Glossary of Cooking Terms

A tuber that is harvested from a tall leafy plant with yellow flowers resembling daisies.

A name given to several Japanese dishes in which pieces of meat are marinated, skewered, and grilled.

A Japanese food dish, which consists of soba noodles and other ingredients that have been fried on a hot grill.

A Japanese dish that consists of pieces of chicken breast that are marinated, skewered, and grilled.

A tuber, common in Asia, Africa, and many tropical countries, that can range in size from several ounces to over 100 pounds.

A type of flour produced by grinding dried yams into a powder. A yam is a hearty tuber that does not have the sweet taste of a sweet potato, but instead may have flavors that range from bland to earthy, slightly smoky in taste, or nutty and only moderately sweet.

A tan colored, rough skinned yam that has a white flesh that is sticky and becomes gooey when grated or julienne.

A pea sized, off-white, oval shaped legume, which is more commonly called the navy bean.

A food dish made from an inexpensive cut of beef, such as the round or chuck, that is seared for a short amount of time to brown it.

A long, thin Asian bean that can measure from one to three feet in length, but are best eaten when they are 12 to 20 inches long.

A type of herb that is considered a weed by many people because it grows wild in ditches and along roadsides.

A single-cell organism or plant that feeds on simple sugars that are converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide through fermentation.

Microscopic organisms that manufacture the enzymes that convert sugar to alcohol, a process necessary for the fermentation of grape juice into wine.

Refers to bread that uses yeast as a leavener. The yeast causes the formation of carbon dioxide gas through fermentation of the sugars in the bread dough.

A characteristic in wine that can be both desirable and undesirable. Descriptors of a yeasty wine could include dirty, earthy, nutty, gamey, and smoky.

A type of wild berry that is much like a raspberry except for its yellowish-orange color.

A cake that is made with cake flour, sugar, and milk along with whole eggs and butter that gives the cake a yellow color.

A family of chile peppers that are grown in various shades of yellow. Most of the yellow peppers are sweet and mild to slightly hot in flavor.

(Scientific Name: Cantharellus lutescens) Related to the Chanterelle family of fungi, the Yellow Foot is a small and very thin variety of mushroom.

A variety of chile that is usually no more than five inches in length, has a pale yellowish color, and a flavor that ranges from moderate to hot.

(Scientific Name: Cantharellus infundibuliformis) A common mushroom that grows in large groups in wooded areas and damp places.

A variety of sugar, common in Asian countries, which is formed into the shape of a rough crystal.

A variety of melon that is oblong shaped and somewhat small in size. This melon has a bright yellow outer skin with white ribs covering a firm textured cream-colored flesh.

A type of dry onion that has a strong onion flavor and is characterized by its layers of papery skin, which has a yellow-brown color.

Yellow potatoes have skins and flesh that ranges from pale yellow to golden yellow.

A small pea with a circular shape and a very mild flavor. They are usually dried and then split in half before they are sold.

A type of summer squash that comes in crookneck and straightneck varieties....

A variety of tomato that is large and round with a yellow skin that is smooth and somewhat firm to the touch.

A type of snap bean or string bean that is very similar to a green bean except for the yellow color.

A variety of yellow chile peppers typically harvested when they are 4 to 6 inches in length.

A variety of tuna that has a light pink flesh and a slightly strong flavor....

A type of fish that is related to pompano and is found in the Pacific waters off Mexico and southern California.

A dairy product that may be produced from the milk of a variety of different animals, such as cows, goats, sheep, buffalo, camels, and other animals capable of providing milk.

A creamy cheese product produced when the whey is drained from yogurt. With a higher concentration of nutrients after the whey is removed, yogurt cheese provides a creamy smooth cheese that is low in calories, sodium, lactose, and cholesterol.

A dry-cured, English ham that is smoked over oak sawdust. Generally it is lightly smoked but it can be found smoked a little more heavily.

An apple variety characterized by its red skin, which contains streaks of yellow and russet specks and its flattened oblong shape.

Although this food item is often attributed to Yorkshire county in England, it is actually something that can be claimed by many counties in Britian.

A wine that is described as "young" is fresh, light, and fruity.

A very sweet and juicy berry with a ruby red color. A youngberry is a hybrid of the blackberry.

In reference to wine, a wine that is described as "young" is fresh, light, and fruity.

An edible green that contains both a stalk and a leaf that are served in a variety of Asian food dishes.

The name given to the sweet tasting skin, composed of a soy protein-lipid complex, that forms on soy milk after it has been heated and then cooled.

A type of flour made from the Yuca root, also known as Cassava root. Another type of flour made from the Yuca root is referred to as Manioc flour, a coarse ground meal made from the grated flesh of the root.

A tropical root vegetable, grown as a shrub in temperate zones of Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and South America, that is harvested for its root and leaves.

A potato variety that is a cross between the South American wild, yellow potato and the North American white resulting in a light yellow skin, a fine-grained texture and a rich buttery flavor.

A type of cake, which is prepared much like a jelly roll that is traditionally prepared and served at Christmas.

A type of citrus fruit, native to China, that is slightly smaller than an orange, more acidic than a lemon, and is used frequently in Asian cooking.