Cooking Videos
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How to Make Pecan Crusted Trout
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How to Cut Up A Chicken
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Useful Cooking Terms
- Al dente: To cook food until just firm, usually referring to pasta, but can include vegetables. Means “to the tooth.”
- Bake: To cook food in an oven using dry heat.
- Baste: To moisten food while cooking by spooning, brushing, or squirting a liquid, such as meat drippings to stock, to add flavour and prevent it from drying out.
- Beat: To stir rapidly in a circular motion to make a smooth mixture, using a whisk, spoon, or mixer.
- Braise: To cook first by browning the food in butter or oil, then gently simmering in a small amount of liquid over low heat for a long period of time in a covered pan until tender.
- Broil: To expose food to direct heat on a rack or spit, often used for melting food like cheese.
- Brown: To cook over high heat (usually on the stove-top) to brown food.
- Caramelize: To heat sugar until it liquefies and becomes a syrup.
- Chop; To cut vegetables into large squares, usually specified by the recipe.
- Cream: To beat ingredients (usually sugar and a fat) until smooth and fluffy.
- Cube: Like chopping, it is to cut food into small cubes, usually about 1/2 inch.
- Dice: To cut into small cubed pieces. Small dice 1/4 x 1/4 x 1/4, Medium dice 1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2, Large dice 3/4 x 3/4 x 3/4.
- Dollop: A spoonful of a semi-solid food, like whipped cream or mashed potatoes, placed on top of another food.
- Dredge: To lightly coat uncooked food with a dry mixture, usually with flour, cornmeal, or bread crumbs, to be pan fried or sautéed.
- Dress: To coat foods with a sauce, such as salad.
- Drizzle: To pour liquid back and forth over a dish in a fine stream, usually melted butter, oil, syrup, or melted chocolate.
- Dust: To coat lightly with a powdery ingredients, such as confectioners’ sugar or cocoa.
- Fillet: To cut the bones from a piece of meat, poultry, or fish.
- Fold: To combine light ingredients, such as whipped cream or beaten eggs whites, with a heavier mixture, using an over-and-under motion.
- Glaze: To coat foods with mixtures such as jellies or sauces.
- Grate: Creates tiny pieces of food, best for things like cheese to melt quickly or a vegetable used in a sauce.
- Grease: To coat the interior of a pan or dish with shortening, oil, or butter to prevent food from sticking during cooking.
- Julienne: Cutting vegetables until long, thin stripes, approximately 1/4 inch thick and 1 inch long.
- Knead: The process of mixing dough with the hands or a mixer.
- Marinate: To soak in a sauce or flavoured liquid for a long period of time, usually meat, poultry or fish.
- Mince: To cut as small as possible, most commonly used with garlic.
- Pan Fry: Cook larger chunks of food over medium-heat, flipping once only.
- Poach: To cook gently over very low heat, in barely simmering water just to cover.
- Purée: To mash or grind food until completely smooth.
- Roast: Like baking but concerning meat or poultry, it is to cook food in an oven using dry heat.
- Sauté: To cook small pieces of food over a medium-high heat with oil in a pan, usually to brown food.
- Sear: To brown the surface of meat by quick-cooking over high heat into order to seal in the meat’s juices.
- Shred: Done on a grater with larger holes, resulting in long, smooth stripes to cook or melt.
- Simmer: Bring a pot to a boil, then reduce the heat until there are no bubbles.
- Skim: To remove fat or foam from the surface of a liquid.
- Slice: To cut vertically down, thickness depends on the recipe.
- Steam: To cook food on a rack or in a steamer set over boiling or simmering water.
- Steep: To soak a dry ingredient in a liquid just under the boiling point to extract the flavor, such as with tea.
- Stew: To cook covered over low heat in a liquid for a substantial period of time.
- Whip: To beat food with a whisk or mixer to incorporate air and increase volume.
- Whisk: To beat ingredients with a fork or a whisk.
- Zest: The outer, colored peel of a citrus fruit.