Clove

1. Considered one of the world's most important spices, cloves are the dried, unopened flower bud of the tropical evergreen clove tree. Reddish brown and nail-shaped, their name comes from clavus , the Latin word for nail. Cloves are sold whole or ground and can be used to flavor a multitude of dishes ranging from sweet to savory. See also SPICES; HERB AND SPICE CHART.

2. The term "clove" also refers to a segment of a bulb, such as in garlic clove.

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

Definition from:
Epicurious

Roasting

This is the process of cooking (usually large cuts of meats and vegetables) with indirect dry heat from your oven. Roasting creates a crusty exterior while preserving the juices and tender interior of the meat. It caramelizes any of the sugars in the vegetables and brings out their natural sweetness. It also caramelizes the fat or any glazes you put on the meat before roasting.

Definition from:
Italian Cooking Made Easy

Slurry

A slurry is a blend of cornstarch and water (broth) usually in equal amounts blended to make a smooth paste the consistency of a very heavy cream. Always blend cornstarch with cold liquids to prevent lumping. Slurries lump very easily so you will need to quickly whisk them into your sauce. Slurries thicken very well so only use enough to reach the consistency you want. As the sauce cooks, the slurry will thicken, so let it simmer a bit while you are reaching the desired consistency.

Definition from:
Italian Cooking Made Easy

Roux

[ROO]
A mixture of flour and fat that, after being slowly cooked over low heat, is used to thicken mixtures such as soups and sauces. There are three classic roux — white, blond and brown. The color and flavor is determined by the length of time the mixture is cooked. Both white roux and blond roux are made with butter. The former is cooked just until it begins to turn beige and the latter until pale golden. Both are used to thicken cream and white sauces and light soups. The fuller-flavored brown roux can be made with butter, drippings or pork or beef fat. It's cooked to a deep golden brown and used for rich, dark soups and sauces. CAJUN and CREOLE dishes use a lard-based roux, which is cooked (sometimes for almost an hour) until a beautiful mahogany brown. This dark nutty-flavored base is indispensable for specialties like GUMBO.

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

Definition from:
Epicurious

Sauté

[saw-TAY, soh-TAY]
To cook food quickly in a small amount of oil in a skillet or sauté pan over direct heat. See also FRY.

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

Definition from:
Epicurious

Mise En Place

French for getting all the ingredients ready before you start cooking. Get organized, read the recipe through entirely. Prepare herbs/spices, dry ingredients measuring them out. Prepare fruits and vegetables by cleaning, pealing, chopping, etc. Preheat oven/skillets and grease pans. This practice saves so much time and energy down the line.

Gill

A gill is a unit of measurement where 1 gill = 1/8 qt, 1/4 pt, 1/2 C, 4 oz, 8 T, 24 tsp

Sifted

Sift with a strainer or sifter before measuring to ensure ingredient is not compacted and there is no other foreign substance in it.

Definition from:
Pasta Recipes Online

Rounded

Do not flatten out the ingredient to the top of the measuring cup. Instead allow it to pile up above the rim naturally, into a soft, rounded shape.

Definition from:
Pasta Recipes Online

Lightly Packed

Press the ingredient into the measuring cup lightly. Make sure there are no air pockets, but do not compress it too much either.

Definition from:
Pasta Recipes Online

Heaping

Pile as much of the ingredient on top of the measure as it can hold.

Definition from:
Pasta Recipes Online

Level

Measure the amount precisely, discarding the entire ingredient that rises above the rim of the measuring cup. The back of a straight knife works well for this.

Also known as "Even"

Definition from:
Pasta Recipes Online

Firmly Packed

With a spatula, a spoon or your hand, tightly press the ingredient into the measuring cup. You should measure as much of the ingredient as you can fit into the measure.

Definition from:
Pasta Recipes Online

Pinch

A measuring term referring to the amount of a dry ingredient (such as salt or pepper) that can be held between the tips of the thumb and forefinger. It's equivalent to approximately 1/16 teaspoon. See also DASH.

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

Definition from:
Epicurious

Dash

A measuring term referring to a very small amount of seasoning added to food with a quick, downward stroke of the hand, such as "a dash of Tabasco." In general, a dash can be considered to be somewhere between 1/16 and a scant 1/8 teaspoon. See also PINCH.

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

Definition from:
Epicurious

Gratin

A way of binding together, or combining, cooked or raw foods (usually vegetables or pasta—baked macaroni and cheese is a gratin) with a liquid such as cream, milk, béchamel sauce, or tomato sauce, in a shallow dish and baking until cooked and set. Typically the gratin is sprinkled with cheese or bread crumbs so a crunchy, savory crust forms on top. A gratin is really the same thing as a casserole, except a gratin is usually baked in a special oval, shallow dish.

Definition from:
Cooking Terms

Glaze

n. A thin, glossy coating for both hot and cold foods. A savory glaze might be a reduced meat stock or ASPIC, whereas a sweet glaze could be anything from melted jelly to a chocolate coating. An EGG WASH brushed on pastry before baking to add color and shine is also called a glaze. glaze v. To coat food with a thin, liquid, sweet or savory mixture that will be smooth and shiny after setting.

