Glossary

Food glossary

536 definitions · page 3 of 9.

Coconut milk and cream: Coconut milk isn't the liquid from inside the nut, but the extract of freshly grated coconut flesh. The flesh is first soaked in hot water, then allowed to cool, after which the liquid is strained off. It's available in tins from Asian and Caribbean stores…
Cod: Popular white sea fish with flaky flesh, available fresh or frozen, whole or as steaks and fillets. It's a resident of cold northern waters, but has been overfished for several years and is becoming scarcer and more expensive each year. Fresh cod is…
Collar: A cut of pork from the neck of the animal. It's used for a number of different cuts such as spare ribs, chops, boneless steaks, diced pork and mince. The common feature of all the meat is that it's slightly fatty and therefore doesn't dry out when cooked for…
Compote: A classic dish of fresh or dried fruits, simmered or baked in a light syrup. The fruit can be cooked whole or cut into pieces and almost anything can be used - limes, figs, apricots, rhubarb, berries. It's good to use seasonal fruits to get the best flavour…
Coriander: Coriander is one of the world's most commonly used herbs - in spite of the fact that the name comes from the Greek, koris, meaning bed bug! Native to southern Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now grown worldwide. Coriander tends to be associated most…
Corn syrup: A common ingredient in the US made by adding enzymes to corn starch, turning it into a thick syrup of dextrose, maltose and/or glucose. It comes in two styles - dark and light. Light corn syrup is very sweet, like golden syrup while dark corn syrup has a…
Cornbread: A type of bread made from cornmeal flour. Maize (corn) is a major crop in the US and the southern states in particular use cornmeal (which is the product of ground, dried maize) to make a wide variety of dishes, including cornbread. Cornbread can include…
Cornflour: Cornflour - or cornstarch as it's known in the US - is the finely powdered white starch extracted from maize kernels, which are soaked and ground to separate the germ and the bran. It's virtually tasteless and is used as a thickening agent. It cuts down the…
Coulis: Smooth, thick fruit or vegetable sauce usually made by puréeing or sieving the fruit. All kinds of fruits or vegetables can be used, such as apricot, raspberry or red pepper. It can be served as it is, or used to enhance the flavour of a sauce.
Court bouillon: A spiced aromatic liquor or stock used mainly to poach fish and shellfish. It simply gives flavour that would be lacking if the fish were cooked in plain water. Wine, vinegar, lemon juice, sliced onion, herbs or spices may sometimes be added to the court…
Couscous: Couscous is a small granular type of pasta which is made by sprinkling durum or hard wheat semolina grains with cold salted water and rolling and coating them in fine wheat flour. It's a staple ingredient in North Africa. Couscous is also the name of a dish…
Crab apple: The small, sour fruit of the wild apple tree. Crab apples are generally too tart to eat raw and are more commonly used to make a sweet jelly for scones and brioches, or as a condiment for roasted meats and game. They're also used to make crab apple wine. As…
Cream of tartar: Cream of tartar (potassium hydrogen tartrate) is a component of baking powder. (Baking powder comprises baking soda and cream of tartar.) Cream of tartar is a by-product of winemaking; it's derived from refined tartaric acid, which forms on the inside of…
Crème anglaise: This is the French term for the traditional British custard sauce made with egg yolks, sugar and milk and/or cream and flavoured with vanilla. Proper home-made custard is an absolute dream, but don't cut corners or it just won't be the same. The key to…
Crème brûlée: A rich custard dessert covered with a hard caramel glaze. The glaze should be just thick enough so it gives a lovely crackle and shatters when gently tapped with a spoon. To produce the perfect golden-brown crust it helps to have a blow torch, but a very hot…
Crème fraîche: The French version of soured cream. It's twice as rich, and thicker than the British version, made from pasteurised cows' milk to which a lactic bacteria culture has been added. This thickens the cream and gives it a distinctive sharp flavour. Richer than…
Crêpe: Thin French pancake, served with sweet or savoury fillings or toppings. The best known is crêpes Suzette, which are crêpes served with a sauce made from fresh orange juice, orange zest, sugar, butter and Grand Marnier, flamed at the table before serving. If…
Crostini: Traditionally a festive Italian appetiser, 'crostini' means 'little crusts' in Italian. Baguette-style bread is thinly sliced and lightly toasted and then topped, usually with pâté made from a variety of ingredients such as mushrooms, chicken livers, capers…
Croûtons: Small cubes of bread that have been fried and then drained and cooled. As they cool, they develop a crisp texture and are used as a garnish for soups or in salads such as Caesar salad or fattoush. In salads, add them at the last minute to prevent them from…
