A..B..C.. Of Classical French, and not only, glossary of terms.
Culinary terms are not just restricted for a chef de cuisine. The vocabulary that is thrown around the kitchen has a purpose, and that is to speed things up and make sure everyone stays safe.
This ultimate list of names and terms, used in classical French cuisine, plus some fancy terms which applies to cooking process, will help you too much easier navigate in a kitchen world.
A Plus, what better way to impress your friends than to throw here and there these cooking definitions?
This list in my humble interpretation of culinary terms includes cooking terminology, food prep terms, and beverage definitions that everyone who is passionate about classical French cuisine should know about. This list also contains some terms that are borrowed from different classic European cuisines. I decided to keep them together, because all of them are recognized as a standard in classical cooking.
So, without further ado, let us learn some new fancy words, to describe stuff almost all of us (professional or home chefs) doing in the kitchen already.
A.
A la carte – separately priced items from a menu, not as part of a set meal.
A la grecque – served in the Greek style of cooking, with olive oil, lemon juice, and several seasonings, often referring to vegetables
A point – cooking until the ideal degree of being done. Most of the times referring to meat as medium rare
Acidulation – the process of making something acidic or sour with lemon or lime juice
Aerate – the process when dry ingredients pass through a sifter and air is circulated through, changing the composition of the material, often in reference to flour
Aiguilletes – meat of fish cut into strips
Aioli – Traditionally is an emulsion of garlic, salt, and olive oil.
Al dente – cooked so it is still tough when bitten, often referring to pasta
Allumettes – matchstick size cut vegetables, usually potatoes
Alumette – A baton-style cut that is thicker than a Julienne but thinner than a Battonet
Amandine – Describes dishes that are made or garnished with almonds (usually, slivered or sliced), such as Green Beans Amandine and Trout Amandine.
Amuse bouche – or amuse-gueule is a single, bite-sized hors d’œuvre. Amuse-bouches are different from appetizers in that they are not ordered from a menu by patrons but are served free and according to the chef’s selection alone. A French term that means “mouth tease”.
Aperitif – A drink, usually alcoholic, that is used to prepare the palate for the meal. These are typically heavy and dry beverages. Best examples are: vermouth; champagne; pastis; gin; rakı; fino, amontillado or other styles of dry sherry, any still, dry, light white wine.
Aspic – a dish in which ingredients are set into a gelatine made from a meat stock or consommé
Au Four – bake in the oven
Au gratin – sprinkled with breadcrumbs and cheese, or both, and browned in the oven.
Au jus – with its own juices from cooking, often referring to steak or other meat
Au poivre – coated with loosely cracked peppercorns and then cooked, often referring to steak
Au sec – the descriptor for a liquid which has been reduced until it is nearly dry, a process often used in sauce making
B.
Bain Marie -“water bath” or “double boiler. a flat container holding hot water, usually into which a pan is placed for slow cooking.
Ballotine – stuffed boneless game or domestic bird.
Barding – to cover a meat with a layer of fat, such as bacon, before cooking, effectively maintaining the moisture of the meat while it cooks to avoid overcooking
Baste – to pour juices or melted fat over meat or other food while cooking to keep it moist.
Batonnet (or Jardinère) – From the French word for “little stick,” this style of cutting will give you small batons, like a thick Julienne.
Bavarois – Creamy pudding that is made with cream and eggs, then set with gelatin.
Béchamel – One of the five French Mother Sauces, béchamel is a creamy white sauce made from milk whisked into a white roux (flour cooked in melted butter, without browning).
Beignets – Fritters. Small dollops of dough that are fried (check my sweet pastries to die for post).
Beurre blanc – a sauce made with butter, onions, and vinegar, usually served with seafood dishes
Beurre Manié – Butter and flour mixed in equal parts and used to thicken liquids.
Beurre Noisette – Browned butter.
Bisque – a thick, creamy soup, with a base of strained broth (see my post about soups) of shellfish or game
Blanching – to quickly dip into boiling water, remove after moment, and then throw into iced water to halt the cooking process, usually referring to vegetable or fruit.
Blanquette – A stew made from meat that has not been browned or fried. Usually refers to stews made of lamb, chicken or veal.
Bouchées – Small puff pastry cases.
