cooking terms needs editing

al dente: Cook to slightly underdone with a chewy texture, usually applied to pasta.

bake: Cook with hot, dry air.

barbecue: Cook on a grill, using charcoal or wood.

baste: Spoon melted butter, fat, or other liquid over food.

beat: Mix solid or liquid food thoroughly with a spoon, fork, whip, or electric beater.

bind: Add an ingredient to hold the other ingredients together.

blanch: Plunge food into boiling water until it has softened, to bring out the color and loosen the skin.

blend: Mix foods together less vigorously than beating, usually with a fork, spoon, or spatula.

boil: Heat liquid until it rolls and bubbles.

bone: Remove the bone from meat, fish, or poultry.

braise: Brown foods in fat and then cook slowly in a covered casserole dish.

bread: Coat with bread crumbs.

broil: Cook by exposing directly to high heat.

brown: Cook quickly so the outside of the food is brown and the juices are sealed in.

caramelize: Dissolve sugar and water slowly and then heat until the food turns brown.

ceviche: Placing raw seafood in an acid to “cook.”

chop: Cut food into small to large pieces.

curdle: Cause separation by heating egg- or cream-based liquids too quickly.

deglaze: Pour liquid into a pan of meat — after roasting or sautéing and after removal of fat — to capture the cooking juices.

degrease: Remove fat from the surface of hot liquids.

devein: Remove the dark brownish-black vein that runs down the back of a shrimp.

dice: Cut into cubes the size of dice.

dilute: Make a liquid, such as a sauce, less strong by adding water.

drain: Remove liquid by dripping through a strainer.

drippings: The juice left after meat is removed from a pan.

dry steaming: Cooking foods such as vegetables in their own natural juices rather than adding additional moisture.

dust: Sprinkle lightly with sugar or flour.

emulsify: Bind hard-to-combine ingredients, such as water and oil.

fillet: Cut meat, chicken, or fish away from the bone.

fold: Mix together without breaking.

fry: Cook in hot fat over high heat until brown.

fumet: A heavily concentrated stock.

garnish: Decorate food.

grate: Shred food in a grater or food processor.

grease: Lightly cover a pan with fat to prevent food from sticking.

grill: Cook on a rack over hot coals or under a broiler.

hors d’oeuvres: Bite-sized foods served before dinner.

infusion: Extract flavor from a food into a hot liquid.

julienne: Cut vegetables and other foods into matchstick-sized strips.

knead: Work dough to make it smooth and elastic.

leaven: Cause to rise before and during baking.

marinate: Place in a seasoned liquid to tenderize.

meringue: Egg whites beaten with sugar and baked.

mince: Chop food very fine.

pan-roast: A two-step process that first sears and seals a thicker piece of meat or chicken in a pan on the stovetop and then finishes that piece in the oven, in the same pan you started with.

pan-broil: Cook on top of the stove over high heat, pouring off fat or liquid as it forms.

parboil: Partially cook food in boiling water.

pare: Remove skin from a fruit or vegetable.

phyllo: A tissue-thin layer of dough.

pickle: Preserve food by submerging in a salty brine.

pilaf: A rice dish seasoned with herbs and spices, combined with nuts, dried fruits, poultry, and vegetables.

pinch: The amount of food you can take between two fingers.

poach: Submerge food in a liquid that is barely boiling.

proof: Test yeast — to find out whether it’s active — by mixing with warm water and sugar.

puree: Break food into small particles (examples are applesauce and mashed potatoes).

reduce: Boil down a liquid to concentrate the taste of its contents.

roast: Cook in dry heat.

sauté: Brown food in very hot fat.

sear: Subject foods such as meat to extremely high heat for a short period of time to seal in juices.

shred: Tear or cut into very small, thin pieces.

simmer: Cook over low heat, never boiling.

soufflé: A baked food made light by egg whites.

steam: Cook food over a small amount of boiling water.

steep: Place dry ingredients in hot liquid to flavor the liquid (tea is an example).

stew: Slowly cook meat and vegetables in liquid in a covered pan.

stir-fry: Quickly cook meat or vegetables in a wok with a little oil.

stock: A liquid in which solid ingredients (like chicken meat and bones, vegetables, and spices) are cooked and then usually strained out.

sweat: Cook over low heat in a small amount of fat (usually butter) to draw out juices to remove rawness and develop flavor.

toast: Brown by baking.

vinaigrette: A dressing of oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and various herbs and spices.

whip: Beat rapidly to add air and lighten.

zest: The outermost colored peel of an orange or other citrus fruit that is cut, scraped, or grated to add flavor to foods.