Agneau: (French) Lamb.
a la: (French) The style of, such as: a la Francaise (The style of the French).
a la Bourgeoise: (French) The style of the family (family style).
a la Broche: (French) Cooked on a skewer over a flame. See Brochette.
a la Carte: (French) Each menu item is priced separately: Foods prepared to order.
a la King: (French) A Béchamel sauce containing mushrooms, green peppers, and red peppers or pimentos.
a la Mode: (French) Refers to ice cream on top of a pie.
a la Provençale: (French) Dishes prepared with garlic and olive oil. See Provençale.
a la Russe: (French) The Russian way.
Allumette Potatoes: (French) Potatoes cut like large match sticks.
Amandine: (French) Prepared with or garnished with almonds.
Anglaise: (French) The English way.
A.P.: As Purchased.
Aspic: (English) Clear meat, poultry, or fish jelly.
au Gratin: (French) To top food with cheese or bread crumbs, then baked.
au Jus: (French) Served with natural juices.
au Lait: (French) With milk.
Bain Marie: (French) Steam table or double boiler insert.
Bake: To cook in an oven.
Bard: To wrap meat with bacon or salt pork.
Baste: To pour drippings, fat, or stock over food while cooking.
Barley, Pearl: Polished barley.
Batter: A mixture of flour and liquid.
Bean Sprouts: Chinese Mung beans.
Bearnaise: (French) Sauce derived from Hollandaise, with a tarragon reduction added.
Bechamel: (French) A rich cream sauce made from cream and a roux, with an onion pique.
Beef, Dried: Beef soaked in brine and then soaked and dried.
Beurre: (burr) (French) Butter.
Beurre Noir:(burr-nwahr) (French) Butter cooked to a dark brown, then adding capers and a dash of vinegar.
Cafe: (French) Coffee.
Calorie: Unit of heat; 1 calorie = 3.968 B.T.U.. The heat required to raise 1 gram of water to 1 degrees centigrade.
Calavo: The trade name for California Avocados.
Canadian Bacon: Lean, trimmed, pressed, smoked porl loin.
Canape: (French) An appetizer prepared on a base such as toast or crackers.
Canard: (French) Duck.
Chaud: (French) Hot.
Chef: (French) A culinary expert. The chief of the kitchen.
Coddling: Cooking just below the boiling point; such as Coddled Eggs.
Coquille: (French) Shell.
Crepe: (French) Thin pancakes.
D
Deglaze: To add liquid such as wine, stock, or water to the bottom of a pan to dissolve the caramelized drippings so that they may be added to a sauce, for added flavor.
Demi: ( French) Half.
Diable: Devilled.
Diced: Cut into small cubes.
Drawn butter: Melted butter.
Dredging: To coat with dry ingredients such as flour or bread crumbs.
Dusting: To sprinkle with sugar or flour.
E
Ecossaise: (French) The way of the Scottish.
Emince (French) Cut fine, or sliced thin.
E.P.: Edible Portion.
Espagnole: A mother sauce. Basic brown sauce.
F
Farce: (French) Forcemeat or Stuffing.
Farci: Stuffed.Farina: Inner portion of coarsely ground hard wheat.
Finnan Haddie: Smoked haddock.
Forcemeat: Ground meat or meats, mixed with seasonings used for stuffing.
Froid: (French) Cold.
G
Garde Manger: (French) The person in charge of cold meat prep or the department itself.
Garnish: To decorate. Also referring to the food used to decorate.
Garniture: French for garnish.
Gateau (French) Cake.
Gaufres: (French) Wafers.
Giblets: The trimmings from poultry such as the liver, heart, etc.
.Gnocchi: Italian dumpling.
Gourmet: (French) Connoisseur of culinary delights.
H
Haricots Verts: Tiny green string beans.
Hasenpfeffer: A German stew made from rabbit.
Heifer: A young female cow that has not had a calf yet.
Herb Bouquet: A mixture of tied herms used for seasoning in soups, sauces, and stocks.
Hor d’oeuvre: ( ohr-duh-vr ) (French) Petite appetizers or relishes. Serve as the first course of the meal.
I
Infusion: Liquid derived from steeping herbs, spices, etc.
J
Julienne: (French) A cut of meat, poultry, or vegetables which is 1/8 x 1/8 x 1 1/2 inches long.Jus: Usually refers to the natural juice from meat. See au Jus.
K
Karo: Light or dark corn Syrup.
