Cooking has its own jargon or specialised language and you’ll find that some ordinary words have a specific meaning when they're used to describe cooking techniques and processes.
Baste : to periodically ladle the juices or melted fat over meat while it's cooking to keep it moist.
Blanch : to plunge into boiling water, remove after up to five minutes, and then plunge into iced water to halt the cooking process, usually used for vegetables.
Braise : to first sear meat at a high temperature, then finish cooking it in a covered pot, simmering at a low temperature in a liquid like broth until very tender.
Coddle : to cook eggs just below boiling point until they are semi-soft. The difference between a coddled egg and a poached egg is that a poached egg is made by cooking the egg directly in water, whereas a coddled egg is cooked in a buttered dish like a small ramekin.
Curdle : to cause the liquids and solids in a mixture to separate during the cooking process. In hot mixtures using eggs or dairy products as an emulsifier, like custards or hollandaise, curdling can be avoided by heating the sauce gently and being careful not to overcook it.
Deglaze : to dissolve the browned food residue, or glaze, by adding cold liquid, such as broth, to a hot pan that has just been removed from the heat. The resulting liquid is used to add flavour to sauces, soups, and gravies.
Emulsify : to combine two liquids that normally wouldn’t combine using a bonding agent or an emulsifier. To bind the two liquids together you can use ingredients like an egg yolk, in homemade mayonnaise, or Dijon mustard, in a vinaigrette, for example.
Infuse : to extract the the flavour of aromatic ingredients, such as tea or herbs, by soaking them in a liquid until the liquid takes on the flavour of the ingredient. These infusions can be added to sauces and syrups.
Macerate : to soak fresh or dried fruit in a flavoured liquid such as vinegar or liquor to soften it and make it juicier and more flavoursome. It can also be used to describe sprinkling fruit with sugar which draws out the liquid, creating a syrup.
Marinate : to soak foods in a seasoned and acidic liquid before cooking for hours or days, adding flavour to the food. Marinating also be used to tenderise a cut of meat.
Reduce : to simmer or boil down the liquid in a stock, soup or a sauce to intensify the flavour or to reduce the volume and thicken the consistency.
Render : to cook meat at a low heat to melt the fat away. This rendered fat can then be used to cook with.
Sauté : to cook food quickly over relatively high heat. The word means "to jump" in French, as the food does when placed in a hot pan.
Scald : to heat a liquid so it's just about to reach the boiling point when small bubbles start to appear around the edges.
Sear : to cook meat over a high heat until caramelisation forms on the surface. This is often done to give the meat added flavour before braising it.
Simmer : to cook in a hot liquid kept just below the boiling point of water and above poaching temperature. To create a steady simmer, a liquid is brought to a boil, then its heat source is reduced to a lower, constant temperature.
Skim : to remove the layer of fat or scum from the surface of a liquid, typically when making stock or jam. This is usually done using a slotted spoon for removing solids or a regular spoon for removing liquids.
Sweat : to gently cook vegetables, like onions, in butter or oil under a lid, so that their natural liquid is released to aid the cooking process. Vegetables cooked this way will usually end up looking translucent.
Whip : to beat food with a mixer or a whisk to incorporate air and produce volume, often used to create heavy or whipping cream, salad dressings, or sauces.
Zest : to scrape or cut away the zest, or the rind, from unwaxed citrus fruits like lemon, lime or orange which contains aromatic oils. Zest is used to add flavour to foods.
