Au Gratin                     Food that is creamed, with bread or cracker crumbs and
                                    cheese or butter and browned in the oven.

Bake                            To cook by dry heat, as in an oven.

Baste                            To moisten roasting meat or fowl with melted fat, milk, water,
                                    etc., to prevent burning.

Beat                             To mix briskly with a circular motion.

Blanch                          To plunge into boiling water to either remove a skin or to whiten.

Blend                           To combine two or more ingredients thoroughly.

Boil                              To cook in a liquid (usually water) at a temperature at or above
                                    the boiling point.

Braise                           To cook by searing and browning in fat, and then simmering
                                    in a covered dish with little moisture.

Broil                             To cook by direct heat under a flame or over hot coals.

Brush                           To spread with a thin coat of butter, egg, etc., by means of a brush,
                                    paper or a cloth.

Caramelize                   To heat sugar in a skillet until it melts and turns brown. To heat
                                    foods containing sugar until brown and they have a caramel
                                    flavor.

Chop                            To cut into very small pieces.

Consommé                   A highly seasoned clear soup made from meat and vegetables.

Condiments                  Seasonings for food, as salt, pepper, vinegar, spices, and herbs.

Coat                             To dip into bread or cracker crumbs, then into beaten
                                    egg and again into crumbs.

Cream                          To mix one or more foods together until soft and fluffy.

Croquette                     A combination of previously cooked meat, fish, fowl, rice, etc.
                                    seasoned and held together with eggs or a thick sauce, shaped,
                                    then dipped in egg and crumbs and fried.

Cube                            Cut into small cubes ½ to ¼ inch on a side.

Cut                               To separate food with a knife or scissors.

Cut in                           To mix shortening and dry ingredients with the cutting
                                    motion of knives, spatulas or a pastry blender.

Dice                             To cut into small cubes.

Dot                              To put small pieces of butter, cheese, etc., on top of food.

Drain                            To pour off liquid, as from vegetables.

Dredge                         To coat well, usually with flour.

Drippings                      The fat from roasted meat or cooked bacon.

Dust                             To sprinkle with a light covering of flour or sugar.

Fat                               Shortening, lard, butter, suet, etc., rendered. Also oils.

Fillet                             A boneless piece of fish or meat.

Flake                            To separate into small pieces.

Fold in                          To blend two ingredients together by stirring gently.
                                    Usually used in adding beaten egg whites or a whipped cream to a
                                    mixture.

Fricassee                      A stew or to stew meat, fowl, etc., and serve with a gravy or sauce.

Fritter                           A small amount of batter, often containing fruit, vegetables, etc.,
                                    and fried in deep fat.

 Frosting                       A mixture of water, sugar, milk, egg white and flavoring, cooked
                                    Or uncooked and used as a coating on cakes and cupcakes.

Fry                               To cook in hot fat.
                                    To pan fry a small amount of fat is used, usually enough to cover
                                    the bottom of a pan.
                                    To deep fry use enough fat to cover the food.

Fryings                         The fat from fried meat.

Garnish                         To decorate food with parsley, lemon, etc., to make the
                                    dish more attractive. Fresh flowers can also be used.

Giblets                          The heart. Liver. And gizzard of poultry.

Glaze                            To coat with crystallized sugar.

Grate                            To rub or shave into small pieces by means of a grater.

Grease                         Any kind of fat with a buttery consistency used to coat a pan
                                    or dish to prevent ingredients from sticking to the dish or pan.

Grill                              To cook over an open flame as to barbeque.

Icing                             The same as frosting.

Knead                          To work dough with a pressing motion of the hands, stretching the
                                    dough and then folding it over itself.

Lard                             To enrich by the insertion of strips of pork or bacon before
                                    roasting.

Liquor                          A liquid in which meat or other food has been boiled, or the
                                    natural liquid of oysters.

Melt                             To turn to a liquid by heating.

Meringue                      An icing made of beaten egg whites and sugar.

Mince                           To cut or chop into very small pieces.

Mix                              To blend by beating or stirring.

Pan broil                       To cook, with only a little fat, in a hot pan.

Parboil                         To cook partially by boiling.

Pare                             To peal the outer coating from fruits or vegetables. As apples or
                                    potatoes.

Peel                              To strip the skin or rind from fruit or vegetables. As onions or
                                    oranges.

Poach                           To remove the shell of an egg and drop the egg into boiling water
                                    continuing the cooking process with the water under the boiling
                                    point, until the white of the egg is set.

Pressure Cooking         To cook by pressure it is necessary to have one of several types
                                    of pressure cookers manufactured for the purpose. The food is
                                    cooked in trapped steam at pressures ranging up to 30 pounds per
                                    square inch with the temperatures ranging up to 275 degrees F.
                                    For most pressure cooking the pressure is kept from 10 to 15 pounds
                                    and the temperature at 240 degrees F. to 250 degrees F.

Render                         To separate fat from connective tissue by heating slowly until the fat
                                    melts and can be poured off.

Roll                              To flatten dough with a rolling pin.

Roast                           To cook by dry heat, usually in an oven.

Roux                            A smooth mixture of flour and fat in a hot pan. The food is stirred
                                    frequently so that the hot grease reaches all sides.

Sauté                            To fry quickly in a pan containing little grease.

Scald                            To bring a liquid, as milk, to just below the boiling point. Bubbles appear
                                    around the sides of the pot but do not break the surface of the liquid.

Score                           To mark light lines or notches on a surface as to score a ham.

Scar                             To brown the surface of meat quickly, usually in a hot oven or pan.

Sear                             A very rapid cooking of the exterior of food at a high temperature.
                                    This is usually done to seal juices in foods to be cooked at
                                    lower temperatures for an extended period of time.

Shred                           To cut or tear into thin strips.

Shortening                    Butter, lard, etc., any fat that can be used in baking.

Sift                               To put dry ingredients through a sifter.

Simmer                         To cook in water that is just below the boiling point.

Skewer                        A long pin of metal or wood used to fasten meat, fowl, etc.

Sliver                            To cut or shred into lengths.

Soak                            To steep in liquid for a long time.

Soufflé                          A baked dish of eggs, milk, cheese and made fluffy
                                    with beaten egg white.

Steam                           To cook with the heat of boiling water, usually by means of a
                                    double boiler or steamer.

Steep                           To cover with boiling water, and allow to warm without further heating.

Sterilize                        To destroy germs or bacteria by means of heat. Very important in
                                    canning foods.

Stew                            To cook slowly in liquid that is just below the boiling point.

Stir                               To blend ingredients with a circular motion.

Stock                           The liquid in which meat or vegetables have been cooked.

Toast                            To brown by direst heat or in an oven.

Truss                            To bind poultry or meat with skewers and/or string so the it will
                                    retain its shape.

Whip                            To beat rapidly to incorporate air and increase the volume.