered by many to be the most elegant steak of all. It is very tender and sweet, but lacks the flavor of a steak with bone in.

Filo - in Greece, philo is the very flaky, buttery pastry made by layering dough with shortening and rolling it and rerolling it.

Fine - term used for good brandy.

Fines Herbes - French, “fine herbs”, usually a mixture of parsley, chives, tarragon, and chervil used to flavor omelets and in casseroles and soups.

Finnochio - also fennel in Florence; an herb with a licorice flavor, used as is celery and in Mediterranean cooking.

Finger Bowls - bowls half-filled with warm water which may be scented with roses or a slice of lemon. Served to diners to rinse their hands in after a course in which the fingers were used to eat (lobsters, oyster, or artichokes, or example).

Fizz - a sweet effervescent summer drink made of gin and a carbonated beverage.

Flambe - to flame, using alcohol as the burning agent; flame causes caramelization, enhancing flavor.

Flamber - to cover or combine food with heated liquor, then set alight, and serve flaming. It also means to singe. Heating the liquor first is the secret to keeping the flame going.

Flan - in France, a pastry filled with fruit, cream or custard; in Spain, a set custard usually served with a caramel sauce.

Flatbrod - flat bread of Norwegian origin, it is wafer-thin, and made from whole grain and served with salad, cheese or soup.

Flip - a sweet drink containing alcohol and eggs. Originally, it was a heated drink but a cold flip is more common today.

Florentine - food set on a bed of cooked spinach and usually covered with a cream sauce and baked. From Florence, Italy.

Flour - to coat with flour.

Flute - to make a decorative edge on pastry. Also to cut vegetables, fruit or other foods in a decorative manner. Also a long loaf of French bread.

Foie Gras - an hors d’oeuvres of seasoned livers of geese, duck, chicken, or veal made into a pâté.

Fold - to combine, usually mixtures, turning over and over gently to prevent air from escaping. The term often is used in instructions relating to whipped cream and beaten egg whites.

Fondant - a sugar paste used as a candy stuffing or icing.

Fondue - a melted sauce, usually with cheese, served with crisp bread rounds or as a filling. These are sauces kept hot in a chaffing dish into which crisp chunks of bread, vegetables, meat, or fruits are dipped before eating. Chocolate fondue with fruit chunks and berries is a sweet fondue that is excellent. Fondue means melted.

Food Chopper - a knife created for efficiency. It is double-handled and crescent-shaped, used with a rocking motion to rapidly chop and dice. In Italy it is known as a mezzaluna. Less useful today, since food processors do much of this work.

Food Mill - used to puree or rice food by forcing the food through tiny holes.

Fool - an English dessert of stewed and pureed fruit combined with a sweet cream.

Forcemeat - finely ground meat often combined with ground vegetables to make a stuffing or combined with stiffly beaten egg whites to make delicate quenelles for poaching and serving with sauce. Also, combined with custard-like sauce to make soufflés.

Frangipani - a rich, sweet cream name for a tropical flower with a sweet scent.

Frappé - a drink whipped with ice to make a thick, frosty consistency.

French Fry - to cook food in deep hot fat.

French Toast - American breakfast of sliced bread dipped into beaten eggs and milk and then cooked on top a stove.

Fricassee - a stew, usually of poultry or veal.

Frijoles - Mexican beans.

Fritter - vegetable or fruit dipped into, or combined with, batter and fried.

Fruit Butter - a sweet spread made of fruit cooked to a paste then lightly sweetened. Apple butter is a common example.

Frumenty - a popular food in English history, it is a rich, sweet porridge high in vitamins A and B.

Fry - to cook in hot shortening.

Fumet - a concentrated stock used to give body to sauces.

Galantine - a cold jellied dish of boned chicken, veal, game or fish.

Game - wild animals and birds hunted for sport. Cooked, they are leaner and less fat-sweetened than domestic animals.

Gammon - the same cut of pork as ham, though cured differently.

Garbure - a casserole or stew made of cabbage, beans, potatoes and pork or bacon.

Garlic Salt - commercially prepared garlic-flavored salt. It can be made at home by mashing 1 peeled, sliced clove of garlic with 1 tablespoon of salt in the bottom of a wooden bowl.

Garnish - a decoration for a food or drink.

Gazpacho - an iced soup made with fresh ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, onions, and seasonings, marinated overnight. Mexican in origin.

Gefilte Fish - a traditional Jewish dish of poached stuffed fish, whole or in balls, served hot of cold.

Gelatin - the by-product of boiling bones, cartilage and tendons of meat. Gelatin is transparent and tasteless unless flavored and colored. It is sold packaged either in granules o thin strips. When softened in cold water and added to a hot broth, it dissolves and when cooled, forms a gel. Commercial packages of gelatin generally contain 1 ounce or 1 tablespoon, and this will jell 2 cups of liquid.

Genoese - a light cake made of eggs, sugar, butter and cake flour. Genoese is known for its versatility. It can be used for baked alaska, lady fingers, an iced birthday cake.

Ghee - clarified butter used in Asian cooking. (see clarified butter).

Gherkin - small cucumber species 1 1/2 inches long, for pickling.

Giblets - the heart, liver, gizzard and neck of fowl and small game, used to make stews, soups and specialty dishes.

Gigot - French term for a leg of lamb.

Ginger Beer - a milky alcoholic drink that is effervescent and ginger flavored. Made with gingerroot.

Gizzard - part of the alimentary canal of fowl, whose function is to “grind” food, sometimes with pebbles swallowed for this purpose.

Glacé - to glaze with sugar syrup; also, to serve iced.

Glaze - to make a shiny surface. In meat preparation, a jelled broth applied to meat surface; in breads and pastries, a wash of egg or syrup; for doughnuts and cakes, a sugar preparation for coating.

Glogg - hot wine cup served at Christmas; Swedish.

Glucose - also, dextrose. A natural sugar found in fruits, vegetables, honey and other products.

Gluten - a water-soluble protein found in flour. Kneading flour in bread-making brings out the smooth elastic qualities of the gluten content.

Gnocchi - dumplings made from a paste of flour or potatoes and egg.

Goulash - also, gulyas, a rich Hungarian stew made of meat, highly seasoned with paprika.

Gourd - a squash-like vegetable, usually dried and used as a fall decoration.

Graham Flour - a wheat flour similar to wholemeal flour, ground from the whole grain.

Grappa - a brandy distilled from the stalks and grape skins that remain after the wine has been pressed. See eau-de-vie.

Grate - to obtain small particles of food by rubbing on a grater or shredder.

Grater - a square metal or plastic instrument with perforations stamped in it against which goods can be rubbed to break off particles.

Grease - to rub a pan with shortening to prevent food from sticking. Shortening may be butter, lard, bacon drippings, etc.

Grenadin - thin slices of fillet of veal, larded and braised.

Grenadine - a red sugar syrup made from pomegranate juice, and used to flavor drinks and to sweeten food.

Griddle - a flat pan often of cast iron, used for cooking pancakes, omelets or steaks on top of the stove.

