A Cook's Glossary: 50 Kitchen Terms Explained

Oct 20

5 min read

Recipes have a language of their own. Fold this, temper that, deglaze the pan. If you've ever stopped halfway through a recipe wondering what on earth it was asking, this glossary is for you. Here are 50 of the terms you'll meet most often, explained in plain English.

Prep terms

Chiffonade: Stacking leaves such as basil, rolling them up tightly and slicing across into fine ribbons.
Dice: Cutting food into even cubes. Small dice is about ¼ inch, medium ½ inch and large ¾ inch. Even sizes cook evenly. See Knife Skills for Beginners.
Dredge: Coating food lightly in flour or breadcrumbs before frying, then shaking off the excess.
Grate: Rubbing food against a grater to make shreds or fine flakes, such as cheese, carrot or citrus zest.
Julienne: Cutting vegetables into thin matchsticks, about ⅛ inch thick.
Marinate: Soaking food in a seasoned liquid, often with acid and oil, to add flavor before cooking.
Brine: Soaking meat in salted water, sometimes with sugar and aromatics, so it stays juicy when cooked.
Mince: Chopping food as finely as you can, as with garlic or ginger.
Mise en place: French for "everything in its place". Measuring, chopping and laying out every ingredient before you start cooking. It's the habit that makes everything calmer. More in 30 Small Habits for Beginners.
Pinch: The small amount you can hold between your thumb and finger, roughly 1/16 teaspoon.
Score: Making shallow cuts in the surface of meat, fish or bread so it cooks evenly, crisps up or takes on flavor.
Zest: The colored outer skin of citrus fruit, full of fragrant oils. Grate it finely and leave the bitter white pith behind.

Cooking methods

Al dente: Italian for "to the tooth". Pasta cooked until tender but still with a little bite in the middle. See How to Cook Pasta Perfectly.
Bake: Cooking with dry heat in the oven, usually for breads, cakes, pastries and casseroles.
Baste: Spooning hot fat or cooking juices over food while it cooks to keep it moist and add flavor.
Blanch: Dropping food into boiling water briefly, then into ice water to stop the cooking. It sets the color of green vegetables and loosens tomato skins.
Boil: Cooking in liquid at 212°F (100°C), with big bubbles breaking all over the surface.
Braise: Browning food, then cooking it slowly, covered, in a small amount of liquid until tender. It's ideal for tougher cuts of meat.
Broil: Cooking under the oven's top heating element. It's very hot and very fast, so stay close.
Brown: Cooking food until the outside turns golden brown, which builds deep, savory flavor.
Caramelize: Cooking food until its natural sugars turn golden and sweet, as with slowly cooked onions or sugar melted to amber.
Pan-fry: Cooking food in a moderate amount of hot fat in a frying pan, turning it once.
Parboil: Partly cooking food in boiling water before finishing it another way, such as potatoes before roasting.
Poach: Cooking food gently in liquid kept just below a simmer, with only a few small bubbles. It's perfect for eggs and fish.
Reduce: Simmering a liquid uncovered so some of the water evaporates, making it thicker and more flavorful.
Render: Cooking fatty meat such as bacon slowly so the fat melts out and the meat crisps.
Rest: Letting cooked meat sit for a few minutes before slicing so the juices settle and stay in the meat.
Roast: Cooking meat or vegetables uncovered in a hot oven, so the outside browns and the inside cooks through.
Sauté: Cooking small pieces of food quickly in a little fat over fairly high heat, keeping them moving in the pan.
Sear: Browning the surface of meat or fish in a very hot pan to build a flavorful crust. See How to Sear Meat.
Simmer: Cooking liquid just below the boil, with small bubbles gently rising. Most soups, stews and sauces simmer rather than boil.
Sweat: Cooking vegetables such as onions slowly in a little fat over low heat until soft and translucent but not browned.

Sauce and flavor terms

Deglaze: Pouring liquid such as wine or stock into a hot pan and scraping up the browned bits on the bottom. It's the first step of a pan sauce. See How to Make a Pan Sauce.
Emulsify: Combining two liquids that don't usually mix, such as oil and vinegar, into a smooth, creamy sauce by whisking or blending.
Fond: The browned, sticky bits left in the pan after searing meat. They're packed with flavor.
Glaze: A shiny coating brushed onto food, such as a sticky sauce on ham or a thin icing on a cake.
Mount with butter: Whisking cold butter into a sauce at the end of cooking, off the heat, to make it glossy and rich. The French call it monter au beurre.
Purée: Blending or mashing food until completely smooth.
Roux: Equal parts fat and flour cooked together and used to thicken sauces, gravies and gumbo.
Season: Adding salt, pepper and other flavorings, and tasting as you go. See Salt 101.

Baking and mixing terms

Beat: Mixing quickly and vigorously with a spoon, whisk or mixer to add air and make a mixture smooth.
Blind bake: Baking a pie or tart crust before adding the filling, usually weighed down with parchment and pie weights or dried beans.
Cream: Beating softened butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. It traps air that helps cakes and cookies rise.
Cut in: Working cold butter into flour with a pastry blender, fork or fingertips until it looks like coarse crumbs. It's how flaky pastry and biscuits start.
Fold: Gently combining a light mixture, such as whipped cream or egg whites, into a heavier one with a spatula, cutting down and turning over so you keep the air.
Knead: Pushing, folding and turning dough to develop gluten, which makes bread chewy and helps it rise.
Proof: Letting yeast dough rise before baking. It also means checking that yeast is alive by mixing it with warm water and a little sugar until it foams.
Temper: Slowly adding a little hot liquid to eggs while whisking, so they warm up gradually without scrambling. Chocolate is also tempered, which is a different process to make it set glossy.
Whip: Beating cream or egg whites quickly to add air until they are light and hold their shape.
Whisk: Mixing with a whisk to combine ingredients smoothly, or to add a little air.

Keep learning

Knowing the words is the first step. Practicing them is the fun part. Chef Jon's Kitchen School takes the most important skills one short lesson at a time, starting with Salt 101 and Knife Skills for Beginners. Start at the Kitchen School page.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between simmering and boiling?

Boiling has big bubbles rolling across the whole surface. Simmering is gentler, with small bubbles rising slowly. Most soups, stews and sauces should simmer, because boiling can make meat tough and sauces split.

What does mise en place mean?

It's French for "everything in its place". It means measuring and preparing all your ingredients before you start cooking, so nothing burns while you hunt for the next thing.

What is the difference between searing and sautéing?

Searing browns the surface of a large piece of meat or fish in a very hot pan and leaves it alone to build a crust. Sautéing cooks smaller pieces quickly while you keep them moving.

What does al dente mean?

It means "to the tooth" in Italian. Pasta cooked al dente is tender but still has a slight bite in the center.

What does it mean to fold ingredients?

Folding is a gentle way of mixing. Use a spatula to cut down through the middle, sweep along the bottom and turn the mixture over, so you keep as much air in as possible.