(Fr.) Rolling out pastry dough.

A mollusk whose single large adductor muscle connecting its single shell is edible; used widely in Japanese and Chinese cooking, either fresh, dried, or canned; found throughout the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California, and in the English Channel, where it is called ormer.

(Fr.) External poultry trimmings, such as wing tips, necks, and feet; sometimes used interchangeably with abats for giblets.

(Fr.) Poultry giblets and meat offal; internal organs or variety meats, such as hearts, liver, sweetbreads, and gizzards; sometimes used interchangeably with abatis.

(It.) A very young suckling lamb.

(Fr.) Apricot.

(Jap.) Oil.

(Jap.) Deep-fried tofu.

(Sp.) Oil.

(Sp.) Olive.

The acid in vinegar that comes from a second fermentation of wine, beer, or cider.

(It.) A sweet-and-sour mixture of vegetables and fruits used in Italy as an antipasto.

(Sp.) Annatto.

Milk slightly soured with the lactobacillus acidophilus bacteria, which converts the lactose in milk to lactic acid, making it both easy to digest and healthful.

Water to which a small amount of lemon juice or vinegar has been added; used to prevent fruits and vegetables from discoloring and to blanch certain foods, such as sweetbreads.

(Phil.) A stew, usually made with pork or other meat, or sometimes with chicken or seafood, with a thick spicy sauce made piquant with vinegar; the Mexican version of the dish is made more pungent still by a spicy marinade of red chili peppers.

(Ind.) Fresh ginger root.

(Malay) An Oriental seaweed used by commercial food processors as a gelatin substitute in soups, sauces, jellies, and ice cream; it has a remarkable capacity for absorbing liquidsfar greater than that of gelatin or isinglass.

A method of improving and maturing the flavor of a food, such as game, cheese, or wine, by allowing controlled chemical changes to take place over time.

(It.) Garlic.

(Fr.) Lamb.

(It.) Lamb.

(It.) Stuffed squares of pasta, such as ravioli, with a meat filling.

(Sp.) Sour.

(Sp.) Avocado.

(Fr.) Sour, tart, bitter.

(Fr.) A thin strip of poultry cut lengthwise from the breast; also a strip of meat cut lengthwise with the grain.

(Fr.) Cranberry.

(Sp.) Garlic; ajo e ojo is an Italian dialect name for a spaghetti sauce of garlic sauteed in olive oil. See aglio and olio.

(Fr.) To add an ingredient.

(Swed.) A strong, colorless liquor distilled from grain or potatoes and flavored variously, often with caraway; served very cold and drunk neat, often with beer, before or after the meal.

See dente, al.

(Fr.) In the style of, the full phrase being a la mode de; this term designates a specific garnish; often the a la is assumed rather than stated, so that a dish such as Sole a bonne femme, for instance, is usually contracted to Sole bonne femme.

(Sp.) Spicy Spanish or Mexican meatballs made of pork, beef, etc.; also a dumpling.

(Fr.) A supreme sauce with meat glaze and pimento butter; the garnish a lAlbufera consists of poultry stuffed with risotto, truffles, and foie gras with elaborate tartlets; also a small cake topped with chopped almonds.

The protein portion of egg white, comprising its greater part, which coagulates with heat; also found in milk, animal blood, plants, and seeds.

(Sp.) Artichoke.

(Fr.) Garnished with tomatoes braised in oil and sweetpotato croquettes.

(Fr.) Veal veloute reduced with white wine and mushroom essence, flavored with lemon juice, and bound with egg yolks; sauce allemande, which means German sauce is a basic classical sauce.

(Fr.) A strip of puff pastry with either a sweet or savory filling or garnish; also potatoes, peeled and cut into matchstick-sized strips.

(Fr.) Sirloin.

(Fr.) Garnished with sauerkraut and ham or sausages, or with other Alsatian specialties.

(Ger.) A soft, uncooked cheese made from goats milk or goats and cows milk mixed; has a delicate white mold on the exterior and a creamy, smooth, flavorful interior.

(Fr.) To mix, blend, or combine ingredients.

(Fr.) Garnished with almonds; often-misspelled almondine.

Food of the gods which, in Greek mythology, they ate with nectar; a fruit dessert, often citrus, topped with grated coconut.