Griddle Cakes - in the United States and Canada, another word for pancakes. In England and Scotland, a name for drop scones.

Gridiron - a metal frame used to hold meat or fish as it cooks over a flame.

Grill - to broil under or over a source of direct heat.

Grits - Coarsely ground dried corn, served boiled, or boiled and then fried.

Ground Cherry - a berry sometimes called husk tomato, it is used to make preserves.

Groundnut - a peanut.

Gum Arabic - a preservative made of sugar, water, and powdered acacia. It is used with leaves such as mint and rose.

Gumbo - soup or stew made with okra as a main ingredient. The term also describes the okra plant.

Gum Tragacanth - a gum from plants found in Iran, Turkey and Greece, it is used as a thickener and a base for ice cream powder and gelatinous desserts.

Haddock - of the cod family, this fish is white-fleshed and is good to use in any recipe calling for cod. Smoked, it is known as Finnan Haddid. Poached, and served with drawn butter, it has a faint hint of the flavor of lobster.

Haggamuggie / Haggis - the minced innards of an animal cooked with oatmeal and suet. Traditionally, a meat pudding or sausage was make then boiled in the cleaned stomach bag of the sheep.

Hake - of the cod family, this fish is easy to fillet and has soft white flesh.

Half-and-Half - a mixture of cream and milk preferred in a day when less fattening and less rich foods are popular.

Halva - a sweet dish or candy made from ground sesame seeds, fruit or vegetables. Near Eastern in origin.

Hang - to tenderize game or meat by hanging in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place.

Hard Sauce - a sweet liquor-flavored sauce traditionally served on hot puddings and cold cake. Often offered at Christmas with plum pudding.

Hardtack - a sailors name for sea biscuits.

Hare - a wild rabbit with a strong gamey flavor. This is not a wild version of the rabbits raised domestically for food in Europe and some parts of the United States, but another type. It may not be used in place of rabbit in a recipe.

Hash - a recipe using leftovers, this dish is made by dicing pre-cooked meats and/or vegetables, and cooking with seasonings, minced onions, herbs, or sauce in a frying pan until crisp.

Haslet - country dish of pork sweetbreads, heart and liver. It is cooked in a casserole, fried, stewed or ground with onions and prepared as a sausage.

Headcheese - a molded jelly or sausage made from pig’s or calf’s head stewed with herbs and seasonings; it includes meat.

Heart - the heart of sheep, calf , ox and pig is used as a variety meat in many popular dishes.

Hearthcakes - the English name for a French round cake. Each region in France creates its own version. The first hearthcakes were baked on the hearth in hot ashes.

Hen - a female bird. Commercially raised hen-chickens are tender. Hen is also a term applied to the female of various aquatic creatures, lobster for one.

Herb - aromatic plant used for seasoning and garnishing foods.

Het Pint - a Scottish drink used for special occasions. It is a heated mixture of ale, eggs, whiskey and nutmeg.

Hip - bright reddish orange fruit of roses, particularly species roses, as Rosa rugosa. It contains vitamin C and is used to make a tea, and for jams and syrups.

Hochepot / Hotchpotch - a Belgian dish of considerable antiquity, a very thick soup traditionally made with brisket of beef, shoulder and breast of mutton, shoulder of veal, pigs feet, ears and tails, chippolata sausages, onions, assorted vegetables, herbs and condiments. The meat garnished with vegetables is served separately from the broth. Probably associated with the phrase, hodgepodge, which refers to a jumble of things all mixed together. England has a “hot pot” which probably is a version of the Belgian dish.

Hock - British term for any white Rhine wine. Also, a cut of meat from the leg of an animal, valued for soups, stews and jellies.

Hollandaise - a sauce made of butter, egg, and lemon juice or vinegar.

Hominy - hulled corn with the germ removed. Hominy grits are uniform granules that are boiled and served as a breakfast cereal or as an accompaniment to a main dish or fish, meat or poultry.

Homogenized - treatment for milk that breaks the fat into tiny particles that can remain suspended in liquid rather than rising to the top as cream in untreated milk.

Hors d’oeuvres - a light food, hot or cold, prepared for small servings, to be eaten before the main meal. The American equivalent is an appetizer. Hors d’oeuvres were originally served on a sideboard apart from the dining table and before the meal.

Humble Pie - “umbles” are the heart, liver, kidney and other innards of a deer. Servants once made this into a pie for themselves and coined the phrase “humble pie”. Today the connotation is one who accepts a humble status or humiliating treatment voluntarily.

Hush Puppies - a dish made of fried cornmeal batter. The term is said to have originated at a southern fish fry where the cooks fried extra bits of fish batter to throw to the noisy dogs to hush the puppies.

Indian Pudding - a spicy cornmeal and molasses staple of early American colonists, the pudding varied with each day and according to the condiments available in the cook’s larder.

Infuse - to steep herbs and other flavorings in boiling liquid. Coffee and tea are examples, and so is milk steeped with vanilla bean.

Irish Stew - a traditional mutton dish made by boiling well-salted and prepared chops with an equal quantity of onions and potatoes.

Jam - fresh whole fruit and sugar cooked into a spread that preserves well.

Jambalaya - a Creole dish that adds rice to any kind of meat, poultry or seafood on hand. There are no two recipes alike for jambalaya.

Jardiniere - vegetables cut into strips or a soup containing such vegetables.

Jelly - a clear preserve of strained fruit juice with sugar. Jelly of another sort is made by boiling animal or fish bones and tissue.

Jelly Roll - a thin sponge cake spread with jelly or filling and rolled up.

Jeroboam - an oversized bottle, generally holding up to 4 quarts.

Jigger - a liquid measure equal to 1 1/2 fluid ounces.

Johnnycake - a classic corn bread unique because the meal is water-ground and made from white sweet corn.

Joint - to cut; to cut into pieces at the joint. Also, a British cut of meat for roasting.

Jug - a stew made of game meat, particularly hare - jugged hare. The blood of the animal is used in the stew and it is cooked in a jug or an earthenware pot.

Jujube - the edible fruit of a tropical plant also known as the Chinese date. Also, a chewy gelatin candy.

Julienne - finely cut match-like strips of vegetables. Also, a consommé to which a mixture of julienned vegetables is added.

Junket - milk which has been thickened with rennet, sweetened and is served as dessert. Also, trade name for a flavored dessert mix including rennet.

Kahlua - a coffee-flavored liqueur.

Kakavia - a Greek fish soup.

Kasha - a side dish, like a pasta or rice side dish, served in Eastern Europe. It may be buckwheat, barley, or millet. Also, cooked buckwheat.

Kebab - grilled chunks of meat, fish, or vegetables. Usually threaded on a skewer, and broiled over charcoal, with or without being combined with onions and other foods.

Kedgeree - an English breakfast dish brought from India, and made of leftover fish, rice and hard-boiled eggs.

Kettle - pot for boiling liquids. In some regions the word has come to mean a pot with a handle and a spout for pouring, as a teakettle.