Boudin Noir – blood sausage or black pudding
Bouillabaisses – fish stew, specialty of southern France.
Bouillon – Broth or stock. It additionally clear, and transparent.
Bouquet Garni – A mixture of fresh herbs tied together with string and used to flavor stews, soups etc. It refers precisely to: parsley, bay leaf, thyme (and sometimes celery stalk). The bouquet is removed before serving.
Braising – a combination-cooking method that first sears the food at high temperature, then finished it in a covered pot at low temperature while sitting in some amount of liquid
Brining – the process of soaking meat in a brine, or heavily salted water, before cooking, like marination
Brunoise – A fine dice, usually made by dicing from an alumette cut. Often vegetables that are cut in the Brunoise style are cooked in butter and used for flavoring soups and sauces.
Brunoise – knife technique where a julienned vegetable (carrot, turnip, celery, etc.) is stacked and cut from the end into an exceedingly small dice (1/8- to 1/16-inch cubes). The Brunoise is the smallest dicing size in French cuisine.
Buerre– butter. Everything tastes better with butter!
C.
Canapé – An appetizer consisting of a small bread or biscuit base covered with a flavored topping.
Cartouche – parchment paper lid that sits directly on the surface of ingredients in a pot or pan. A cartouche is most often used when simmering, poaching, braising, and sweating (i.e. foods containing or cooked with liquid). The cartouche slows down the evaporation of liquids in the pan, but still allows steam to escape, so ingredients can cook gently and evenly.
Chantilly – whipped cream sweetened with sugar. Use widely in many desserts.
Chapelux – Browned breadcrumbs.
Charcuterie – The art of preserving meats with salting, cooking, and curing methods. Examples of charcuterie are sausages, confit, terrines, ham, bacon, and pâté. A lot of charcuterie is pork-based, but it does not have to be. Today, charcuterie (and cheese) boards are very popularly served as an appetizer or hors d’oeuvre, and even as a light meal.
Chateaubriand – double steak cut from the center of the beef filet.
Chemise – to line a mold or to coat an item with jelly.
Chiffonade – finely cut into strips or ribbons, vegetables and herbs, usually used as a garnish for soups.
Chine – To remove the backbone from a rack of ribs.
Chinois – a cone shaped strainer constructed with a fine, metal mesh. A chinois is a great tool to have for straining sauces, purees, soups, and stocks to an exceptionally smooth consistency. You’ll often find a chinois paired with a stand to position it over a bowl or pot, and a pestle to help press foods through the mesh (useful for removing seeds from cooked tomatoes or seedy purees, such as blackberry or raspberry.)
Choux pastry /pâte à Choux – is a delicate pastry dough used in many pastries. It contains only butter, water, flour, and eggs. Instead of a raising agent, it employs high moisture content to create steam during cooking to puff the pastry.
Concasse – to roughly chop raw or cooked food by peeling, seeding, and chopping to make it ready to be served or combined with other ingredients, usually referring to tomatoes
Confit – meat cooked slowly in its own fat, usually referring to duck.
Consommé – a type of clear soup made from richly flavored stock that has been clarified, a process of using egg whites to remove fat.
Coring – to remove the central section of some fruits, which contain seeds and tougher material that is not usually eaten
Coulis – A thick sauce usually made from one main ingredient, such as raspberry coulis.
Court Bouillon – quickly cooked broth most often used to poach other foods, like seafood. Common ingredients include water, white wine, lemon juice, and aromatics.
Court Bouillon– Flavored liquid used for cooking fish.
Creme fresh – a thick, fermented cream. Compared to American sour cream, crème fraiche has a higher fat content (30-40%, compared to 18-20%), giving it a richer texture. The flavor is lightly tangy and not as assertively sour as sour cream.
Crêpes – Very thin pancakes.
Croquettes – A mixture of potato with ground cooked meat, fish or poultry formed into balls, patties or other shapes and coated with a breading before frying.
Croustade – Bread piece dipped in butter and baked until it is crisp.
Croûte – Crust. Sometimes refers to a pastry crust, sometimes to toasted or fried bread.
Croûtons– Small cubes of bread used as a garnish is salads and soups.
Crudité – traditional French appetizer consisting of sliced or whole raw vegetables which are typically dipped in a creamy dipping sauce. Examples of crudités include celery sticks, carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, bell pepper strips, broccoli, cauliflower, fennel, and asparagus spears.
