The A-Z of cooking terms

Abbacchio

Italian for young lamb. Traditionally an abbacchio would be milk-fed, weighing less than 10 kilograms.

Accra

A Caribbean dish of salt cod fritters, often served as an hors d’oeuvre. Also known as stamp-and-go.

Agar-agar

The Malay name for a gum extracted from a red seaweed, used as a gelling or setting agent. Its advantages over the more commonly used gelatin include its resistance to heat (it stays jellied until near-boiling point) and the fact that it is vegetable rather than animal-based, and can thus be used in vegetarian cooking. It is available from Asian grocers and specialty stores.

Aged balsamic vinegar

Fragrant, sweetish vinegar from Modena, Italy, made from concentrated grape juice and aged in wooden barrels for at least 10 years.

Agnolotti

A stuffed pasta shape, usually translating to small, crescent-shaped or semicircular ravioli in Australian restaurants.

Agrodolce

Italian for sour and sweet. See also the French, aigre-doux.

Aigre-doux

French for sour-sweet. See also the Italian, agrodolce.

Aioli

Garlic mayonnaise. A specialty of Provence, in the south of France.

Al dente

Italian for ‘to the tooth’, a term denoting the texture to which pasta should be cooked – that is, still firm, with some resistance to the bite. Also used in describing the texture of rice in risotto.

Alioli

A Catalan sauce of garlic and oil mixed to a paste, much like aioli, only without the eggs.

Alligot

A French dish of potatoes mashed with Cantal cheese curds. Alligot is a traditional dish of the Auvergne region.

Almonds

Can be purchased as blanched, skins removed; flaked, paper-thin slices; ground, also known as almond meal; or in slivers, small lengthways-cut pieces.

Amaro

Italian for bitter, amaro also describes a style of bitter, often herbal, Italian digestivo, such as Averna or Fernet Branca. The plural is amari.

Ancho chilli

A broad dried chilli of a reddish-brown colour. Ranging from mild to hot, it’s one of the sweetest dried chillies. In its fresh state it is referred to as poblano chilli.

Anchoiade

A southern French sauce made from anchovies, garlic and olive oil, often served on toast or with raw vegetables.

Andouillette

A small French sausage made from the lower intestine of the pig, usually served grilled. The larger version, the andouille, is typically smoked and served cold.

Antipasto

Meaning before the meal. A selection of hot or cold appetisers. The plural is antipasti.

Aperitif

A pre-dinner drink served to refresh and stimulate the palate. The Italian term is aperitivo.

Arborio rice

Small, round grain rice well-suited to absorb a large amount of liquid; especially suitable for risotto. See also carnaroli and vialone nano.

Armagnac

A brandy from France’s Armagnac region.

Assiette

French for plate or platter, in common English use it means a selection of the same ingredient prepared different ways, such as an assiette of pork.

Baccala

Italian term for salt cod. The Spanish is bacalao, Portuguese bacalhau, French morue. Salt cod needs to be soaked in several changes of water for at least 12 hours before it is ready to cook, and it contains bones which must be removed before serving. It can be bought at Spanish and Portuguese grocers, as well as some Italian delicatessens.

Baeckeoffe

A braise of meat, white wine, potatoes and onions from France’s Alsace region; the word means baker’s oven.

Bagna cauda

A sauce from the south of France containing anchovies, garlic and olive oil, traditionally served warm with raw vegetables for dipping.

Baking powder

Raising agent that is two parts cream of tartar to one part bicarbonate of soda (baking soda).

Ballotine

Something boned, stuffed and rolled. Classically applied to poultry, now often seen with fish. See also galantine, a similar preparation, typically made with a whole beast and glazed with gelatin and served cold.

Balmain bugs

A saltwater crustacean that broadly resembles clawless, narrow-bodied crab in size and shape. The Balmain bug (Ibacus peronii) is more commonly caught in the southern states of Australia and has its eyes set towards the middle of the head. Available year-round, Balmain bugs have full-flavoured meat in their tails, and are bought whole or as frozen tail-meat. Their shells turn red when they’re cooked. Substitute large king or banana prawns where necessary.