Kipper - fish cured by splitting, salting, and drying or smoking. A breakfast food in England, kippered herring is poached, grilled or baked.

Kirsch - a cherry-flavored liqueur made of black cherries and their pits.

Kisses - meringues. Also, small chocolate candies roll up in twists of silver paper.

Knead - to work a food (usually dough) by hand, using a folding-back and pressing forward motion.

Knuckle - the ankle joint of pork, veal, and other meat. It is used in stews and pies and particularly in soups.

Kofta - a meat ball popular in the Balkans, the Middle and Far East.

Korma - also, quoorma. A spicy Pakistani/Indian stew made of mutton and yogurt and flavored with the spices that go into a curry.

Kosher - food that conforms to Jewish dietary laws, which were laid down by Moses, according to Biblical accounts of Hebrew history.

Kulich - a traditional Russian Easter cake. It is made of sweet bread dough and candied fruit, baked tall and round like the headgear of a Russian Orthodox priest.

Kummel - a sweet liqueur prepared with caraway seed and cumin, made in regions bordering the eastern coast of the Baltic sea.

Lactic Acid - a colorless liquid produced as milk sugar ferments and milk sours. It is used to curdle milk in cheese making.

Ladyfingers - a small finger-shaped sponge cake, like a cookie.

Lager - any light beer.

Lamb’s Fry - the heart, liver, sweetbread and inside fat of the lamb.

Lamb’s Lettuce - a handy annual plant also known as corn salad. A salad green.

Lamb’s Wool - a fancy hot alcoholic drink made of hot sweetened ale, roasted apples, and nutmeg or ginger.

Langouste - see spiny lobster.

Lard - tenderized hog fat used in pie crusts and for deep-frying. Also, to insert strips of fat into meat to keep it moist and add flavor.

Larding needle - a long needle with a large eye, used to insert strips of fat into lean meats.

Lasagne - long wide noodles. Basis for the dish called lasagne in which the noodles are layered with cheeses and meat sauce or tomato sauce.

Layer Cake - two, three or more layers of cake with a filling between.

Lazy Susan - a revolving tray that sits in the middle of a dining table. Usually round.

Laurel - bay leaf.

Leaven - to lighten and increase the volume of bakery products. Leavening agents are yeast, baking powder, baking soda and eggs.

Lees - the sediment of dregs left as wine or liquors ferments. Also, the settling of a liquid.

Legume - a family of plant with edible pods or seeds, which include peanuts, peas, beans and lentils, among others.

Lemon Sole - a particularly delicate flounder taken in the waters of Georges Bank, Cape Cod and Massachusetts.

Liaison - a thickening or binding agent for soups, sauces, stuffings and so on. Examples are flour, beurre manié (see above), cornstarch, eggs, arrowroot, etc.

Lights - the lungs of an animal.

Linzer Torte - a double hazelnut cookie filled with jam and made famous in Vienna, Austria.

Liqueur - a sweet alcoholic drink also known as a cordial and as a digestif, to be drunk after meals and served in small glasses. Also used to flavor desserts and in pastry making.

Littleneck Clams - clams 1 1/2 inches long.

Loquat - a small citrus fruit that sweetens as it ripens. It is good peeled, stewed with sugar, and served with cream or combined with other fruits.

Lotus Root - a water lily whose root is used as a vegetable. It is crisp when fresh. Sold dried, cut into rounds in Oriental markets.

Lotus Seeds - small and nutlike, these can be eaten raw or cooked into a stuffing.

Luau - a traditional Hawaiian freest featuring roast pig.

Lychee - a small fruit native to South China. It has a sweet-sour flavor and is considered as good canned as fresh.

Lyonnaise, à la - “in the style of Lyons”, literally, and usually featuring shredded fried onions as a garnish. Lyons is a city in central France famous for its cuisine.

Macadamia Nut - a round, costly, and delicious nut sold shelled and bottled. It is the fruit of a subtropical evergreen native to Australia but most that reach the market come from Hawaii (also grown in California). Seeds were brought to Hawaii in 1880, and the nuts first were offered on the market in the 1930’s.

Macaroni - a general term for all pastas. Specifically, it refers to a tubular form of pasta.

Madeleine - a small cake baked in a shell-shaped mold. Also, a garnish of artichoke bottoms, onions and green beans.

Madrilène - a consommé flavored with tomato, usually served cold.

Magnum - a single bottle with a capacity of two bottles or about 2/5 gallon, or 160 centiliters.

Maître D’Hôtel - head waiter, but on menus, a dish that is cooked quickly and simply with parsley as the featured flavor.

Maître D’Hôtel Butter - a parsley butter excellent with grilled meats or fish and vegetables, especially carrots. The recipe calls for butter, minced parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper blended. (Be wary of mincing the parsley in a blender; overblended in a blender or a processor, parsley releases a bitter juice that spoils the food it is combined with. You can avoid overblending by cutting only a small handful at a time in the machine).

Maize Bread - American corn bread, also known as corn pone, spoon bread, egg cake and ash cake. Each of these is made by a somewhat different method, but all have cornmeal as the base.

Malt - sprouted barley used to brew beer or distill spirits.

Malted Milk - a drink made from powdered wheat and malted barley extracts, mixed with milk and sometimes, added flavorings like chocolate, strawberry, etc.

Mango - a tropical fruit the size of a small pear, in its original species, but today mango hybrids are as large as small or medium grapefruits. From India, and a key ingredient in some of the best chutneys, notably Major Grey’s. The fruit is yellow shaded red when ripe, and is peeled before eating. Best chilled, and ripe enough to be softly yielding. Delicious taste between a pineapple and a very ripe peach.

Manioc - Cassava, the source plant for tapioca.

Maraschino - a sweet liqueur made from cherries. Also, red cherries in maraschino syrup, which are used in mixed drinks and with desserts, such as fruit salad and as a garnish on drinks.

Marbled - a term for meat streaked with fat. When cooked, marbled meat is juicy and exceptionally tender, so this is a mark of a high-quality piece, especially sought after in steaks and beef roasts.

Marc - eau-de-vie, a spirit distilled from the residue of grapes or other fruit after wine has been pressed and strained. Calvados is the marc made of apples.

Maréchale, à la - small cuts of meat and poultry which are breaded and fried in butter. Green asparagus tips and truffles are usual in the garnish.

Marennes - a type of oyster found in French waters. Highly prized for flavor.

Margarine - a butter substitute made from animal or vegetable fat and butter flavored.

Marinade - a seasoned and flavored liquid mixture containing a tenderizing acid, such as wine or vinegar, in which meat and fish are soaked before cooking.

Marinate, to - to soak food in a seasoned liquid.

Marinière - to cook shellfish with white wine. Also, a garnish with mussels.

Marmalade - a fruit preserve made from citrus fruits. The rinds are sliced thinly and included.

Marmite - a heavy metal or earthenware pot.

Marmite, Petite - French dish. A rich broth called consommé double, it includes chicken and beef with vegetables and herbs. The words mean “small pot”.

