Glossary
Cooking terms, explained.
A
- Achaar
- South Asian pickle preserved with salt, oil, spices and often acid. Technique
- Across the grain
- Slicing meat perpendicular to its muscle fibres so pieces are more tender to eat. Technique
- Agar
- A seaweed-derived gelling agent that must be boiled to dissolve, sets firm at room temperature and stays set when warm. Technique
- Air
- A very light foam, usually made by blending a liquid with lecithin at the surface. Technique
- Atta
- Finely ground whole-wheat flour used for roti and paratha. Technique
B
- Baker's percentage
- Expressing each ingredient's weight as a percentage of the flour weight. Technique
- Bark
- The dark, flavourful crust that forms on smoked meat. Technique
- Basting
- Spooning fat or juices over food as it cooks to flavour it and help browning. Technique
- Batch cooking
- Cooking larger quantities ahead and storing portions safely for later use. Technique
- Batonnet
- Stick-shaped pieces about 6 mm square and 5–6 cm long. Technique
- Béchamel
- A white sauce of milk thickened with a white roux. Technique
- Beurre manié
- Equal amounts of soft butter and flour kneaded together and whisked into a sauce to thicken it at the end. Technique
- Bhuna
- A dish (or stage) where the masala and meat are fried down until little sauce remains, coating the meat. Technique
- Bhunao
- Frying a masala base slowly, stirring and scraping, until the moisture cooks off and the oil separates. Technique
- Birista
- Thinly sliced onions fried slowly until deep golden and crisp, used in biryani and gravies. Technique
- Bloom (gelatine)
- Soaking gelatine in cold water so it hydrates before dissolving. Technique
- Bouquet garni
- A bundle of herbs (often parsley stalks, thyme and bay) tied together to flavour a stock or stew and removed before serving. Technique
- Braise
- To brown food, then cook it slowly, covered, in a small amount of liquid. Technique
- Breading
- A coating of flour, beaten egg and crumbs applied in that order before frying. Technique
- Brine
- A solution of salt in water used to pickle, cure or season food. Technique
- Broken sauce
- An emulsion that has separated into fat and liquid. Technique
- Brunoise
- A very fine dice of about 3 mm, usually cut from julienne strips. Technique
C
- Caramelisation
- Browning of sugars when heated, producing sweet, nutty and bitter notes. Science
- Carryover cooking
- The rise in internal temperature after food leaves the heat, as heat moves from the hot outside to the centre. Science
- Case hardening
- A dry, hard outer layer that forms when food is dried too hot, trapping moisture inside. Technique
- Chiffonade
- Leafy herbs or greens rolled and cut into fine ribbons. Technique
- Clarified butter
- Butter with water and milk solids removed, leaving pure butterfat. Technique
- Claw grip
- Holding food with curled fingertips tucked under the knuckles to guide the knife safely. Technique
- Collagen
- Connective-tissue protein in meat that turns to gelatin with long, moist cooking. Science
- Confit
- Food cooked slowly while submerged in fat at a low temperature. Technique
- Consommé
- A stock clarified with a raft of egg white and minced meat until completely clear. Technique
- Court-bouillon
- A quick, flavoured poaching liquid of water, wine or vinegar, vegetables and herbs, mainly for fish. Technique
- Curing salt
- Salt mixed with a measured amount of sodium nitrite (and sometimes nitrate) for curing meat; toxic in excess. Technique
D
- Danger zone
- The 5–60 °C range in which bacteria multiply fastest; keep food out of it as much as possible. Science
- Degchi
- A heavy, straight-sided pot (deg for the large version) used for biryani and large batches. Technique
- Deglaze
- To add liquid to a hot pan and scrape up the browned residue into a sauce. Technique
- Dhungar
- Smoking a dish by setting a live coal in a small bowl on top of the food, pouring ghee over it and covering the pot. Technique
- Double-frying
- Frying food once at a lower temperature to cook it through, then again hotter to crisp it. Technique
- Dredge
- To coat food lightly in flour or another dry coating before frying. Technique
- Dry brine
- Salting meat and leaving it uncovered in the fridge, so the salt seasons it deeply and the surface dries. Technique
- Dry-roasting
- Heating whole spices in a dry pan until fragrant and a shade darker. Technique
- Dum
- Slow cooking in a sealed pot over very low heat so food cooks in its own steam. Technique
- Dum pukht
- The Awadhi style of slow, sealed-pot cooking, associated with Lucknow. Technique
E
F
- FIFO
- First in, first out: using older stored food before newer stock. Technique
- Flambé
- To ignite warm alcohol in a pan; some, not all, of the alcohol burns off. Technique
- Fluid gel
- A set gel blended until smooth so it flows like a sauce but holds its shape on a plate. Technique
- Fond
- The browned residue left on the pan after searing or roasting. Technique
G
- Gaddi
- A padded cushion used to stretch naan and slap it onto the wall of a tandoor. Technique
- Garam masala
- A North Indian blend of warming whole spices, roasted and ground; usually added late in cooking. Technique
- Gelatine
- A gelling agent made from animal collagen that sets in the fridge and melts near body temperature. Technique
- Ghee
- Butter simmered until the water evaporates and the milk solids brown lightly, then strained. Technique
- Glace
- Stock reduced until thick, syrupy and highly concentrated. Technique
- Gluten
- The elastic protein network formed when wheat flour is mixed with water and worked. Science
- Gratinate
- To brown a topping of cheese, crumbs or sauce under strong top heat. Technique
H
I
- Immersion circulator
- A device that heats and circulates water to hold a precise temperature for sous vide. Technique
J
- Julienne
- Thin matchstick strips, about 3 mm square and 5 cm long. Technique
K
- Kacchi biryani
