| Term | Definition
|
|---|
| margarine | a butter substitute that is a blend of hydrogenated vegetable oils and other ingredients, as emulsifiers and vitamins.
Also known as oleo in some areas.
|
| orange water | Orange water or orange flower water is a fragrant distillation of orange blossoms and used in flavoring baked goods and other sweet and savory dishes and in drinks such as a Ramos Gin Fizz. Look for it in the liquor section with things like grenadine and margarita salt.
|
| parboil | To partially cook food by boiling briefly in water.
This may be done to longer cooking ingredients to make sure all ingredients are done at the same time such as in stir-fries.
|
| passata | Italian for mash or puree.
|
| Periperi | A spicy marinade from Mozambique for a variety of meats.
Use word search for recipe. Other versions are used in Portugal, Brazil and other cuisines.
|
| Pick Over | To look through the berries or other fruits or
vegetables to remove any spoiled ones, leaves or
other things you might not want in the dish you
are cooking.
|
| Porcini mushrooms | Pale brown mushrooms which can range up to 10
inches in diameter. May be available fresh in
the U.S. in some markets, but can also be found
dry. Soak dry mushrooms in hot water for about
20 minutes before using in recipes.
|
| Red Cabbage | A misnomer because red cabbage is usually more of a purple color. A round solid head of cabbage similar to white or Dutch cabbage. In Britain, red cabbage is pickled. In the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden it is stewed with apples and spices.
Cooked red cabbage is a common side dish in German cuisine. Red cabbage is often cooked with vinegar to preserve its color. when used raw it is a colorful addition to green salads and cole slaws.
|
| rosewater | A perfumy flavored and fragrant distillation of rose petals often used in the cuisines of the Middle East, India and China.
|
| Scald | Plunging foods with skins, such as tomatoes, into
boiling water. This loosens and splits the skin,
so it can be removed easily.
|
| Scalding milk | Heat milk to just below the boiling point. This
can slow the souring of the milk.
|
| scant | Not quite up to full measure. For example: a scant teaspoon of an ingredient would be less than a teaspoonful as opposed to a level teaspoon, rounded teaspoon or heaping teaspoon.
|
| snow crab | A type of crab found in the North Pacific region, may be cooked by frying or broiling
but the easiest way is to steam them in a large pot with a little boiling water until they turn a nice orangey color. Live crabs
should be cooked the day they are purchased and refrigerated until cooking. Cook raw crabmeat within 24 hours of when the crab dies.
Crab can then be shelled and used in recipes or dipped in drawn butter as with lobster.
|
| soft crack stage | In candy making, the test for sugar syrup describing the point at which a drop of boiling syrup dropped in cold water separates into hard though pliable threads. On a candy thermometer, this is between 270 degrees and 290 degrees.
|
| stick of butter | one stick or cube of butter equals 1/2 cup.
|
| stock | A strained broth made by cooking any vegetable,
meat, seafood, or poultry in water. Used for
soups and sauces.
|
| sweat, to | to cook (usually vegetables) over low heat, causing their juices to be released and their sweetness enhanced while becoming translucent rather than colored
|
| Tabasco (Sauce) | Sauce made from the tabasco pepper, vinegar and salt and trademarked by the McIlhenny family since the mid-1800s. It's very hot and spicy.
|
| tapas | Appetizers popular throughout Spain.
|
| Tempe | Fermented soy beans, like tofu. Used in Indonesian cooking. Quite a distinct taste, as opposed to tofu.
Also spelled tempeh.
|
| Teppanyaki cooking | Japanese cooking on a grill.
|
| tofu | Also know as bean curd, white tofu is made from curdled soy milk. Popular in Asian cooking, tofu itself has a mild nutty flavor but will readily take on the flavor of the food in which it is cooked.
|
| tomatillo | Similar to a small green tomato and from the same nightshade family, tomatillos are distinctive in their thin paper like covering. Typically used green they have a lemon herb flavor and are found in Southwestern and Mexican dishes.
|
| tournedo | Beefsteak cut from the tenderloin. Because they are very lean it's common to wrap them in bacon or pork fat for cooking.
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| trifle | Sponge cake or ladyfingers soaked with liquor and covered with jam, whipped cream and nuts.
|
| tripe | Most often, the lining of beef stomach. Among other things, used in the Spanish soup Menudo.
|
| truffle | Fungus that is considered a delicacy. Prized fragrance is earthy and garlicky. Very expensive due to cultivation techniques. Pigs and dogs actually ferret out the fungi which grow several inches below the ground.
|
| tube pan | A tube pan is simply an old-fashioned angel food cake pan. A round high sided pan with a hollow center tube.
The tube helps with more even baking in the center of the cake. Another version of this type of pan is the bundt pan.
|
| turnover | Sweet or savory filled pastry squares or semi-circles. Sealed with filling inside, they are usally baked or deep fried, they can be bite sized or up to 6 inches across.
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| unleavened | Describes baked goods that do not contain leavening agents such as baking powder, baking soda or yeast.
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