What does THAT mean?

From time to time, you may see some words used in these recipes that will leave you scratching your head. So, here is a list of some common (and not-so-common) cooking terms that will help you cook like a pro, without having to have the dictionary handy!

Al Dente
In Italian, this means "to the tooth." In English, it just means to cook pasta so that it has a slight bite to it - not too soft, but not firm either.

Baste
Similar to glazing, this is when you pour liquids over the food during cooking to keep it moist and delicious.

Blanch
Refers to cooking vegetables in boiling water for a few minutes, then plunging them into ice water to stop the cooking process.

Blind Bake
When you're baking a pie, this refers to baking just the bottom crust for about 10-15 minutes to get it started so you don't end up with a soggy-bottom pie!
Braise
A method of cooking meats or other foods slowly in a liquid to keep the meat moist and tender.

Broil
Placing the food below the heating unit in the oven. This uses high heat, and will usually cook the food quickly, depending on how far away from the heat the food is placed.

Brown
To cook food in a pan in order to make it brown!

Carmelize
To melt either sugar or sugary foods by cooking slowly over low heat until the contents become browned.

Chiffonade
In French, this means "rag." In English, this means to cut herbs or lettuce into little strips or ribbons.

Cream
Not the stuff you put in your coffee! This means to beat butter and sugar together until they are blended, and light and fluffy.

Dice
To cut food into the shape of dice, or little cubes. (Often interchaged with "cube")

Dredge
To coat a piece of food in flour, breadcrumbs, or cornmeal. This is mostly used when frying.

Fold
With a rubber spatula or spoon, to very gently integrate two mixtures without beating, in order to preserve the volume. The purpose is to to keep as much air in the mixture as possible.

Garnish
Refers to any decoration that you put on your food, or on your plate to make the presentation look nicer, i.e. a sprig of mint, or parsley.

Glaze
To brush a liquid or sauce over the food during the cooking process, but usually toward the end of the cooking process so that it does not burn.

Infuse
To steep an aromatic ingredient in hot liquid until the flavor has been extracted and absorbed by the liquid. Best example: hot tea.

Julienne
Similar to chiffonade, except that you cut the food into matchsticks.

Reduce
To boil down a liquid until it has decreased in volume. Usually the recipe will specify how much to "reduce" the liquid by, e.g. "Reduce [the liquid] by half."

Sauté
A cooking technique which means to cook a food quickly in oil and/or butter over high heat. You can use a skillet or sauté pan, but make sure it is big enough to comfortably contain what you are cooking - otherwise, you will steam the food instead.

Score
We're not playing games here! This means to cut slits in the food to prevent curling, or to make it look pretty.

Sear
To brown meat in a very hot pan with just a touch of oil or butter in order to form a crust on the outside of the meat.

Simmer
To cook food submerged in a liquid for a period of time specified in the recipe. Used over very low heat, so the liquid is not at a rolling boil.

Sweat
While you may physically sweat in the kitchen, this is referring to cooking vegetables (usually onions) over low heat so that they get soft and tender, but not brown. If you veggies turn brown, the heat is up too high, and you cooked them too fast.

Zest
The very outer skin of a fruit (like a lemon or lime) that is taken off with a fine grater. The zest has the essential oils of the fruit and adds a great flavor to whatever you are putting it in.