| Appetizer | a small tasty portion of food or a drink served before dinner. |
| Bake | to cook by dry heat in oven. |
| Baking blind | the method of baking flans, tarts and other pastry cases without a filling. |
| Batter | any mixture of dry ingredients and liquid that is stirred or beaten and can be poured. |
| Beat | to introduce air into a mixture by a vigorous over and over motion, using a wooden spoon, wire whisk, fork or electric beater. |
| Bind | to add a liquid, egg or melted fat to a dry mixture to hold it together. |
| Blanch | to put food in boiling water in order to either whiten or remove the skin. |
| Blend | to combine all ingredients thoroughly until very smooth and uniform. |
| Boil | to cook at boiling point. |
| Brown | to put a cooked dish or meringue under the grill or in the oven for a short time to give a golden color. |
| Brush | to spread thinly with a brush. |
| Canape | an appetizer of seasoned food usually served on little pieces of crisp toast or crackers. |
| Casserole | a baking dish usually oven-proof with a tight fitting lid. Food cooked in a casserole is served straight from it. |
| Chop | to cut food into very small pieces with a sharp knife. |
| Coat | to cover food with a think layer of flour, egg, bread crumbs or batter. |
| Colander | a vessel having small holes in the bottom, used as a strainer. |
| Consistency | a term describing the texture, usually the thickness of a mixture. |
| Cream | to beat fat and sugar to incorporate air, break down the sugar crystals and soften the fat. This can be done either by rubbing or working ingredients against the side of the bowl with a wooden spoon or fork. |
| Core | to remove inner portion. |
| Croutons | small cubes of bread, fried or toasted until crisp. |
| Cubes | small equal pieces, usually of about (1/2") each side. |
| Deep fry | to cook a food in a deep layer of hot fat. |
| Dice | to cut into small cubes, generally of about (1/4") size. |
| Dissolve | to make a solution with a liquid and a dry substance e.g. sugar and water |
| Dot | to scatter small amounts of butter, nuts, chocolate etc. over the surface of a food. |
| Dough | a mixture of flour and liquid in combination with other ingredients, thick enough to knead and roll. |
| Dredge | to coat food with some ingredients such as seasoned flour or sugar. |
| Dust | to sprinkle or coat lightly with flour or sugar. |
| Fat | a term used for butter, margarine, ghee and hydrogenated oils (like vanaspati). |
| Flambe | to cover a food with brandy etc., then light and serve flaming. |
| Fold in | to combine two mixtures (e.g. adding beaten egg-whites to a souffle) very gently with a wire whisk or spoon using an under-and-over motion, until thoroughly mixed. |
| Fry | to cook in a small amount of fat. |
| Garnish | to decorate with portions of colorful and contrasting food. |
| Glace | coated with a thin sugar syrup cooked to the crack stage e.g. glace cherries |
| Glaze | to add lustre or shine to a food by coating with syrup or jelly. |
| Grate | to shred foods by rubbing against a grater. |
| Grill | to cook directly under a flame or heating in an oven. |
| Grind | to cut or crush ingredients into powder or paste form. |
| Herbs | aromatic plants used for garnish and seasoning. |
| Icing | the process of covering with a sugar coating; or the coating itself. |
| Knead | to work and press the dough hard with the heels of the hands so that the dough becomes stretched and elastic. |