Kasha: Buckwheat grouts.
Kippered Herring: Smoked or dried herring.
Kitchen Bouquet: A trade name a bottled sauce flavor and color enhancer.
Kosher: (meat) Meat sold within 48 hours after being butchered in accordance to Hebrew religious laws. The style of Jewish dietary cooking.
Kumquats: Small oval citrus fruit that is golden-orange in color.
L
Lait: (French) Milk.
Langouste: (lahn-goost) (French) Crawfish.
Larding: Salt pork strips inserted into meat with a special needle. Used to add flavor and moisture to meat.
Lardons: Juienne of bacon. Strips of salt pork used for larding.
Leek: Small onion like plant, used as an aromatic seasoning or vegetable.
Legumes: (French) Dried beans, peas, lentils and such.
Lentil: A brown or yellow flat seed resembling a pea used for soups, garnishes, and as a vegetable.
Liaison: A binding agent made up of egg yolks and cream, used for thickening soups and sauces.
Lyonnaise Potatoes: (French) Potatoes sliced and sauteed with onions.
M
Mace: The outer shell of nutmeg (seasoning).
Maître d’Hotel: (French) The head of the catering department.
Maître d’Hotel, a la: (French) A yellow butter sauce consisting of lemon juice, parsley, salt, pepper, and drawn butter. Butter: Same as the other but with whole butter.
Manhattan Clam Chowder: Made with quahog clams, tomatoes, onions, celery, and potatoes.
Maraschino: An Italian cherry cordial. Also cherries.
Marsala: Semi-dry, pale golden, Italian wine from Sicily.
Menthe: (French) Mint.
Minced: Ground or chopped fine.
N
Navarin: (French) Lamb stew with root vegetables, cut green beans, tomatoes, and peas.
Noir: (French) Black.
Nouilles: (French) Noodles.
O
O’Brien: With diced pimiento and green pepper
Oeuf: (French) Egg.
Okra: A vegetable pod used mainly in gumbos, but also other soups, and served as a vegetable.
Omelet: Seasoned eggs that are beaten and fried. The eggs will puff up at which time, they are rolled or folded over.
P
Pan Broiling: To cook in an uncovered skillet where the fat is poured off during cooking.
Palm Hearts: Hearts of young palm trees.
Papaya: A sweet tropical fruit. The juice of this fruit yields an enzyme that is used as a meat tenderizer.
Papillote: (French) Cooked in foil or parchment paper to seal in flavor, then served and cut open at table.
Paprika: Used as a seasoning or coloring agent, this is the ground dried fruit of various ripe pepper plants.
Parboiling: To cook partially by boiling for a short period of time.
Peche: (French) Peach.
Petit: (French) Small.
Q
Quahaug: Alantic Coast clam.
Quenelle: A poached dumpling (oval), usually made of veal or chicken.
Quiche: A pie made of custard and cheese.
R
Ragout: (French) Stew.
Rasin: Dried grape.
Ramekin: Small shallow baking dish. The foods cooked in these are also served in them.
Rasher: Thin slice of bacon or a portion consisting of 3 slices of bacon.
Sabayon: A sauce resembling custard, mainly used for puddings or vanilla ice cream. Sabayon is made of wine, sugar, and egg yolks.
Saccharin: A product made from coal tar, used as a substitute for sugar. Saccharin has no food value.
Sachet bag: Cloth bag filled with select herbs used to season soups or stocks.
Saffron: The pistil of the Crocus plant, used for flavoring or coloring of food.
Salamander: A small broiler used to brown or gratin foods.
T
Tabasco: Hot red pepper sauce. (brand name)
Toss: To mix with a rising and falling action.
Tripe: The edible lining of stomach (beef).
Truss: To bind poultry for roasting with string or skewers.
U
Unsaturated fat: A kind of fat that is in liquid form at room temperature.
V
Veloute: (French) A sauce made with veal stock, cream, and tightened with a white roux.
Vert: (French) Green.
Viande: (French) Meat.
W
Waldorf Salad: A salad made with apples, celery, nuts, whip cream, and mayonnaise on a bed of lettuce.
X
Ximenia: A small plant found in hot climates in which their fruits are known as mountain plums or wild limes.
Y
Yams: Sweet potato.
Yorkshire pudding: A batter made with flour, eggs, salt, and milk that is baked with standing rib roast (prime rib).
Z
Zest: Citrus rind.
Zucchini: Green Italian squash.