(Fr.) Garnished with sliced lobster tail and truffles; also, a dish of lobster sauteed with olive oil and tomato in the style of Provence; often confused with armoricaine.

(Fr.) Slang for cocktail appetizer, taste tickler.

An American yeast bread made from white flour with cornmeal and molasses.

See guero.

(Fr. and Ger.) Pineapple.

(Mex.) A deep-red chili pepper, fairly mild in flavor and dried rather than fresh, about five inches long and three inches wide.

(Fr.) Various preparations, often fricasseed and garnished in the old-fashioned style; usually a mixture such as cockscombs and truffles; there are classic recipes for braised beef rump and chicken a lancienne.

(Fr.) Garnished with tomatoes, sweet red peppers, eggplant, and sometimes rice pilaf and chipolata sausages or ham.

(Fr.) A sausage made from pork chitterlings and tripe, sliced and served cold as an hors doeuvre.

A sponge cake made with stiffly beaten egg whites but no yolks, producing a light and airy texture and white color.

See capelli dangelo.

An herb of the parsley family used for medicinal and culinary purposes; it flavors several liqueurs and confections and often imparts a green color.

Oysters wrapped in bacon, skewered, grilled, and served on buttered toast fingers; a favorite hors doeuvre or savory in England.

(Fr.) English stylethat is, plainly boiled or roasted, or coated with an egg-and-breadcrumb batter and deep-fried.

An herb of Mediterranean origin, highly regarded by the ancient Greeks and Romans, that tastes like licorice and is used in many parts of the world; its potent seeds flavor several liqueurs, as well as cheeses, pastries, and confections; not to be confused with fennel.

A red dye from the fruit of a South American tree, used to color cheese, butter, and confectionery.

(It.) Literally before the pasta, an antipasto is an appetizer or starter; antipasti, like hors doeuvres varies, exist in great variety and profusion.

(Jap.) Japanese green onion.

(Fr.) A mixture of ingredients ready for use in a preparation, such as an appareil a biscuit.

(Switz.) A whole-milk cows cheese made in large wheels, cured, and washed in a brine with white wine and spices, which impart their flavor; the cheese is pale straw-colored with some holes and a yellow brown rind; similar to Emmental, it is firm, buttery, yet piquant.

A preserve made of apples that have been peeled, cored, and sliced; it is cooked slowly for a long time, usually with sugar, cider, and spices, until it is reduced to a thick, dark spread.

Dried apple slices, much used in Pennsylvania German cooking for such dishes as apple pie and Schnitz un Gnepp (apple and smoked ham stew with dumplings).

(It.) Short, fat-grained Italian rice that is perfect for risotto and similar moist rice dishes.

(Fr.) Garnished with asparagus; named for a region in northern France where the best asparagus is grown.

A plant, such as an herb or spice, that gives off a pleasing scent and is used to flavor food or drink.

A powdered flour from the root of a tropical plant, used as a flour or thickener; in cooking it remains clear when mixed with other foods, rather than turning cloudy, and is easily digested.

(Sp.) Rice; when cooked and combined with other foods it makes dishes such as arroz con polio, rice with chicken.

(Sp.) Roasted or broiled.

A new artificial sweetener, much sweeter than sugar; not suitable for cooking or use with acids.

A clear jelly made from meat or vegetable stock and gelatin, strained, cleared, and chilled; used to dress savory foods of all kinds by covering them in a mold or surrounding them, chopped into cubes, as a garnish; also used for sweet dishes, based on a fruit juice and gelatin aspic.

(Fr.) To season; assaisonnement means seasoning, condiment, or dressing.

(Sp.) A strong, sharp-flavored cheese from northern Spain.

(Fr.) Garnished with onion, eggplant, tomato, and

(Fr.) Eggplant.

(Ger.) Souffle.

(Ger.) A variety of thinly sliced cold meats and sausages sold in German delicatessens; cold cuts.

(Fr.) Bechamel sauce colored pink with a small amount of tomato puree.

(Fr.) Hazelnut, filbert.

(Gr.) A soup made from egg yolks and lemon juice, combined with chicken stock and rice, that is very popular in the Balkans; also a sauce made from egg yolks and lemon juice.

A yeast cake with raisins that is baked in a special cylindrical mold and soaked with syrup and rum or sometimes Kirsch; supposedly named by Stanislaus I. Lesczyinski, King of Poland, when he steeped a Kugelhopf in rum and named it after Ali Baba.