Marrow - a squash. Also, the inner substance of meat bones, usually shin bones.

Marzipan / Marchpane - a combination of almond paste, sugar and egg whites used in making pastry and small fruit shapes for holidays.

Mash - to reduce to pulp, with a fork or potato masher. Also, s mess of boiled grain, bran, and so on, fed to horses and cattle.

Matelote - a rich fish stew flavored with red or white wine and herbs.

Matzo - a type of thin unleavened bread special to the Passover feast celebrated by the Jews. It resembles a cracker. Also, unleavened dumplings.

Mayonnaise - the familiar white commercial mayonnaise is a product that is cooked. The mayonnaise called for in gourmet cookbooks, “fresh mayonnaise”, is a thick sauce of yolks beaten with oil and vinegar.

Mead - an alcoholic drink of fermented honey and water.

Medallion - a small, coin-shaped slice of meat or fish.

Melba Toast - thin slices of bread baked slowly until crisp. Named for the coloratura soprano, Dame Nellie Melba, who was the toast of international society early in 21st century.

Meringue - a mixture of egg whites beaten with sugar and baked into cookies or used as a pie topping. The addition of sugar to a meringue is critical; poured in too quickly, the meringue will fall and will not be usable.

Meunière - French for literally, “in the style of the miller’s wife”, dusted with flour and sautéed in butter.

Microwave Oven - a specially constructed and wired oven that cooks with microwaves, a form of electromagnetic radiation used in radar and telecommunications. Microwave ovens tenderize foods more rapidly than conventional cooking instruments.

Mignonette - coarsely ground white or black pepper.

Mille-Feuilles - literally, “a thousand leaves”, this is the flaky pastry the Middle East introduced into European cuisine, layered with cream, and topped with jam and icing.

Milt - the reproductive gland of a male fish, also known as soft roe.

Mimosa - a garnish of grated hard-boiled egg yolks, named for the tree flower that is a spry of tint yellow fluffy balls.

Mince - to chop into very fine pieces. This is one step larger than ground, and smaller than chop.

Mincemeat - a preserve of chopped apples, suet, dried fruits, candied peel, sugar, spices and brandy or rum. It is matured for a month or more and used in holiday pies and in some recipes for fruitcake.

Minestra - Italian; a thick soup of meat and vegetables.

Minestrone - a minestra with pasta.

Mint - herb used in Middle Eastern and Indian cooking. In the West, commonly used to make tea as well as a sauce served with lamb roasts.

Minute Steak - a boneless steak cut one quarter inch thick, and criss-crossed with cuts for tenderizing. It is intended to be sautéed in 1 minute. To cook it longer is to toughen it.

Mirepoix - a vegetable and herb seasoning the French use in flavoring sauces, fish, and meat dishes.

Mixed Grill - a combination of grilled meats, such as liver, steak and bacon garnished with tomatoes and mushrooms. It is usually served with fried potatoes.

Mocha - a rich coffee originally grown in Mocha, Yemen. The beans are almost without bitterness in the best grades. Mocha also describes a combination of chocolate and coffee used to flavor cakes and candies.

Mode, à la - literally “in the mode”. Meats à la mode are braised with vegetables and served with gravy. In the United States, à la mode usually refers to food topped with ice cream.

Molasses - a dark, sweet syrup that is the by-product of sugar refining. Used to flavor candy, puddings, baked goods and other foods.

Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) - an amino acid derived from gluten of soybeans. Used in Oriental cooking to improve the flavor of a dish that has not come up to par.

Morel - a small, very tasty mushroom.

Mornay - white sauce with egg, cream, and cheese added.

Mousse - a molded dish based on meat or sweet whipped cream stiffened with egg white and/or gelatin (if mousse contains ice cream, it is called bombe).

Moussaka - a traditional dish of the Balkan peninsula, and generally known as Greek. There are many variations, but all are layered casseroles of vegetables and ground meat. A good example is a combination of eggplant with tomatoes and lamb.

Mousse - a dish usually based on beaten egg whites and yolks, baked into a savory or a sweet. A mousse can be a puree of meat, poultry, fish or vegetables, served hot or cold. As a dessert it is an extra-light pudding flavored with fruit, lemon or chocolate, and served warm or cold with or without cream.

Mousseline - a sauce with whipped cream added. The name for small molds of poultry, game fish and shellfish and cream, served hot or cold.

Muddler - a thick rod used to crush and mix fruit and sugar in drinks. Also, used to free the bubbles in champagne.

Muffin - a small, round, quick sweet bread raised with baking powder, and baked in small molds (muffin tins).

Mulled Wine - Wine, usually red, that is heated, but not boiled, with sugar and spices, such as cinnamon stick, ground mace and whole cloves.

Mulligatawny - English version of chicken or lamb soup served with rice. The original is Indian.

Mush - a cooked cereal made by boiling cornmeal. Best served with melting butter and a little sweet syrup.

Mussels - edible mollusks found under seaweed clinging to the rocks by the seashore. Like other shellfish, mussels are subject to a condition called “red tide”, which occurs in some spring seasons and renders the shellfish poisonous. Therefore, before harvesting mussels, check with the local authorities to be sure they are safe.

Mutton - meat of the mature sheep, that is 1 year to 18 months old. The meat is a darker color than lamb, and strongly flavored.

Nacho - a Mexican appetizer made with chilies and melted cheese served on a bed of tortillas.

Nasturtium - an edible flower. The young leaves and blooms are used in salads and sandwiches, and as garnishes for cold summer soups; the buds may be picked and pickled and used as substitute for capers.

Navarin - a French lamb stew.

Neapolitan Ice Cream - an ice cream brick made up of layers of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla ice cream.

Neat - an undiluted alcohol.

Nectar - any delicious drink. In mythology, this was the drink of the Olympian gods. Also, the juice of plants collected for honey.

Nesselrode - a mold of ice cream flavored with candied fruits and chestnut puree. Also, a Bavarian cream similarly flavored and used in a pie.

Newburg - hot lobster or seafood cooked in a sherry sauce enriched with a thick cream sauce.

Nicoise, à la - dishes with black olives, tomatoes, garlic, anchovies and dried cherries. Also, a candy of caramelized sugar and browned almonds.

Orange Water / Orange Flower Water - a liquid essence of distilled orange blossoms, once used for flavoring.

Ossobucco - literally, “hollow bone,” this Italian specialty is made of veal marrow bones, usually shin bones, braised in wine with vegetables and seasonings.

Oyster, Blue Point - the name for an oyster found in the waters off Long Island Sound, New York. Also, term used to refer to any good-sized oyster.

Oysters Rockefeller - oysters which are topped with chopped spinach, bacon and seasoned bread crumbs and baked.

Paella - a traditional Spanish one-pot dish of chicken, seafood, vegetables, rice and garlic flavored with saffron.

