| Term | Definition
|
|---|
| Bellini | Italian drink made with champagne and peach nectar.
|
| beni shoga | Ginger root pickled with sweet vinegar and colored
red. Often served with sushi in thin slices.
Also known as gari.
|
| berbere | Ethiopian spice blend used in stews and soups.
|
| besan | Indian flour made from ground, dried chickpeas.
Used as a thickener, and in doughs and noodles.
Highly nutritious.
|
| betty | Baked pudding made from sugar, spices, fruit,
butter, and breadcrumbs. Very old, colonial
American dessert, though Betty Rubble was
much older still.
|
| beurre blanc | French sauce, meaning "white butter". Made with
wine, vinegar, and shallots reduced over heat,
into which butter is whisked until the sauce is
thick.
|
| beurre manie | A sauce thickener of softened butter combined with
an equal amount of flour. Small pieces can be
stirred into broth to thicken.
|
| biltong | From Africa; air-dried, cured meat strips. Like
American beef jerky, but considered finer. Made
from beef or game.
|
| bisque | A thick soup made of pureed seafood and cream.
|
| bitters | Bitter flavored distillation of herbs, bark,
roots, and plants. Used in cocktails and cooking.
The most popular brand is Angostura bitters.
|
| blackened | A cooking technique made famous by Louisiana chef Paul Prudhomme. Meat or fish is usually seasoned with a cajun spice mixture and then cooked in a cast iron skillet that has been heated almost red hot. This technique gives the food an extra crispy crust and sears in the juices. It is also guaranteed to set off your smoke detector--unless the battery is dead.
|
| blanch | A cooking technique of placing food into boiling
water for a short time, then in cold water to
stop cooking.
|
| blanquette | A French term for creamy stew made of veal, chicken, or lamb, mushrooms and whole small white onions.
|
| blend | To mix 2 or more ingredients together with a spoon, whisk, or electric blender until combined.
|
| blintz | A very thin pancake, rolled around a filling and
sauteed until golden brown.
|
| bockwurst | A German sausage made with ground veal and herbs.
|
| boiling | To boil refers to heating a liquid until bubbles for and break at the surface, commonly 212 degrees for water at sea level.
A rolling boil is one that can't be slowed by stirring.
|
| Bolognese | A cooking style named after Bologna, Italy, in which dishes are served with a thick meat and vegetable sauce made with wine and milk or cream.
A ragu is a fypical Bolognese sauce.
|
| bone | When used as a cooking verb, it means to remove
the bones.
|
| borscht | A Russian or Polish soup made with beef stock,
beets, and other vegetables or meat. Traditionally
topped with sour cream. Served hot or cold.
|
| boudin | Boudin blanc is a French sausage made with chicken, pork, fat, eggs, cream, bread crumbs and seasonings.
In Louisiana it is made with pork, rice and onions.
|
| bouillabaisse | A French seafood stew made with fish and shellfish, onions, tomatoes, white wine, garlic, saffron and herbs. Often served over thick slices of French Bread.
|
| bouillon | A strained broth made by cooking any vegetable,
meat, seafood, or poultry in water. Used for
soups and sauces.
|
| bouquet | Refers to the fragrance of wine.
|
| bouquet garni | Herbs tied or bagged in cheesecloth and used to
flavor soups or broths. They can easily be
removed at the end of cooking.
|
| braise | A cooking technique of browning meat, then slow
cooking in a tightly covered container with a
small amount of liquid.
|
| Brazil nut | The seed of a large, Amazon jungle tree. High
in fat and high in the antioxident, selenium.
|
| bread starter | Before commercial baking powders and yeasts were available, bread starters were a mixture of flour, water, sugar and yeast set aside to ferment and then kept alive by regularly adding equal parts of water and flour.
Various types of starters include sourdough and Herman (see word search for recipes). Two cups of starter mixture substitutes for each package of yeast called for in a recipe.
The starter should not be used if it turns orange or pink as it has been invaded by undesirable backteria and must be discarded.
|
| brown sugar | Granulated or white sugar combined with molasses giving it a soft texture. Dark brown sugar has a heavier molasses flavor and light brown sugar, a more delicate taste.
|
| bruschette | Traditionally, this is toasted bread rubbed with garlic
and olive oil. Now the bread is more often topped
with tomatoes, herbs, mushrooms, or other items.
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