Cooking Terms Part 2.

Lard - To insert strips or pieces of fat into uncooked lean meat for added flavor and moisture; or, slices of fat may be spread on top of uncooked lean meat, meatloaf or fish for the same purpose.

Leavening - Any agent that causes a dough or batter to rise. Common leaveners include baking powder, baking soda and yeast. Natural leaveners are air (when beaten into eggs) and steam (in popovers and cream puffs).

Liqueur - A sweet, high-alcohol beverage made from fruits, nuts, seeds, spices, or herbs infused with a spirit, such as brandy or rum. Traditionally served after dinner as a mild digestive, liqueurs can also be used in cooking.

Lukewarm - At a temperature of about 95°F. Lukewarm food will feel neither warm nor cold when sprinkled on or held to the inside of the wrist.

Marinate (Marinade) - To let foods stand in a marinade, usually an acid-oil mixture of oil and vinegar or wine, often flavored with spices and herbs.

Melt - To heat solid food, like sugar or fat, until it becomes liquid.

Mince - To cut with knife or scissors into very fine pieces.

Mix - To stir, usually with a spoon, until ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Pan-broil - To cook, uncovered, on a hot surface, usually a skillet. The fat is poured off as it accumulates.

Pan-fry - To cook or fry on top of the range in a hot, uncovered skillet with little or no fat. Steaks, chops, potatoes are frequently cooked this way.

Parboil - To boil until partially cooked.

Pare - To cut away coverings of vegetables and fruits.

Pasteurize - To sterilize milk by heating, then rapidly cooling it.

Peel - To strip or slip off outer coverings of some fruits or vegetables.

Pinch - The amount of a powdery ingredient you can hold between your thumb and forefinger -- about 1/16 teaspoon.

Pipe - To force a food (typically frosting or whipped cream) through a pastry tip to use as a decoration or garnish, or to shape dough, such as that for éclairs.

Pit - To remove the seed or pit.

Plank - To bake or broil meat, fish or vegetables on a wooden or metal plank.

Poach - To cook eggs, fish, chicken, fruit and other delicate foods in hot liquid (below the boiling point), being very careful that food holds its shape.

Pot-roast - To brown meat in a small amount of fat, then finish cooking in a small amount of liquid.

Pound - To flatten meats and poultry to a uniform thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. This ensures even cooling and also tenderizes tough meat by breaking up connective tissues. Veal and chicken cutlets are often pounded.

Preheat - To heat oven to stated temperature before using.

Prick - To pierce a food in many or a few places. You can prick a food in order to prevent buckling - an empty piecrust before it is baked, for example - or bursting - a potato before baking, or sausages before cooking.

Proof - To test yeast for potency: If you're not sure if yeast is fresh and active, dissolve it in warm water (105° to 115°F) with a pinch of sugar. If the mixture foams after 5 to 10 minutes, the yeast is fine to use. Proofing also refers to the rising stage for yeast doughs.

Punch down - To deflate yeast dough after it has risen, which distributes gluten (the elastic protein in flour that gives bread its strength) and prevents dough from overrising. Punch your fist in the center of dough, then pull the edges toward the center.

Purée - To force vegetables, fruits and other foods through a fine sieve, food mill or ricer or blend in an electric blender or food processor to remove skins, seeds and so forth, and to produce a fine-textured substance.

Reconstitute - A procedure used for preparing dried foods, whereby the product is soaked in fresh water for a time.

Reduce - To evaporate some of the liquid in stock or sauce by boiling.

Render - To heat meat fat, cut into small pieces, until fat is separated from connective tissues. The clear fat is strained before being used in cooking. The crisp, brown bits left in the skillet - delicious but high in fat - are called cracklings.

Roast - Cook (Bake) by dry heat in an oven, on a spit in an oven, over charcoal, or in an electric rotisserie.

Roux - A blend of flour and oil or butter used to thicken sauces and gravies. The fat and flour are mixed together in equal amounts over heat. If a white roux is desired, the melting and blending are done over low heat for a few minutes. If a brown roux is desired, the flour is cooked in the fat to the desired degree of brown.