Pakora - a small, deep-fried snacks of India with chick-pea flour as an ingredient in the mixture. Vegetables, fish, or chicken are spiced with ginger, cumin, chopped onion, and garlic, blended with the flour, shaped into small patties, and deep fried. An American version makes appetizers by dipping chunks of raw vegetables into a fritter batter, and deep frying.

Palmier - a delicious flat flaky palm-shaped pastries made by layering puff pastry with sugar, rolling it, then slicing it thin and baking.

Pan-broil - to cook over direct heat in an uncovered skillet containing little or no shortening.

Pan-fry - to cook in an uncovered skillet in small amount of shortening.

Paper Cookery - en papillote is the French term for this process of cooking food in a container made from heavy paper.

Papillote - French term for fancy paper shapes and ruffles used to hide the ends of chop bones.

Parboil - to partially cook in boiling water before final cooking.

Pare - to shave away the skins of fruits or vegetables.

Parfait - a French dessert of frozen pudding, either ice cream or mousse layered with fruits or syrups and whipped cream.

Parsley - the most-used herb in the world, it grows easily anywhere, including in window boxes and pots indoors. It is the mainstay of French seasonings.

Pashka - a traditional Russian Easter cheesecake with nuts and candied fruit made in the form of a pyramid.

Passover Bread - see matzo.

Pasta - a large family of flour paste products, such as spaghetti, macaroni, and noodles.

Pastrami - spicy smoked beef eaten hot or cold. Italian variation of corned beef.

Pâté (French for paste) - a paste made of finely ground liver or meat blended together with herbs and spices and baked.

Paupiettes - thin slices of meat or fish, stuffed, then rolled and cooked. Sometimes the meat is pounded to thin and enlarge it, before stuffing.

Pectin - substance that occurs in fruits or vegetables that acts as jelling agent in jams and other preserves. It is packed in bottles and sold commercially.

Pepitas - roasted pumpkin seeds.

Pepperpot - a spicy stew without much sauce.

Pepper Steak - a beefsteak dipped in crushed pepper and sautéed in butter, then flamed with brandy. A sauce is made from the pan drippings and red wine. Also, a Chinese dish made with green pepper strips and thin-sliced beef.

Periwinkle - a small sea snail served roasted, poached, or raw, with wine sauce.

Persimmon - small acidulous plum-like tool used to crush or pound food in a bowl with rough interior surface - the mortar.

Petit Four - a small cake, usually bite-sized, which has been frosted and decorated.

Petit Suisse - an unsalted, very rich cream cheese rolled in paper in a cylindrical shape. In France, it is treated as a dessert, and served with sugar and cream.

Pickle - to preserve in seasoned and/or flavored vinegar, brine or oil. This is common for vegetables, especially cucumbers, fruits and meats.

Pignoli - pine nuts.

Pilaf / Pilaff / Pilau - a rice dish in which the raw rice is first simmered in a shortening or butter, then cooked with water or broth, and sometimes meat, poultry, fish or shellfish.

Pimiento - a variety of sweet pepper, ripened to the red stage, and canned or bottled. It is used as a garnish for salads, sauces, rice dishes or stews. Sometimes the word is mistakenly spelled “pimento,” which is really allspice. One cannot be used as a substitute for the other.

Pinch - a measure of less than 1/8 teaspoon; an amount held between the thumb and forefinger.

Pine Nuts - a nut with a tangy flavor reminiscent of pine, used in Mediterranean dishes, and brought to attention recently by the spaghetti sauce called pesto pignoli.

Pipe - to squeeze a smooth, shapeable mixture through a decorating bag to make decorative shapes; to apply with a pastry tube.

Pissaladière - French. a tart, or pizza-type dish, made of baked dough with onions, tomatoes, garlic, anchovies, black olives and / or other garnishes.

Pistachio - a flavorful nut used for snacking when roasted, and for flavoring sweets and ice cream. It has a high iron content and a characteristic greenish tinge.

Pita - envelope of unleavened bread used for making sandwiches. Arab.

Pizza - a yeast dough, sometimes thick, sometimes thin, baked with such toppings as pureed tomatoes, shredded mozzarella cheese, sausages, olives, anchovies, etc. Versions of this dish, which originated in Naples, Italy, vary throughout the world.

Planking - a style of baking or broiling meat or fish on a piece of hard wood. Plank also describes a wooden carving or serving platter with grooves that keep juices from spilling; used for serving roasts.

Plum Pudding - British holiday pudding made mostly of dried fruit, rarely with plums. It is steamed, then served with hard sauce.

Poach - to cook in liquid held below the boiling point.

Poi - Hawaiian dish of cooked and pounded taro root.

Polenta - Italian cornmeal pudding or mush, eaten hot or cold, usually with sauce and / or meats. It may be cooled and fried after cooking.

Popover - a batter muffin that is puffy and almost hollow, it has risen so high. The ingredients are about the same as for Yorkshire pudding, and like Yorkshire pudding, the batter is poured into already-heated containers. The beating period is critical and cannot be skimped on, as the leavening agent is egg, which must be thoroughly aerated.

Porringer - a child’s dish used for porridge.

Port - a grape wine fortified with brandy, which often is used to flavor casseroles and desserts. It may also be drunk after dinner as a digestif.

Porterhouse Steak - a thick steak of high quality cut from the wide end of the sirloin.

Portmanteau - a French steak that has a pocket cut into the side into which oysters are placed. The pocket is sewn shut before the steak is cooked.

Potato Flour - a flour made from potatoes. It is used as a thickening agent, like cornstarch.

Potatoes, Straw - potatoes grated or sliced into tiny sticks and deep fried.

Pot-Au-Feu - literally, “pot on the fire,” this is one of the oldest ways with food in France - a thick soup, or thin stew. Often the cooked meat and vegetables are served with rock salt, after the soup has been drunk.

Pot Pie - a pie of meat or poultry and vegetables in a thick gravy, topped with a short pastry crust.

Pot-Roasting - a phrase that describes braising, the process of browning meat and then cooking it in very little liquid.

Potted Meat - cooked meat preserved in a jar.

Pound - in cooking, to flatten with a heavy tool. The process is intended to tenderize certain very tough or wiry fish (such as abalone), and to thin for fast cooking and tenderize, cuts of meat - veal scallops, for instance, to make scaloppini, and paupiettes.

Praline - a hard candy made of sugar cooked to 310 degrees on the candy thermometer, to which almonds or pecans are added. The candy is cooled in butter, then cracked and the confection is used as topping. It may also be poured directly onto a pudding or cake icing as a sweet garnish.

Prawns - crustaceans like shrimp. In some areas of the United States, the term is applied to any large shrimp.

Preheat - to turn on oven so that desired temperature will be reached before food is inserted for baking.

Pressed Beef - the brisket which has been boned, salted and pressed

Printanier, à la - to be cooked or garnished with fresh spring vegetables. Printemps is the French word for spring.

Profiteroles - cream puffs filled with a sweet or savory mixture.

Proof - to allow a yeast mixture to rise in a warm, dry place. Also, to test yeast for potency.

Provencale, a la - a dish including garlic, olive oil, tomatoes and often black olives.

