Common Cooking Terms

Don’t know a braise from a broil? Here are some common cooking terms, taken from Eating Well Healthy in a Hurry Cookbook.

• Mince: Finest chop of all, less than 1/8 inch, achieved by first cutting then rocking the knife back and forth across the ingredients, all the while rotating the blade around on the cutting board
• Dice: Cutting to create cubes between ¼ and ½ inch; used when vegetables need to cook quickly and evenly, as all pieces should be about the same size
• Cube: About cooking time rather than aesthetics; usually indicates how large to make the cubes
• Chop: Usually between ½- and 1-inch pieces; about texture rather than cooking time
• Rough chop: 1- to 2-inch uneven measurements
• Simmer: Steady if fairly low heat and often a covered or partly covered pan. Slow cooking process to make ingredients succulent and flavorful. Make sure to watch pot to keep simmer low and steady and prevent from boiling over
• Braise: AKA stewing. Similar to simmering, but with more liquid and for a longer time over a lower heat
• Stir-fry: High-heat method of searing meat and vegetables. Oil must be used, otherwise food will burn and stick to pan. A wok is preferred but a high-sided skillet or sauté pan can be used
• Steam: Uses high, moist heat to preserve an ingredient’s water-soluble ingredients. Food should never sit in the water but rather hover at least 1 to 2 inches above it in a steamer basket. Make sure to check the pot regularly to make sure it isn’t dry and gently shake occasionally to rearrange food and ensure even cooking
• Roast: Uses steady, even dry heat to cook from the outside in. Air should be able to circulate around whatever is roasting, so the oven rack should be placed at the center of the oven (unless otherwise stated in the recipe). If roasting vegetables add a small amount of fat (usually oil), and if roasting meat use a small rack to life it out of the fat of the pan. “A good roasting pan is a heavy, metal pan with a shiny interior surface that holds heat and reflects it back onto the food.”
• Broil: Sears food with a high, direct heat. Should always be preheated for 5 minutes, and food (not the pan) should be 4 to 6 inches from the heat source. Blot food dry and occasionally pour off rendered fat to avoid a mess and fires.
• Grill: cooking ingredients directly over the heat source. To check grill heat, place open palm 5 inches above grill grate. The heat is high if you have to move your hand in 2 seconds, medium if 5 seconds and low if 10 seconds.
• Barbecuing: cooking food over indirect heat by placing ingredients on one side of the grill with the coals or heat source on the other