More Cooking Terms and their Meanings

We thought you might find another small glossary of regularly used cooking terms helpful. So here it is!

To cream
When you’re making a cake and the recipe says ‘cream together’, this means to beat together the fat and the sugar, until the mixture is pale and light – like whipped cream.

Dredge
Dredging is to sprinkle lightly – typically with flour or sugar.

Fold in – cutting and folding
This is when you use a metal tablespoon to very lightly combine ingredients together – so that the mixture retains its lightness. How to fold in – simply cut through the mixture with the edge of the spoon and lightly lift the ingredients over each other – until they’re combined.

Garnish
This simply means to make a dish look nice by decorating it with something edible. Such as sprigs of parsley, watercress, or lemon slices.

Julienne
This is to cut vegetables, or meat, into thin shreds – about the size of a matchstick.

Sauté
Sautéing is to cook food in a shallow pan with fat or oil, over a high heat. The pan is ’shaken’ to make the food sauter, which is the French word meaning to jump or toss, – to keep it from sticking.

Simmer
Simmering is to keep a liquid just at, or just below, boiling point. How to simmer – bring the liquid to the boil, then adjust the heat so that the surface of the liquid is kept just moving, or ’shivering’. If you see continuous bubbles then the heat is too high.

Enjoy cooking!