Banh mi

The Vietnamese term for a Vietnamese sandwich. These light, crusty baguettes are typically spread with pate and mayonnaise before being filled with Vietnamese-style coldcuts, freshly cooked pork or chicken (or a combination thereof), shreds of pickled carrot, ribbons of raw cucumber, sprigs of fresh coriander and chopped hot red chilli. They are dressed with nuoc cham, the chilli, lime, soy and fish sauce condiment, sometimes also with a splash of Maggi brand seasoning. Vietnamese sandwiches are sold at most Vietnamese-run hot bread shops around the country.

Battonage

A French term for lees stirring. When wines are aged on their lees, a bit of bâtonnage helps stir the dead yeast cells through the maturing wine, adding creaminess and complexity.

Bearnaise

One of the great French sauces, an emulsion of egg yolks, butter, shallots, vinegar or lemon juice (and sometimes white wine), tarragon and chervil. It is often served with grilled steak or fish.

Bechamel

The classic French base white sauce, made by adding milk simmered with aromatics (usually bay, onion, nutmeg and pepper) to a roux of butter and flour and cooking it gently, stirring to a smooth consistency. Known as besciamella in Italian cooking.

Beurre

French for butter. ‘Sel’ means salted, ‘demi-sel’ lightly salted.

Beurre noir

A French sauce of butter browned in a pan and mixed with lemon juice, parsley and capers.

Beurre noisette

Butter lightly browned in a pan.

Bicarbonate of soda

Also known as baking soda.

Birdseye chilli

The most commonly used fresh chilli in Thai cuisine, sometimes called bird peppers, these tiny, fiery chillies are red, green, lime or orange, depending on the variety. Dried birdseyes should not be used in place of the fresh ones; if necessary, substitute another fresh chilli.

Blancmange

Also blanc-manger. A French dessert of almond milk set with gelatine, served cold.

Blanquette

A classic French white braise of poached meat (typically veal) or fish enriched with a sauce of eggs and cream.

Blini

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The Russian plural for blin, a kind of small, thick pancake traditionally served hot with caviar.

Blue eye trevalla

Also known simply as blue eye, this fish (Hyperoglyphe antarctica) is often mistakenly termed blue eye cod. A prized eating fish, its flesh is off-white, firm and fine of flavour.

Bollito misto

Italian for a mixture of boiled things, bollito misto sees a range of meats simmered together and served with a variety of condiments. Typically key ingredients include a boiling cut of beef, chicken, ham, veal tongue (or indeed a calf’s head), with salsa verde, grated horseradish and mustard fruits among the sauces offered. See also pot-au-feu.

Bonito flakes

Also known as kezuri-bushi. The bonito fish is a relative of the mackerel and tuna. The filleted fish is dried rock hard and shaved into pale pink, strongly aromatic flakes and used to make dashi and as a garnish. The larger flakes generally provide more flavour. Available from Asian food stores.

Bordeaux blends

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Wines made from a mixture of grapes inspired by the traditional blends of France’s prestigious Bordeaux region. Almost inevitably, a red Bordeaux blend will be based on cabernet sauvignon with the addition of varying amounts of all or any of the following: merlot, cabernet franc, petit verdot and malbec. White Bordeaux blends contain semillon and sauvignon blanc.

Bordelaise

In the style of Bordeaux. Sauce Bordelaise is a brown sauce flavoured with red wine and bone marrow.

Botrytis cinerea

Also known as noble rot. A fungus that attacks grapes under certain climatic conditions (damp, foggy mornings followed by warm, sunny afternoons). The stuff looks revolting and shrivels the affected grapes to brown husks of their former selves, often with a dusting of greyish powder. It sounds as disgusting as it looks, but the end effect of botrytis infection is to concentrate the sugars in the infected grapes, which are then used to make some of the most highly prized sweet wines in the world. Semillon and sauvignon blanc blends, furmint and hárslevelű (the grapes that make up Hungary’s Tokaji wines), rieslings, gewürztraminers and pinot gris are the grape varieties most strongly associated with botrytis-affected wines.