Cuisson – is the French word for “baking” and is used by chefs to refer to the quality of the bake or the cooking process and the skill of the chef. Something that is overcooked or undercooked would not have a good Cuisson.
D.
Dariole – Small mold shaped like a castle used for molding salads or baking cakes.
Déglacer – To deglaze, to loosen browned juices and fat from the bottom of a frying pan or saucepan by adding liquid, bringing to a boil and stirring. The liquid is usually water, wine or broth.
Deglaze – to remove and dissolve the browned food residue, or “glaze”, from a pan to flavor sauces, soups, and gravies
Dégorge – A method of removing juices from meat and vegetables (often fish). This method involves salting the meat and then soaking it in water and is usually done to remove strong or overwhelming flavors.
Dégorger – To extract juices from meat, fish or vegetables, usually by salting them, then soaking or washing. It is usually done to remove a strong taste.
Degrease – to remove the fat from the surface of a hot liquid such as a sauce, soup, or stew, also known as defatting or fat trimming
Degustation – A series of small courses. Exactly like sampling small dishes.
Demi-glace – a concentrated sauce made from equal parts of Espagnole and brown stock (made from roasted veal and/or beef bones). The mixture is slowly reduced by half until it is rich in texture and glossy, with a deep, meaty flavor.
Dépouille – Removing the fatty layer of “skin” that appears on the tops of broths, stews, and sauces.
Dépouiller – To skim off the scum that accumulates at the top of a stock or sauce.
Dredging – to coat wet or moist foods with a dry ingredient before cooking to provide an even coating
Dress – to put oil, vinegar, salt, or other toppings on a salad or other food
Duxelles – Finely chopped mushrooms sautéed in butter with onions or shallots and herbs, such as parsley. Duxelles is often used in stuffing’s and fillings (such as Beef Wellington, omelet’s, and vol au vent). It also makes a delicious hors d’oeuvre, on top of goat cheese crostini.
E.
Éclairs – choux pastry baked in thick fingers, filled with cream or pastry cream, iced with fondant or chocolate.
Effiler – to remove the string from a string bean or to thinly slice almonds.
Emincer – to slice thinly, like julienne style, but little shorter.
En Croûte – Literally, “in crust.” Foods that are wrapped in pastry (such as puff pastry, pie dough, or phyllo) and baked. (for example: Brie en Croute, Beef Wellington.)
Entrecôte – steak cut from Sirloin of beef.
Entrée – The term used to refer to something served before the main course but is used now to refer to the actual main course.
Entremets – The French word for “interlude” or “intercede,” this refers to a small dish, usually a dessert or sweets, with exception of pastry, that is served between courses to cleanse the palate.
Escabeche – a dish consisting of fish marinated for approximately one day in a sauce of olive oil, vinegar, herbs, vegetables, and spices, and then poached or fried and allowed to cool.
Escalope – a scallop or slice. dish of thinly sliced meat, fish, potatoes, etc., baked in a sauce and often topped with breadcrumbs.
Escalops – A thin slice of meat that is often pounded out to make it thinner.
Espagnole – One of the five French Mother Sauces, Espagnole is a basic brown sauce, made from a mirepoix, brown roux, tomato puree and brown (veal or beef) stock. Espagnole is a reduced sauce and is very richly flavored, so it is usually the basis for other sauces and flavoring agents (such as demi-glace and sauce Bordelaise) rather than served on its own.
F.
Farce – Stuffing.
Filet Mignon – small steak cut from the tenderloin of beef, veal, lamb.
Fillet – a boneless piece of meat, poultry, or fish; the French version, spelled as “filet,” is also used when referencing a cut of beef that is boneless, such as filet mignon
Fines Herbs – Finely chopped mixture of fresh parsley, tarragon, chives, and chervil (sometimes, also marjoram) commonly used in French cooking. You will find fines herbs in dishes including omelets, salads, and sauces, such as beurre blanc.
Flambe – the process of adding alcohol such as brandy, cognac, or rum to a hot pan to create a burst of flames
Fonds de Cuisine – basic stocks or essences
Fondue – Traditionally: Warm, melted cheese and white wine emulsion of Swiss-French origin, served in a pot (a “caquelon”), and used as a dip for skewered bread cubes. Popular variation is made from melted cheese sauce or chocolate sauce in a sweet version.
