Understanding Terminological Cooking

Au gratin Gratinate. Sprinkle with grated cheese or breadcrumbs and brown in a hot oven or
under a salamander.
Beat Stir rapidly and repeatedly with a wooden spoon.
Blanch Place food into rapidly boiling water for a short time to partially cook it. Then,
refresh in ice water to stop the cooking process.
Blend Place ingredients into a food processor, vitamiser or blender to purée and
thoroughly mix together.
Cream Beat sugar and fat together to incorporate air, dissolve the sugar, and whiten the
mixture.
Dice Chop food into even dimensions.
Flambé Ignite the cooking liquid to burn off alcohol content and intensify flavours.
Fold Gently combine delicate ingredients together without letting incorporated air
escape. This is usually done with a gentle flicking action using a wooden spoon or a
whisk.
Gratinate Place under a salamander or in an oven to brown the surface.
Knead Stretch and press dough to mix ingredients, incorporate air, improve texture, and/or
develop gluten.
Macerate Soak fruit in liqueur to soften or flavour it.
Mask Coat food with a sauce or other suitable liquid substance.
Nap (nappe in French) Coat evenly with a sauce.
Prove Allow yeast dough to rest or ferment in a warm place so it can divide and grow.
Purée Pass food through a sieve or blender to make a smooth liquid or semi-liquid.
Reduce Allow a liquid to simmer away and evaporate to half its volume to intensify flavours
and consistency.
Season Add flavour such as pepper or salt as necessary.
Set Leave a mixture to stand at room temperature or under refrigeration so it gets firm.
Sieve/sift Pass through fine mesh to remove lumps, break down, or retain coarser matter.
Sifting also aerates flour making it lighter when added to other ingredients.
Soak Place food (usually legumes such as lentils, beans, peas, chickpeas, etc.) into water
to rehydrate and soften the outer lay.
Sweat Shallow fry slowly to cook without colour. This usually applies to onion.
Whip Beat with a whisk to stretch protein strands to the point where they’ve trapped
sufficient air so that the mixture holds it shape.
Whisk Beat into a froth or evenly disperse two or more liquids together using a wire utensil.
Descaling Removing mineral deposits that build up on surfaces over a period of time.
Foodborne Illnesses caused by the consumption of contaminated food. Also known as
illnesses foodborne disease or food poisoning.
Grey water Waste water generated from activities such as dishwashing, laundry and showering
that can be recycled and treated on site for uses such as watering gardens and
flushing toilets.
Impervious Solid smooth surface containing no access for bacteria to live or liquids to penetrate.
Al dente This term literally translates as ‘to the tooth’. The cooked pasta is firm, a little chewy
and has a slight resistance to the bite.
Biodegradable Capable of being decomposed (broken down) by bacteria and safely reabsorbed into
 the earth.
Blond roux Blond (fawn) roux is cooked the same as white roux. However, the cooking time is
longer, allowing the roux to take on a very pale fawn colour. Use it to thicken white
stock to make a basic sauce called veloute.
Brown roux You can use dripping or lard instead of butter to make brown roux. Cook it longer
than blond roux, until it’s light brown. A fresh nutty smell is the tell-tale sign that
you’ve cooked it correctly. Use it to thicken brown stock to make Espagnole or other
basic brown sauces.
Dorsal fin The dorsal fin is located along the spine or backbone of a fish. A fish can have up to
three dorsal fin.
Duxelle Mushroom hash made from finely chopped mushrooms, sauteed with chopped
onions and parsley to make a stuffing or paste.
Fin fish This classification includes all fish that have fins and an internal skeleton: trout,
perch, bream, herring, flounder, snapper, tuna, whiting, etc.
Kedgeree A traditional British breakfast from colonial India made from rice, eggs, spices and
smoky-flavoured fish.
Pastry Pastry is the kinds of dough made form ingredients such as flour, butter, shortening,
baking powder or eggs that is rolled out thinly and used as the base for bake goods.
Common pastry dishes include pies, tarts, and quiches.
Viscosity Flowing consistency.
