Culinary Terms & Definitions

A

• Agar-Agar: The vegetarian substitute for gelatine. It is an extract of seaweed found in the Indian and Pacific Ocean. It also does not melt as readily as gelatine would.
• Ail: French term for garlic
• Al a Minute: Prepared on order, should not be prepared in advance.
• Al Dente: A term used to describe the texture of an object, usually used for pasta. A literal translation meaning "to the teeth", referring to the firmness of the pasta yet not hard.
• Amuse Bouche (ahm iss bush): Tiny bite-sized morsels served before the hors d'oeuvre or first course of the meal.

B

• Bain Marie: Also know as a water bath, using a deep baking pan/hotel pan filled with water.
• Bechamel (besh ah mel): Basic white sauce made of milk, butter(fat) and flour.
• Beignets: Fritters, either sweet or savoury.
• Beurre manne: It’s equal parts butter and flour mixed together and then wrapped and place into the fridge. Then when needed you simply cut small cubes and add into the sauce or stew you wish to thicken (Be careful not to add to much at once other wise your sauce might become too thick).
• Bisque (bisk): A thick, rich creamy soup generally made of shellfish.
• Bouquette garnish: Consists of bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns, thyme and sometimes a wider variety of herbs which are then wrapped in cheese cloth and placed into a stock or sauce to flavour it.
• Brunoise: Brunoise is a french name for a fine diced cut for vegetables. Refer to page to see an example of this cut.

C

• Ca Marche (sa marsh): A term used during serving to inform the chefs that a order is to follow.
• Carpaccio: Carpaccio can either be meat or fish, which has been thinly sliced and simply dressed with a bit of olive oil or a simple dressing. It is mostly served as an Entree.
• Chemise ( shim meez): French term meaning "shirt" or "vest" and the term refers culinarily to a food that is wrapped or coated with a pastry or sauce.
• Churning: Incorporating air into a mixture while freezing.
• Confit (kon fee): Meat (usually goose, duck or pork) that is slowly cooked in its own fat and preserved with the fat packed around it as a seal.
• Consomme (con somm may): A basic clear soup usually made from a stock.
• Consomme Adele: Is a clear soup which includes carrots, peas and chicken farce quenelles.
• Couverture: Couverture is chocolate which contains cocoa butter and is always required to be tempered if used for coating items or making garnishes. Couverture is also more expensive and tastes much better than regular chocolate without cocoa butter
  

D

• Dalle: A thin slice of scallop.
• Dariole (da ree ole): A small cylindrical mould which is used to set individual savoury or sweet desserts and can also be used for foods that need to be steamed, baked or poached.
• Darne (darn): Is a slice of round fish on the bone, also known as a steak.
• Demi-Glace: Equal quantities of Espagnole and brown stock that's then reduced by half.
• Docking: Piercing the dough with a sharp spike (fork) or using a docking device.