Last week we discussed a few of the culinary terms that you see in cook books or in the food industry. Culinary jargon can be confusing, so we want to help clear up some of that by defining some more terms for you this week!
Aerate - This is the same thing as sifting. Sifting is when dry ingredients pass through a sifter or a fine strainer to break up clumps that may have happened due to things like moisture. It’s also a great way to mix
Air into an ingredient to make it lighter.
Bake blind – A baking technique where a pie crust/tart shell is cooked before filling it. This is to prevent the pastry from becoming soggy on the bottom from the filling. In order to do this, use a fork to poke holes around the bottom of the pastry to keep it from puffing, cover with foil or parchment paper and weighed down with rice or beans while baking.
Emballer – Wrapping a food in something like cheesecloth before poaching or simmering in stock, is emballer, a French term. It also refers to the filling of a mould to be cooked, such as pate.
Lion – This is the section of meat on an animal that comes from both sides of the backbone, from the shoulder down to the leg or from the rib to the leg, usually on beef or lamb.
Mandoline – A portable slicer, that has adjustable blades. This allows for an easy way to make uniform cuts in different thicknesses.
Proof – Dissolve yeast in warm water in order to prove that it’s active and has the ability to leaven dough for baking.
If you have a term you’d like clarified please let us know in the comments section and we’ll be sure to cover it for you in our next post on the subject!!
Photo by sweetbeetandgreenbean
Tue, May 18, 2010
Techniques