Frappé – Something that is iced or set on or in a bed of ice.
Frenching – the process of removing all fat, meat, and cartilage from rib bones on a rack roast by cutting between the bones with a sharp paring knife, often referring to lamb, beef, or pork rib
Fricassé – A stew made from poultry, meat or rabbit. Always accompanied by a white sauce
Fumet – concentrated stock or essence from fish or shellfish.
G.
Galantine – a Polish dish of de-boned stuffed meat that is poached in gelatin stock, pressed, and served cold with aspic or its own jelly
Galette – flat, free form, irregular cakes of pastry, with the edges folded on top. Always baked on baking sheet, without cake form. Traditionally topped with fruits or a savory option, such as “a galette of potatoes”.
Glace de Viande – meat glaze made by reducing meat stock to a dark thick, semi liquid, used to add color and flavor to sauces.
Gratiner or Au Gratin – To sprinkle the surface of a cooked food with breadcrumbs and butter, and sometimes cheese and brown under the broiler. The finished food is referred to as au Gratin. For example: au gratin potatoes.
H.
Haricot Vert – simply green beans.
Harissa – a spicy, aromatic chile paste made from a variety of hot peppers and spices, often used in North African and Middle Eastern cooking
Hollandaise – An emulsion of egg yolks, vinegar (traditional; some recipes use lemon juice), water, and butter. One of the five French Mother Sauces, hollandaise is rich, creamy, and pastel yellow in color. You will find it as the finishing sauce for Eggs Benedict, poached salmon, and vegetables, like asparagus.
Hors d’oeuvre – small savory dish, typically one served as an appetizer at the beginning of a meal. translates to “outside the meal” is generally a one-bite item that is served separate from or prior to a meal.
I.
Infusion – the process of extracting chemical compounds or flavors from a vegetable in water, oil, or alcohol, by allowing the material to remain suspended in the liquid over time, also known as steeping
Involtini – food such as meat, poultry, seafood, or vegetables, wrapped around a filling such as cheese, cured meats, or nuts
Irradiation – the process of exposing food to radiation, designed to eliminate disease-causing germs from foods.
Isinglass – a pure, transparent form of gelatin, obtained from the bladders of certain fish, used in jellies as a clarifying agent
J.
Au Jus – Meats (such as Roasted Prime Rib) that are served with their natural juices (the jus). As the meat roasts, the drippings will collect in the pan. You will deglaze the pan to extract all that good flavor while the meat rests. Jus does not need to be thickened, but it can be, by simmering until it is reduced to your desired consistency, without any thickening agent.
Jacquarding – the process of poking holes into the muscle of meat in order to tenderize it, also known as needling
Jardinière – fresh mixed vegetables cut into small dice or julienne
Jeroboam – an oversize wine bottle holding about three liters.
Julienne – knife technique of cutting food (usually, vegetables) into small, thin strips.
Jus lie – meat juice that has been lightly thickened with either arrowroot or cornstarch. A thickened gravy
Jus or Jus de Viande – The juices that occur naturally from cooking.
K.
Kipper – a whole herring that has been split into a butterfly fashion from tail to head, gutted, salted, or pickled
Kirsch – a fragrant, colorless, unaged brandy distilled from fermented cherries, used with fondue
Kissing Crust – the portion of an upper crust of a loaf of bread which has touched another loaf when baking
L.
Lactobacillus – a bacterium usually found in fermenting products, such as yogurts
Larding – the process of inserting strips of fat into a piece of meat that does not have as much fat, to melt and keep the meat from drying out
Liaison – a binding agent of cream and egg yolks used to thicken soups or sauces. Ingredients used for thickening sauces, soups or other liquids.
Lardons – Small strips of slab bacon, usually around 1/4-inch wide and thick. The shape and thickness of the cut renders fat particularly well and allows the bacon to achieve a crisp-tender/meaty texture (while strip bacon would just be crisp).
M.
Macédoine – Small diced mixed vegetables, usually containing at least one root vegetable. Sometimes also means a mixture of fruit, like fruit salad.
