Glossary

Food glossary

536 definitions · page 2 of 9.

Bonito: Large fish from the same family as tuna and mackerel. Bonito is an oily fish and is prepared in the same way as tuna. It's labelled as skipjack tuna when tinned.
Borlotti beans: A variety of kidney bean, this is a large, plump bean, pinkish brown in colour with reddish brown streaks, widely used in Italian cooking. You can buy borlotti beans dried or tinned - cannellini beans make a good replacement if you can't find them. They have…
Borsch or borscht: Eastern European soup usually made with beetroot and served with a good dollop of soured cream and, sometimes, dumplings.
Bouillabaisse: A fish stew made of a variety of fish, flavoured with saffron and tomatoes. It's traditionally associated with the Provence region of France, particularly Marseilles. There are innumerable recipes for 'authentic' bouillabaisse and arguments rage about what…
Bouquet garni: A small bunch of herbs, classically a bay leaf, a few parsley sprigs and a few sprigs of thyme, wrapped in a leek leaf or bunched with a piece of celery and tied with string. It's ideal for flavouring soups, stews and stocks during cooking and is removed…
Brazil nut: A large nut with a very hard shell, cultivated in Brazil and Paraguay. They tend to be expensive because commercial supplies are derived entirely from wild trees. They're tough nuts to crack so buy shelled brazils if you can. The creamy, white kernel is very…
Brioche: A slightly sweet French yeast bread, rich with butter and eggs. The traditional shape has a fluted bottom and a topknot and is made in a special mould. Good as a sweet bread or served with cheese or pâté. Use it in place of plain bread when making bread and…
Brisket: A cut of beef taken from just below the shoulder along the length of the chest/breast. It's a fairly firm cut, so it's inexpensive, and benefits from long, slow cooking. Sold on the bone, or boned and rolled, it's often cooked in one piece. Delicious…
Broad beans: Broad beans are also called fava beans, particularly in the US. Fresh broad beans only have a short natural season during the summer and are often sold frozen or canned. They're sweet and delicious with a smooth creamy texture. Fresh beans are more popular…
Brochette: Brochette is the French name for a skewer, and in cookery refers to cubes of meat or fish and vegetables threaded onto a skewer and then grilled or barbecued. In Turkey it is a 'shish', hence shish kebab. Invest in some metal skewers as the bamboo ones tend…
Brownie: A dense, chewy cake, usually made with chocolate in a large tin and cut into squares.
Bruschetta: Italian bread (usually ciabatta), that's sliced and grilled or toasted, then rubbed with a clove of garlic and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, before being finished off with a variety of toppings (ripe plum tomatoes and fresh basil is a classic…
Buckwheat: A type of grain used extensively in Eastern European cooking. Buckwheat flour is traditionally used to make blinis - small pancakes eaten with caviar. In Italy it's sometimes used to make gnocchi; buckwheat pasta is the basis of the famous pizzocheri, a…
Buttermilk: Buttermilk is traditionally a by-product of butter-making - the liquid that's left over after butter is churned from cream. It is now made commercially by adding a bacterial culture to skimmed milk. It has a slightly sour, acidic taste and is used for making…
Calvados: Calvados is an apple brandy made in Normandy, northern France. It's produced from distilled cider and matured in oak barrels. In Normandy it's traditionally served as a digestif during (yes, during) the meal. It's good in cocktails and makes an excellent…
Calzone: A pizza that's folded in half and baked so that the filling is enclosed completely - similar to a Cornish pasty or turnover. Calzones are usually made as a single serving. It's popular street food in Italy, particularly in Naples where pizza is said to have…
Canapés: The term 'canapé' means sofa or settee in French - so traditionally canapés were little platforms of pastry or buttered, fried or toasted bread for tasty things to sit on. It now encompasses all kinds of bite-sized appetisers that can be eaten with the…
Cannellini beans: A small, white, kidney-shaped bean. You can buy cannellini beans dried or tinned - borlotti beans make a good replacement if you can't find them. Cannellini beans are good for using in salads and casseroles. The dried variety needs to be soaked in cold water…
Cape gooseberries: Also known as physalis, this is a small, smooth round fruit wrapped in its own papery case that resembles a Chinese lantern. The fruit itself is a pretty orange-gold colour and can be unwrapped and eaten as is, or dipped in melted chocolate and served after…
Capers: The pickled flower buds of the caper bush, which grows wild all over the Mediterranean. Fresh capers are picked and immediately preserved in brine or wine vinegar, or are packed in salt (these should be rinsed before use to remove any excess salt). Their…
Capon: A castrated cockerel fed a fattening diet making it particularly juicy and flavourful. it's no longer legal to produce capons in the UK. Capon is still a popular Christmas roast in Italy.