Crudités: Raw vegetables, thinly sliced or grated, served as a starter or, with a dip, as a snack. Crudités might include any fresh, seasonal vegetables such as carrots, celeriac, cucumber, sweet peppers, red cabbage, celery, fennel, tomatoes, mushrooms and radishes…
Cumberland sauce: A classic English sauce made from port, orange and lemon juice and redcurrant jelly. Served cold it's a traditional accompaniment to hot or cold ham, cold goose or game, sausages and pâté. It's very quick and easy to make and is meant to have quite a thin…
Cumin: The small, crescent-shaped seeds of a plant called Cuminum cyminum, which are used as a spice. It has a warm flavour and quite a strong, pungent aroma. Cumin seeds can be used whole or ground into a powder. They're frequently used in Indian cooking and are a…
Curry: From the Tamil word 'kari', meaning 'spiced sauce', comes this catch-all term, used to refer to any number of hot, spicy, sauce-based dishes. The term curry itself isn't really used in India, except as a term adopted by the British to categorise a number of…
Curry powder: Packaged curry powder was probably a British invention. Hoping to recreate the dishes they had enjoyed in India the British probably took back with them some Indian spice mixtures. Indian cooks don't use one single spice mixture to flavour all of their…
Custard: Traditional British dessert sauce made with egg yolks, sugar and milk and/or cream flavoured with vanilla. Proper homemade custard is an absolute dream, but don't cut corners or it just won't be the same. The key thing when making custard is to heat it just…
Daikon: A long, white vegetable of the radish family, also known as mooli. It's crunchy, with a mild peppery flavour, similar to watercress. Unlike other radishes it's as good cooked as it is raw. In Chinese and Japanese cookery it's used for vegetable carving as…
Dandelion: Commonly considered a weed, dandelions provide excellent salad leaves when they're young (larger, older leaves become bitter). They grow wild all over Europe, the US and Asia. If you pick your own, do so early in the year - in the spring when the leaves are…
Dariole: Also known as a madeleine tin, this is a small steep-sided metal mould about 8cm (3.2in) tall, with flared sides (narrower at the bottom than at the top). It's used for individual servings of all kinds of sweet or savoury dishes including pastries, mousses…
Date: Widely grown in Arab countries, the date is the fruit of the date palm. Dates are sweet and rich with a chewy, sticky texture. Fresh dates are plump and dark brown with a glossy sheen. Dried dates look very similar and it can be hard to tell the difference…
Daube: A classic French method of cooking a type of stew, usually using a single joint of meat braised in red-wine stock, with vegetables and herbs. Once the meat is cooked, the braising liquid is thickened, then reduced and served with the meat and vegetables. A…
Dauphinoise (à la): To cook something 'à la Dauphinoise' means to bake it in a slow oven with cream and garlic. A gratin dauphinoise is a classic dish of thinly sliced potatoes cooked in this way - with garlic, cream, milk, butter and often gruyère cheese - rich, but very…
Deglaze: To deglaze is to add wine, stock or other liquid to a hot pan or roasting tin in which food has been roasted or sautéed. Use a wooden spatula to scrape all the tasty bits sticking to the bottom and sides of the pan and stir them into the juices. Reduce the…
Demerara sugar: This pale-coloured and mild-tasting raw cane sugar is named after its place of origin - Demerara, in Guyana - but it's now imported from various other places such as Jamaica, Malawi and Mauritius. It has large sparkling golden crystals and a crunchy texture…
Demi-glace sauce: Demi-glace sauce is a rich brown sauce often used by chefs. It's made from a reduction of clear stock and sauce espagnole - stock that has been thickened with a roux, diced vegetables and tomato purée - and is the basis for classic sauces such as Madeira…
Descaling fish: Removing the scales from a fish is best done by first cutting off the fins and then holding on to the tail and scraping away the scales the 'wrong' way - from tail to head with a large knife. This tends to be a messy job because the scales often fly about…
Dim sum: The collective term for an array of little dishes eaten mainly by southern and Hong Kong Chinese and served in tea houses and restaurants all day long. It's sometimes called 'yum cha' after the Chinese tradition of taking tea, and tea is the drink usually…
Double cream: Cows' milk contains butterfat which is removed from milk using a centrifuge system. The longer the milk is centrifuged, the thicker the cream becomes. Double cream is very rich, with a fat content of 48 per cent, making it the most versatile cream because it…
Dover sole: The superior sole, Dover sole is a member of the flatfish family, fished from the North Sea to the Mediterranean. It has a light brown/grey speckled skin and a creamy underside. It has a firm but delicate and flavourful flesh and is best cooked as simply as…
Dropping consistency: The consistency required of cake mixes where the mixture isn't soft enough to fall easily off the spoon but slides off reluctantly after a few seconds.
