The Glossary Of The Kitchen

Exactly what do all those cookbook terms mean?

Blanch: To cook quickly in boiling water. Vegetables are blanched, then plunged in ice water to set their color or to make them easier to peel.

Cream: To beat air into butter or shortening, usually in tandem with sugar. A common baking mistake is not creaming thoroughly; it can take up to 10 minutes to make butter really fluffy.

Deglaze: To add liquid - usually wine, water, stock or juice - quickly to a hot pan. The cooking residue in the pan is loosened, adding flavor. The liquid is then boiled for a quick sauce.

Fold: To mix one ingredient very gently with another, such as adding beaten egg whites to a batter without deflating them. Not to be confused with stirring, which is more vigorous. Fold with a rubber spatula, scooping under the main ingredient and folding it over the lighter ingredient.

Peaks: Sufficiently beaten whipped cream or egg whites will stand up in peaks. To test, lift the beater or whip. Soft peaks will point up, then fold over. Stiff peaks will stick straight up.

Poach: To cook an ingredient, usually fish, boneless chicken or fruit, in a gently simmering liquid, usually water flavored with herbs (although some wines, such as vermouth, or fruit juices can make flavorful poaching liquids).

Reduce: To boil a liquid rapidly until it partially evaporates. Concentrates flavor of stocks for sauces.

Zest: The outer, colored portion of citrus peel. Doesn’t include any of the white part of the peel, which is bitter. To get it, use the small holes of a grater and rub very gently, or use a zester or a vegetable peeler to peel off longer strips. If you get any of the white part on a strip, gently scrape it off with a knife point.