Culinary Study Guide: Vegetables & Stocks, Roux & Sauces, Cooking Fundamentals, Soups, Plating, Meat & Fish, and Pasta

Vocabulary flashcards covering essential terms from sauces, stocks, cooking fundamentals, knife cuts, soups, plating, meat and fish, and pasta.

Mirepoix (Espagnole vegetables)

A base of onion, carrot, and celery used to flavor sauces; typical ratio 2:1:1 (50% onion, 25% carrot, 25% celery).

Tomato concassé

Blanched tomato that is peeled, seeded, and diced.

Chicken stock cooking time

3–4 hours.

Beef stock cooking time

8–10 hours minimum.

Roux

A thickening base made of equal parts flour and fat.

White roux

Roux cooked briefly until pale; used for Béchamel.

Blonde roux

Roux cooked longer to a light tan color; used for Velouté.

Brown roux

Roux cooked to a dark brown color; adds nutty flavor for Espagnole.

Béchamel

White sauce thickened with white roux and milk; one of the mother sauces.

Velouté

Light stock-based sauce thickened with blond roux; one of the mother sauces.

Espagnole

Brown sauce thickened with brown roux and beef stock; a mother sauce.

Nappé

Consistency where sauce coats the back of a spoon.

Liaison

Thickening with egg yolk and cream; not beurre manié.

Beurre manié

Equal parts flour and butter kneaded together and added raw to finish sauces.

Mother sauces (BETHV)

Béchamel, Espagnole, Tomato, Hollandaise, Velouté.

Béchamel (mother sauce)

White sauce derived from white roux and milk.

Espagnole (mother sauce)

Brown sauce derived from brown roux and stock.

Tomato (mother sauce)

Tomato-based mother sauce.

Hollandaise (mother sauce)

Egg yolk and butter emulsion sauce; a mother sauce.

Velouté (mother sauce)

Sauce made with light stock and blond roux; a mother sauce.

Chicken internal temperature

165°F when checked with an instant-read thermometer.

Maillard reaction

Browning of proteins and carbohydrates around 310°F, enhancing flavor and color.

Sous vide

Cooking sealed in vacuum in water at a constant temperature.

Five basic flavor types

Salty, Sweet, Sour, Bitter, Umami.

Chiffonade

Rolling leafy herbs or greens and slicing into thin ribbons.

Small dice

Diced size 1/4 inch on each side.

Fine julienne

Thin strips about 1/16 inch wide and thick, at least 2 inches long.

Al dente

pasta cooked to be firm to the bite.

Types of soups

Clear, Thick (cream/purée), and Specialty soups.

Vinaigrette ratio

Oil to vinegar ratio of 3:1.

Plating symmetry

Symmetrical plating yields a mirror-image arrangement.

Plating asymmetry

Asymmetrical plating uses an uneven, non-mirror image layout.

Flat fish fillets

Typically 4 fillets per serving.

Round fish fillets

Typically 2 fillets per serving.

Fond

Browned bits left in the pan after searing; flavor foundation for sauces.

Pasta cooking steps

Salt the water, bring to a boil, add pasta.