Cooking Terms

BakeTo cook in an oven or oven-type appliance in a covered or uncovered container.
BarbecueTo roast slowly on a spit or rack, usually basting with a highly seasoned sauce. Also, foods cooked in or served with barbecue sauce.
BasteTo pour melted fat, drippings, or other liquid over food to moisten it during cooking.
BoilTo cook in water or other liquid at boiling temperature (212° F. at sea level). Bubbles rise continually and break on the surface.
BraiseTo cook meat or poultry slowly in steam from meat juices or added liquid trapped and held in a covered pan. Meat may be browned in a small amount of fat before braising.
BroilTo cook uncovered on a rack placed directly under heat or over an open fire.
Pan broil.—To cook in uncovered pan over direct heat, pouring fat off as it accumulates.
CaramelizeTo heat sugar or food containing sugar until a brown color and characteristic flavor develop.
FoldTo combine two mixtures (or two ingredients such as beaten egg white and sugar) by gently cutting down through mixture, turning over, and repeating until well mixed.
FryTo cook in fat without water, uncovered.
Pan-fry or saute.—To cook in frypan in a small amount of fat.
Deep-fry or french-fry.—To cook in a deep kettle, in enough fat to cover or float food.
GrillSame as broil.
KneadTo press, stretch, and fold dough or other mixture to make it elastic or smooth. Bread dough becomes elastic; fondant becomes smooth and satiny.
MarinateTo let foods stand in a liquid (usually mixture of oil with vinegar or lemon juice) to add flavor or to make more tender.
ParboilTo boil until partly cooked.
PoachTo simmer gently in liquid so food retains its shape.
Pot-roastTo cook large cuts of meat by braising.
ReconstituteTo restore concentrated food—such as frozen orange juice or dry milk—to its original state, usually by adding water.
RehydrateTo soak or cook dried foods to restore the water lost in drying.
RoastTo cook in heated air—usually in an oven—without water, uncovered.
SimmerTo cook in liquid just below the boiling point, at temperatures of 185° to 210° F. Bubbles form slowly and break below the surface.
SteamTo cook food in steam, with or without pressure. Food is steamed in a covered container on a rack or in a perforated pan over boiling water.
StewTo cook in liquid, just below the boiling point.