Rubbed - When whole-leaf herbs, such as sage or bay leaves, are crushed in the hands so that their oils are released, the herbs are then referred to as having been rubbed.

Sauté - To fry lightly until golden and tender in a small amount of hot fat on top of range, turning frequently. From the French word that means "to jump."

Scald - To heat liquid just below the boiling point; milk has reached a scalding point when film forms on the surface.

Scallop - To arrange foods in layers in a casserole (such as scalloped potatoes), with a sauce or liquid, and then bake. Usually has a topping of bread crumbs.

Score - To cut narrow grooves or gashes part way through fat, in meats before cooking.; e.g., in steaks to prevent curling, or to cut diamond-shaped gashes through fat in ham just before glazing.

Scramble - To stir or mix foods gently while cooking, as eggs.

Sear - To cook at a very high temperature, either on top of range or in oven, for a short time in order to quickly form a brown crust on the outer surface of meat.

Shave - To cut wide, paper-thin slices of food, especially Parmesan cheese, vegetables, or chocolate. Shave off slices with a vegetable peeler and use as garnish.

Shirr - To break eggs into a dish with cream or crumbs, then bake.

Shot - A liquid measure that amounts to very little or to taste. A shot of wine is about 1 ounce, but a shot of Tabasco is less than 1/16 teaspoon.

Shred - To cut food into slivers or slender pieces, using a knife or shredder.

Shuck - To remove the shells of oysters, mussels or clams, or the husks of corn.

Sift - To put dry ingredients through a fine sieve.

Simmer - To cook in a liquid that is kept just below the boiling point; bubbles form slowly and break below the surface.

Skewer - A long, thin metal or wooden pin used to secure or suspend meat and/or vegetables during cooking. To thread foods, such as meat, fish, poultry, vegetables, on a wooden or metal skewer so they hold their shape during cooking.

Skim - To remove fat or froth from the surface of a liquid, such as stock or boiling jelly.

Steam - To cook on a rack or holder over a small amount of boiling water in a tightly covered container.

Steep - To allow food, such as tea, to stand in hot liquid to extract flavor and/or color.

Sterilize - To heat in boiling water or steam for at least 20 minutes, until living organisms are destroyed.

Stew - To cook foods, in enough liquid to cover, very slowly - always below the boiling point.

Stir - To mix, usually with a spoon or fork, until ingredients are worked together.

Stir-fry (Chow) - A basic cooking method in Oriental kitchens. Generally a wok is used, but you may use a frying pan. The food is tossed about in a hot pan with very little oil, in a process not unlike sautéing.

Stock - A liquid in which vegetables or meat has been cooked.

Sweat - To sauté over low heat with a lid on. This method causes steam and expedites the cooking time.

Temper - To heat food gently before adding it to a hot mixture so it does not separate or curdle. Often eggs are tempered by mixing with a little hot liquid to raise their temperature before they are stirred into a hot sauce or soup.

Tender-crisp - The ideal degree of doneness for many vegetables, especially green vegetables. Cook them until they are just tender but still retain some texture.

Terrine - A dish used for the cooking and molding of coarse-ground meat loaves or pâtés. Also the meat itself. The dishes are found in many styles and materials.

Toast - To brown and dry the surface of foods with heat, such as bread and nuts.

Toss - To tumble ingredients lightly with a lifting motion, as in a salad.

Truss - To tie meat with metal or wooden pins or skewers, or string, to help meat hold its shape during cooking.

Whip - To rapidly beat eggs, heavy cream, etc., in order to incorporate air and expand volume.

Whisk - To beat ingredients (such cream, eggs, salad dressings, sauces) with a fork or the looped wire utensil called a whisk so as to mix or blend, or incorporate air.

Zest - To remove the colored peel of a citrus fruit. Use a grater, zester or vegetable peeler to remove the outermost part, avoiding the bitter white pith underneath. The peel itself is often referred to as zest.