Kitchen terms (part 1 of 5)

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A La King: Food heated in a rich white sauce, cream sauce or sherry-flavored sauce.

A La Mode: Literally, in the fashion, or manner of; this phrase is loosely used in American cookery; can mean food which has been soaked, and sometines cooked in a marinade; also pie served with a heaping mound of ice cream on it; or any dessert having ice cream on top.

Appetizer: Food or beverage served before the first course of luncheon or dinner.

Aspic: Almost any type of dish, except dessert, which has been thickened with gelatin, or covered with it. Formerly meant meat, chicken or fish stock, sometimes including bits of meat and vegetables, boiled down so that when cold it thickened with its own gelatin.

Au Gratin: Food in a sauce, the top covered with bread crumbs and butter; or cheese; or both crumbs and cheese, baked or broiled until browned crust is formed on top. Barbecue: To roast meat, poultry or fish over coals or on a spit, basting frequently with a highly seasoned sauce; to prepare such food in a sauce on the range or in the oven.

Baste: To pour liquid by spoonfulls over a food while it is cooking to keep it from drying out and to add flavor; either liquid from the pan in which the food is cooking or other liquid is used.

Batter: A semi-liquid mixture of flour, liquid and other ingredients, to which heat is to be applied. Beat: With a spoon, fork, whisk or wheel (rotary) beater to introduce air throughout any food mixture. Stirring in rapid regular, round-and-round or over, under and over strokes with a spoon or beater.

Bisque: A rich cream soup: formerly only shellfish cream soups were called besques. Also frozen whipped cream or cream desserts.

Blanch: To immerse food in boiling water for a brief period of time then drain and rinse it in cold water immediately.

Boil: To cook in a liquid heated until it is bubbling. A full rolling boil is one which cannot be smoothed down by stirring with a spoon.

Botulism: Poisoning by a bacillus which may infect preserved food especially canned meat and vegetables. This toxin is destroyed by heating 212 degrees F., for 5 minutes. After cooling, the high temperature is repeated once or twice.

Bouillon: A clear brown stock made either by boiling meat with water and seasonings, or from commercially prepared bouillon cubes. When served as soup it is called bouillon; combination stock (meat and poultry) is consume'; fish stock is called court bouillon. But there is no uniformity of practice in the use of these names.

Braise: To cook in low moist heat with fat and water or fat and other liquid; usually used for meats. The method is to brown the food quickly in the fat, add the liquid and seasonings if used, cover the pan tightly and keep the heat low until the food is cooked.

Bread: To cover or coat food with bread crumbs; food which is breaded is usually dipped in liquid first to make the crumbs stick.

Bread Crumbs: Fine or dry bread crumbs are made from dry bread or toast rolled or ground to a course powder. Soft bread crumbs are made by removing the crust from the bread, then cutting or breaking the central section into small bits.

Broil: To cook food by direct exposure to radiant heat, rather than live coals, flame or electric heating unit. The term is also used for pan-ccoked food when no fat is added to the pan.

Broth: Thin soup; or liquid in which meat, poultry, fish or vegetables have been cooked.

Brown: To give the outer surface of a food brown color by sauteing, frying, toasting, broiling or baking.

Submitted By MICHAEL ORCHEKOWSKI On 08-02-95

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