Macerate – the process of softening or breaking into pieces using liquid, often referring to fruit or vegetables, in order to absorb the flavor of the liquid
Marinate – the process of soaking foods in seasoned and acidic liquid before cooking for hours or days, adding flavor to the food
Marmite – covered earthenware container for soup. The soup is both cooked and served in it.
Mesclun – a salad consisting of tender mixed greens such as lettuce, arugula, and chicory, herbs, and edible flowers
Mignonette – roughly cracked or coarsely ground peppercorns, used for au poivre dishes or for mignonette sauce, which contains vinegar and shallots as well and is often used for oysters
Mince – to finely divide food into uniform pieces smaller than diced or chopped foods, prepared using a chef’s knife or food processor
Mirepoix – A vegetable mixture of onions, carrots, and celery (celery or celeriac), with the traditional ratio being 2:1:1, two parts onion, one-part carrot, and one-part celery.
Mise en place -the preparation of ingredients, such as dicing onions or measuring spices, before starting cooking
Mortifier – To hand meat, game or poultry.
Mother Sauces – The five foundation sauces and sauce-making techniques of French cuisine that form the basis for most, if not all, other sauces. The sauces are: Béchamel, Espagnole, Hollandaise, Velouté, and Sauce Tomat.
Moulè-â-manqué – A cake tin that is wider at the base than at the top and only about 1″ in depth.
N.
Nappe – the ability of a liquid to coat the back of a spoon or the act of coating a food, such as a leg of lamb, with glaze
Napper – To coat, mask or cover with something.
Needling – injecting fat or flavors into an ingredient to enhance its flavor
Noisette – literally means “nut”. It usually means nut brown in color. For example, beurre noisette is butter browned overheat until it becomes a nut-brown color. It can also refer to boneless rack of lamb that is rolled, tied and cut into rounds. The word can also refer to hazelnuts.
Nouvelle Cuisine – A term that refers to the style of cooking that features lighter dishes with lighter sauces and very fresh ingredients.
Nutraceutical – used to describe food that provides health or medical benefits as well as nutritional value, also known as functional food
O.
Oeuf – the French term for egg
Oignon brule – literally meaning “burnt onion,” a culinary term for a half-peeled onion seared on a skillet
Ort – a scrap or morsel of food left over after a meal
Ouzo – an anise-flavored, strong, colorless liquor from Greece
P.
Panade – A very thick mixture, usually made from a combination of flour, butter and milk, that is used as a base for dishes such as soufflés and fish cakes.
Paner – To coat with egg and crumbs before frying.
Papillote – A wrapping of parchment paper around fish or meat used for cooking. The paper retains moisture in the food.
Parboiling – the procedure of adding foods to boiling waters, cooking only until they are softened, then removing before they are fully cooked; usually to partially cook an item which will then be finished differently or reheated later.
Parisienne – Refers to potatoes molded into balls with a melon scoop and fried or roasted.
Pâte – A basic mixture or paste. Often refers to uncooked dough or pastry.
Pâté – a mixture of seasoned ground meat, liver, pork, game and fat, minced into a spreadable paste
Paupiette – a thin, flattened piece of meat, rolled with a stuffing of vegetables or fruits, which is then cooked before served
Paysanne – A thick, rustic style of dice, usually made by dicing a thick baton cut.
Persillade – mixture of parsley chopped with seasonings, often used as part of a sauté cook’s mise en place. Used for sauces or further seasoning of any dish.
Piquer – To insert fat, bacon, ham etc. into meat or poultry.
Polenta – a mush or porridge made from yellow or cornmeal which originated in Northern Italy.
Poussin – A young chicken.
Praline – a confection of nuts cooked in boiling sugar until brown and crisp
Q.
Quadriller – to make crisscross lines on the surface of food, as part of food presentation
Quatre-epices – literally meaning “four spices,” a finely ground mixture of generally pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, or cloves, used to season vegetables, soups, and stews
Quenelle – Minced fish or meat and egg mixture that in small quantity is formed into mini spherical shape and poached. It also refers to a shape that the minced mixture is made into.
R.
Ragoût – A hearty, slow cooked French stew. Ragoût can be made with meat, poultry, seafood, and/or vegetables. (Not to be confused with Italian ragù, sauce.)
Réchauffée– Reheated food.
