Food Preparation Techniques

Baste

to moisten meat or other foods while cooking to add flavor and to prevent drying of the surface

Beat

to make a mixture smooth or to introduce air by using a brisk

Blanch

precook; to preheat in boiling water or steam to inactivate enzymes and shrink food for canning, freezing, and drying, and to aid in removal of skins from nuts, fruits, and some vegetables

Blend

to mix thoroughly two or more ingredients

Bread

to coat with bread crumbs with or without egg and evaporated milk

Break

to divide into pieces

Broil

To cook by direct heat

Candy

to cook in heavy syrup, drain, and dry

Caramelize

to heat sugar or foods containing sugar until a brown color and characteristic flavor develop

Chop

to cut into pieces with sharp tool as knife

Coagulation

to change from a liquid state to a thickened jelly, curd, or clot

Cream

to rub, mash, or work shortening against the side of a bowl with the back of a spoon until it is smooth and creamy

Cut-in

combine shortening and dry ingredients when making biscuits or pastry

Cube

cut into pieces of uniform size and shapes, first lengthwise then crosswise

Dehydration

a method of food preservation wherein most of the water from a food is removed

Dehydro-freezing

a process of food preservation which combines dehydration and freezing

Dice

to cut into cubes

Dot

to scatter small bits over the surface of foods

Dredge

to sprinkle or coat with flour or other fine substances

Emulsify

when small drops of one liquid are finely dispersed in another liquid

Evaporate

removal of water, commonly accelerated by heating

Filter

to separate solids from liquids by passage through fine-meshed material

Flake

to break or pull apart a food

Fold

to combine by using two motions, cutting vertically through the mixture and turning over by sliding the implement across the bottom of the mixing bowl with each turn

Fricassee

to cook by braising (usually applied to fowl, rabbit, or veal cut into pieces)

Frizzle

to cook in a small amount of fat until the edges curl

Garnish

to decorate with small portions of colorful food

Glace

to coat with thin sugar syrup cooked to the crack stage

Grate

to rub food against a grater to divide into small particles

Grind

to reduce to particles by cutting, crushing, or grinding

Homogenize

to break up into small particles of the same size

Knead

to manipulate with a pressing motion accompanied by folding and stretching

Larding

to insert stripe of fat, called lardoons, into or to place slices of fat on top of uncooked lean meat or fish to give flavor and prevent surface drying

Marinate

to let food stand in a mixture of seasonings and acid

Mask

to cover completely

Melt

to liquefy by heat

Mix

to combine ingredients in any way that affects a distribution

Parch

to cut off the outside covering

Pare

to cut off the outside covering

Pasteurize

to preserve food by heating sufficiently to destroy certain microorganisms and arrest fermentation

Peel

to strip off the outside covering

Plank

to cook or serve a food, usually on a hot wooden board or plank

Pot Roast

cooking larger cuts of meat by braising

Press

to separate liquid portions from solids by weight or mechanical pressure

Puree

to rub food through a sieve to make a smooth semi-liquid mixture for use in soups or sauces or as food for babies

Pulse

to press fruit or vegetables through a fine sieve

Reconstitute

to restore concentrated foods to their normal state, usually by adding water

Rehydrate

to soak, cook, or use other procedures with dehydrated foods to restore water lost during drying

Render

to free fat from connective tissues at low heat

Refining

freeing any material from impurities

Scallop

to bake food usually cut in pieces, with sauce or other liquid

Score

to make light cuts on a surface

Scrape

to remove skin by rubbing it with the sharp edge of the knife

Sear

to brown the surface of meat by short application of intense heat

Shred

to cut or tear food in long, narrow pieces

Skim

to remove a floating layer by passing a utensil or skimmer under it

Sliver

to cut or split into long, thin strips with a knife on a cutting board

Slice

cut across into flat pieces

Soften

cream butter, margarine, or shortening until it is smooth and creamy or to let it stand at room temperature until it is soft

Sprinkle

scatter sugar, flour, or salt over food

Steep

to allow a substance to stand in liquid below the boiling point for the purpose of extracting flavor, color, or other qualities

Sterilize

to destroy microorganisms, most often done at a high temperature with steam, dry heat, or by boiling in a liquid

Stir

to mix food materials with circular motion for the purpose of blending or securing a uniform consistency

Toast

to brown by means of dry heat

Toss

to tumble ingredients lightly with a lifting motion

Truss

to tie meat or fowl with string or fasten it with pins and skewers so it keeps its shape during cooking

Wedge

cut into shape of wedge, each piece is thick at one end and thin at another

Whip

to beat rapidly to produce expansion, due to incorporation of air as applied to cream, eggs, and gelatin dishes.