Prune - a dried plum.

Pudding - a general name for many thick, rich dishes, both sweet and savory. Puddings are generally made of an ingredient that thickens, like cornmeal, or include a thickener, such as cornstarch.

Puff Pastry - pastry that puffs when baked.

Pulses - the dried form of peas, beans, soybean, peanuts and other legumes.

Puree - to grind or mash to a smooth paste in a blender or food processor, or made by forcing cooked food through a sieve.

Quahog - a hard-shell clam of excellent quality. Large size (4-5 inches), are called quahogs; smaller sizes are know as cherrystones (3 inches), and littlenecks (1 1/2 inches). Quahogs are best for chowders.

Quail - a game bird sought for its fine flavor.

Quenelles - tiny mousses poached in broth, then drained and served with a savory sauce. Fish and poultry mousses are most popular.

Queso - creamy cheeses or cottage cheese from Mexico or Argentina.

Quiche - savory custard baked in a pie shell.

Quoorma - a spicy Pakistani or Indian stew of mutton and yogurt.

Rack - a rib section of meat. Rib ends may be decorated with papillotes.

Raclette - a cheese dish related to fondue, and perhaps it’s earliest form. A chunk of cheese that melts smoothly and easily is brought to the table melting under a broiler or in one of the raclette stoves for making the dish. It is served with a boiled potato for each diner and side dishes of tiny cocktail onions, dilled pickles, and gherkins. Diners scrape the melting portion of the cheese onto a bit of mashed potato, and add a spicy relish to each bite. The word racler means to scrape.

Ragoût - a stew made with meat, poultry, or fish, cooked simply with or without vegetables.

Ramekin - a small dish designed to both bake and serve individual portions. Also, a cheese dish with bread crumbs or pastry.

Rarebit - melted cheese poured onto toast. It is one of a group of dishes called ‘savory’ sometimes served after the sweet at a formal English meal.

Rasher - British. The word “rash” means to slice. A rasher is a slice of bacon or raw ham, cut in any thickness.

Raspings - very finely grated stale bread.

Ratatouille - a southern French dish of vegetables cooked together. Usually included are diced onion, sautéed in oil, eggplant, garlic, green peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, flavored with oregano, thyme, rosemary and basil.

Ravioli - small squares of pasta stuffed with various fillings and served with tomato sauce and grated Parmesan cheese.

Reduce - to boil down, evaporating liquid from a cooked dish.

Refresh - to immerse hot vegetables in ice water to set the color and flavor. The food is then drained and reheated in butter or sauce.

Relish - a sweet-sour combination of pickled vegetables and fruit. Condiment.

Remoulade - a rich mayonnaise-based sauce containing anchovy paste, capers, herbs, and mustard.

Render - to melt fat away from surrounding meat.

Rennet - a substance used to coagulate milk for cheese-making, or to set certain puddings, such as junket.

Ricer - a colander like utensil that forces food through tiny holes, giving potatoes, for instance, the texture of cooked rice.

Rice Vinegar - a mild white vinegar good for salads and used in Chinese cuisine.

Rillettes - a pâté of pork that is somewhat coarser than liver pâtés.

Rind - outer shell or peel of fruit.

Risotto - Italian rice dishes. A risotto is rather like a pilaf, and may have any number of flavorings.

Roast, to - to cook in oven by dry heat (usually refers to meats).

Roe - fish eggs. Caviar is the most famous use of roe.

Rollmop - a herring, particularly when marinated for a long period with gherkins or other pickles.

Rose Water - a liquid flavored with the oil of rose petals. It is used to flavor desserts in Balkan, Indian and Middle Eastern cooking.

Roulade - a food rolled around a stuffing. Paupiettes is one example. Peach roulade and a stuffed genoese s another.

Roux - is a paste of butter and flour that is used to thicken almost everything in Western cooking. A white roux is the base for white, or cream sauces, such as sauce béchamel, used with chicken, vegetables and fish. A brown roux is the base for much cajun creole cooking and for many rich casseroles. The time allowed for the cooking determines the color of the roux.

Royale - a thin custard cooled and cut into decorative shapes. Used to garnish soups primarily.

Rump Roast - a boneless cut from the leg.

Rusks - twice-toasted bread or cake.

Rutabaga - also called Swede, this is a yellow winter turnip, more strongly flavored than the white and purple turnips of spring. It is excellent with turkey and duck, and in soups and stews.

Sabayon - a sweet egg dessert or sauce, flavored with wine. In Italy it is called zabaione.

Saccharin - a commercial synthetic sugar substitute. It is said to be 500 times sweeter than sugar.

Sacher Torte - a famous Viennese cake made of chocolate with apricot filling and dark chocolate icing.

Saddle - a cut of meat including both loins. In beef, this is considered the finest cut. Also, used in reference to lamb and mutton.

Safflower - a major source of orange dye, oil and polyunsaturated fat.

Saffron - dried, yellow-orange stamens of the flower of crocus sativus. Saffron is available as threads and as grains. The threads are considered best, though far more expensive.

Saint-Germain - a soup made of fresh green peas.

Saint- Honoré - an impressive dessert of caramel-glazed cream puffs circling cream filling.

Sake - a wine made from rice.

Salami - a highly seasoned dried Italian sausage made of pork or beef.

Salmagundi - a meat-salad dish with hard boiled eggs, beets, anchovies and pickles.

Salmi - a stew made of leftover or precooked roast game.

Saltpeter - Potassium nitrate, a preservative used with salt for pickling and keeping meat. Said to inhibit sexuality, but this is considered to be a myth.

Sangria - a sweetened wine drink made with red wine and fruit and brandy, which is served traditionally with paella, in Spain.

Sarsaparilla - a drink flavoring made with the dried roots of a plant of the smilax genus.

Sashimi - raw saltwater fish and other foods sliced paper thin and served decoratively; a native Japanese dish.

Sauerkraut - white cabbage cut finely, salted and fermented in its own liquid.

Sauté - to brown food lightly over fairly high heat in a small amount of fat in a shallow, open pan.

Savarin - a yeast-raised sweet cake soaked in Kirsch or rum. French.

Savory Butter - butter whipped with a variety of flavorings, used as a spread for canapés (i.e.: anchovy butter), a sauce for grilled fish or meat (i.e.: tarragon butter), or to flavor sauces (i.e.: shrimp butter).

Scald - to heat a liquid, such as milk, to just below the boiling point; to dip certain foods into boiling water before freezing them (procedure is also called blanching) or to loosen the skin. Tomatoes are peeled easily when scalded first.

Scallion - also known as a green onion. It has a thin white bulb and a long green top. Can be substituted for shallots and for onions.

Scallop - a bivalve mollusk of which only the muscle hinge is eaten; to bake food in a sauce topped with crumbs.

Scampi - name for shrimp. Also, a dish of shrimp cooked in a rich garlic-butter sauce. Italian.

Schnitzel - a thin slice of veal; a cutlet. May be breaded and sautéed, as in wiener schnitzel.

