Did you know that there are many common cooking terms that people don’t know, understand or misuse?
Well, there are. Here are just some that I thought we could use a quick refresher on.
Cooking Terms- Lesson 1
* Batter~ A mixture of flour, fat and liquid that is thin enough in consistency to require a pan to encase it. A batter is different than a dough, which holds its shape.
* Blanch~ To boil something briefly to loosen the skin of a fruit or vegetable. After 30 seconds in boiling water, the fruit or vegetable should be plunged into ice water to stop the cooking process.
* Deglaze~ To add liquid to a pan in which foods have been fried or roasted in order to dissolve the carmelized juices stuck to the bottom of the pan.
* Saute~ To cook food quickly in a small amount of oil in a skillet or fry pan over direct heat.
* Score~ To tenderize meat by making a number of shallow, often diagonal cuts across the surface. This is useful in marinating too because it allows the marinade to better penetrate the meat.
* Steep~ To soak dry ingredients like, dried herbs, tea leaves, spices etc in liquid until the flavor is infused in the liquid.
DrRandy
Steeping is with dry ingredients in water-based liquids, and produces a tea or tisane. Oils are infused with fresh or dried herbs, and produce an infusion. Fruits are mixed with water and sugar (and sometimes alcohol), and are thus macerated. And vegetables and proteins are mixed with spices and salt, with either water, alcohol, or oil, forming a marinade.