Al dente -- An Italian phrase meaning "to the tooth," used to describe pasta or other food that is cooked only until it offers a slight resistance when bitten into, but which is not soft or overdone.
Bain-Marie -- Classic French method of cooking in a water bath, generally achieved by footing the foot in one container and setting it within a larger container, then filling the larger with water until about halfway up the side of the smaller.
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Barigoule -- A dish of artichokes that have been braised with white wine and vegetables.
Batonnet (or baton) -- Small, stick-shaped foods such as vegetables or pastries that may or may not have a filling. Also describes a French loaf of bread that's somewhat smaller than a baguette.
Beurre Blanc -- This grand old French sauce (literally "white butter") is a mixture of wine, vinegar and shallots. After the liquid is reduced, chunks of cold butter are whisked in to thicken and smooth.
Bisque -- A thick, rich soup usually consisting of pureed seafood (sometimes fowl or vegetables) and cream.
Bordelaise sauce -- A French sauce made with red or white wine, brown stock, bone marrow, shallots, parsley and herbs. It's usually served with broiled meats.
Brick Leaves -- Ultra-thin pastry from North Africa, the type used to make the traditional meat- and cheese-filled turnovers known as some version of "borek."
Brunoise -- Soups and stews get lots of flavor from this mixture of vegetables that have been thinly sliced or shredded, then slowly cooked in butter.
Carpaccio -- Italian in origin, carpaccio consists of thin shavings of raw beef fillet, which may be drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice or served with a mayonnaise or mustard sauce. The dish is often topped with capers and sometimes onions. It's generally served as an appetizer.
Cassis -- A European black currant used mainly to make Crème de cassis liqueur and black currant syrup.
Chiffonade -- Literally translated from the French "made of rags." Culinarily, it refers to thin strips or shreds of vegetables, either lightly sautéed or used raw to garnish soups.
Chinese slicer -- A form of slicer that cuts vegetables all the way around, similar to a turning slicer.
Chinois -- A metal conical sieve with an extremely fine mesh, used for pureeing or straining. The mesh is so fine that a spoon or pestle must be used to press the food through it.
Cold-smoke -- The application of smoky flavor to foods without any direct encounter with heat. Gives a gentle, subtle taste.
Concassé -- A mixture that is coarsely chopped or ground, such as a tomato concassé.
Confit -- This specialty of Gascony, France, is derived from an ancient method of preserving meat (usually goose, duck or pork) whereby it is salted and slowly cooked in its own fat. The cooked meat is then packed into a crock or pot and covered with its cooking fat, which acts as a seal and preservatives.
Coulis -- A general term referring to a thick puree or sauce.
Crème fraîche -- A matured, thickened cream with a slightly tangy, nutty flavor and velvety rich texture. In France, where crème fraîche is a specialty, the cream is unpasteurized and therefore contains the bacteria necessary to thicken it naturally.
In America, where all commercial cream is pasteurized, the fermenting agent necessary for crème fraîche can be obtained by adding buttermilk or sour cream. Combine 1 cup whipping cream and 2 tablespoons buttermilk in a glass container. Cover and let stand at room temperature (about 70°F) from 8 to 24 hours, or until very thick. Stir well before covering and refrigerate up to 10 days.
Cuitlacoche -- Also called corn smut, maize mushroom and huitlacoche, this gourmet rage is actually a bulbous fungus that attacks ears of corn and makes the kernels swell to 10 times their normal size. Although most US farmers consider it a plague and destroys infected ears, the Aztecs are said to have prized cuitlacoche. Enthusiasts say it has a smoky-sweet flavor that's a cross between that of corn and mushroom. It's sold canned and frozen in some gourmet markets. Cuitlacoche is used in a variety of dishes including sautés, soups, casseroles in general, any preparation where cooked mushrooms would be appropriate.
Deglaze -- The process of rescuing flavorful browned bits of food from the surface of your pan, primarily by splashing in wine.