Capsicum: This is the generic name for the pepper family, which includes the large, sweet, mild peppers (green, yellow, orange and red are the most common), which are also called bell peppers or sweet peppers, as well as any of the hundreds of hot chilli peppers…
Caramelise: The process of either heating sugar to a point when it melts and resets as a hard glaze, as on the top of a crème brûlée, or cooking small or cut fruit or vegetables in water and sugar until they become brown and glazed. You can invest in a cook's blow torch…
Cardamom: An aromatic spice indigenous to south India and Sri Lanka, cardamom seeds come from a plant belonging to the ginger family. They're contained in small pods about the size of a cranberry. Cardamom pods are usually green in colour, but they're sometimes…
Cardoon: A large stalky vegetable related to the artichoke, the cardoon is popular in France, Italy and Spain but less known or used in the UK. Cardoons can be found in markets from midwinter to early spring. Look for stalks that are firm and have a silvery…
Carob: The fruits of this evergreen tree, native to the Middle East, grow in large pods that look similar to broad beans until they ripen from green to brown. They contain a very sweet pulp and hard, brown seeds. In the Middle East, the sweet pods are chewed raw…
Carpaccio: A classic Italian dish, served as a starter, of very thin shavings of raw beef fillet, served cold with olive oil and lemon juice or with a mayonnaise or mustard sauce. The dish is often topped with capers and sometimes onions. Although true carpaccio is…
Cashew: The cashew nut has a very unusual growth habit. It grows on a small tree, dangling beneath a fleshy stalk known as the cashew apple, or cashew pear. The 'pear' can be used for juices, syrups and liqueurs but the cashew nut is much more widely used. Cashews…
Caul fat: The lacy, fatty membrane encasing the internal organs of an animal. Pork caul is often used for wrapping faggots or pâtés. It comes in thin sheets and you can buy it from traditional butchers.
Caviar: True caviar is the salted and matured eggs or roe of the female sturgeon. Most caviar comes from the Caspian Sea and is processed in Russia and Iran. Beluga is the most expensive variety, followed by Oscietra and Sevruga, all of which are produced from…
Cavolo nero: An Italian cabbage with dark green leaves that have a good, strong flavour. It can be used in all cabbage recipes but it's particularly good in soups - such as the classic Tuscan soup, ribolitta, which is traditionally left to sit for a day before serving to…
Cayenne pepper: A red, fiery hot spice ground from the pod and seeds of dried chillies. A pinch of cayenne over devilled kidneys or stirred through gravy for game birds adds a gutsy kick and heightens the flavour of the dish. It's also good used sparingly in vegetable or…
Celeriac: A large, knobbly root vegetable, the base of the stem of certain types of celery. It tastes quite similar to celery, although it also has a slightly nutty flavour. It's in season from mid-September to the end of April. To prepare it, peel like a potato…
Celery seeds: Dried seeds of celery, with a bitter taste. They're used in bread making and in egg and fish dishes. Celery seeds are ground with salt to make celery salt, used for making Bloody Marys.
Cep (also cèpe): The word cep is a Gascon term for the Boletus edulis mushroom (called 'porcino' in Italian). The same mushroom is called the 'penny bun' in English. This mushroom is generally agreed by connoisseurs to be among the finest eating mushrooms. Ceps make great…
Ceviche: A South American dish of raw white fish, marinated and effectively 'cooked' in lemon or lime juice - the acid in the juices breaks down the fish and after a few hours it will eventually become opaque like ordinary cooked fish. It's typically served with…
Chantilly cream: Sweetened, vanilla-flavoured, whipped cream used for desserts and puddings. It's sometimes flavoured with liqueur. Chantilly is a medieval French market town just north of Paris, famous for its whipped cream, and there's no shortage of patisseries serving…
Charcuterie: Charcuterie is a generic term for the products traditionally sold by charcutiers (pork butchers), and includes all products based on pork meat or offal, including cured and cooked meats, fresh and smoked sausages, pâtés, black puddings and salamis. It also…
Charlotte: 1. Small, waxy potato with a pale yellow skin and buttery yellow flesh. Excellent in salads, eaten hot or cold, and in Spanish omelettes. Also good for boiling, pan-frying and using in gratins. 2. A pudding made in a mould lined with sponge fingers or bread…
Chestnut: The fruit of the sweet chestnut tree (Castanea sativa) that is edible when cooked. Chestnuts can be simply roasted and eaten whole or they can be added to other dishes such as stuffings or casseroles. Chestnuts can also be dried and ground to make flour…
Chèvre: The French word for 'goat' has come to be used to refer to all French cheeses made from pasteurised goats' milk. Chèvres can vary in maturity and strength of flavour, and they range in texture from moist and creamy to dry and semi-firm. They come in a…
Chickpea: A small legume that was first grown in the Levant and ancient Egypt, and is now used in cuisines all around the world. In Indian cookery, finely milled chickpea flour, called gram flour or besan flour, is used to make some kinds of batter. Chickpeas are a…
Chicory: A vegetable and/or salad leaf comprising a white bulb of tightly packed elongated cones of overlapping white leaves with pale yellow leaf tips. Although we call it chicory here, it's more commonly known as witloof (meaning white leaf) in Belgium and is…
Chiffonade: Thin strips or shreds of vegetables (classically, sorrel and lettuce), either lightly sautéed or used raw to garnish soups. With lettuce, the aim is to cut it as thinly as possible so you end up with delicate, frilly ribbons.
