Cooking Language

Cooking, like many professions, has its own language. Unfortunately, cooking language differs significantly between countries, cultures, and languages. Therefore, it is often difficult to talk about cooking with people from other cultures even if you speak the same language! This handout will explain some measurements, vocabulary, expressions, and some tips for dealing with difficult translations when discussion cooking and food.

Measures
Teaspoon (5 ml) This is used for very small measures. Usually for strong spices. Tablespoon (15 ml) This is probably about the size of the spoon that you use to eat with. Cup (240 ml) This is probably the most common measure that you will see in recipes. It is used for both dry and liquid ingredients. Ounce Fluid (30 ml) This is a very small measure and is not often used in recipes. Teaspoon, tablespoon, and cups are more often used to measure volume. Ounce Weight (28 grams) This is sometimes used for smaller measurements where weight is important. However, the use of volume measures are more common with smaller samples. Pound (454 grams) This is a common measure for heavier materials and is the only one used for meats. Quart (about 1 liter) This measure of volume is nearly the same as a liter. Pint (.5 liter) This is half a quart or half a liter (popular when ordering beer at a bar) Gallon (3.85 liters) Large measure of volume. Used for gasoline, milk, water, juice, and other large liquid measures. Not often found in recipes. Pinch An inexact measure that literally means that amount that you can pinch between two fingers. Often used with staple spices like salt and pepper. Dash Another inexact measure that is similar to a pinch. This can also be used with containers that have holes in them to distribute herbs and spices. Clove (of garlic) One piece of garlic from a head of garlic. Head (of cabbage/lettuce) Whole unit. Used most often with vegetables like cabbage and iceberg lettuce. Sprig (of parsley) Usually used with herbs to describe a piece (like a branch on a tree) of the herb.

Vocabulary
Cooking/Heating Methods Bake this is used to describe a method of cooking with an oven. The heat source is at the bottom of the oven. Fry to cook in hot oil Roast to slowly cook meat by baking it at a low temperature in an oven or on a rotisserie (spin around next to a heat source). Boil to cook in boiling water.

Barbecue Depending on where you are from this can be the same as grilling or it can specifically mean to cook meat for a long time in a grill (usually with a sauce or rub). Grill to cook food over a fire Steam to cook food with steam, usually with some kind of steaming basket in a larger pot with a little water. Saut to cook food quickly in a saut pan (frying pan) with a little oil. Broil to cook food using a heat source located above the food. Heat source at the top of an oven. Braise to brown meat in a pan and then cook the meat for a long time in its juices. Brown to make meat a brown color, usually by cooking quickly in a pan.

Mixing Methods Mix to mix a mixture at a slow speed using a spoon or possibly an electric mixer (great for breads). Whisk to mix a mixture quickly using a whisk. This causes more air to be trapped in the mixture, giving it more volume and a lighter appearance. Stir to slowly mix a mixture, usually a liquid such as a soup. Fold to mix bread by rolling it flat then folding the batter and flattening again. Knead to push bread batter with your hands. Mash to mash food so as not to have large pieces. This is common with foods like mashed potatoes. It is not necessary to make them completely smooth but you want to mash all of the large pieces. Puree to mash food into a liquid. This is an extreme form of mashing when you want no pieces in the mixture. Cutting Methods Slice to cut food once. Apple slices are popular. Dice to cut food into small, square pieces Chop to cut food into small pieces Cube to cut food into large, square pieces. Seasoning Marinate To immerse a food (usually meats) in a liquid to get the flavor of the liquid into the food prior to cooking. Rub A mixture that is rubbed onto food (usually meats) prior to cooking. This is often done with dry mixtures including salt, pepper, garlic, or other dry seasoning or with liquid mixtures (pastes) including mixtures with oils and juices that stick well to the food. Baste Put liquids and/or fats over food (usually meats) while cooking. This is often done with when cooking meat in the oven. Herbs These are plants (usually greens) that are used to flavor food. Common herbs are basil, oregano, cilantro (coriander), sesame, rosemary, and thyme. Spices This can be a general term for anything that adds flavor, but more often it is used for minerals, seeds, and non-greens. Popular spices are pepper, salt, ginger, mustard, and so forth. Condiments These are things that are put onto foods after they are served. Popular condiments include: ketchup, mustard, onions, pickles, pepper sauces (e.g., Tabasco and pepper paste). Sauces These are any kind of liquid that is served with a more solid food. Usually these are ladled onto foods. Some common examples are spaghetti sauce, cheese sauce, and cream sauces. Salsas These are a liquidy mixture of chopped ingredients. In American, salsa

means a type of chopped tomato mixture that is served with Latin American food. However, salsas can be just about any kind of chomped mixture served with a food, including fruit salsas that are quite tasty. Courses Appetizer this is a small dish served before the main course. Main course this is the largest course of the meal. Entre this is served during the main course and is likely served on your plate. It is the most substantial dish of the meal. Usually, this is a meat, pasta, or rice dish. Side dish this comes with the main course and is served on the side, not on your plate. Often, vegetables and breads are served on the side. Dessert this is usually a sweet dish served at the end of meal. Aperitif this is a drink (usually sweet and alcoholic) served at the end of a meal. Measuring Instruments Measuring cups used to measure cup sizes. These often come in 1/8, 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, and 1 cup sizes. Measuring spoons These are used to measure teaspoon and tablespoon sizes. Cooking Pots & Pans Pots are deep and usually used for boiling or steaming on a range. They are sized in quarts or gallons. Pans are shallow and can be used on a range or in an oven. They are sized in inches. Square pans (usually for baking) are measured in length and width, while round pan (usually for use on the range) are measured in diameter. Saut pan shallow pan used for sauting. Frying pan shallow pan used for frying Roasting pan deep pan used for roasting Pressure Cooker pot with a lid that holds in the steam when cooking until the pressure it too great, then the steam is released. Wok a deep pot with sloping edges. Baking pan a large, shallow pan for general baking purposes. Cookie pan a large, very shallow pan that has one side with no edge so cookies (or other foods) can slide off easily. Bread pan a deep pan used to bake breads Cupcake pan a pan with small, deep, round holes used to make cupcakes (small, rounds breads, usually sweet). Cooking Utensils Spatula a flat tool used to get under cooking foods and flip them over. Serving spoon large spoon. Serving fork large fork. Whisk a utensil with wires used to whisk mixtures. Ladle a deep spoon used to serve liquids, such as soups. Scissors also called shears when used in the kitchen. Butchers knife very large knife used to chop big pieces of meat and bone. Chefs knife large knife used for many purposes in the kitchen, particularly slicing and dicing. Paring knife small knife most often used to peel. Bread knife small, serrated knife used to cut bread. Butter knife small, dull knife used to put butter on bread and do basic cutting while eating. Serrated knife a knife with sharp edges, like teeth.