Demi-glace -- Intensely flavored and thick as jelly, this is the result of reducing larger amounts of stock into small amounts. A long, though hardly difficult process produces demi-glace that adds a lot of flavor using small amounts. Demi-glace can be poured into an ice cube tray and frozen for future use, one cube at a time.
Duxelles -- A mixture of finely chopped mushrooms, shallots and herbs slowly cooked in butter until it forms a thick paste. It's used to flavor sauces, soups and other mixtures, as well as for a garnish.
Escabeche -- From the same root word as "ceviche," meaning pickled. Often though to mean the Mexican dish of "raw" fish, anything called "escabeche" usually involves some application of vinegar and pickling-type spices.
Escolar -- New market name for the fish long known as "oilfish." This Guld denizen has come into its own in recent years, with the supply problems that have afflicted traditional Louisiana redfish and speckled trout.
Fedelini -- Italian for "little faithful ones," referring culinarily to very fine spaghetti.
Florentine mix -- The ingredients (usually butter, sugar, cream, honey and candied fruit) used to make the Austrian cookies known as florentines.
French, to -- 1. cut a vegetable or meat lengthwise into very thin strips. 2. cut away the meat from the end of a rib or chop so that part of the bone is exposed.
French bean -- Any young, green string bean, all of which (including the pod) can be eaten. Frenched or French green beans are those that have been cut lengthwise into very thin strips.
Frisee -- This member of the chicory family, with slender, curly leaves, is often used as a component of a salad mix called mesclun.
Hana katsuo -- A Japanese product, these are shaved flakes of the fish called bonito.
Haricot verts -- The French term for "green string bean," haricot meaning "bean" and vert translating as "green."
Harissa -- A fiery hot sauce from Tunisia made from chiles, garlic, coriander, caraway and olive oil.
Japanese mandolin -- A device that (used carefully!) produces slices of vegetables that are ulta-fine and quite uniform.
John Dory -- This odd-looking fish from European waters has flesh that is delicate and milk. It's terrific grilled, sauteed or poached.
Juicing -- A procedure using one from a wide variety of kitchen machines available today to extract the natural liquid from fruits and vegetables. It's best to follow the instructions for your juicer.
Kaffir lime leaves -- These glossy, dark green leaves of the lime tree from Southeast Asia and Hawaii can be used in cooking fresh or dried. The fresh are more intensely flavored and aromatic.
Kalamansi -- Asian citrus fruit, a cross between an orange and a lime.
Ketjap manis -- A thick, dark Indonsian sauce that's a bit similar to soy but more complex.
Ladyfinger -- A light, delicate sponge cake roughly shaped like a rather large, fat finger. Ladyfingers can be made at home or purchased in bakeries or supermarkets.
Lardoons -- Also lardons. In the traditional French kitchen, these were strips of each fat or bacon. Sometimes they are used after being diced, blanched and fried.
Maçedoine -- A dish of colorful, attractively cut fruits or, less commonly, vegetables, either of which may be raw of cooked. The fruits are customarily either briefly soaked or drizzled with a mixture of sugar syrup and liqueur. a fruit maçedoine is served for dessert, either cold or flambéed. For a savory maçedoine, each vegetable is cooked separately, then artfully arranged together on a plate and dressed with seasoned melted butter. It can be served as a side dish or a first course.
Mache lettuce -- Sometimes called "corn salad," this European plant has nothing to do with corn. Its leaves are dark, tangy and nutlike, making them wonderful in salads.
Mascarpone cheese -- Mascarpone, from Italy's Lombardy region, is a buttery-rich double-cream to triple-cream cheese made from cow's milk. It's ivory-colored, soft and delicate, and ranges in texture from that of a light clotted cream to that of room- temperature butter.
Mirepoix -- A mixture of diced carrots, onions, celery and herbs sautéed in butter. Sometimes ham or bacon is added to the mix. Mirepoix is used to season sauces, soups and stews, as well as for a bed on which to braise foods, usually meats or fish.
Opah -- Hawaiian fish, also known as "moonfish," can reach 200 pounds. Its pinkish flesh to full-flavored and fine textured.
Osetra caviar -- One of three types of "true caviar," roe taken from a sturgeon. A classic delicacy.