Bottarga

The salted and air-dried roe of tuna or mullet is considered a delicacy throughout the Mediterranean. Thinly sliced and dressed with olive oil and lemon juice, bottarga makes an unequalled entrée.

Boudin blanc

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A French white sausage of chicken, pork or veal.

Boudin noir

French term meaning black pudding – a blood sausage usually made with pig’s blood. Other blood sausages include the German blutwurst and Spanish morcilla.

Bouillabaisse

A fish soup from the French Mediterranean consisting of a broth made from several different fish (rockfish, dory, conger eel, monkfish and gurnard are traditional), garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, onions, parsley and saffron. The meat of the fish and the broth are served in separate courses, the broth with toast and rouille as a condiment. See also bourride, rouille.

Bouquet garni

A bundle of fresh parsley, thyme and bay tied with string used to flavour soups and braises and usually removed before serving.

Bourguignon

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Also Bourguignonne. In the style of Burgundy – with red wine, mushrooms and bacon.

Bourride

A French Meditteranean fish soup often enriched with aioli.

Bowles veal glace

This reduction of veal stock is available from specialty food stores and some butchers.

Brettanomyces

The pungent aroma of this strain of yeast – variously described as smelling like mouse droppings, sticking plasters and horses – is widely regarded as a fault in squeaky-clean New World wineries. But while a heavy dose of brett (as we anoraks like to refer to the critter) gives a wine a very unappealing aroma, a small hint of it is not considered unattractive in parts of the Old World. Certain famous properties in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, for instance, are well known to be infected with brett, and some believe that the slightly animal note the rogue yeast adds to the wines is part of their charm.

Broccoli rabe

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This bitter winter green is part of the brassica family, and popular in southern Italy for its peppery flavour. Available from Italian foodstores and select greengrocers.

Brulee

French for burned, it refers, as in the case of creme brulee, to caramelisation.

Buffalo mozzarella

Soft, spun-curd cheese; originated in southern Italy where it is traditionally made from pure buffalo’s milk.

Bugs

These Australian saltwater crustaceans broadly resemble clawless, narrow-bodied crab in size and shape. The Balmain bug (Ibacus peronii) is more commonly caught in the southern states and has its eyes set towards the middle of the head, while the slightly narrower Moreton Bay bug (Thenus orientalis), caught in the northern states has eyes towards the edge of the head. Available year-round, both have full-flavoured meat in their tails, and are bought whole or as frozen tail-meat. Their shells turn red when they’re cooked. Substitute large king or banana prawns where necessary.

Burghul (cracked wheat)

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Hulled steamed wheat kernels that, once dried, are crushed into various size grains. Used in Middle Eastern dishes such as kibbeh and tabbouleh.

Butter

Use salted or unsalted (sweet) butter as directed (125gm is equal to one stick of butter).

Buttermilk

Sold alongside other milk products in supermarkets. Low in fat (1.8gm fat per 100ml) and with a refreshing, sour tang, it is used in desserts and for baking.

Calasparra rice

Short grained rice grown in the mountains of the Spanish province of Murcia and typically used in paellas and other Spanish rice-based dishes.

Calvados

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A famed apple brandy from the French region of the same name.

Cantal

A French cheese made in the Auvergne region from cow’s milk curds.

Caper flowers

The flowers of the caper bush, salted and preserved in oil. The resulting flavour is more delicate than other caper products – capers (the buds) and caperberries (the fruit). They are used throughout the Mediterranean in many salad, fish and meat dishes and as an accompaniment with other vegetables. Available from specialty food stores.

Carbonic maceration

A process used to make red wines from certain grapes (particularly gamay in Beaujolais, but also carignan and a range of other red varieties). Whole bunches of grapes are macerated in stainless steel tanks under a blanket of CO2 (which stops oxygen from getting to the grapes). The grapes are not crushed (or at least not intentionally, although the weight of grapes in a tank means that those in the lower layers usually burst and release their juices), and fermentation takes place inside the berries. The process can help soften tannins and produces brightly coloured, highly perfumed wines (which often have more than a touch of banana and bubblegum to them).

