Chef tip of the month

May - Culinary Terms

Now that cooking and restaurant shows are the most watched programs on television, I began to wonder if people understand the culinary language that is being spoken. I thought I would give you a few true culinary definitions. The kitchen slang definitions are best left in the kitchen.

• Blind bake: to partially or completely bake an unfilled pastry crust.
• Bouquet garn:; A small bundle of herbs tied with string. It is used to flavor stocks, braises and other preparations. Usually contains bay leaf, parsley, thyme and other aromatics.
• Brunoise: Small dice, 1/8-inch Square is standard. For a brunoise cut, items are first cut in julienne, and then cut crosswise.
• Chiffonade: Leafy vegetables or herbs cut into fine shreds, often used as a garnish.
• Chinoise: A conical sieve used for straining and pureeing foods.
• Duxelles: An appareil of finely chopped mushrooms and shallots sautéed gently in butter.
• Escalope: A small boneless piece of meat fish of uniform thickness.
• Liaison: A mixture of egg yolks and cream used to thicken and enrich sauces.
• Mother sauce: One of several basic sauces that are used in the preparation of many other small sauces. The mother sauces are: demi-glace, veloute, béchamel, hollandaise, and tomato.
• Quenelle: A light poached dumpling based on a forcemeat bound with eggs, that is shaped in an oval by using two spoons.
• Forcemeat: Amixture of chopped or ground meat and other ingredients used for pates, sausage and other preparations.

Chef Wayne Stoop

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