Glossary of Cooking Terms

Descriptor of wine that is losing color/flavor, typically as a result of age.

A narrow width pasta tube. It is has a mostly straight shape and is approximately 1 inch in length.

A scale for measuring temperature. On the Fahrenheit scale, which is named for the German physicist who established it, pure water freezes at 32° and boils at 212°.

A variety of tangerine that is first to ripen during the season in North America.

(Scientific Name: Marasmius oreades) Named for the manner in which it grows in open fields and meadows, this variety of mushroom emerges in clusters that form the shape of an irregular circle or "ring" that may be 8 to 15 feet in diameter.

A Mexican dish consisting of thin strips of cooked meat, typically beef or chicken, that are placed into a tortilla with other ingredients and rolled up to be eaten out of hand or on a plate.

A cooking utensil that is traditionally a cast iron, short walled pan that is used to prepare searing hot ingredients such as meat, seafood, fish, and vegetables for making fajitas or quesadillas.

A Middle Eastern dish consisting of crushed chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans) and spicy seasonings, such as cumin, coriander, cayenne, garlic and onion, that are blended together, rolled into walnut-sized balls or made into patties, and deep-fried or pan fried in shapes ranging from small 1 inch sized balls to circular patties.

One of the larger varieties of tangerines, which has a thin rind that is deep orange in color and easy to peel.

A type of roll characterized by its fan shape that originated in New England. There are various recipes for this unique shape: some call for five pieces of dough to construct the fan and others call for seven.

A pasta variety that is shaped like a butterfly or bow tie. It is often used in pasta dishes that are baked such as a casserole.

Bow tie shape pasta similar to farfalle except its ends are rounded.

A small version of the bow-tie or butterfly shaped pasta, farfalle. It is basically a smaller version of farfalle pasta and it is most often used in soups.

A medium size olive from Spain that is oval in shape and is brownish-black in color.

A type of flour or meal made from almost any type of grain, nut, or starchy root, but is most often made from wheat.

A flat cake, similar to a pancake that is a traditional food from Italy. It is made by adding chickpea flour to a bowl of lukewarm water, which is then allowed to stand for several hours.

A farl is an Irish term that means quarter cut. It is generally used in context with soda bread and potato bread/cakes (potato farls) that are cut into fourths or farls when served.

A cheese made from cow's milk that is available as a soft-textured variety consisting of small spreadable curds with a high moisture content or as a semi-dry, firm textured block that has been pressed to remove the moisture and to firm the consistency.

A term commonly applied to European cheeses referring to any of the different types of cheeses that are made by traditional cheese making methods and produced from the raw milk of animals such as cows, goats or sheep raised on a small regional farm, a mountain chalet farm or mountain hut.

Cheeses made with milk collected from a group of farms that are located within close proximity to where the cheese is produced.

An ancient Italian grain that is similar in taste to barley. In the United States, farro is known as a type of spelt or wheat.

A type of flour milled from an ancient Italian grain that is similar in taste to barley.

A dish in which the primary component is white beans that are stewed with a number of other ingredients.

One of three main categories of basic nutrients (the others are protein and carbohydrates) that are used by the body for energy.

Positive Descriptor of wine that fills the mouth. Although “fat” wines typically lack elegance, “fat” wine is highly valued by connoisseurs of sweet dessert wines.

Any food product, such as fat free cheese or fat free milk that contains no fat solids.

A cooking utensil that enables liquid fat to be gathered and removed from juices that are come from roasted meats, stews, soups and stocks.

The layer of fat that extends the length of a hog's back. It is available fresh, unsalted, not cured, and not smoked, for use as cracklings (fried or roasted pork fat or skin used as snacks) and for the production of lard.

A tool used to cut rolled out dough into diamond shapes to produce Norwegian cookies called fattigmann.

A large green snap or vine bean measuring an inch or more in length with an inner bean shaped like a kidney bean or oversized lima bean.

A pasta variety that is cut into very fine strands that are slightly thicker than vermicelli.

Pronounced as "fee-jo" this small egg-size and oval-shaped tropical fruit is native to South America but grown in temperate climates throughout the world.

A crisp vegetable, that is also classified as a herb, that grows as a greenish-white bulb containing tubular stalks topped with feathery leaves.

A small, bright green crescent-shaped fruit obtained from the flower of the bulbless variety of the fennel plant.

A spice that is native to western areas of Asia and commonly used in cooking foods from Asia and India.

A chemical reaction in which carbohydrates are broken down into carbon dioxide gas and alcohol.

Refers to the vessel (oak barrels, tanks, stainless steel vats, etc.) wine is fermented in.

A traditional Greek cheese made from sheep's milk, but it can also be made from goat or cow's milk.

A thinner version of fettuce. Fettuccine is approximately ¼ inch wide. They are sold in loosely coiled nests and in flat strands approximately 10 inches long.

A long, flat, wide pasta noodle, which is approximately 3/8 inch wide. It is generally an egg noodle.

The thinnest version of fettuce. It is approximately 1/8 inch wide and is most often sold as straight sticks.

A carbohydrate contained in plant foods such as fruits, legumes, vegetables, and whole grains that cannot be broken down by digested enzymes when they are eaten so they cannot be fully digested.

A type of bread very similar to a French baguette only it is smaller in size. Ficelle is a French term meaning “string” and it is prepared with the same type of dough as a baguette.

A small fern plant which sprouts a shoot at the tip of the plant, referred to as a "frond" or a "crosier," that is harvested to be served as a vegetable.

Short thin strands of pasta which have a slight curve to them. They are generallu used in soups.

The process of grafting a new grape varietal on an established rootstock (rootstock: a stock consisting of a root or a piece of root in a vineyard).

A soft, sweet, thin-fleshed food item with many small, edible seeds. Although the Fig is most often considered to be a fruit, it is actually a flower that is picked for eating.

A French unpasteurized goat's milk cheese that gets its name from the fact that when it is produced, it is shaped like a fig.

A slightly sweet, round nut grown on shrubs and trees in North America, Europe, and Asia.

A knife consisting of a thin flexible blade, typically 6 to 11 inches long, used for filleting fish.