Carbonnade

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A Belgian dish of beef (usually shin) braised in beer.

Carnaroli rice

Short-grained rice grown around the Italian towns of Novara and Vercelli, between Milan and Turin. Like arborio or vialone nano, it’s typically used in risotto and other Italian rice-based dishes. Carnaroli has a reputation for being harder to master than other risotto rices, but is considered by many cooks to give superior results.

Carpaccio

Italian dish of thin slices or shavings of raw meat, traditionally beef, but now extending to fish, so named at Venice’s Harry’s Bar for the Italian painter Carpaccio and his love of bloody hues.

Cartoccio

An Italian method of cooking in which the food (seafood or poultry, typically) is wrapped in parchment paper (or foil) before being baked. The French equivalent of ‘in cartoccio’ is ‘en papillote’.

Cassolette

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A dish presented in a small casserole – not to be confused with cassoulet.

Cassoulet

A traditional dish from France’s southwest – essentially a gratineed braise of white beans with a combination of goose, pork, lamb and duck (often confit), and sausages.

Cat’s pee on a gooseberry bush

Wine tasting term used to describe the pungent aroma (or combination of aromas) typical of cool-climate sauvignon blanc.

Cavolo nero

A long-leafed, dark or black cabbage. It has a sweet, rich, earthy flavour and is available year round, although it is mainly eaten in autumn and winter.

Cepe

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The French term for the boletus mushroom called porcini by Italians. Its traditional English name is the penny bun.

Ceviche

South American dish of raw fish marinated in citrus. Pronounced seh-VEE-chay.

Chanterelle

Also girolle. An orange mushroom much admired by French cooks.

Chartreuse

A herbal liqueur made by French monks. In cooking, a dish of partridge braised in cabbage leaves.

Chiffonnade

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A fine shredding of herbs or leaves.

Chilli

Hot peppers, generally the smaller the hotter. It’s advisable to wear gloves while preparing hotter chillies, or wash hands thoroughly and avoid contact with eyes and other sensitive tissue. See ancho, birdseye, habanero, jalapeño, padron and serrano.

Choron

A bearnaise sauce with tomato.

Choucroute

The French version of sauerkraut, from the Alsace region.

Cigar box aromas

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A blend of smoke and cedar notes derived from oak ageing. Most usually detected in cabernet sauvignon-based wines.

Civet

A game stew, sometimes thickened with blood.

Clafoutis

A custard tart, often scattered with cherries.

Coconut

Available fresh from Asian greengrocers and other select greengrocers; the flesh should be soft, gelatinous and almost translucent. To shave the flesh, use a vegetable peeler or a large sharp knife.

Coconut vinegar

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Low in acidity, with a musty flavour and a unique aftertaste. It is used traditionally in Asian and Thai dishes.

Cocotte

A ramekin. Dishes served en cocotte are typically baked in ramekins or set in a bain-marie.

Complexity

A great thing in a wine. If you can detect loads of different flavours in your glass of wine, and those flavours develop and change over time, then you’ve got your hands on a complex wine.

Concasse

French for roughly chopped.

Confit

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French for preserve. Traditionally pieces of duck, pork or goose cooked and preserved in their own fat, in contemporary restaurant usage it also refers to any dish slow-cooked in fat or oil. Pronounced con-FEE.

Cork taint

AKA TCA (2,4,6-trichloroanisole for the technically minded) is the most widely recognised wine fault. Although some people are more sensitive than others to the whiff of damp, mouldy cardboard that characterises this problem, it’s true to say that once you’ve smelled a badly corked wine, you never forget the mouldy odour. The problem is that many people don’t recognise a mildly corked wine, as this can merely deaden the fruit rather than being overtly whiffy.

Cornflour

Also known as cornstarch; used as a thickening agent in cooking.

Cornichon

The French word for gherkin. Smaller, sour gherkins (3-4cm) are sold under this name.

Court-bouillon

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An aromatic broth used for poaching, usually associated with fish or poultry.

