Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Glossary of cooking terms There are countless words associated with cooking and serving food, including terms for different kinds of cooking equipment, various types of dishes and so on. However, I assume you already know what you're cooking, and you can use a saucepan without necessarily knowing its name. So I've restricted this glossary to words which you might easily encounter while following a recipe and want reassurance that they mean what you think they do. Al dente- Italian for 'to the tooth', this means the food is tender but still has a firmness in the middle. Bain-marie- A double boiler pan, either purpose made or cobbled together by putting a pan of water on the heat with another pan or dish inside it.

Used to keep the contents of the inner pan away from direct heat. Baste- To spoon cooking juices (usually fat) over something while it's cooking. Bind- To use a liquid, often beaten egg, to get dry ingredients to hold together. Blanch- Apart from how you react to certain recipe instructions, this means to plunge briefly into boiling water. This helps to retain colour, loosen skins for peeling (eg tomatoes), soften, parcook (culinary speak for part cook) or remove strong flavours. Blind baking- To cook a pastry case without the filling. It's filled with dried beans to keep its shape, which are then removed after baking. Blitz- To blend with an electric mixer.

Braise- To cook very slowly, in a small amount of liquid, in a pan with a tight fitting lid. Caramelise- To cook sugar until brown, or to brown the sugar topping on a dish such as crème brulée. Chiffonade- Fine shreds, usually of lettuce or other green vegetables such as spinach, made by flattening the leaves on top of each other, rolling tightly and then cutting into strips. Clarify- To make clear, as you'd imagine, but in this case literally: to remove any cloudiness or sediment from stock, consommé, jelly or melted butter. Cream- To beat fat and sugar together until light. Croûte- A slice of toasted or fried bread on which food is served. Croûtons- Small cubes of bread fried until crisp and brown, generally used as a garnish for salads and soups. Deglaze- To rinse out a pan with liquid such as stock or wine in order to collect the sediment to use in a sauce.

Degrease- Sounds revoltingly Dickensian. Actually it means to skim off the fat from the surface of a liquid. Eggwash- Egg beaten together with a little water or milk to brush over food before cooking to brown it during baking. Flake- To break food into natural segments, particularly used to apply to cooked fish. Fold- To combine two lots of ingredients gently with a metal spoon to keep their lightness. Usually one of them is beaten egg white, which would deflate if stirred. Glaze- To give a shiny coat. Used with sweet dishes this generally means to coat with melted apricot jam, using a brush.

With vegetables, such as glazed carrots, it usually means coated with melted butter.