A
Aromatics
The vegetables and herbs that add flavor and aroma to a dish. These are usually sauteed together at the beginning to provide the base of the dish. The French have their mirepoix. The Chinese have their own version of aromatics.
B
C
Caramelizing
By applying heat, the ingredient's natural or applied sugar turns brown and nutty similar to the color and flavor of caramel.
E
Ear
A sourdough ear is the extra crunchy flap of crust that forms on the sourdough bread while baking. This is caused by the ovenspring which expands the dough quickly and creates a crust flap where the dough is scored.
F
Flaky pastry
Flaky pastry or puff pastry is pastry with visible layers. This is achieved by a process called lamination: layers of dough and butter / shortening are rolled to form the pastry. The butter / shortening separates the dough, resulting in a layered effect. It's time consuming. A cheater option is to purchase a good quality frozen flaky pastry made with all-butter!
G
Garnish
Decorate or embellish the dish with other ingredients.
H
Hull
Hulling strawberries refers to removing the leaves on the tops of strawberries. Hulling strawberries to minimize waste.
M
Marinate
Soaking the item (usually meat) in a liquid marinade made up of herbs, spices and sometimes some kind of acid that will penetrate the item to flavor and tenderize. The longer the time marinating, the more flavorful the item. See Basic Chinese Meat Marinade commonly used in my dishes.
Mirepoix
A combination of diced onions, celery and carrots, sauteed in oil or butter as used in French cooking. This is the foundation or seasoning base for many dishes and sauces.
P
Poach
A method of cooking by gently simmering food in water / liquid just below the boiling point. This method also allows the flavor of the liquid to penetrate the food.
Puree
A puree is a smooth, soft consistency of a substance obtained by either using a blender or food processor. The more powerful the blender or food processor, the smoother the consistency.
Low profile vitamix
Cuisinart food processor
Emersion blender for small jobs
R
Render
Rendering fat allows the fat to become shelf stable by removing the water which is the component that attracts bacteria. Fat in meat is rendered by melting it with heat, initially turning it into a liquid state. It returns to a solid state when cooled.
Roux
A roux is a French term for making a sauce with equal parts of fat and flour as a thickening agent for a sauce. The process requires constant whisking of the roux while adding the liquid to avoid lumps.
S
Saute
Fry quickly with a little heated oil / fat
Sear
Scorch the surface of the meat with a sudden and intense heat. This process creates an outer crust that seals the juices on the inside. Using a castiron skillet is effective in getting the high heat required to sear meat.
Seize
Chocolate seizes when moisture is added to melting chocolate, turning it for a smooth viscous state to a stiff, grainy mess! To avoid chocolate from seizing, ensure that no moisture (steam) touches the chocolate while melting. To melt chocolate with a liquid, add the liquid to room temperature chocolate before the melting process.
Chocolate seizes when milk is added to chocolate AFTER heating.
Melted chocolate with coconut oil added before microwaving
Short / Sweet pastry crust
A short crust pastry or sweet pastry crust has a texture of short bread. It is less time consuming to make than flaky or puff pastry as the butter / shortening is incorporated into the dough either by hand or food processor, creating a crumbly, dough consistency. See How to make short crust pastry
Sweet crust pastry
Simmer
State or temperature just below the boiling point. Small bubbles should appear, but not large bubbles at a constant rate.
Smoke point
The smoke point of an oil is the temperature at which the oil will start to smoke and burn, turning burned and imparting a burned flavor into your dish. All oils have different smoke points.
Steam
A way of cooking a dish using steam. If you don't have an actual steamer, the dish can be placed on cans with the tops and bottoms removed in a large saucepan of water. The dish should not touch the boiling water.
Bamboo steamer 12"
U
Umami
Comes from the Japanese word and pronouced “oo-ma-mee which literally translates to ”essence of deliciousness." This "enhanced flavor" can be achieved naturally or with the addition of monosodium glutamate (MSG). This is one of the five basic tastes which include sweet, sour, salty and bitter.
W
Window pane test
The window pane test is a way of testing whether your dough has developed sufficient gluten structure and is ready to shape, especially when working with enriched doughs containing, butter, sugar and eggs. This is helpful when not sure what the dough should look like, are new to bread baking or a new recipe. Take a piece of dough and pull it apart, if the dough doesn't break but stretches and forms a window pane, the dough is ready. Otherwise, more "kneading" time is required to strengthen the dough. See youtube video.
Z
Zest
The outer colored part of citurs fruit, used as a flavoring. This is achieved by scraping off the outer colored part without the white pith with a zester or grater.