Crab

Crabs are sold live, cooked, and raw (or green). Blue swimmer crabs and spanner crabs are usually sold cooked, as they don’t live long after capture. Mud crabs are best bought live, though care should be taken, as they can inflict serious injury with their claws.

Crabs are best cooked in water containing 25gm of salt per litre. The RSPCA recommends live crustaceans be killed as humanely as possible, specifically by placing the animal in the refrigerator or freezer until it is asleep, and then killing it by splitting it or spiking it to destroy the nerve centres.

Cream of tartar

White powder made from crystallised acid collecting inside wine barrels, used to stabilise and add volume to beaten eggwhite and in baking powder.

Creme Anglaise

French for English cream – a light custard.

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Creme fraiche

Cultured thick cream, with a fresh, sour taste. Does not separate when boiled. If unavailable, substitute with sour cream.

Creme patissiere

Custard filling for pastries and cakes.

Crepinette

To cook en crepinette is to wrap in caul fat. A crepinette is usually a small patty of meat wrapped in caul fat, not unlike a rissole.

Croque monsieur

A French toasted or pan-fried ham and cheese sandwich. When made with an egg, it is known as a croque madame.

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Crosne

A flavoursome tuber also known as a Chinese artichoke. Pronounced ‘crone’.

Croute

To cook en croute is to wrap or seal in pastry.

Curd

Solid which separates from coagulated milk or soy milk used to make cheese or soya bean curd.

Daikon

Japanese long white radish.

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Dariole

An oval-shaped mould used for baking and pastry.

Dark soy sauce

A soy sauce often used for the colour it imparts. It’s less salty than light soy sauce.

Dashi

Japanese fish stock made from dried seaweed.

Daube

A French braise of beef, mutton or lamb enriched with red wine and onions.

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Dauphinoise

Style of potato dish in which they’re thinly sliced and baked with cream, milk and sometimes cheese.

Deglaze

Loosening and dissolving meat residue from the pan base or roasting dish with water, wine or stock.

Degustation

A tasting or sampling menu, typically of several smaller courses.

Demerara sugar

Light brown sugar with coarse crystals.

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Dengaku

Japanese style of cooking grilled skewered food with a sweet miso paste.

Dhal

Indian dish of cooked dehusked split pulses such as lentils seasoned with spices.

Digestif

French term for an after-dinner drink. Often strongly alcoholic (as in the case of Cognac or eau-de-vie), they are supposed to aid digestion. The Italian term is digestivo.

Dijon mustard

French mustard with a smooth creamy consistency and a mild flavour made with brown mustard seeds, salt, spices and verjuice.

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Dim sum

Cantonese term denoting both a style of morning or midday meal (also known as yum cha) and the small dishes served at that meal to accompany tea. Steamed and fried dumplings, both sweet and sour, are among the best-known dim sum dishes.

Dolmades

Greek dish using vine leaves to wrap a filling of rice or meat and other vegetables.

Dried shrimp

These small sun-dried prawns are soaked in hot water or pounded to a paste before using. Available from Asian food stores.

Duxelles

Minced mushrooms and shallots cooked in butter and mixed with cream.

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Eau-de-vie

French for water of life – fruit-based brandy.

Ebi

Japanese prawn eaten raw in sushi.

Eccles cake

English puff pastry cases traditionally filled with raisins.

Edamame

Green soy bean pods, usually bought frozen and boiled and salted to be eaten as a snack.

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Egg custard

Custard made from whole egg or yolk and sweetened milk and cooked gently over a bain marie or double boiler.

Elderflower

White flowers of the elderberry tree used for decoration, fried, or made into a sweet cordial.

Emmental

Hard cooked-curd cow’s milk cheese from the Emmental valley in Switzerland with a sweet nutty flavour.

Empanadas

South American sweet or savoury pastries often containing meat, vegetables or cheese. These can be prepared by baking or shallow frying.

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Emulsion

Combining of two separate substances by adding small amounts of one into the other.

Endive

Bitter salad plant with curly ragged leaves.

Enoki

Japanese mushroom with delicate long stems and small white gold caps. Also enokitake.

Epoisses

A strongly flavoured cow’s milk cheese from the town of the same name in Burgundy.