Glossary of Cooking Terms

Juice extracted from fresh tomatoes by cooking them and then exposing the heated tomatoes to a process that separates the skins and seeds from the juice.

A serrated edged knife used to slice food that has a tough exterior and a softer middle, such as tomatoes or salami.

Fresh tomatoes cooked for several hours and then strained. The strained tomatoes are then cooked longer to reduce them to a thick concentrate.

A sweetened tomato sauce, very similar to a jelly, that is served as a condiment for bread and other foods.

puree, pureed,

A tomato product that is not as thick as tomato puree but thicker than tomato juice.

A small kitchen utensil which looks like a spoon or melon baller with teeth, thus the reason for the shark-related name.

Most often, Tomato Soup is a very smooth and thin to mildly thick-textured soup....

A combination of the traditional Tomato Soup with an array of garden vegetables that offers a strong tomato and vegetable soup-like flavor.

A French term used to describe small to medium sized wheels of cheese that are produced on small farms throughout France.

An unpasteurized cow's milk cheese from the Savoie region of France, that is typically available during the winter months.

A kitchen utensil used to grasp food so it can be moved from one location to another to be flipped, rotated, adjusted, or retrieved from areas that may be hot or simply best handled with a Tong.

An edible animal organ that is most often removed from the mouth of beef, veal, lamb, and pork for use in making various meat dishes.

Loaves of beef, veal, lamb, or pork tongue that have been cooked, sliced, pressed, jellied, and smoked.

A classic Italian sauce that is made with tuna and anchovies that are puréed with egg yolks, lemon juice, olive and tuna oil, and seasonings.

An Italian term for "tuna."

A beef roast cut from above the shoulder blade in the chuck primal. This cut has good marbling and flavor, but can be tough if improperly cooked.

A beefsteak cut from the boneless top blade roast in the top blade section of the chuck primal.

A beef roast cut from the top loin muscle, which is the largest muscle of the short loin.

A bone-in steak cut from the top loin section of the beef short loin. Top loin bone-in steaks are tender and flavorful and are much like a Porterhouse or T-bone, but with the tenderloin portion removed.

A boneless beefsteak cut from the top loin muscle of the short loin. Boneless top loin steaks are tender and flavorful and are best prepared using grilling, broiling, sautéing, or pan-frying cooking methods.

A beef roast cut from the top round muscle, which is the inside muscle of the upper portion of the rear leg.

A thick beefsteak cut from the inside muscle of the upper portion of the rear leg (the round primal).

A beef roast cut from the top butt muscle, which is one of two main muscles of the sirloin.

A boneless beefsteak cut from the top butt muscle (near the hip) of the sirloin just ahead of the round.

In reference to wine, "topping up" is the practice of consistently filling barrels to avoid oxidation of the wine.

Pasta that is made into a shape that appears similar to the base of a torch. This shape works well to scoop up and hold heavier chunky sauces.

A red Italian specialty onion that is shaped similar to a torpedo or spindle. It has reddish purple skin with pale red flesh that has a mild sweet flavor.

A reference to Middle Eastern pickled vegetables. A derivative of the Persian word “torsh,” meaning “sour,” the most common vegetable made into torshi is the turnip, although any vegetable can be used.

A small fish native to the far North Atlantic. It has a rusty brown-red skin and averages 1½ to 2 feet in length.

A dessert cake, containing little or no flour, made with nuts, sugar, eggs, and flavorings.

A stuffed pasta made in several different shapes, which may be square like ravioli, half circle-shaped like anolini, or twisted into a rounded form to appear like the shape of a small hat similar to cappelletti.

Circles of pasta that are folded in half to form a half circle after the filling is added and then twisted to form the shape of a little hat.

A larger version of the stuffed, ring shaped tortellini pasta. If tortelloni is not available agnolotti, cappelletti or ravioli can be substituted.

Tube pasta similar to rigatoni. Tortiglioni is narrower in width than rigatoni and its surface ridges spiral around the tube, rather than run parallel to the length as they do on rigatoni.

1. A Mexican tortilla is a soft, thin and flat unleavened round bread. They are made from corn or wheat flour and baked on a griddle called a comal.

A type of hard-wheat flour that is most often used for quick breads, such as muffins, biscuits, and dumplings, and flatbreads, such as chapatis, and tortillas.

Dry corn dough used to make corn tortillas. In Spanish, masa means ''dough'', which in Mexico can be translated to mean ''corn dough'', an essential ingredient in Mexican cooking.

A metal utensil that is built with a top and bottom plate used to compress or flatten tortilla dough in preparation for baking.

A round pan with scalloped edges that is used to form a soft tortilla into a tortilla shell to make taco salads, creative desserts or similar recipes.

A kitchen utensil that is a fully enclosed round container to hold flat tortillas in preparation for serving.

A larger, square version of tortellini, which is often filled with cheese.

A traditional Italian sausage made from finely ground pork that is stuffed into a casing and dry cured.

To mix the ingredients of a food dish, such as salads and pasta, by using a light lift and drop method.

Lettuce and other salad ingredients that have been combined by tossing.

A tortilla that has been fried until it is crisp and somewhat brittle. A variety of ingredients can be placed on the tostada, such as shredded beef, poultry or fish, refried beans, shredded lettuce, bits of tomato, onion, and peppers.

Descriptor of wine that exhibits harsh, astringent qualities. Term is typically used to describe wines that are high in tannins.

A small coarse textured sausage, originating in France, made of pork, smoked bacon, wine, garlic, and other seasonings.

A soft, German salami ring made from pork and beef. Touristenwurst is generally sliced and served with crackers or bread.

A portion of meat, which can also include a fillet of fish, taken from the most tender part of the animal and formed into a round steak to be prepared.