Dublin Bay prawn: This isn't actually a prawn at all, but a small lobster fished off the north-west coast of Scotland. It's also known as langoustine and sometimes called scampi, but this term has also become the term used to refer to the tail-end pieces of prawn that are…
Durian: A large, green, spiky, South-east Asian fruit about the size of a football. To all but its fans, the durian has a nauseating smell - in fact its transport has been outlawed by many airlines. How something so delicious can smell so dreadful is one of life's…
Duxelles: A mixture of chopped mushrooms cooked in butter with onion (or shallots) and thyme. Duxelles is used as a stuffing or garnish and in the preparation of various dishes called 'à la duxelles. It's traditionally used in beef Wellington but is also delicious on…
Eau de framboise: A raspberry spirit. Eau de framboise is often used in cooking to flavour sweet and savoury dishes. It can also be drunk as a digestif or aperitif.
Egg wash: Beaten raw egg, sometimes mixed with water and a little salt, used for glazing pastry or bread to give it a shine when baked. Useful for blind baking because it seals the pastry base, ensuring it won't absorb moisture, and also gives the pastry a good golden…
Eggplant: Another name for aubergine, probably resulting from the appearance of the egg-shaped, white-skinned variety. This term is more commonly used in the US.
Eggs: Eggs are a very versatile cooking ingredient. Hen’s eggs are the type of egg most frequently used in cooking. Duck eggs, gull eggs and quail eggs are less frequently used and are generally eaten on their own, rather than in baking. In baking, most recipes…
Empanada: Flaky meat pies made from olive-oil pastry and served as tapas in Spain and as a popular snack in Latin America. Meat filling is most common but they can be filled with anything - fish, vegetables, cheese, even fruit. The classic empanada comes from Galicia…
Emulsify: An emulsion is a stable suspension of fat and another liquid. To emulsify is to combine fats (such as butter or oil) with a liquid (such as vinegar or citric juices) into a smooth and even blend using an emulsifier (such as an egg yolk) which binds to each…
Entrecôte: A boneless steak of beef cut from the sirloin, more commonly known as a sirloin steak. It’s a prime cut of beef so is best cooked quickly - either grilled or fried.
Escabèche: A spicy cold pickle or marinade made from herbs, spices, vinegar and olive oil that originated in Spain and was used mainly for preserving fish and other cooked foods. It's mostly used for small cooked fish, which are de-headed, fried or lightly browned and…
Escalope: A thin slice of boneless meat, often beaten even thinner for quick cooking. It's cut from the leaner parts of certain animals, in particular veal, pork and turkey. It can also be used to refer to thick slices of fish with a strip of skin on one side. The…
Espagnole (à la): À l'espagnole is the name given to several ways of preparing food inspired by Spanish cuisine. The main ingredients are tomatoes, sweet peppers, onions and garlic, usually fried in olive oil. Not to be confused with sauce Espagnole, which is a sauce based on…
Essence or extract: These are concentrated flavourings (for example from vanilla pods, almonds, anchovies or coffee beans) used to flavour and enhance foods, and can also refer to synthetic flavourings. They're usually sold in small bottles or jars. Vanilla extract is extracted…
Falafel: A popular Middle Eastern street food made of spiced chickpea fritters, often served in warm pitta bread with tahini sauce. It's often served as part of a selection of hot meze dishes.
Farfalle: Literally 'butterfly' in Italian, this is pasta shaped like little butterflies or bow-ties. It's very popular with children because of its novelty factor. Allow about 75g of pasta per person. If you can't find farfalle, fusilli is a good substitute. Certain…
Fava beans: Fresh or dried broad beans (the term fava bean is used more frequently 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…
Fennel: There are two main types of this aromatic plant - the vegetable and the herb. Both have pale green, celery-like stems and bright green, feathery foliage. Florence fennel, also called finocchio or Italian fennel, has a broad, bulbous base with a mild aniseed…
Fenugreek: An aromatic Mediterranean plant that produces long pods containing oblong, brownish seeds. The seeds have a slightly bitter taste and are roasted and ground and used as a flavouring in curries (ground fenugreek is frequently used in curry powder). The leaves…
Feta cheese: A creamy white Greek cheese traditionally made from ewes' milk or ewes' and goats' milk mixed together (but now sometimes made using cows' milk) and preserved in brine or oil. It has quite a salty flavour but it shouldn't be so salty that it detracts from…
Fettuccine: Long flattish noodle-shaped pasta, similar to tagliatelle. A very good pasta to serve with oil or butter-based sauces because the sauce goes a long way to coat the pasta evenly and also helps to prevent the strands of pasta from clumping together.