Scone - a quick bread used as a tea biscuit served hot with butter and jam. British Isles.

Score - to cut shallow gashes on surface of food, as in scoring fat on ham before glazing, for either for decoration or to tenderize, or to prevent edges from curling.

Scotch Woodcock - scrambled eggs on top of toast, spread with anchovy paste, and garnished with smoked anchovies.

Sear - to brown surface of meat over high heat to seal in juices.

Season - to add salt, pepper, herbs and / or other seasonings. Seasoning is a critical aspect of food preparation. The best cookbooks instruct the cook to “season to taste,” since no recipe can be more than a guideline.

Self-Rising Flour - flour that is premixed with salt and leavening.

Semolina - a by-product of milled flour, these large wheat grains are used to make couscous, pasta, puddings or as a thickening agent.

Set - term used to describe the consistency of gelatin when it has jelled enough to unmold.

Seviche - white sea fish pickled in lime juice. South American.

Shad - a seafish that spawns in fresh water. Most popular for its delicate roe, it can be used as is fresh herring or mackerel.

Shallots - an herb with a garlic-onion flavor, small and milder than an onion, but resembling garlic cloves.

Sheepshead - a fish found along the Atlantic coast; it has white flesh that is well flavored and lean.

Sheeting - stage at which sugary jams, candies and other preserves will jell; 220 to 222 degrees on a candy or jelly thermometer. Syrup falling from a spoon dipped into the boiling kettle will sheet at this stage, rather than run off the spoon in a stream or fall off in rapidly forming individual drops. This is the signal to remove the kettle from the heat.

Shepherd’s Pie - a meat pie with a mashed potato crust.

Sherbet - a frozen sweet made with fruit juice that originated in the Middle East almost before recorded history.

Shirr - applies to eggs baked in buttered ramekins and usually topped with cream. Some versions also call for bread crumbs.

Short - the description of any pastry with a high content of fat. Fat makes pastry tender and flaky. Shortbread is a good example.

Shortening - a general name for all fats, especially solid vegetable fats.

Shred - to cut into long narrow strips, usually with a grater or sharp knife. Today, shredding is often accomplished with the aid of a food processor.

Shrub - an alcoholic drink made with rum or brandy and a sweetened fruit syrup.

Sieve - to separate coarse particles by passing them through a wire screen.

Sift - to lighten ingredients and remove lumps, by putting them through a fine sieve or sifter. In baking, all dry ingredients may be sifted together. Sifted flour is apt to be greater in volume, lighter in content, than unsifted..

Simmer - to cook gently at a temperature below boiling point (195 degrees)

Sirloin - the front part of the loin of beef. This is near the hip, thus a little less tender but still excellent for roasting.

Skim - to remove anything floating on top of a liquid, either fat or frothy scum. This usually forms in the early stages of boiling meats and vegetables.

Sloe - a wild plum used to flavor sloe gin, a Dutch alcohol. Also, a cultivated plum used for jams and jellies.

Smoke - to preserve meat or fish by slowly drying in the smoke of a fragrant hard-wood fire.

Smorgasbord - a buffet meal with a variety of hot and cold dishes.

Snow Peas - the immature sugar pea which has a tender, edible pod in its early stages. Also called Chinese peas, or pod peas.

Soba - Japanese buckwheat flour noodles.

Soda - bicarbonate of soda; a leavening agent used in early baking recipes, particularly with buttermilk, sour milk, cream, fruits or chocolate. Any of these, when heated with soda give off a gas that causes the dough to rise.

Soda Water - a sparkling water produced by adding carbon dioxide, often in the form of bicarbonate of soda.

Soft Peaks - the term used to describe egg whites beaten to form peaks, but still soft enough so the peaks fold or curl over, not yet at the stage described as “stiff” or “dry”.

Soufflé - a spongy hot dish, made from a sweet or savory mixture (often milk or cheese), lightened by stiffly beaten egg whites or whipped cream.

Soybean Curd - see tofu

Soybean Sauce - a sauce made of fermented soybeans and wheat. It is very salty and some form of it is used in the cooking of most Eastern countries.

Spaghetti - long, thin strings of pasta. Specifically, it is of medium or thin dimension.

Spaghetti Carbonara - hot spaghetti noodles tossed with beaten eggs and a mixture of cream, grated cheese, bacon, salt and pepper, which has been slightly thickened by cooking.

Spice - an aromatic plant substance, generally bark or berry, used to flavor foods.

Spiny Lobster - crustacean lacking claws, but otherwise are like a large American lobster.

Sponge Cake - a cake made without shortening and leavened only with eggs.

Sprat - a small herring found in European waters. It is served smoked but can be eaten fresh, grilled or fried.

Spring Onions - see scallion.

Sprouts - the young growth of any seed. Certain sprouts make tasty and nutritious salads, for instance, bean sprouts or alfalfa sprouts.

Sprouting - sprouting is to cause seeds to germinate for use in cooking or salads.

Squab - young commercially raised pigeons.

Squid - a relative of the octopus, and a popular food in fish dishes in the Mediterranean.

Star Anise - a star-shaped spice used in Oriental cooking. It is used by some as a substitute for the bay leaf.

Steam - to cook indirectly by setting food on top of boiling water in a covered pot.

Steam-pressure canning method - used for processing low-acid foods, such as meats, fish, poultry, and most vegetables. A temperature higher than a boiling temperature is required to can these foods safely. The food is processed in a steam-pressure canner at 10 pounds’ pressure (240) to ensure that all of the spoilage micro-organisms are destroyed.

Steep - to let food, such as tea, stand in not quite boiling water until the flavor is extracted.

Stew - a mixture of meat or fish and vegetables cooked by simmering in its own juices along with other liquid, such as water and/or wine.

Stiff Peaks - egg whites beaten until they are stiff enough to stand on their own. They have a glossy moist look when just right, and stand upright when the beater is lifted from the bow.

Stir - to mix with a circular motion.

Stir-Fry - to cook quickly in oil over high heat, using light tossing and stirring motions to preserve shape of food.

Stock - the broth in which meat, poultry, fish, or vegetables has been cooked.

Strudel - a German pastry of paper-thin flaky dough, filled with a sweet or savory mixture, often apple.

Stuffing - seasoned filling for meat, poultry, fish ,vegetables or leaves.

Suet - the fat surrounding the kidneys and loin of an animal. It is used in stuffings, mincemeat and plum pudding.

Sukiyaki - Japanese dish of thinly sliced meat and vegetables, cooked quickly in a little broth, and heaped in a big plate in the center of the table. Diners help themselves with chopsticks.

Suprême - a French term used to describe a boned chicken breast.

Sushi-Meshi - Japanese vinegared rice, decorated beautifully and served with slices of raw fish.

Sweat - a method of cooking vegetables in simmering butter; also called “fat steaming.”

Sweet & Sour - a term used to describe a dish or sauce combining sugar and vinegar. Used in Chinese, Jewish and German cooking, and sometimes in Italian.

