Sunday, January 8, 2012

Cooking up words in English

As cooking shows have become such a major part of television, at least in Israel on Friday, cooking vocabulary has become more widely used and required.  For those who would like to understand what the fat man with the spoon is saying, here is a list of terms:
Cooking is using heat to prepare the main part of the meal while baking is using the oven to prepare desserts and breads, although there are some baked main courses.
A low flame on the gas is called sauté while an even lower one is called to simmer; frying is cooking over a flame with a decent amount of oil; deep frying has enough oil to cover the item, as in French fries or chips; wokking refers to cooking with a semi-cylinder shaped iron pan with little oil, but at a high temperature (as compared to walking the dog, of course, which can be done every day).  
Seering means either using the broiler or gas to cook the outside of a meat to seal its flavor.  Roasting is cooking in the oven.  Broiling is using the top burner only, convenient when it is too cold or rainy to barbeque. 
A pot roast is placing meat in a pot with some juice and cooking over the gas.  Poaching is cooking fish in a pan filled with water.  (Poached salmon is not by definition illegal unless you poach poached salmon.)
Flambé involves lighting alcohol with sugar to create a caramel sauce over a dessert. 
If you are hungry, go prepare some food!

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