Cooking and Baking Terms Trivia

1. Pasta al forno is a popular and tasty Italian dish. If something is cooked "al forno," how was it prepared?

From Quiz Italian Cooking Terms

Answer: In the oven

"Al forno" literally means "to the oven." Pizza and breads are also prepared al forno.

From Quiz Cooking Terms, Part XVI

Answer: to pour a thin even line of fine liquid drops

To drizzle is less than to pour. Melted butter is drizzled over vegetables. Olive oil is drizzled over salads. Balsamic vinegar is drizzled over too many things. Reduced fruit juices are drizzled on ice cream and cake.

From Quiz Cooking Terms, Part XV

Answer: cooked until tender but still slightly chewy

In Italian, "al dente" means literally "to the tooth" which suggests that cooked pasta should offer some resistance to being bitten. Many Italian chefs regard most pasta cooked in the United States as overcooked, therefore too soft.

From Quiz Cooking Terms, Part XIII

Answer: Beat them with a spoon, whip or beaters until well combined.

Ingredients other than butter and sugar may also be creamed. The process is one of beating ingredients together until they are united and become light and fluffy.

From Quiz Cooking Terms, Part XII

Answer: Cut them into small even pieces anywhere between 1/4-inch on a side and 3/4-inch on a side

"Chop" is a general term which does not specify a particular size for the finished product. If size is important, a more specific term can be used. It is important that the vegetables be of uniform size to ensure even cooking. Appearance is unimportant as the vegetables will be removed and discarded once they have sacrificed their flavour to the stock.

From Quiz Cooking Terms, Part XI

Answer: to gently move foods in a circular motion using a spatula or spoon.

Stirring differs from beating or whipping in intensity. A recipe direction to "stir" suggests gently combining ingredients just until mixed. The aim of stirring is never to incorporate air into a mixture nor to break down the mixture's elements. Stirring is often prescribed in cooking to promote quicker heating or cooling of dense mixtures.

From Quiz Cooking Terms, Part X

Answer: To remove the thin coloured flavourful surface of a citrus peel

The peel of an orange, lemon, grapefruit or lime is composed of the thin outermost coloured part (the flavedo) and a thicker white inner pith (the albedo). Zest is shaved, scraped or peeled from the flavedo and added to food for colour, scent and flavour. The tool most often used to accomplish this task is called a zester, although a grater, microplane or even a vegetable peeler will often do the task just as well.

From Quiz Cooking Terms, Part IX

Answer: To soak the meat in saltwater

Brine is a mixture of water and salt, to which sugar, molasses, soy sauce, peppercorns, allspice berries, cloves, honey, candied ginger and/or garlic may be added. This both hydrates the meat (preventing drying out during roasting) and flavours the meat, as the brine carries seasoning into the meat's cells. Brining also tends to shorten cooking time.

From Quiz Cooking Terms, Part VIII

Answer: to cut food into small cubes

Dicing is a knife skill by which fruit, vegetables and sometimes meat are cut into perfect cubes, of equal dimensions on every side, a bit smaller than those "chopped" and a bit larger than those "minced." The purpose of such precision is to ensure that each piece cooks evenly with every other.

From Quiz Cooking Terms, Part VII

Answer: Cut out each section, removing the skin, membranes and seeds.

Supreme is pronounced with a short "e" as in "soo-PREHM." It can be used as a verb or a noun. Any citrus fruit may be supremed. A thin-bladed very-sharp knife is necessary to the task. The resulting pie-shaped wedges are called supremes.

From Quiz Cooking Terms, Part VI

Answer: Secure the legs and wings with butcher's twine or skewers to produce a nicely-shaped presentation of the bird

Trussing poultry is a debatable practice in that, although it creates a lovely presentation, the breast of a trussed bird tends to become overdone before the legs and thighs are fully cooked.

From Quiz Cooking Terms, Part V

Answer: To coat food with a sweet or savoury liquid which will set up with a smooth and shiny surface

Baked goods may be glazed with egg wash or diluted honey. Aspic is used to glaze cold meats and vegetables. Jelly makes an excellent glaze as does highly reduced meat stock.

From Quiz Cooking Terms, Part IV

Answer: To cook partially and/or briefly in boiling liquid

A recipe which directs that vegetables or fruits be parboiled before freezing them is telling the reader/cook to blanch them.

From Quiz Cooking Terms, Part III

Answer: To filter out the particles in it

A liquid is passed through a chinois, a colander, a sieve, a China cap, cheesecloth or even a coffee filter to remove small solids and leave a smooth-textured liquid, as in a soup or sauce.

From Quiz Cooking Terms, Part II

Answer: Cook it for about ten minutes in 180-degree (F) water.

Foods other than eggs (e.g. fruit) may be coddled, using the same method, as well. The warmth of the water bath cooks the food gently. In eggs, this produces a creamy result.