Sweetbreads - the glands of animals. Calf and lamb sweetbreads are preferred.

Syllabub - a drink made of frothy milk and alcohol, usually wine, served on festive occasions in the past.

Syrupy - thickened to about the consistency of egg white.

Table D’Hôte - a complete meal of specific courses offered at one set price.

Tabooli / Taboule - a Middle Eastern mint salad made with cracked wheat, tomatoes, parsley, lemon juice, onion and olive oil.

Taco - a fried tortilla folded around a filling.

Tagiatelle - wide egg noodles.

Tahina - a paste made from crushed sesame seeds and used to flavor Middle Eastern dishes. When combined with a little oil, it is used as a spread on bread.

Tamale - a cornhusk spread with cornmeal and filled with chili-seasoned chicken, beef, or cheese, then rolled and steamed.

Tamari - a type of soy sauce.

Tangelo - a fruit that is a cross between a grapefruit and a tangerine.

Taro - a tropical food plant whose potato-like root is the basis for poi, a staple of Polynesian cooking.

Tempura - Japanese dish of vegetables and fish, including shrimp, dipped in batter, deep fried and served with a sauce.

Terrine - an earthenware covered dish often decorative or in animal shapes, used for cooking meatloaf or pâté of minced meat, poultry or liver. A dish that is often used to serve soup.

Thimbleberry - a wild raspberry.

Toad in the Hole - an English name for meat, sausage or lamb cutlets baked in batter. Also, an egg, sautéed in a hole cut from a piece of bread.

Toast, to - to brown by direct heat, as in a toaster or under broiler.

Toddy - a hot alcoholic drink made of spirits, usually rum, hot water, sugar and lemon.

Tofu - smooth cakes of curds made from the milk-like liquid of cooked soybeans and water.

Tonka Bean - the fruit of a South American tree with a single seed that is dried and used to make bitters or as a substitute for vanilla. Also used in potpourris and sachets.

Torte - a round cake, sometimes made with bread crumbs instead of flour.

Tortilla - a Mexican flat bread made of corn or wheat flour.

Toss - to mix together with light tossing motions, in order not to bruise delicate food, such as salad greens.

Tournedo - a small thick slice of beef fillet, considered of the choicest quality; often served with a sauce.

Treacle - the British word for molasses.

Trifle - a sweet pudding made with leftover sponge cake moistened with sherry, topped with jam, almonds and layered with custard and/or whipped cream.

Triple Sec - an orange-flavored liqueur.

Truffle - any of the subterranean edible fungi of the genus tuber. Prized in French cooking for its aroma, and used in luxury dishes, particularly pates of goose liver.

Truffle, Chocolate - a sweet chocolate specialty from Flanders made with hot melted bittersweet chocolate, mixed with beaten egg yolks, butter, rum and cream. The mixture is cooled then rolled in cocoa powder.

Truss, to - to tie or secure with string or skewers the legs and wings of poultry or game in order to make the bird easier to manage during cooking.

Tureen - a large, deep bowl with a lid, used to serve soup.

Turn-Over - a circle or square of pastry folded over to encase a sweet or savory filling. Apple turnovers are a popular example.

Tutti-Frutti - a preserve of sweet fruits. It is made in a crock where layers of fruit, covered with sugar are laid down as they ripen during the season, stirred daily, and covered with brandy. Tutti-frutti is used to make puddings, ice cream, and as a topping for some desserts.

Unmold - to remove food from its container, usually a decorative mold. Gelatin and fatty dishes can be unmolded by setting briefly in hot water, then reversing over the serving dish.

Upside-Down Cake - a cake with fruit placed on the bottom of the pan, topped by batter. After baking, the cake is turned upside down and served with the fruit on top.

Vanilla - an essential flavoring that comes from the pod of a tropical vine, an orchid that climbs, vanilla planifolia. It is commonly used in the United States as vanilla extract; it is also sold powdered or by the whole pod. In Europe, the pod is used to flavor sugar which is then used in baking.

Vanilla Sugar - sugar flavored by vanilla beans. To make vanilla sugar, fill a large jar with sugar, break a vanilla bean in three pieces, press it into the sugar and leave for several weeks.

Veal - flesh of milk-fed calf up to 14 weeks of age. The meat is finer grained than beef, and pink where beef is red.

Veloute - white sauce made of flour, butter, and a chicken or veal stock, instead of milk.

Venison - meat of deer.

Vermicelli - a very thin pasta, often packaged in loops.

Vermouth - a white apéritif wine of France, sweet or dry.

Veronique - usually means garnished with white grapes.

Vert-Pre - a green herb sauce; also, a garnish of straw potatoes and watercress served with grilled meat.

Vichissoise - a cold soup made with leeks, potatoes and cream.

Vinaigrette - a cold sauce of oil and vinegar flavored with parsley, finely chopped onions, and other seasonings; served with cold meats or vegetables or as a dressing with salad greens.

Vintage - a word given to the harvest of grapes relating to the year of the harvest and wine production.

Viticulture - the study of grape growing.

Wafer - a thin, sweet biscuit.

Waffle - a light, thin batter cake baked in a special grill called a waffle iron. Basic batter is the same as for pancakes.

Water Biscuit - a crisp cracker that is unseasoned and goes well with cheese and butter and consommé.

Water Chestnut - a tuber grown for its moist crunchy texture, an mild taste. It is a staple in Oriental cooking.

Watercress - a green leafy little plant that grows only in running water, and has peppery leaves prized by epicures for salads and garnishes.

Waterzooi - a rich Belgian chicken or fish soup made with wine.

Whip - to beat rapidly to increase air and increase volume.

Whisk - in cooking, a tool made of wire loops used for beating.

Wild Rice - a native American grain that grows wild along lake and river banks and is prepared like rice.

Wok - a round bowl-shaped metal cooking utensil of Chinese origin used for stir-frying and steaming (with rack inserted) of various foods.

Work - in cooking, this means to knead or mix gently with the fingers.

Yam - a starchy root vegetable that has a wide variety of shapes and colors. It is sweet though less so than the sweet potato, which it resembles in appearance and flavor. The flesh of the yams sold in America are generally paler than the sweet potato.

Yarrow - an aromatic herb used in flavoring omelets, stews and salads.

Yeast - a leavening agent which comes in cakes or dried in granules. It was isolated from the desert peoples’ sourdough bread by the ancient Egyptians, who used it to make risen bread.

Yogurt - curdled or cultured milk dish with custard-like consistency used in main dishes, in sauces and in desserts.

Yorkshire Pudding - a popover-like pastry cooked in roast beef drippings, this is one of the great British inventions. When cooked successfully, it puffs as high as a giant popover, and is crusty and savory with the natural gravy of the roast.

Zabaione - a rich Italian custard made by beating egg yolks until they are lemon-colored, then adding sugar and Marsala.

Zest - gratings of the colored portion of citrus skin.

Zuppa Inglese - Italian version of the trifle.

Zwieback - a biscuit or rusk that has been twice baked.