Cooking Terms Glossary
Chop or dice? Beat or mix? What’s the difference? Understanding what exactly the directions in a recipe are telling you to do with an ingredient is helpful. Following is a list of terms that you may come across in a recipe.
Blend – To mix ingredients together until they are very smooth. The ingredients can be blended by hand using a spoon, spatula, or whisk. The mixture can also be blended by using a hand mixer, blender, or food processor.
Blanch – To plunge food into boiling water briefly to set color and flavor of food, to whiten food, or to make the skin easier to peel. Food is usually immersed in ice cold water immediately after blanching to stop cooking process.
Boil – To cook in water or other liquid that is heated until bubbling vigorously.
A rolling boil or a full boil is a fast boil that doesn’t slow when the liquid is stirred.
Chop – To cut into irregular pieces. Food can be cut from fine to coarse.
Cream – To vigorously mix ingredients together until they become fluffy.
Cube – To cut food into cubes, usually about 1/2” in size. Cubes of food are typically larger than those that are diced.
Dice – To cut into uniformly-sized pieces. Diced food is typically smaller than those that are cubed.
Emulsify – To combine fats with lemon juice or water to produce a smooth, stable mixture.
Fold – To combine a light ingredient into a heavier mixture of ingredients. The light ingredient is gently combined with the heavier mixture by using a spoon or spatula to turn it over and into the heavier mixture. Bring the spatula across the bottom, over to the side, and back up. Fold over after coming up the side. Fold evenly by turning the bowl as you are working the mixture.
Grind – Using a food processor or grinder to crush food into small pieces or fine particles. Food can be ground to different degrees from very fine to coarse. In general:
Very finely ground = size of coarse flour
Finely ground = size of coarse salt, dill seed, or uncooked millet
Medium ground = size of rice grains or small unpopped popcorn
Coarsely ground = size of shelled sunflower seeds or large raisins
Julienne – To cut into matchstick-shape pieces
Marinate – To soak in a liquid or seasoning to flavor.
Mince – To cut food into very tiny pieces. Mincing results in smaller, finer pieces than dicing.
Mix – To combine two or more ingredients, using any method that blends them together evenly.
Pinch – A pinch is a measurement equal to approximately less than 1/16th of a teaspoon.
Preheat – To increase the temperature of oven or pan to the desired temperature before adding food.
Process – To blend, chop, or liquefy ingredients by the use of a food processor or blender.
Puree – To process a food using a blender, food processor, or a sieve until the food has a smooth and liquefied consistency.
Roast – To cook food uncovered, often single layer, in an oven. This method browns food on the outside and intensifies flavors.
Sauté – To cook in a small amount of oil, stirring often so that the food cooks evenly.
Scant – A scant measurement is slightly less than the actual measure.
Simmer – To cook gently at a temperature low enough to just barely produce tiny bubbles that break the surface.
Steam – To cook over, but not in, boiling water such that the food is cooked by the vapors.
Stir – Combining ingredients until well blended by making a circular motion through the mixture using a whisk, spatula, spoon, or fork.
Tender - If a recipes calls for a food to be cooked until tender, this means that it should be cooked until it can be pierced with a fork with little resistance.
Toss – To mix ingredients by using two utensils to gently lift and drop several times, often with a slight turning or flipping motion, until the ingredients are well mixed.
Translucent – If a recipes calls for onions to be cooked until translucent, this means that the onions are cooked until their color changes from pure white to a softer white that is somewhat transparent.