White roux White (blanc) roux is cooked to a breadcrumb like consistency, without allowing it to
take on any colour. Use it to thicken seasoned milk to make bechamel (commonly
know as white sauce).
Shellfish Aquatic creatures that don’t have an internal bone structure but do have an external
shell covering. They include molluscs and crustaceans. Examples includes squid,
octopus, mussels, oysters, clams, crabs, lobsters and prawns.
Biohazard Something infectious, such as a virus or germ, that could make people sick.
Fumes Smells or gas from chemicals, which can harm you if you sniff them.
Induction Training when you first start work so you know what to do.
Premises A place of business such as a restaurant or hotel.
Repel /rɪˈpel/ Drive pest away.
Acrid is defined as a sharp, bitter taste or smell that is unpleasant.
Pearl barley
Aioli Garlic flavoured mayonnaise.
Béarnaise Warm emulsion sauce made from egg-yolks, clarified butter, white wine vinegar and
tarragon.
Béchamel A white sauce consisting of milk thickened with a butter and flour roux.
Beurre blanc Semi-emulsified white butter sauce made from a flavoured liquid reduction, cream
and whole butter.
Beurre fondu Plain butter sauce.
Beurre noir Butter sauce made from blackening salted butter in a pan.
Beurre Butter sauce made from cooking salted butter in a pan until it turns a nut brown in
noisette colour.
Blanquette A white stew made from lamb, veal or chicken with a rich velvety sauce.
Broiled To cook with radiant heat (such as directly over a fire)
Cartouche Literally means cartridge. A circle of greaseproof paper used as a lid or barrier.
Casserole A kind of stew cooked slowly in an oven.
Cocktail Mayonnaise derivative sauce consisting of tomato sauce, worcestershine sauce,
cream, lemon juice and brandy.
Cured meat A method of preserving meat by soaking in a heavily salted liquid called brine, to kill
bacteria and improve the keeping quality of the meat.
Deglazing To dilute pan juices with stock, wine or cream.
Dégraisser To skim or remove the fat from a stock or sauce.
Despumate To remove the scum and froth from a stock or sauce.
Depouillage To skim the scum.
En papillote Pronounced ‘ahn-pa-pee-yort’. Cooked in a sealed greaseproof paper or foil
envelope /ˈen.və.ləʊp/.
Farinaceous From the Latin ‘farina’ meaning flour. This term is used collectively to describe all
products with a high starch content including pasta, rice, potatoes, polenta,
semolina, couscous, etc.
Flash point The temperature at which fats or oils catch on fire or explode. The temperature for
this varies, depending on the type of cooking medium in use.
Freezer burn Discolouration and drying on the surface of protein foods when they have not been
correctly covered during freezing.
Fricassee A white stew made from tripe, chicken or veal where the meat is cooked in the
thickened sauce. The meat is usually fried before stewing.
Hazardous Hazardous materials are any substances that are listed on the national Occupational
material Health and Safety Commission’s list of Designated Hazardous Substances, or have
been classified as a hazardous substance by the manufacturer. In hospitality, this
may include dangerous cleaning chemicals such as alkalis and caustic soda, pesticide
and rodent baits.
Hollandaise Warm emulsion sauce made from egg-yolks, clarified butter, vinegar and lemon
juice.
Mornay A béchamel-based sauce with cheese added.
Narvarin A brown stew made from diced lamb and vegetables.
Rémoulade Highly seasoned sauce made from mayonnaise, gherkin, onion, tarragon, capers,
anchovies and chervil.
Sauce bercy A seafood sauce based on fish velouté with the addition of shallots, dry white wine,
butter, chopped parsley and lemon juice.
Tartare Mayonnaise derivative sauce consisting og chopped capers, gherkins and fines herbs.
Vin blanc White wine sauce based on a reduction of white wine, velouté and cream.
Temperature The temperature range between 5 and 60 0C, within which bacteria grows best.
danger zone
Meuniére Meuniére is a term used to describe shallow-fried fish served with nut-brown butter,
chopped parsley and lemon juice.
Poêler Poêler is a French method of cooking between steaming and braising.