From Quiz Baking

Answer: lukewarm

If your water is cool or cold it will not ferment at all. Boiling water will kill the yeast thus not yield any fermentation for your bread to raise. Lukewarm water will activate the yeast and allow fermentation when your bread is fully mixed together.

From Quiz Cooking Terms

Answer: a mixture of onions, carrots and celery

A mirepoix of vegetables is added to sauces, soups, stews, and in a marinade for meat and poultry.

From Quiz Cooking Terms, Part XIV

Answer: a burst of rising as dough first heats up in the oven

When first placed in a hot oven, yeast dough may rise as much as a third of its height due to "oven spring." As the yeast initially heats, it gives off carbon dioxide and, as the water in the bread heats, it gives off steam, both of which cause this sudden rising. Spring ends when the interior of the loaf reaches about 120 degrees F as the yeast are killed by the heat and the crust of the bread becomes inflexible.

From Quiz Cooking Terms, Part XIII

Answer: Setting fire to alcohol added to the hot dish

Flambé is a cooking technique in which an alcoholic beverage (rum, cognac, whiskey, or flavourful liqueurs, but neither beer nor wine) is added to the hot pan to create a high flame. This dramatic presentation has been popular since the late 19th Century. Modern examples of flambéed dishes include Crêpes Suzette, Cherries Jubilee, Bananas Foster and Steak Diane.

From Quiz Cooking Terms, Part XII

Answer: Unlike table salt, pickling salt contains neither iodine nor anti-caking additives.

The additives to table salt, if used in pickling, tend to turn the pickled food dark and the brine cloudy. Pickling salt is often more fine grained than table salt in order to more quickly and thoroughly dissolve. Pickling salt is sometimes sold as "canning salt."

From Quiz Cooking Terms, Part X

Answer: A covered dish with a heat source to keep foods warm for service

The term "chafing dish" derives from the French verb "chauffer" meaning "to make warm." The dish is used either tableside or on a buffet. Most modern chafing dishes are made of metal but they may be made of glass or ceramic, as well. The source of heat may be burning charcoal, an alcohol lamp, an electrical element, or another source.

From Quiz Cooking Terms, Part IX

Answer: Ground dried hominy

Grits are ground dried hominy. Hominy is corn which has been treated with an alkali. European settlers learned to make and eat grits from Native Americans. Grits are boiled with water or stock to make something a bit like polenta or farina. Leftover grits may be formed into a block which can later be sliced and fried in bacon grease (authentically), butter or vegetable oil (less so).

From Quiz Cooking Terms, Part VIII

Answer: the bain marie

A bain marie is a sort of double boiler with a lower pot for water and a nested upper pot for the substance being heated. All of the other devices are strainers of a sort. In the cartoon strip "Calvin and Hobbes," there is a device made of a colander attached to a cardboard box called the Cerebral Enhance-a-Tron which makes the wearer temporarily incredibly intelligent.

From Quiz Cooking Terms, Part VII

Answer: To remove a substance from a liquid's surface in order to discard it

While fat may be skimmed from the surface of a liquid with a spoon, a far easier way to remove it (if there is time) is to chill the liquid and lift off the congealed fat in one piece.

From Quiz Cooking Terms, Part V

Answer: A hand-operated device into which adjustable blades are inserted for slicing fruits, vegetables and (sometimes) fingertips

Italians, especially those from around Abruzzo, use a strung-wire pasta-cutting device called "la chitarra" (meaning "the guitar"). Modern mandolines include blades which produce julienne cuts such as for French fries and garnishes.

From Quiz Cooking Terms, Part III

Answer: Warm it to 120° F, cool it to 80° F and warm it again to 90° F.

Chocolate contains crystals which, if untempered, can produce a white film on the outside of a piece, and give it a dry, powdery (rather than creamy) texture.

From Quiz Baking

Answer: 3

If you don't fold croissant or puff pastry dough, the butter could start to ooze out and prevent the dough from raising. It is the water from the butter that creates the steam and provides the layers in puff pastry and croissants. The proper number of folds for puff pastry, by the way, is five, but if you want it flakier six is permitted. In short, the number of folds you give croissant or puff pastry dough depends on how tender or flaky you want it.

From Quiz Italian Cooking Terms

Answer: Fried

"Fritto" means fried but is often taken to mean deep fried. Unlike many Americans, I often degrease my fried food before I eat it.

From Quiz Cooking Terms, Part XVI

Answer: almonds

The term "amandine" is French and is added to the end of the name of a dish to indicate its garnish, e.g. sole amandine. Cookbooks produced in the United States misspell this term "almondine" but continue to use it after the name of the dish in the French manner.

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Last Updated Apr 13 2024 5:51 AM

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