Glossary of Cooking Terms

1. A very small, round tender piece of meat that is generally an inch or so in diameter.

A very common and traditional Italian sausage made from equal portions of minced beef, pork and fat.

A white liquid secreted by the mammary glands of animals, such as cows, sheep and goats.

An eating chocolate that is enriched with milk powder. An average size bar contains an equivalent of up to one cup of whole milk.

A traditional French puff pastry which is made in layers of crisp baked pasty separated by cream fillings.

Rice that is processed with the hull, the bran layers and the germ removed. It is the most common form of rice available.

A condition of the vine whereas the fruit set contains bunches of abnormal, varying sizes of berries.

A variety of related plants bearing small seeds used as a food source. The plants may grow to a height of up to six feet and feature large seed heads, which bear many tiny seeds ranging in color from bright yellow to rust, depending on the variety.

A type of flour ground from millet seeds. Since it is gluten free, millet flour must be combined with high-gluten flour when used in leavened breads.

The process of cracking the grain to expose the floury portion of the kernels and breaking it down to a fine powder, sieving out the unwanted portions of the broken grain.

The sperm from the male fish is known as milt or soft roe. Its texture is creamy, not grainy like that of hard roe (eggs of female fish).

A French cheese made from cow's milk that is typically a deep orange-colored, considered to be the same as aged Edam cheese.

To cut food into very fine pieces, generally 1/8 inch or smaller. This is the finest of all cuts which include dice, cube, chop, and julienne.

A preserve used as a pie filling or tart filling, which contains minced raisins, dried currants, apples, candied fruit, sweeteners, and spices.

A wooden utensil made from a hardwood such as maple that is used as a chopping or cutting surface when preparing delicate and small ingredients, such as fresh herbs.

A kitchen utensil that can be used to mince chop or cut foods into smaller bits for seasoning sauces, soups, salads, and other dishes.

A traditional Italian soup that filled with vegetables and pasta which are cooked in a hearty vegetable broth.

A small sized pan that that is used for baking loaves of bread or meat loaves in smaller portions.

A tangelo is a variety of mandarin orange, and a Minneola is one type of tangelo.

A cool refreshing herb, available in many varieties, that is used to flavor desserts, teas and meat dishes, especially lamb.

An herb jelly made from the stems and leaves of the mint plant. This jelly which is bright green in color, has a pleasant aroma and mint taste.

An green colored herb sauce made from mint leaves, sugar and vinegar. Mint sauce is a common sauce applied as a marinade to poultry, fish or meat, most notably lamb.

A minute steak is boneless beef, very thin, and is usually scored and pounded to tenderize it.

A medium sized oval berry, dark red in color that grows on small bushy trees in tropical climates.

A French term that refers to a combination of vegetables, such as carrots, onions and celery, with herbs sautéed in butter, that are all combined and mixed together.

A sweetened rice wine that is low-alcohol and golden tan in color. This wine is often used in Japanese cooking to sweeten the flavor of many foods, such as dressings, glazes, marinades, and sauces.

A French dish that is made with leftover beef which is referred to as boeuf Miroton in France or beef Miroton in English vocabulary.

A thick nutritious paste made from a base of steamed and crushed soybeans, barley and/or rice, which are then fermented and aged for as little as a few months or as long as three years.

A medium size, very common olive grown in California that is dark black in color and round in shape.

A pasta product that consists of a group of different pasta shapes. The shapes can include small tubes of different sizes, short strands and miscellaneous shapes.

A pump sprayer that can be filled with various types of cooking oils, such as olive or vegetable oil, to be sprayed onto foods (salads, breads, vegetables, etc.) or onto cooking tools (pans or utensils) to either add flavor to the food or to create non-stick surfaces for baking, cooking or grilling.

Long Philippine wheat noodles, which are very fine and delicate. They are slightly off-white in color.

A leafy green plant that is native to Japan, China, and Korea and is used as an herb.

The combining of ingredients in such a manner that all are distributed evenly amongst each other.

A kitchen utensil used for mixing ingredients or beating foods. The types of electrical mixers vary in size and features beginning with hand-held models and moving up to heavy-duty models mounted on stands.

Round bowls of varying sizes that are used for combining food ingredients when preparing recipes.

A Greek cheese made with the whey from Feta and Kefalotiri, along with sheep and cow's milk, which is used to enrich the cheese.

A thin whispy salad green, related to Chinese cabbage, with a mild mustard flavor.

An Asian summer squash that has a long tapered shape with a light green outer skin covering a white to cream colored speckled flesh.

A U.S. artisan cheese with a split personality, Mobay contains one layer of goat's milk cheese and one layer of sheep's milk cheese pressed together and separated by a very thin layer of edible ash.

A variety of coffee, grown in the Middle East, that provides a very strong flavor and aroma when brewed.

Asian short-grain rice that has a sticky texture, a sweet flavor, and is high in starch.

A type of flour milled from mochi rice, which is a short-grained, glutinous rice common in Asia.

The mock tender is often sold as a roast and is a cone shaped muscle next to the top blade in the beef chuck primal.

The mock tender is often sold as a roast and is a cone shaped cut next to the top blade in the chuck primal.

The French term used when describing a "sweet" wine.

A chilled cocktail served in warm climates that combines 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 or 3 sprigs of fresh mint, 1 to 2 ounces of white (light) rum, 3 tablespoons of fresh lime juice, and top of the glass with a small amount (or to taste) of chilled club soda.

A marinade used throughout the Caribbean and South America that uses citrus juices as a base.

A thick, strong flavored syrup, produced as a by-product when sugar is refined through several boilings of sugar cane or sugar beets.

A Mexican cooking utensil that literally translated means "stone mortar" and is most often used to refer to both the mortar and pestle.