Glossary of Cooking Terms

A type of whole-wheat flour that is slightly coarser than regular flour. The Rev.

The kernel or seed of food plants that are used as a staple food source throughout the world.

Grain that is pressed using a process that steams and rolls the grain to produce flattened, or flaked, kernels.

A pasta variety that is a thin, short, curled strand of pasta. Its shaped resembles a half circle with one end curled in.

Grana cheese is actually Grana Padano cheese. "Grana" is an abbreviation of Grana Padano.

Grana Padano is an Italian semi-fat, hard cheese with a finely grained texture. It is pale yellow in color and has a delicate flavor.

A grape varietal, most notably known as Vernaccia, used in the production of white wine.

A grape varietal, most notably known as Vernaccia, used in the production of white wine.

A traditional Italian dessert that may also be referred to as a sorbet but is coarser and more granular in texture.

A tart, crisp, juicy apple with freckled green skin that is suitable for both eating as is and for cooking.

A type of cereal or breakfast food that is produced from combining various ingredients such as oats, nuts, and dried fruits.

A name for refined white sugar, which is the most common type of sweetener for table use or for cooking.

A type of berry that grows in bunches on vines. There are hundreds of varieties grown in many parts of the world.

The blended vinification of various grape varietals for the purpose of creating a single wine.

The juice extracted from grapes that is then bottled or sold as frozen concentrate.

Leaves obtained from grape vines and served as edible leaves to wrap ingredients for cooking.

A variety of tomato that is small and round and most often used whole in salads or as a snack food and appetizer.

A tropical citrus fruit that is characterized by its slightly bitter taste. Grapefruit is usually about the size of a softball or larger, has a skin that is usually yellow in color and flesh that ranges in color from yellowish-white to deep ruby red.

The juice from a grapefruit which is made into a beverage that is generally served at breakfast, as a snack or for use in cocktails.

A kitchen utensil that is made for ease of cutting the meat of the fruit away from the grapefruit skin when preparing a half grapefruit for serving.

Descriptor of wine. See “citrusy”.

Grapeseed oil is a byproduct of the winemaking industry. The majority of oil extracted from grape seeds is produced in France, Switzerland, and Italy, but there are also a few producers in the United States.

A descriptor of wine reminiscent of the aroma and flavor of table grapes. “Grapey” wine tends to be tart and lacks fruit flavor.

An Italian beverage that is considered to be a lower quality brandy. Unlike the traditional wine making process, grappa is distilled from grape by-products that include the pomace, skin, stem, and seeds that are processed but not aged.

Beef that has been raised almost exclusively on grass rather than grain or commercially produced cattle feed.

A descriptor of wines with undertones of earth and yeast.

The process of transforming solid, firm food items into small pieces by rubbing the item against a grating instrument.

An essential tool for food preparation that slices, grinds, and cuts food into shapes, such as strips or bits, so the ingredient can be evenly dispersed into the food being prepared.

A French term that refers to the process of browning foods, such as a casserole or various potato and vegetable dishes, under a broiler oven, a hot oven or a cooking torch to produce a brown crust.

A type of bakeware that is used to make the traditional French food known as a Gratiné or Gratin, which is prepared with a brown crispy crust over the surface of the food.

A French cow's milk cheese that is similar to brie. It has a natural white rind that covers a creamy off-white cheese with a distinctive mushroom flavor.

An egg pasta variety that is shaped like small diamonds and is best used as a soup pasta.

A grape varietal, most notably known as Pinot Gris, used in the production of white to slightly pink wine.

A type of apple that typically has a green skin streaked with red, however, it can also be mostly red in color.

A variety of cheese originating in Greece that is much like Gruyere. It is usually made from cow's milk, but occasionally sheep's milk is added.

A Scandanavian food dish consisting of raw salmon that has been cured in a mixture of salt, sugar, and dill.

A sauce that may be prepared from the juices and drippings of cooked meats such as beef, pork, poultry, or veal.

A kitchen utensil that is used to separate the fat from the juices of the meat. The hot meat juices or any hot meat stock containing fat is poured into the separator and the fat rises to the top while the thicker layers of the meat juices remain on the bottom.

A small freshwater fish that is similar to a brown trout. It has an excellent flavor, but they are hard to find in most food stores and fish markets.

1) A term used to describe soft or rendered animal fat or animal fat products such as lard or butter.

A white, kidney-shaped bean with a mild flavor that is available dried or canned.

A type of olive that is most commonly referred to as the Kalamata (Calamata), Amphissa (Amfissa), or the Royal Victorian olive.

A Greek olive that has been harvested from the olive grove prior to ripening. The common varieties are Ionian, Manzanilla, and Naflion.

A large purplish-black olive from California that grows in several different oval-shaped sizes and produced similar to Greek olives.

Descriptor of wine processed with unripe grapes. Also a descriptor of a wine that possesses a greenish tint, indicating youth.

Also known as runner bean, snap bean, or string bean, a Green Beans is a long and slender vegetable with green pods.

Any of the varieties of chilies that are harvested when they are young, still green colored and tender in texture.

A curry paste made up of a combination of ingredients, which typically include small green chiles, lemongrass, skin of the kaffir lime, shallot, garlic, shrimp paste, salt, galangal, pepper and coriander.

Garlic is available as Green garlic, the early stage of growth before the cloves begin to form.

A leafy salad green that grows from a stalk and spreads out to form a loose leafed bunch of greens with a decorative frilled green edging.