- Biryani in which raw marinated meat is layered with par-cooked rice and both cook together on dum. Technique
- Kadhai
- A deep, round-bottomed Indian wok used for frying, bhunao and stir-frying. Technique
- Kahm yeast
- A harmless white film yeast that can form on brine ferments; it is skimmed off, unlike fuzzy mould. Technique
- Kasuri methi
- Dried fenugreek leaves, crushed and added near the end of cooking. Technique
- Khameer
- Leaven or fermentation, as in fermented batters and doughs. Technique
L
M
- Maillard reaction
- Browning reactions between amino acids and sugars that create savoury, roasted flavours above roughly 140 °C. Science
- Marinade
- A seasoned mixture, often with salt, acid and spices, that flavours food before cooking. Technique
- Masala
- A mixture of spices, either a dry ground blend or a wet cooked base of onion, tomato, ginger, garlic and spices. Technique
- Mirepoix
- Diced onion, carrot and celery used as an aromatic base for stocks and sauces. Technique
- Mise en place
- Having every ingredient prepared and measured, and every tool ready, before cooking starts. Technique
- Mount (monter au beurre)
- To finish a sauce by whisking in cold butter off the heat for gloss and body. Technique
N
O
P
- Pakki biryani
- Biryani in which the meat is cooked first, then layered with par-boiled rice and finished on dum. Technique
- Par level
- The quantity of a prepared item a kitchen aims to have ready for a service. Technique
- Parboil
- To boil food until partly cooked, to finish later by another method. Technique
- Pasteurisation (cooking)
- Holding food at a temperature long enough to reduce harmful bacteria to safe levels; lower temperatures need longer times. Science
- Phoron
- Bengali word for tempering; panch phoron is the five-seed blend (fenugreek, nigella, cumin, black mustard, fennel) used for it. Technique
- Podi
- A south Indian dry powder of roasted lentils, spices and chillies, eaten with rice or idli. Technique
- Proof (prove)
- To let a yeast dough rise before baking. Technique
Q
- Quenelle
- A smooth, three-sided oval shaped between two spoons or with one warm spoon. Technique
R
- Raft
- The layer of coagulated egg white, meat and vegetables that traps particles while clarifying consommé. Technique
- Reduce
- To simmer or boil a liquid uncovered so water evaporates and flavour concentrates. Technique
- Resting
- Leaving cooked meat to stand before slicing so the temperature evens out and juices are lost less when cut. Technique
- Reverse spherification
- Dropping a calcium-containing liquid into an alginate bath, giving spheres that stop gelling once rinsed. Technique
- Ring mould
- A bottomless metal ring used to shape food neatly on the plate. Technique
- Rolling boil
- A vigorous boil that does not stop when stirred. Technique
- Roux
- Equal weights of fat and flour cooked together, used to thicken sauces. Technique
S
- Salamander
- A professional overhead broiler used to brown and glaze food quickly. Technique
- Sauté
- To cook small pieces quickly in a little fat over fairly high heat. Technique
- Sear
- To brown the surface of food quickly over very high heat. Technique
- Shock
- To plunge just-cooked food into iced water to stop the cooking. Technique
- Sigri
- A small charcoal brazier used for grilling kebabs, corn and rotis. Technique
- Sil-batta
- A flat grinding stone and a stone roller, used to grind wet masala pastes and chutneys by hand. Technique
- Simmer
- Liquid held just below the boil, with small bubbles rising gently. Technique
- Skim
- To remove scum, foam or fat from the surface of a liquid. Technique
- Slurry
- Starch (cornflour, arrowroot) mixed with cold liquid and stirred into a hot sauce to thicken it. Science
- Smoke point
- The temperature at which a fat starts to smoke continuously and break down. Science
- Sodium alginate
- A seaweed-derived thickener that gels instantly in contact with calcium; used for spherification. Technique
- Sous vide
- Cooking sealed food in a water bath held at a precise temperature. Technique
- Stall
- A plateau in internal temperature during long smoking, caused by evaporative cooling. Technique
- Starch gelatinisation
- Starch granules absorbing water and swelling when heated, which thickens liquids. Science
- Starter
- A portion of an active ferment (yogurt, sourdough) used to begin a new batch. Technique
- Sweat
- To cook vegetables gently in a little fat, often covered, until soft without browning. Technique
T
- Tadka
- Whole spices and aromatics fried briefly in hot ghee or oil and added to a dish, at the start or as a finish. Also called tarka, chhaunk, baghaar, vaghar or thalimpu. Technique
- Tandoor
- A cylindrical clay oven fired from below with charcoal or wood, used for kebabs and breads. Technique
- Tawa
- A flat or slightly concave iron griddle used for rotis, parathas and dosas, and as a diffuser under a dum pot. Technique
- The pass
- The counter where finished plates are checked and handed to service. Technique
- Two-zone fire
- A grill set up with a hot side for searing and a cooler side for gentle cooking. Technique
V
- Velveting
- Coating sliced meat in a light mixture (often egg white and cornflour) and briefly pre-cooking it in oil or water to keep it tender in a stir-fry. Technique
W
- Water activity
- A measure of how much water in food is available to microbes; drying, salting and sugar lower it. Science
- Wet grinder
- An electric stone grinder used for idli and dosa batter and coconut pastes, grinding slowly with little heat. Technique
- Whistle
- The pressure-release signal of an Indian pressure cooker, often used to time cooking. Technique
- Windowpane test
- Stretching a small piece of bread dough until thin enough to see light through it, to check gluten development. Technique
- Wok hei
- The smoky, seared aroma of food stir-fried in a very hot wok. Technique
Y
- Yakhni
- A spiced meat stock used for pulao and as a gravy base. Technique