(Ger.) Chicken rolled in breadcrumbs, then fried.

An unsweetened yeast bread, traditionally eggless, shaped like a doughnut, cooked first in boiling water, and then baked; often eaten with lox and cream cheese.

(It.) A sauce of garlic and anchovies in oil and butter, served warm with raw vegetables; from Piedmont.

(Fr.) A long cylindrical loaf of French bread.

(Chin.) Bok choy, literally white cabbage, a vegetable with thick white stems and long, narrow, chardlike leaves, often used in. stir-fried dishes.

(Fr.) A container of warm water in which a smaller pot or pots rest, to provide slow even heat and protect the contents from overheating; a hot-water bath used on the stove or in the oven; a double boiler is a type of bain-marie.

To cook food by surrounding it with hot dry air in an oven or on hot stones or metal.

To bake a pastry shell unfilled; the dough is pricked with the tines of a fork, fitted with grease-proof paper, filled with dried beans or rice as a weight, and partially baked.

Ice cream set on sponge cake, the whole masked with meringue and quickly browned in a hot oven; the air bubbles insulate the ice cream from the heat.

Pasteurized skimmed-milk cows cheese used by bakers in the U.S.; it is similar to cottage cheese but smoother, softer, and sourer.

A leavening agent for bread and pastry; when moistened, it produces carbon dioxide to aerate and lighten dough. There are many types, each combining alkaline and acidic material. In double-acting baking powder, the chemical action occurs twice, first when moistened and second when heated.

Bicarbonate of soda; a leavening agent similar to baking powder but used with an acid such as sour milk.

(Turk.) A Middle Eastern sweet pastry made of extremely thin sheets of phyllo dough layered with chopped nuts and honey syrup, baked with butter and oil, and cut into diamonds.

(Fr.) A large piece of meat, often poultry or occasionally fish, which is boned, possibly stuffed, rolled or shaped, braised or roasted, and served hot or cold; ballottine is often confused with galantine, which is poached and served cold with its own jelly; also known as dodine.

See mortadella.

(Brit.) A cake from Oxfordshire, England, of oval flaky pastry filled with currants, lemon peel, and spices.

(Brit.) Slang for sausage that is filled with ground pork and breadcrumbs.

(Scot.) A traditional Scottish cake of barley, wheat, or oatmeal; large and round, varying widely according to region.

(Brit.) A small round loaf of soft white bread, eaten in Scotland and parts of England for breakfast.

(Fr.) A triangular stuffed pastry hors doeuvre.

(It.) Beet root; the tops are bietola.

(Mex.) Meat cooked in a barbecue pit; also, by extension, the word often means breakfast.

A method of cooking marinated food on a grill or spit over a hardwood, charcoal, or briquette fire; the name also extends to marinades and social gatherings at such cookouts.

A shrub whose berries are pickled or ripened and made into various preserves, syrup, and wine; red in color, high in acid; also called Oregon grapes.

An ancient and hardy grain grown in most climates, but today a staple only in the Middle East. In the modern world barley is used mostly for animal feed and for malt for brewing and distilling; only a small proportion is used for soup, cereal, and bread.

In England, a double sirloin of beef roasted for ceremonial occasions; in France, the saddle and two legs of lamb or mutton.

(Fr.) A boat-shaped pastry shell filled and baked as an hors doeuvre or sweet; the name sometimes applies to vegetable cases for stuffing, such as zucchini.

A pungent herb from the mint family used extensively in Mediterranean cooking; the basis of pesto sauce.

To moisten during cooking by spooning liquid over food, in order to prevent drying out and toughness.

(Fr.) A sauce of white roux with water, bound with egg yolks, with butter and lemon juice added; the name means bastard, so called for its indirect relationship to other classic sauces.

(Fr.) Shaped like a little stick; vegetables such as potatoes cut in this manner are generally larger than allumettes or julienne.

A liquid mixture of flour and milk or water before it is spooned, poured, or dipped for cooking; it can be thick or thin but when no longer liquid it becomes dough.

(Fr.) Kitchen utensils.

(It.) A base for soups and stews consisting of diced onion, garlic, celery, and herbs, cooked in oil or pork fat, to which the rest is added; after the battuto is cooked it becomes a soffrito.

(Ger.) A peasant soup of vegetables, legumes, and bacon; the adjective bauern means peasant or country-style.