Chilli: Chilli peppers are much smaller than sweet peppers (see capsicum) and can be green, yellow, orange, red or black. Don't be fooled by their small size - they pack a fiery punch! There are more than 200 known varieties and they differ greatly in size, colour…
Chinois: A fine metal conical strainer with a long handle, used for straining soups and sauces to give them a professional sheen and finish, as well as sorting out any lumps! It has a finer mesh than a standard sieve.
Chipotle: A mild, dried chilli with a deep smoky flavour, commonly used in Mexican cooking and in the cooking of the American south-west. It's frequently used in commercially produced chilli sauces.
Chorizo: A spicy Spanish sausage with new-found popularity. Pronounced 'chor-eetho', it's made all over Spain, as well as in Portugal, where it's spelled 'chouriço'. There are lots of regional varieties but all are made with pork and flavoured with pimentón (smoked…
Choux pastry: A very light, double-cooked pastry usually used for sweets and buns. It's made with plain flour, salt, butter, eggs, milk and a little sugar (if it's being used for a sweet dish). It's used to make profiteroles, eclairs and choux puffs and is the basis of…
Chowder: A thick, chunky seafood soup from North America, of which clam chowder is the best known. The word chowder comes from the French 'chaudière' - a heavy, three-legged iron cauldron in which fishermen made stews fresh from their day's catch. Chowder is believed…
Chuck and blade: This is a cut of beef from the shoulder. Because it's a part that has worked hard during the animal's life, this is one of the tougher cuts. Although it's less expensive and has lots of flavour, it needs long, gentle cooking. Ideal for casseroles and stews.
Chump: A cut of either lamb or pork taken from the lower back. Sold as chops, or with the bone removed as steaks, it's ideal for grilling and barbecues but also delicious if baked slowly in the oven.
Chutney: From the Hindi word 'chatni' meaning strong spices, chutney is a preserved or fresh relish made from fruit or vegetables with vinegar, sugar, herbs and spices. British-style chutneys tend to be preserved by being cooked and are usually quite sweet, whereas…
Ciabatta: Ciabatta means 'slipper' in Italian and describes the appearance of this oval, flattish yeast bread with an open texture and a crisp, floury crust. It's flavoured with olive oil and is often used as the base for bruschetta. Slice it at an angle and serve…
Cinnamon: This warm, sweet spice comes from the bark of a tree native to Sri Lanka. The bark is removed, dried and rolled up to make a tube. Cinnamon is sold dry as sticks and as a powder. You can try to grind your own cinnamon from the bark but it's difficult to get…
Clarified butter: This is butter that has had the water, milk solids and salt removed. Butter browns and burns at lower temperatures than many other fats do, but by clarifying it you leave pure butter fat which is more stable and can be cooked at a higher temperature…
Clotted cream: Thick, rich and indulgent with the consistency of soft butter, clotted cream is made by heating normal cream to evaporate some of the liquids. It has at least 55 per cent butter fat giving it a pale yellow colour, often topped with a deeper yellow crust…
Cloves: Cloves are the dried flower buds of an evergreen tree native to eastern Indonesia. It's a versatile spice that can be used in drinks and in sweet and savoury dishes. The pungent, sweet flavour of the clove lends itself perfectly to meats such as beef or…
Cobnut: Cobnuts, which grow in Britain, are a type of hazelnut. You may be able to buy fresh nuts, particularly native cobnuts, still in their husks in season (early autumn) but most are sold dried and processed. See hazelnut for further information.
Coconut: The fruit of the coconut palm, the coconut has a very hard woody shell covered with a thick, hairy husk. The shell is lined with a firm white pulp and the hollow centre contains a sweet milky-white liquid (called coconut water) that makes a refreshing drink…