charterupot.blogg.se

To help others, I offer a glossary of common kitchen terms that can be befuddling to beginners.īaste: To moisten food during cooking with melted fat, pan drippings or a sauce. I learned that to become proficient in the kitchen one needs to be well-versed in its language. I was no longer mystified by words like julienne, brunoise and tournee, all French terms for cuts of vegetables.

I learned the difference between mince and dice, braise and saute, blanch and parboil. (Basically, so I wouldn’t embarrass myself while interviewing chefs.) I took culinary classes at Wake Technical Community College mainly to learn the language of the kitchen. I suffered from the same thing when I first became a food writer in 2007. If you have barely picked up a spatula, words like simmer or sear, braise or sauté can stop you before turning on the stove. I don’t remember that recipes can seem like a foreign language to an inexperienced home cook.

I’ve been writing about food for so long that sometimes I forget what it’s like to be a beginner.