A cold custard pudding, often molded into peaks, made from gelatin, eggs, whipped cream, and various sweet flavorings.

(Fr.) Tip of sirloin; flank steak.

An herb from the laurel family whose dried leaves are an ingredient of the bouquet garni and whose leaves and berries have many medicinal uses; symbolic of intellectual achievement or victory.

The germinated seed pod of a leguminous plant whose nutritional value is between that of a seed and a vegetable; bean sprouts are eaten fresh or lightly cooked and are appreciated for their crisp texture.

(Fr.) A sauce of the warm emulsion type in classical French cuisine; wine vinegar is reduced with shallots and tarragon, then cooled; egg yolks and butter are beaten in and the mixture is strained and finished with chopped tarragon and perhaps chervil; served primarily with grilled meat, fowl, and eggs; one of the classic sauces.

(Fr.) A whole-milk cows cheese from the French Savoy; similar to Gruyere and available year-round.

(Fr.) A classical garnish for tournedos made of stuffed mushrooms, artichoke hearts, chateau potatoes, and Beauhanais sauce (bearnaise with pureed tarragon).

(Fr.) A basic white sauce of milk stirred into a roux, thickened, and flavored with onion.

Strips of beef sauteed with chopped onions and mushrooms, thickened with sour cream; an American dish.

Fillet topped with duxelles, wrapped in puff pastry, and baked.

(Fr.) Food dipped in batter and fried in deep fat.

(It.) A semisoft, mild, uncooked Italian cheese made from whole cows milk; it is produced on a large scale and is very popular.

A specially cultivated chicory whose leaves are cut off and shielded from the light, so that new pale yellow leaves grow back in their characteristic cigar shape; used fresh in salads or braised in various preparations; this curious new vegetable was discovered in the last century near Brussels, where it is mostly grown today during fall and winter; also called witloof.

Sesame seeds, brought from Africa with the slave trade and used especially in the Black cooking of South Carolina, often to symbolize happiness.

A bitter, pear-shaped orange whose skin is used for its essential oil in perfume-making; also the name of a pear and a type of mint.

(Fr.) A compound butter flavored with parsley, tarragon, chives, and shallots.

(Fr.) A sauce of butter cooked until brown, often flavored with chopped parsley, capers, and vinegar; served with fish or brains.

See baking soda.

(Fr.) A classic brown sauce for roast duck made of caramelized sugar, lemon and orange juice, stock, and demi-glace, with blanched zest.

A small flat cake, usually round and unsweetened, originally double-baked (see zwieback), hence its name; the term now covers a wide variety of small cakes and breads.

(Fr.) Ladyfingers; so named because before the invention of the pastry bag they were shaped by dropping the dough from a spoon.

(Ger.) Ladyfinger.

A thick soup puree, often made from shellfish to which the pulverized shells are added. Originally a poultry or game soup, bisque has gradually come to mean a puree, thickened perhaps with cream.

A white pea with a black eye, brought to the southern United States from Africa in the seventeenth century with the slave trade; a favorite bean in Black American cooking, either fresh or dried, and an essential ingredient in dishes such as hopping John.

Dark, heavy, strong molasses originally made in the West Indies and considered low-quality but nutritious and flavorful for certain uses.

To immerse vegetables, fruit, or meat in boiling water briefly, then plunge into cold water to stop cooking; this technique is used to firm or soften flesh, to set color, to peel off skin, or to remove raw flavor.

(Fr.) A stew of veal, chicken, or lamb braised in stock thickened with egg yolks and cream, and garnished with mushrooms and small white onions; the sauce is always white.

(Russ.) Pancakes, usually of buckwheat flour, often served with sour cream and caviar.

Cheese injected with a mold such as Penicillium roqueforti (from Roquefort, the oldest cheese of the genre), which gives the cheese its characteristic flavor and blue green veining; there are many varieties, some of which are individually noted.

To cook in liquid at or above the boiling point (100 Celsius, 212 Fahrenheit), when liquid bubbles and evaporates into steam; a rolling boil is a vigorous boil.

(Chin.) Bok choy, literally white cabbage, a vegetable with thick white stems and long, narrow, chardlike leaves, often used in. stir-fried dishes.

