| Bagasse |
Remains of sugar cane from which the juice has been extracted, used as a fuel |
| Bain-marie |
A gentle method of cooking or heating food, by placing the dish of food to be cooked inside another containing hot water, so the food does not come into direct contact wih the heat |
| Baumé |
A division on a hydrometer scale, used to measure the density in degrees, at a specific temperature, of sugar syrups. Named after its inventor |
| Bavarois |
Bavarian velvety cream dessert |
| Beurre manié |
A thickening agent made of equal quantities of flour and blutter kneaded together. Added to soups and savoury sauces |
| Beurre noisette |
Butter heated until it turns a nut-brown colour |
| Bind/thicken |
The use of eggs, cream, flour or cornflour to thicken a liquid and obtain a smooth consistency |
| Blanch |
To immerse food, usually fruit and vegetables, briefly in boiling water, in order to preserve the colour or tenderise them slightly |
| Blind (to bake) |
To bake a pastry case (puff or short crust), without the filling. The pastry base is usually covered with baking parchment and weighted with dried beans or ceramic baking beads to prevent it rising |
| Bourgeois |
A type of fish found in the waters around the Seychelles, related to the grouper |
| Braise |
To cook slowly in a closed receptacle, in a small amount of liquid |
| Brunoise |
Fruit or vegetables cut into very small dice of 1-2 mm |
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| Caramelise |
To cook to release natural sugars or until reaching a brown colour |
| Chinois |
A fine conical strainer for straining sauces, purées, soups, etc. |
| Clarified butter |
Butter melted, and then filtered, to remove impurities such as salt |
| Clean |
To remove the bitter-tasting gut from a crayfish by pulling out the media lamina |
| Coulis |
A liquid purée derived from the natural juices of shellfish, vegetables or fruit |
| Core temperature |
To ensure that a dish, a terrine for example, is thoroughly cooked by testing the centre with a cooking thermometer |
| Court-bouillon |
Stock made of water, white wine and seasoning used as a liquid in which to poach fish or shellfish |
| Chocolate couverture |
A type of chocolate with a high cocoa butter content usual in pastry making and confectionery |
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| Dashi |
Used extensively in Japanese cooking, dashi is a soup stock made with dried bonito tuna flakes and water |
| Deglaze |
To utilise juices from cooking to make a gravy or sauce by adding water, wine or a similar liquid to a pan, and scraping the residues from the base |
| Dodine |
A dish of boned, stuffed and braised poultry (particularly duck) or meat. Served hot, or cold in aspic, sliced thickly |
| Dress |
To prepare fish, poultry, or game before cooking |
| Duxelle |
Very finely chopped button mushrooms, sweated in butter, used as a base for numerous stuffings |
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| Gastrique |
A reduced mixture of vinegar and sugar used in the preparation of hot sauces accompanying dishes made with fruit, such as duck with orange |
| Glaze |
To brush pastry or dough with beaten egg yolk to obtain an attractive golden colour after cooking |
| Glazed (vegetables) |
To cook vegetables with water, salt and sugar, reducing the liquid until the result is a syrup, which coats the vegetables and makes them shine |
| Goujonnettes |
Strips of filleted fish |
| Granita |
A mixture of syrup and alcohol, frozen and then broken up repeatedly until it forms loose ice crystals. Often served to cleanse the palate between courses, or as a dessert |
| Gratin dauphinois forestier |
Seasoned, sliced potatoes baked in cream with cheese and wild mushrooms |
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| Marinade |
A liquid rich in condiments, in which different types of food can be soaked, for different lengths of time, to soften or flavour them |
| Marinate |
To soak an ingredient in a liquid or syrup so that it becomes impregnated with the flavour |
| Marlin |
A big fish, inhabiting tropical seas, related to the swordfish |
| Mirepoix |
A flavourful combination of roughly diced carrots and onions added to meat during cooking |
| Monosodium glutamate |
A flavour-enhancing chemical compound, the sodium salt of glutamic acid, widely used in the food-processing industry and also in Asian cuisine |
| Muslin |
Fine cotton fabric used for straining purées, sauces, etc. |
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| Savory |
An aromatic herb |
| Seal |
To start cooking meat in fat over a moderate heat so it changes colour, without browning |
| Sieve / Sift |
To strain an ingredient through a sieve to remove lumps, seeds, skin, etc. |
| Skim |
To remove excess fat that rises to the top of a dish during or after cooking |
| Steep |
To soak dry ingredients in liquid until the flavour is infused into the liquid |
| Stew |
To cook slowly and gently until most or all of the liquid is absorbed and the ingredients develop a soft consistency and start to break down |
| Stock |
An aromatic liquid used to make gravies and sauces. Stock is referred to as « white » if the ingredients are added direct to the cooking liquid. If the ingredients are browned first before adding the liquid, it is called « brown » |
| Subric |
Cooked ingredients (meat, chicken livers or vegetables) bound together in a thick sauce with eggs, shaped into croquettes, and balked in the oven |
| Sweat |
To sauté an ingredient gently in fat, without browning, to enhance its flavour |
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| Tapenade |
Purée of capers, black olives, anchovies and herbs, from southern France |
| Thicken |
See: bind |
| Tian |
An earthenware cooking pot |
| Timbale |
A layered dish cooked in a tall mould (timbale) and then turned out. Often made of rice layered with vegetables |
| Toast |
To cook without the addition of fat, either under a grill, in an oven or in a dry pan, so the ingredient develops a light golden colour or the flavour is intensified |
| Trail |
To beat a batter or other preparation until it forms a trail on the surface of the mixture, which lasts a few seconds, when the spoon or whisk is lifted out |
| Trim |
To remove the gristle and tendons from a piece of meat |
| Turn out |
To empty the ingredients for a dish, or finished bakery products, into a receptacle so they can cool, or to reserve them for use later |
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