COMMON COOKING TERMS

Classic Cooking Techniques

Blanching: Process where vegetables are shortly cooked in boiling salty water and
then immediately cooled (shocked) in an ice bath
Roasting: Method of cooking over an open flame or an oven, where hot air is used to
cook food from all sides evenly at temperatures of at least 300 F or 150 C
Boiling: Process of cooking ingredients in boiling water
Broiling: Cooked under a source of high heat
Braising: Cooking of food in a steam environment in a closed container with a
certain amount of liquid
Grill: To cook over direct heat (for example: over coal on a bbq grill)
Pan-Frying: Cooking in a pan (See Sauté)
Poaching: Technique where ingredients are slowly cooked in milk, water or broth. Different than braising as this is often not in a closed environment and uses lower
temperatures
Sauté: Cooking technique where ingredients are introduced to a very hot pan with a
small amount of oil or other fat and quickly cooked
Sous-vide: “Under Vacuum” cooking method in which ingredients are sealed without air in a plastic pouch and cooked in a temperature-controlled water bath.
Typically for a more extended period.
Confit: Slow cooking process, where ingredients are submerged at low temperature
(usually 200 F or 93 C) fat. Typically Oil, tallow, pork or duck fat. This technique is a
preservation technique and therefore the items are typically salted prior to being
introduced to the warm liquified fat.
Dicing: Cut into small cubes
Gratin: Cooked ingredients are covered with grated cheese or breadcrumbs and then
baked in an oven until a brown color is achieved
Marinate: Adding flavorings to (usually) raw food by keeping it in a specific liquid to
improve taste or soften it.
Purée: Grinding or mashing vegetables or fruit into a creamy paste or thick liquid