Maybe some menus that you have stared, but you don’t know its spelling and the meaning of basic french cooking terms.
Am I right? It often happens for every chef in the kitchen.
From confit to sous vide, many culinary terms are derived from French and have some meaning to those unacquainted the language.
That’s why; in this post; we’ve listed some of the French cooking terms or basic culinary terms and techniques with you.
To know and understand the basic terms used in cookery SEE the list of French cooking terms below:
gettyimages
Read More: How to Maintain Food Hygiene and Food Safety Procedures
French Cooking Terms
A
Accompaniments Items offered separately with a dish of food
A la in the style of
A la carte Dishes prepared to order and priced individually
Appetizer It is the first course that gets the appetite. Fruit juices, cocktails, sherry or tidbits could be served
Aromates Vegetables like carrots, onions, leeks, turnips, herbs and spices that provides aroma to the dish they are put in.
Aspic Clear meat or poultry jelly. It is a thin type of gelatin syrupy to decorate dishes in the larder.
Au gratin A type of Food that is covered with a sauce, sprinkled with breadcrumbs, spread with cheese, mixed with butter and baked or gratinated in a salamander.
A la king Foods are served in a white sauce with mushrooms, pimientos and green pepper. Usually makes flavored through sherry.
Anchois French for anchovy.
B
Bain-marie i A container of water to keep foods hot without fear of burning
ii A shallow container of water for cooking foods in order to prevent them from burning
iii A deep, narrow container for storing hot sauces, soups, and gravies
Bouquets garnish A faggot of herbs: parsley, thyme, and bay leaf usually tied inside pieces of leek and celery.
Read More: Kitchen Safety Tips for the Food Industry: Chefs Should Not Skip this!
Brunoise Small dice.
Baking Generally the food is placed in the oven and cooked through dry heat.
Batter Mixture of liquid and flour consistently that can be stirred. The batter can be plain or mixed with eggs. For the beignets and fritters, foods are dipped in the batter and fried.
Béchamel A basic white-colored sauce which is prepared with flour, butter and milk.
Baked Alaska Ice-cream on cake completely covered with meringue and delicately browned in a quick oven.
Bavarian A dessert consisting of whipped gelatin and whipped cream folded together. It is placed in a mold and refrigerated until set.
Beat To lift a mixture with a whip for the purpose of injecting air and to make the mixture smooth.
Beef a la Stroganoff Sautéed small thin slices of beef tenderloin, poached in a sour cream sauce.
Bercy A sauce consisting of brown sauce, shallots, lemon juice and white wine. Usually served with meat of fish.
Blend To mix thoroughly two or more ingredients.
Broth A liquid in which meat, fish, poultry, or vegetables have been simmered.
Blanching Submerging food items into the boiling water for a little time. Many ways are performed to blanch; tomatoes are placed in boiling water to blanch, i.e. to take the skin away. Cauliflower is submerged in boiling water to white the color. French fried potatoes are dipped in hot fat to let a skin form and to cook them partially.
Broil The ancient term for grilling.
Buffet Display of ready-to-eat foods. Often self-service from a table of various foods.
Read More: Types of Cooking Methods: Definition, Objective and the Method of Cookery
C
Casserole An earthenware fireproof dish with a lid.
Canapé A cushion of bread on which are served various foods, hot and cold.
Chateaubriand Head of the fillet of beef.
Chinois A conical strainer.
Caviar Salted roe or eggs of fish, usually, sturgeon, served as a sandwich spread or in plates as appetizers.
Condiments Seasonings.
Correcting Adjusting the salt and pepper, color and consistency of a dish.
Caper European flower bud seasoning (nasturtium bud) or garnish. The buds are pickled by using vinegar and kept in tiny green bottles.
Champignon French, meaning “mushroom”.
Charlotte A mould lined with ladyfingers, filled with fruit and whipped cream or custard.
Chef Head of the kitchen.
Chop To cut into small pieces using a knife or some type of sharp tool.
Coat To cover the surface of one food with another.
Consommé A clear, strong-flavored soup. Consommé is derived from the word consummate, meaning perfect.
Cocotte Porcelain or earthenware fireproof dish.
Concassé Coarsely-chopped, e.g. parsley, tomatoes.
Crepes Pancakes.
Croutons Cubes of fried bread served with soup, also triangular pieces with spinach and heart-shaped with certain vegetables and entrees.
Croquettes Cooked foods molded cylinder shape, egg and crumbed and deep-fried.
Croissant A crescent-shaped roll.
Cuisine The art of cookery.
Cube To cut into square pieces.
Curry East Indian stew or dish containing curry powder, a blended spice.
Cutlet A small flattened boneless piece of meat. Usually, the term is associate with pork and veal.
Cordon A tread or a thin line of sauce.
D
Dame A slice of fish on the bone (round)
Demi-glace A refined brown sauce
Drain To remove the fluid, generally in a perforated container
Doily A fancy cut round paper
Dish paper An oval cut paper with a decorative edge
E
Egg wash Beaten egg
Escalope A thin-slice
Espagnole A basic brown sauce
F
Farce filling – stuffing – forcemeat
Flan A shallow pastry case filled with various mixtures of food
Fume Smoked
G
Glace A concentrated form of various stocks, i.e. glace de viande (meat glaze)
Gratiner To color food golden brown under a salamander or in an oven, after sprinkling with cheese or breadcrumbs (see ‘au gratin’)
H
Hors d’oeuvre A single or variety of foods, served at the commencement of a meal to stimulate appetite
J
Julienne Cut into very fine strips
Ju-lie A thickened gravy
Read More: Kitchen Organization: Understanding the Modern Kitchen Brigade System
L
Liaison Used to thicken, bind or enrich
M
Macèdoine Vegetables or fruits cut into dice and mixed
Marinade A mixture of various seasonings, herbs and spices with vinegar/wine/oil/water used to flavor and tenderize
Menu A list of dishes offered
Mirepoix A roughly diced mixture of carrot, onion, celery, used for flavoring
Mise en place Basic preparations for cooking.
P
Paysanne A thin cut approximately 12 mm in diameter if round or 12 mm x 12 mm across
Printaniere A garnish of spring vegetables
Pulse Any vegetable, grown in a pod or casing in the fried preserved form
R
Roux A mixture of cooked fat and flour used as a thickening
S
Sabayon A mixture of yolks of egg and liquid cooked to the smooth texture of the cream
Salamander An appliance heated from above; used for cooking and coloring foods
Seasonal flour Flour with the addition of salt
Shred To thinly slice