Remouillage – a stock made from bones that have already been used once to make a stock, making it weaker
Render – to cook the fat out of something, such as bacon
Rennet – an enzyme natural to a calf’s stomach, which is being used for curdling the milk in cheesemaking,
Repere – Flour mixed with water or egg white and used to seal pans when cooking food slowly. Often used when cooking a ragoût.
Revenir – To quickly fry meats or vegetables in hot fat to warm them through.
Rondeau – a wide, shallow pan with straight sides and two loop handles, often used for searing and poaching
Rondelle – a round cut dice.
Rouille – Garlic and oil emulsion used as flavoring.
Roux – Melted butter with addition of flour. Used as a thickener for sauces or soups.
S.
Sauce Tomat – Simple French tomato sauce, and one of the five French Mother Sauces. Classic Sauce Tomat includes fresh tomatoes and aromatics cooked in rendered salt pork.
Sautéing – to cook food quickly over relatively high heat, literally meaning “to jump” as the food does when placed in a hot pan
Sautoir – A deep frying pan with a lid, used for recipes that require fast frying, then slow cooking.
Scald – to heat a liquid so it is almost reaching the boiling point, where bubbles start to appear around the edges
Sear – a technique used in mainly meat cooking, where the surface of the food is cooked at high temperature until a crust forms
Soufflé – puffed up baked egg dish with a fluffy texture. Soufflés can be savory or sweet and are made by folding whipped egg whites into a flavored base, such as a cream sauce (béchamel), puree, or pastry cream.
Sous vide – Technique where foods are placed into vacuum sealed bags and cooked in a bath of circulating, temperature-controlled water. When cooking sous vide, you heat the water to the temperature that you want the food to reach (to cook a medium-rare steak, you’d want the water to be between 130- and 135-degrees F).
Staling – a chemical and physical process in which foods such as bread become hard, musty, or dry, also known as “going stale”
Steep – to allow dry ingredients to soak in a liquid until the liquid takes on its flavor, often referring to coffee, tea, or spices
Sweat – gently heating vegetables in a little oil, with frequent stirring and turning to ensure emitted liquid will evaporate; usually results in tender, or in some cases such as onions’, translucent pieces.
T.
Tempering – raising the temperature of a cold or room-temperature ingredient by slowly adding hot or boiling liquid, often referring to eggs
Terrine – Pâté or mixture of minced ingredients, baked or steamed in a loaf shaped container.
Timbale – A dish cooked in a mold that is higher than it is wide and has sloping sides.
Tourner – to cut ingredients such as carrots or potatoes into a barrel-like shape. That is form six or seven sides on the length of the item being cut, using a Tourner knife or a paring knife
Trussing – to tie meat or poultry, such as turkey with a string, woven through the bird parts by using a needle, in order to create a more compact shape before cooking.
U.
Ultra-pasteurization – the process of heating up milk products to 280 degrees F for a few seconds and chilling it down rapidly, resulting in milk that is 99.9% free from bacteria and extending their shelf-life
Unleavened – made without yeast or any other leavening agent, often referring to bread
V.
Vandyke – to cut a zig-zag pattern all around the lemon to create decorative garnishes for food presentation
Velouté – a type of sauce in which a light stock, such as chicken or fish, is thickened with a flour that is cooked and then allowed to turn light brown
Velouté – A type of sauce made from butter, flour, cream and stock.
Victual – any food or provisions for humans; all food is a “victual”
Vol-au-Vent – a round pastry case, made of Puff pastry that is baked and then used as aa enclosion to be filled with meat or vegetables.
W.
Whip – to beat food with a mixer to incorporate air and produce volume, often used to create heavy or whipping cream, salad dressings, or sauces
Whisk – a kitchen tool used to blend ingredients in a process of rapid mixing.
Whisking – the process of making a mixture using a whisk to create uniform sauce, cream, or butter lump free
X.
Xanthan gum – a food additive, commonly used to thicken salad dressings, that is water-soluble and produced by the fermentation of sugar with certain microorganisms
Xylitol – a naturally fulfilling alcohol found in most plants such as fruits and vegetables, widely used as a sugar substitute in sugar-free chewing gums, mints, and other candies
Y.
Yakitori – a Japanese dish of small pieces of boneless chicken that is marinated, skewered, and grilled
Z.
Zest – to cut the zest, or the colorful part of the skin that contains oils and provide aroma and flavor, away from the fruit
