Glossary of Cooking Terms

Nonadjustable V-racks are made of v-shaped pieces of metal that are attached to a frame that has handles on it.

A minor red grape varietal, primarily found in Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines produced in the Rhône region of France.

A soft-ripened cheese produced in Dauphiné; made with thermalized cow's milk. This soft cheese has a slightly stinky aroma.

A semi-hard cheese made in Switzerland from unpasteurized cow's milk. It is often confused with another cheese for France and Switzerland known as Vacherin Mont d'Or in Switzerland or simply as Mon d'Or or Vacherin Haut-Doubs in France.

A traditional cheese of France and Switzerland made from cow's milk that typically will contain almost 50 percent milk fat.

The removal of air from a jar of processed food for the purpose of preventing the food from spoiling.

A cold extraction method of obtaining oil from fruits, nuts, and seeds via an expeller process that occurs in an atmosphere with no oxygen or light.

A type of pulse commonly used in foods from India that may be served as sprouts, fresh pods, or as dried beans.

A deep colored, small to medium sized orange that has a thin skin, which is hard to peel, but once peeled it reveals a flesh that is juicy and sweet.

A short to medium-grain rice variety that is cultivated in many areas of Spain, but takes its name from the province and city of Valencia, which is the largest rice growing region of Spain.

Pronounced Val-po-lee-chella. A renowned regional D.O.C. red wine produced in the western part of the Monti Lessini hillsides north of Verona in Italy’s Veneto region.

A mixture of spices that is used to season a variety of food dishes that include meat, poultry and fish.

Vanilla is a flavoring that comes from vanilla beans, which are the fruit of an orchid plant.

A descriptor of wine that has a sweet, distinctive vanilla aroma. This is typically a characteristic of wine that has been aged in new oak barrels.

A food flavoring derived from the tiny seeds contained in the pod of an orchid plant.

A liquid flavoring derived from a vanilla bean grown in the pod of a plant that is a member of the orchid family.

The fruit from a single variety of orchid plant, which is the only orchid plant out of thousands of varieties that produces anything edible.

A vanilla flavored powder that is made by grinding dried vanilla beans into a fine textured powder.

A custard type sauce made from a basic mixture of cream or milk, eggs, sugar and vanilla flavoring.

Sugar that has been flavored by dried vanilla beans. It is made by placing a pound of sugar and two vanilla beans in an airtight container for approximately a week, shaking the jar slightly once a day to distribute flavor throughout the sugar.

A characteristic of wine that has been aged in oakwood barrel staves. When present in minute amounts, it is an element in complex red wine that is prized by connoisseurs.

In reference to wine, the "varietal character" is flavor characteristic of a specific grape that is picked at optimum maturity.

Wines made from basically one variety of grapes. The flavor and other characteristics of the wine are strongly influenced by the variety of grape used.

Wine made from basically one variety of grape. The wine is labeled for the single grape variety or the most prominent grape variety used to produce the wine.

Meat from an animal that is not cut from a standard muscle, but is obtained from organs.

The meat from a very young calf, ranging from less than 1 month up to 4 months old.

A veal cutlet, which is pounded and then coated with a mixture of egg and milk. The coated cutlet is then placed in a mixture of breadcrumbs, seasonings, and Parmesan cheese.

The truest of vegetarians, those that not only refuse to eat meat but also will not eat any food products derived from an animal, such as butter, milk, eggs and cheese.

Any parts of any plant that are edible but do not develop from a flower. The edible parts of a plant could include seeds, nuts, fruit, roots, tubers, bulbs, leaves, or stems.

A combination of a traditional Vegetable Soup with beef and beef flavorings added.

A vegetable bird nest is made in the same manner as a noodle bird nest. Shredded vegetables, such as carrots, potatoes, and parsnips, are placed in the bottom of a bird nest basket.

A multi-purposed type of kitchen utensil that can be used to clean many different types of vegetables as well as other items such as cookware.

A combination of fresh vegetables that are sliced and then sautéed together to allow the flavors of each vegetable to enhance the others.

A beverage made of tomato juice and a variety of vegetables blended together into a drink served for breakfast, snacks or as an ingredient for cocktails.

A liquid cooking oil that is extracted from the fruit, seeds, or nuts of a vegetable plant, such as corn, soybeans, peanuts, safflower seeds, sunflower seeds, and rapeseeds (used for canola oil).

A commercial cooking spray that dispenses a very fine mist of vegetable oil and lecithin to coat unheated pans when preparing them for grilling, sautéing, broiling, roasting or baking.

An oil that is extracted from the seeds or nuts of vegetable plants, such as corn, soybeans, peanuts, safflower seeds, sunflower seeds, and rape seeds (used for canola oil), that is turned into a spreadable form of margarine to be used as a replacement for butter.

A kitchen tool used to remove the layers of flesh from vegetables and firm fruits, such as apples, by peeling off thin narrow shavings.

A cooking fat, which is basically flavorless, that is produced from vegetable oils.

A soup consisting of mainly vegetables and a base of water or broth. It may include other ingredients, such as meat, noodles, rice and legumes.

A snack food made from ingredients that include vegetables (such as tomatoes and spinach), seed oils, grain starches, and flours made from vegetables and grains.

A descriptor of wines with undertones of earth and yeast (refer to “grassy”). If characteristic is pronounced, it is considered a flaw.

A person who does not consume meat or meat products. There are different categories of vegetarians based on the type of foods consumed and desired for their daily diets.

One of the basic white sauces of French origin, which is prepared from a white stock, such as chicken or seafood stock, and a roux.

(Scientific Name: Flammulina velutipes) A mushroom commonly found growing on tree trunks or tree roots.

A term most often used to refer to the meat of deer, but it actually refers to the meat of all large game animals, such as deer, elk and moose.

A type of medium-grain Italian rice that is known for its natural black and rust colored grains and its pleasing aroma.

An Italian, Spanish and Latin American term that most often describes the color of a food ingredient.

Pronounced vehr-deek-yo. A grape varietal, used in the production white wine, originating in the Marches region of Italy.

The leaf of a plant, native to South America, that is harvested when it is young to be used as a herb for seasoning of foods or as a fresh green to be served in salads.