Cooking Terms



Have you ever read a recipe whether it be here on my blog or elsewhere and wonder ' what do they mean?' How can you cook if you don't even understand what you're reading. Well here are a few tips aimed at helping you understand a recipe when you read it. Take a look, hopefully it will get you creating great dishes in no time.

Abbreviations commonly used:
Tbsp - Tablespoon
Tsp - Teaspoon
Oz - ounces
Qt - Quart
Pt - Pint
F - Fahrenheit
C - Celcius
1" - inch
lb - Pound
G - Grams

Other Terms
Double Boiler - This method is like a steamer. It is generally used when heating a sauce or liquid that could easily burn if placed directly on heat. Usually used for steaming vegetables, fish, for lighter sauces as used when heating chocolate, making caramel etc. This is done by simply placing a strainer or a smaller pot on top of another pot filled with water. The bottom pot will boil and the steam will cook or heat the items in the strainer or smaller pot.

Al Dente - An italian term which General requires you to cook for less time,  to the point of where it is not too soft and mushy, where it still has a sort of resistance left to it. Used most commonly when referring to pasta dishes.


Beating methods:
Whisk - Means to use a wire whisk and mix your ingredients using that tool. Usually helps when beating lighter liquids to create a foamy type consistency.

Fold -  Usually used again when making something foamy with air bubbles or dealing with a light and fluffy batter. You might find this in recipes for souffle, whipped cream, sponge cake, some types of cookies and doughs. This means to use a wooden spoon and carefully mix you ingredients using a folding method. Picture yourself folding clothes, This is done by using the wooden spoon and carefully lifting the mixture off of the sides and folding it in towards the middle. When you see a recipe asking for folding, Do not mix in your regular circle method when dealing with lighter batters, this will make it come out flat and ruin the recipe altogether. Instead carefully and lightly fold bringing in the outer edges into the center and continue doing this until you are done.

Knead - Method used to develop gluten in the dough you would use the palm of your hand and press down on the dough, over and over again for a few minutes until dough is noticeably softer and has a spring to it.

From my kitchen to yours
God Bless


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