Glossary:

Al dente - firm, not soft or mushy, to the bite.

Bake - to cook by freely circulating dry air around the food in a pan. Done in an oven.

Baste - to keep food moist during cooking by spooning, brushing, or drizzling with a sauce.

Beat - to mix ingredients rapidly so that air is incorporated, resulting in a smooth creamy mixture.

Blanch - to cook very briefly in boiling water to help remove skins or peels.

Blend - to combine ingredients together to a desired consistency

Boil - to cook in water (or other liquid) that is bubbling rapidly.

Broil - to cook with intense direct heat either on a grill or under a broiler.

Brown - to cook food quickly in a preheated oven, broiler, or skillet to brown the outside.

Clarified butter (called ghee by Indians) - purified butterfat with water and milk solids removed by heating. To do: place one pound of butter in a pan. Heat until all the butter is melted. Remove from heat. As it cools the solids will sink to the bottom of the pan. Pour the liquid into a glass container being careful not to get any of the solids from the bottom. Save the ghee, discard the solids. This is used in stir frying by Indians as it has a very high smoke temperature with all the solids, which normally burn, removed.

Chop - to cut into pieces.

Cream - to mix a softened ingredient, like butter, alone or with another ingredient, like sugar, till completely blended and soft.

Cut - to combine butter or shortening with dry ingredients, usually flours, with two knives, a pastry blender, or your hands, till it resembles coarse meal.

Dice - to cut into small pieces 1/4" x 1/4"

Fold - to incorporate one ingredient into another without stirring or beating but instead by gently lifting from underneath with a rubber spatula.

Fry - to cook in hot fat.

Garnish - to decorate food with fresh herbs, edible flowers, etc. to enhance the look of the dish.

Grease - to lightly coat a pan with some fat to prevent foods from sticking.

Gelatinization - the process by which starch granules absorb water and swell.

Marinate - to tenderize and flavor food by placing it in a seasoned liquid, usually composed of some combination of vinegar, lemon juice, wine, oil, herbs, spices.

Mince - to cut into very tiny pieces 1/8" x 1/8"

Mix - to stir ingredients together with a spoon or fork.

Pare - to use a thin knife to remove skin or peel from fruits and vegetables.

Pinch - the amount of a dry ingredient you can hold between your thumb and finger.

Smash (as in ‘smashed’ garlic) – remove the skin from the garlic clove by tapping with a hammer, it then peels off easily. Place the peeled clove(s) between the sides of a folded piece of waxed paper and pound with the hammer on a cutting board until it is completely smashed. I like this method better than a garlic press because it wastes less garlic and there is nothing to clean.

Toast (not in a toaster) – this if for seeds and small grains. Heat a heavy skillet, add the seeds or grains, up to about _ cup at a time, toast, stirring almost constantly or they will burn. They are toasted when they turn color and give off a wonderful aroma.

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