Palm sugar -- A dark, coarse, unrefined sugar made from either the sap of various palm trees or from sugar-cane juice. Also known as jaggery.
Pancetta --An Italian bacon that is cured with salt and spices but not smoked. Flavorful, slightly salty pancetta comes in a sausage-like roll. It's used in Italian cooking to flavor sauces, pasta dishes, forcemeats, vegetables and meats. pancetta can be rightly wrapped and refrigerated for up to three weeks, or frozen up to six months.
Panko -- Bread crumbs used in Japanese cooking for coating fried foods. They''re coarser than those normally used in the United States and create a deliciously crunchy crust. Panko is sold in Asian markets.
Posole -- A thick, hearty soup usually eaten as a main course. It's usually served with chopped lettuce, radishes, onions, cheese and cilantro, which diners can add to the soup as they please. Posole originated in Jalisco, in the middle of Mexico's Pacific Coast region, and is traditionally served at Christmastime.
Profiterole -- A miniature cream puff filled with either a sweet or savory mixture. Savory profiteroles are usually served as appetizers.
Raft -- Formation of pureed meat and vegetables atop cooking consomme, draws up any impurities.
Red shiso -- Shiso is an aromatic green, jagged-edged leaf from the perilla (or beefsteak) plant, which is part of the mint and basil family. The versatile green shiso, sometimes called perilla or Japanese basil, is used in salads, sushi and sashimi, cooked dishes like tempura and as a garnish. The less common and less aromatic red shiso is from a different plant species and is more likely to be found pickled than fresh.
Reduction/reduce -- To boil a liquid rapidly until the volume is reduced by evaporation, thereby thickening the consistency and intensifying the flavor.
Rémoulade -- A classic French sauce made by combining mayonnaise (usually homemade) with mustard, capers and chopped gherkins, herbs and anchovies. It's served chilled as an accompaniment to cold meat, fish and shellfish.
Rillette -- Meat cooked in seasoned fat, then pounded or pulverized into a paste. The mixture generally resembles a pate.
Risotto -- An Italian rice specialty made by stirring hot stock into a mixture of rice (and often chopped onions) that has been sautéed in butter. The stock is added 1/2 cup at a time and the mixture is stirred continually while it cooks until all the liquid is absorbed before more stock is added. This labor-intensive technique results in rice that is delectably creamy while the grains remain separate and firm.
Rougail -- Old-fashioned dish from the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. It is to homesick Mauritians what curry is to homesick Indians.
Rouget -- A Mediterranean fish, famed as one of the traditional components of bouillabaisse.
Roulade -- The French term for a thin slice of meat rolled around a filling such as mushrooms, bread crumbs, cheese or a mixture of vegetables and cheese or meat. The rolled package is usually secured with string or a wooden pick.
Roux -- A mixture of flour and fat that, after being slowly cooked over low heat, is used to thicken mixtures such as soups and sauces.
Sake -- The legendary Japanese rice wine.
Sambal olek -- A condiment enjoyed throughout Indonesia, Malaysia and southern India, the simplest is just hot peppers, brown sugar and salt.
Scotch bonnet peppers -- This irregularly shaped pepper favored in the Caribbean is closely related to the habanero.
Sevruga caviar -- A form of sieved and salted sturgeon roe.
Tapenade -- Hailing from France's Provence region, tapenade is a thick paste made from capers, anchovies, ripe olives, olive oil, lemon juice, seasonings and sometimes small pieces of tuna. It's used as a condiment and served with crudités, fish, meat, etc.
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Tian -- A French word describing a shallow, earthenware casserole, as well as the food that it contains. A tian can be of any various dishes, but originally referred to a Provençal dish of gratinéed mixed vegetables.
Truffle butter -- Butter flavored with truffle and herbs.
Truffle oil -- Oil flavored with a bit of truffle, imparts flavor without the expense of buying truffles.
Turning slicer -- Kitchen device that turns vegetables such as potatoes
to produce a single long slice.
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About this article: This article originally appeared in New Orleans Gourmet Magazine.