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

Definition from:
Epicurious

Garnish

n. A decorative, edible accompaniment to finished dishes, from appetizers to desserts. Garnishes can be placed under, around or on food, depending on the dish. They vary from simple sprigs of parsley or exotically carved vegetables on plated food, to CROUTONS in soup, to chocolate leaves on top of chocolate mousse. Garnishes should not only be appealing to the eye, but should also echo or complement the flavor of the dish. garnish v. To decorate or accompany a dish with a garnish.

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

Definition from:
Epicurious

Ganache

[gahn-AHSH]
A rich chocolate icing made of semisweet chocolate and whipping cream that are heated and stirred together until the chocolate has melted. The mixture is cooled until lukewarm and poured over a cake or torte. Ganache soufflé is made from the same base but often includes a tablespoon or so of rum or cognac. When cooled to room temperature, the mixture is whipped to approximately twice its original volume. Whereas ganache is used to glaze cakes, pastries and tortes, ganache soufflé is generally used to fill them.

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

Definition from:
Epicurious

Fritter

A small, sweet or savory, deep-fried cake made either by combining chopped food with a thick batter or by dipping pieces of food into a similar batter. Some of the more popular foods used for fritters are apples, corn and crab.

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

Definition from:
Epicurious

Fricassee

[FRIHK-uh-see]
n. A dish of meat (usually chicken) that has been sautéed in butter before being stewed with vegetables. The end result is a thick, chunky stew, often flavored with wine. fricassee v. This word is also used as a verb, as in to "fricassee a chicken."

© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.


Definition from:
Epicurious

Fold

To incorporate an egg-white foam into an egg yolk foam or a flour batter without deflating it so that it retains its full leavening power.

Definition from:
Cooking Terms

Flambé

To ignite a sauce or other liquid so that it flames. Most of the time flambéing has no real function other than to delight your guests. If you are going to flambé a dish keep in mind that it is impossible to flambé a cold dish by sprinkling it with spirits and trying to light it—the spirits only release their flammable fumes when hot. Do not pour flaming spirits.

Definition from:
Cooking Terms

Emulsion

An emulsion is a smooth mixture of two liquids, such as oil and water that normally do not mix. Mayonnaise, beurre blank, hollandaise, cream sauces, vinaigrettes, and béchamel sauce are examples of emulsions.

Definition from:
Cooking Terms

Egg wash

A mixture of egg or egg white, oil, and water brushed over floured items, which are then deep-fried or pan-fried in clarified butter or oil.

Definition from:
Cooking Terms

Dredge

To coat a food with flour, any finely crumbled ingredient, or, in pastry, with fine sugar.

Definition from:
Cooking Terms

Fond

Refers to the tasty bits that stick to the bottom of the pan when brownining meat, providing the flavor foundation for sauce.

Browning meat is a crucial step in many braises, and it's a two-for one deal: In addition to a delicious, crusty exterior, you get all those tasty bits that stick to the bottom of the pan and provide the flavor foundation for your sauce. In modern chefspeak, that stuff is given the more decorous name fond. French for "core" or "base," its pronunciation is sometimes anglicized. (FOHN)

Definition from:
Bon Appetit

Deglaze

A cooking technique in which liquid (often wine or stock) is added to a hot pan, usually after it has been used to cook meat. The cook then scrapes up the browned bits of vegetables, meat, and juices in the bottom of the pan to create the base of a deeply flavored sauce. (This technique also makes clean-up a little easier.)

(See also, Fond)

Definition from:
Bon Appetit

Braise

Cooking food slowly in a small amount of simmering liquid—makes tough cuts of meat (such as brisket, shanks, or pot roasts) quite tender.

Definition from:
Bon Appetit

Blanch

A method of cooking in which foods are plunged into boiling water for a few seconds, removed from the water and refreshed under cold water, which stops the cooking process. Used to heighten color and flavor, to firm flesh and to loosen skins.

Definition from:
Cooking Terms

Baste

To moisten food during cooking with pan drippings, sauce, or other liquid. Basting prevents foods from drying out.

Definition from:
Cooking Terms

Bake

To cook in the oven. The terms baking and roasting are often used interchangeably, but roasting usually implies cooking at a higher temperature—at least at the beginning—to get the surface of the foods to brown.

Definition from:
Cooking Terms

Al dente

An Italian expression applied in all western kitchens to pasta cooked just until enough resistance is left in it to be felt “by the tooth.” Fresh pasta can never by cooked al dente as it is too soft. The expression is also applied to vegetables that have been cooked crisp by steaming, boiling, or stir-frying.

Definition from:
Cooking Terms

Chiffonade

The fine ribbons obtained when several leafy vegetables or herbs are tightly rolled into a cigar shape and cut across into 1/16 –to 1/8-inch wide shreds.

Definition from:
Cooking Terms

Cream

To stir a fat—usually butter—and sugar together rapidly until the mixture looks white, aerated, and somewhat like stiffly beaten whipped cream. Or, that part of milk, containing 32 to 42 percent of butterfat in emulsion, that rises to its surface after the milk cools to room temperature and stands for several hours.

Definition from:
Cooking Terms