A genus of wild mushroom of which the bolete, cepe or porcino, as it is variously known, is best known and most prized; with a thick fleshy cap and stem, the cepe grows in chestnut and oak woods from June to November and is eaten fresh and dried; not to be confused with other species.

See mortadella.

(It.) See rag bolognese.

(Pol. and Russ.) A soup based on fresh beets (which impart their vibrant color), meat broth, and winter vegetables, and often flavored with kvass; the soup varies widely but is always served with sour cream; traditional for Christmas Eve, without meat.

Navy beans flavored with molasses and salt pork and baked in an earthenware pot; originally prepared on Saturday and cooked in a communal oven to allow Puritan housewives to observe the Sabbathhence Bostons nickname of Bean Town.

A traditional accompaniment to Boston baked beans, this rye bread is flavored with molasses and often contains whole wheat and cornmeal; the dark sweet bread is steamed, usually in baking powder tins.

(Fr.) A small puff-pastry savory, literally a mouthful, filled variously.

(Fr.) This famous specialty from Marseilles, originally a hearty fishermans stew, is made from a wide variety of native fish and shellfish and flavored with saffron; the exact recipe is hotly disputed.

(Fr.) Stock or broth that forms the basis of soups and sauces; it can be made from vegetables, poultry, or meat boiled in water, depending on its use, and need not contain gelatin.

(Fr.) A bunch of herbs tied together in a small bundle for flavoring a dish as it cooks and removed before serving; it usually includes parsley, thyme, and bay leaf, among other herbs.

(Fr.) Meat garnished with vegetables that are arranged in bouquets.

(Fr.) Braised meat garnished with carrots, onions, and diced bacon.

A hybrid cultivar of the blackberry that tastes like a raspberry, developed early in this century and named after an American, Rudolf Boysen.

(It.) Cutlet or chop.

To cook in a small amount of flavored liquid in a tightly covered -pan over low heat.

The thin brown outer covering of the wheat grain, which is removed during the refining of white flour; although bran is not absorbed into the body during digestion, its fiber, usually eaten in baked goods and breakfast cereal, is beneficial.

(Ger.) A sausage of spiced pork, fried or grilled; very popular.

The nut of a tall tree indigenous to the Amazon and growing mostly in the wild. The woody pod, looking something like a coconut, contains up to twenty seeds whose segments fit together in their -husks; the nut is white, creamy, and high in fat. The tree grows only in Brazil and, curiously, almost all of the nuts are exported.

A soft uncooked cows milk cheese from the region of the same name east of Paris; made in large flat discs, this cheese, with its white, surface-ripened rind and smooth buttery interior, is made similarly to Camembert and is renowned for its fine aroma and taste.

(Fr.) A cake or pastry made from a rich yeast dough containing butter and eggs, often baked in a characteristic fluted mold with a smaller knob on top (brioche parisienne), as well as in various other shapes and sizes.

A cut of beef from the lower forequarter, between the foreshanks and short plate; usually braised or cured for corned beef.

(Fr.) Scrambled.

An American pudding made of sliced fruit thickened with breadcrumbs, sweetened, and baked; usually made with apples.

Refined sugar with a thin coating of molasses; not to be confused with raw, unrefined sugar.

(Fr.) Burned or flamed, as in burnt-brandy or creme brulee.

(Fr.) A mixture of vegetables cut into small dice and cooked slowly in butter for soups, sauces, etc.; batonnets cut across into cubes make brunoise.

(It.) Bread slices toasted, rubbed with garlic, and dribbled with new green olive oil; a specialty of Rome.

(Brit.) Boiled meat, usually beef, fried with cabbage and sometimes potatoes.

Not a true cereal, buckwheat flour is made from dry fruit seeds of the plant; most popular in Russia (see blini), buckwheat is made into pancakes and special breads (sometimes mixed with wheat) but mostly used for fodder; also called saracen wheat or saracen corn.

An herb whose leaves, which taste like cucumber, are used to flavor salads, cool drinks, vinegar, and sauces.

Lima bean.

A mixture of butter, sugar, and egg yolks or custard, flavored in a wide variety of ways and used to ice or garnish dessert pastries and cakes.

To cut open and spread the sides apart (as with butterfly wings), especially for a piece of meat or fish.

The residue from churned butter, containing the milk casein, which has a slightly sour flavor; buttermilk is easily digested and is often used with baking soda for breads and pastries; nowadays usually made from a culture.