Bacillus (Pronounced bah-sil-uhs seer-ee-uhs). Soil-dwelling bacteria which causes harm and
cereus poisoning in humans. Bacillus cereus occur when food is improperly cooked and held
at temperatures which allow bacteria to multiply.
Clostridium (Pronounced klos-trid-ee-um per-fringe-enz). A type of bacteria found in soil and
perfringens decaying vegetation.
Coagulate As the protein present in some foods is heated or mixed with acids, the tiny protein
strands become firm and shrink. This is called coagulation.
Curdle Curdling occurs when egg protein hardens, shrinks, and separates from the liquid,
 forming into small lumps.
Expiration The use-by or best-before date of a product which is either placed on the packaging
date by the manufacturer or on an internal label by staff.
Onion clouté A peeled whole or haft onion, studded with cloves that hold a bay leaf across the
onion. Used to flavour milk sauces.
Remouillage Re-wetting the bones or the second cooking of the bones.
Sluree or Starch and liquid. Can use corn, arrowroot, or potato starch; any liquid can be used.
Slurry Mix starch and liquid together then add directly into hot liquid must return to boil or
simmer.
Pincer Caramelize tomato products to add colour to a stock or sauce.
Flavour Piquant, hearty, peppery, tart, tangy, pungent,
Tangy A tangy flavour is pleasantly strong and sharp. (Một hương vị thơm rất mạnh mẽ và
sắc nét)
Tart Tasting sour or acidic (especially of fruit)
Arancini Italian rice balls filled with sticky short grain rice, cheese and herbs. They are
crumbed, deep fried and served hot.
Blinis A small light pancake made from buckwheat flour.
Bouchée A mini hollow shell made from puff pastry and blind baked. Filled with a savoury
mixture in a sauce and served as an individual portion.
Bruschetta Thick slices of grilled bread, drizzled with garlic and olive oil and served warm. Often
topped with chopped tomato and fresh basil and/or other ingredients such as
Spanish onion, chargrilled vegetables and olives.
Carpaccio Very thinly sliced raw meat or fish, especially beef or tuna, garnished with a sauce.
Choux pastry A light pastry dough containing only butter, water, flour and eggs.
Crostini A round dried bread base used in the preparation of canapés.
Drumettes Small, fleshy part of a chicken wing. Called a drumette as it looks like a small
drumstick.
Fine herbes Even mixture of finely chopped parsley, chervil, chives, and tarragon.
Guacamole A thick paste of mashed avocado, often combined with citrus juice, onion, chilli,
tomato, and seasoning and usually served as a dip or in salads.
Hummus A thick paste or dip made from chickpeas.
Mezze A selection of small dishes served in the Mediterranean and Middle East as an
appetiser.
Norimaki Commonly called Californian or nori rolls in Australia. Cooked sushi rice and various
other ingredients such as seafood, beef, chicken, egg and vegetables, rolled in a
dried seaweed (nori) wrapping.
Sashimi Sliced raw meat, usually fish. Only very fresh, top quality meats are used. It may be
dipped into soy sauce or wasabi paste and served with pickled ginger.
Slaw salads Cabbage-based salads. The most well known example is coleslaw.
Sushi Cold vinegar seasoned rice shaped into bite-sized pieces and topped with raw or
cooked fish, seafood or vegetables.
Tapas Originating from Spanish cuisine, they are a variety of snacks, canapés or finger food,
usually served with drinks as a pre-dinner appetiser.
Terrine A meat, fish, or vegetable mixture that has been cooked or otherwise prepared in
advance and allowed to cool or set in its container, typically served in slices. Named
after the eathenware container it is cooked in.
Vol au vent A baked hollow shell made from puff pastry, filled with a savoury mixture in a sauce.
 They can be large or small. The small ones are used for appetisers.
Umami A Japanese word which means ‘pleasant savoury taste’. The taste of umami itself is
subtle. It blends well with other tastes to expand and round out flavours, making
them ‘yummier’. It plays an important role in making food taste delicious and is
often noticed more when absent in a dish. Foods high in umami include fish, shell
fish, cured meats, vegetables such as mushroom, ripe tomatoes and spinach, and
fermented or aged products such as soy sauce and cheese.