Glossary of Cooking Terms

A variety of waterfowl that may be wild and considered to be a game bird, or a type of duck domesticated and raised for food purposes.

A variety of egg that comes from a duck, which is typically raised for its meat and feathers.

A utensil used to remove juices from the meat and carcass of a whole duck after it has been cooked.

A sweet and sour sauce that is prepared from a combination of dried plums and apricots, vinegar, sugar, and spices to be served as a condiment with cooked duck or pork.

A combination of nuts (such as hazelnuts, almonds or chickpeas), seeds (such as sesame seeds, cumin seeds), or ground spices (such as coriander, cumin and pepper), and occasionally other desired ingredients blended together to produce a coarse ground mixture that is served with food or on food.

A descriptor of wine that is uninteresting and lacking in proper acidity.

A redish-purple sea vegetable native to the North Atlantic, Northwest Pacific and Eastern European oceans that grows in small thick clumps of fronds ranging in length from 1 inch to 6 inches.

Synonym of “closed-in” or “closed”. Descriptor for young wines (typically red) that do not freely disclose their character.

A small ball of dough that can be fried in a skillet or deep-fried, but is more often poached in a liquid such as a stew or broth.

A small, round chile pepper that is commonly used as a flavoring in Indian cooking.

A variety of crab from the Pacific coast of the United States. It usually measures about a half foot across and weighs up to three pounds.

A large round fruit, native to Southeast Asia, that grows on trees and is distinctive in appearance with its spiked outer shell.

A firm-textured white cheese traditionally found in Caribbean or Mexican countries.

One of the three main types of wheat and the hardest variety grown. The other two main types or classifications are soft wheat and hard wheat.

Refers to the process of lightly sprinkling a fine layer of a powdered or granulated ingredient onto food.

A blend of pork and beef seasoned with spices and formed into a coarse textured loaf.

A cooking vessel consisting of a large heavy pot with a tightly fitting lid, considered by some to be a casserole dish with a lid.

A mixture containing mushrooms, shallots, wine, and seasonings that are cooked in butter or oil in order to create a paste.