Techniques

In progress…

-A-

A l’Anglaise
French for “In the English style”; Simple way of cooking vegetables in salted boiling water or just steamed.
Abaisse
French for “to lower”; Rolling a dough to the required thickness
Agar-agar
A natural gelatin made from seaweed. it is bleached and dried algae and made into flakes mostly used as a thickening agent.
Aiguillette
French for Long, thin slices of poultry breast or some other meats or fish.
Ail
French for garlic.
Aioli
Aioli is a  French garlic mayonnaise.
Albumen
The white of the egg. contains pretty much no fat and is loaded with protein. It is also visible at the surface of fish after cooking.
Al Dente
Is an Italian term, meaning “to the tooth,” describeing the correct degree of doneness for pasta and it can also be used for vegetables. It means that
the food cooked to that degrees has still offers a bit of resistance to the tooth.
Alfredo
Is a  pasta sauce consisting of butter, cream, and parmesan cheese available.
Allumettes
French for “matches” it’s a bigger version of julienne, usually used with potatoes creating thinner verision of french fries.
Anchoiade
Is a French dip made of pureed anchovies mixed with garlic and olive oil.
Antipasto
Is Italian for “before the meal” a selection of cold dishes designed to build an appetite.
Aubergine
Purple Mediterranean vegetable used comnonly in the Ratatouille or Moussaka. Aubergine is the european name, in America it is called eggplant.
Arrowroot
A starch very similar to cornstarch. it is a hickening agent, some prefer arrowroot to cornstarch as it provides a clearer finish.
Arroz
Spanish for rice.
Aromatic
A vegetable, herb, or spice that gives food more  flavor. In french cuisine  “aromatics” is a reference to the Mirepoix, a large mixed dice of onions, carrota and celery.

-B-

Baba Ganoush
Pureed roasted Aubergine, mixed with lemon juice, garlic and tahini (see tahini).
Baguette
A long, narrow loaf of French bread. A good baguette will have a nice crispy crust and a fluffy interior.
Basil
Highly aromatic herb, used a lot in Mediterranean cooking. another form called sweet basil or Holly basil is an essential par of Thai cuisine.
Bain-Marie
A bain-marie is a hot water bath used for cooking or for holding a finished at temperature. You can also use the bain-Marie to melt chocolate.
Baking powder
A chemical leavener it is a combination of  an acid; cream of tartar and bicarbonate of soda When cooking it forms a gas which enables baked goods to rise.
Baking soda
Also called bicarbonate of soda is a leavening agent which is used as an essential ingredient in baking powder. It is also used alone but generally these recipes include an acid component.
Bayleaf
The leaf of the laurel tree, called “Laurier” in French. It is an important component of the classic French bouquet garni
Béchamel
A French white sauce made by thickening milk while infusing it with onion, carrots, cellery, black peppercorn, mace and a bayleaf.
Brunoise
A fine dice usually applied mostly to vegetables. usually no bigger than 3 mm.

-J-

Julienne
To cut vegetable into thin match-like. Can be done to fruit and meat as well
Be Sociable, Share!

Leave a Response