Back to basics

Here’s the problem with recipes and cooking programs on the television. There are a lot of words they use that you and even I do not understand. Sauté, Braise, Blanch and Refresh.

Before I studied to become a chef I thought that Blanch is a word used after the word Carte, I thought raise was always miss spelled as Braise and refresh was a button that I clicked on when the internet page stopped working. You can see how this would make cooking difficult.

Now how much do you hate going out for dinner, sitting down, opening a menu and reading this:

Filet Mignon Crème Florentine topped with Demi glace and served with Courgette Au Gratin

Huh??? As I’m typing this even Microsoft Word is going "THESE ARE NOT WORDS!!!!!!"

 To break it down if you would order the above dish you would get Beef fillet steak garnished with creamed spinach topped with a rich beef sauce and served with some baby marrows grilled with cheese on top.

She misunderstood the recipe totally.

Okay so the next question is why do chefs use these words? Well it is like medical or legal terms. It is there so that we can say Sauté onions instead of fry in a hot pan with a bit of oil or butter. Most of these terms are French and I would not dare suggest you study them before going out for dinner but it is good to familiarize yourself with some of these. 

Knowing these basics will help you to read a recipe better and also help to improve your menu knowledge when you go out for dinner.

So here I leave two links to the best online cooking glossaries. Hope this helps!

http://www.keep-your-home-cooking.com/cooking-terminology.html

http://wikieducator.org/Culinary_Education/Cooking_Glossary