Cook with Kre

Recipe Terms Explained for Home Cooks

Updated

Recipe terms are shorthand for a technique and the result you should see. “Simmer” means a particular level of bubbling, “fold” means a gentle way of mixing, and “to taste” means the amount is your call. Below are the terms home cooks most often stop to look up, grouped by where you meet them, with what each one looks like when you’ve got it right.

Heat on the stovetop

  • Boil: large bubbles breaking the surface constantly. A rolling boil keeps going even when you stir. Use it for pasta and blanching.
  • Simmer: small bubbles rising gently, with the surface barely moving. It sits just below boiling, around 180 °F to 205 °F. Soups, stocks and sauces simmer; if one starts boiling hard, turn the heat down.
  • Poach: cooking in liquid that’s hot but barely moving, cooler than a simmer. Used for eggs, fish and fruit.
  • Sauté: cooking in a little fat over medium-high heat, moving the food so it cooks quickly and evenly.
  • Sear: cooking the surface of meat or fish over high heat until it’s well browned, without moving it. The browning is the point; it isn’t sealing anything in.
  • Sweat: cooking vegetables gently in a little fat, often with a lid, until soft but not browned.
  • Reduce: simmering a liquid uncovered so water evaporates and it thickens and concentrates. A recipe may say “reduce by half”; mark the starting level on the spoon or pan to judge it.
  • Deglaze: pouring liquid such as wine, stock or water into a hot pan after searing, then scraping up the browned bits stuck to the bottom. They dissolve into the start of a sauce.

In the oven

  • Roast and bake: both mean dry heat in the oven. “Roast” is usually used for meat and vegetables, “bake” for breads, cakes and casseroles.
  • Broil: cooking under the top heating element at high heat. Things brown in a few minutes and burn soon after, so stay close.
  • Rest: leaving meat to stand after cooking, usually under loose foil, so the juices settle before slicing. Five minutes for a steak, 20 minutes or more for a large roast.
  • Preheat: turning the oven on early so it’s at full temperature when the food goes in. Most ovens take 10 to 20 minutes.

Mixing and baking

  • Cream: beating butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, which traps air for a lighter cake.
  • Fold: combining a light mixture, such as whipped cream or beaten egg whites, into a heavier one without knocking the air out. Cut down through the middle with a spatula, sweep along the bottom and turn it over the top, rotating the bowl as you go. Stop as soon as no streaks remain.
  • Whisk and beat: fast mixing to combine or add air. Whisking uses a whisk; beating can be a spoon, a fork or a mixer.
  • Stiff peaks and soft peaks: for whipped cream and egg whites. Lift the whisk out: soft peaks flop over at the tip, stiff peaks stand straight up.
  • Proof: letting yeast dough rise. Recipes usually describe a size (“until doubled”) rather than a time, because warmth changes how fast it happens.
  • Temper: warming eggs gradually by whisking in a little hot liquid before adding them to the pot, so they don’t scramble.

Cutting

  • Mince: cut as small as you can, for garlic, ginger and herbs.
  • Dice: cut into even cubes. Small dice is about ¼ inch, medium about ½ inch.
  • Chop: roughly cut into pieces; the size matters less than with dicing.
  • Julienne: thin matchstick strips.
  • Zest: the coloured outer skin of citrus, grated finely. Stop before the white pith, which is bitter.

The phrases in between

Some of the most confusing words in a recipe aren’t techniques at all:

  • To taste: the amount is up to you. Add a little, taste, and add more if it needs it.
  • Divided: the ingredient is used in more than one place. “2 tablespoons butter, divided” means don’t add it all at once; the method will tell you when each part goes in.
  • Packed: pressed firmly into the measuring cup, usually for brown sugar.
  • Until fragrant: cook until you notice the aroma of garlic or spices, usually 30 seconds to a minute. Don’t wait for colour; by then it’s often too far.
  • Al dente: pasta cooked until tender with a slight firmness in the centre when bitten.
  • Room temperature: for butter, soft enough to press a dent into but not greasy or melting.

Looking these up while the pan is hot is the hard way. The guide on reading a recipe before you start suggests reading the method once beforehand and checking any unfamiliar word then.

Asking Kre mid-recipe

Cook with Kre is one way to get a term explained at the moment you meet it. Kre gives short explanations of unfamiliar words as part of the step, and goes into more detail only when you ask. And if a step calls for something you don’t have, the guide to missing ingredients covers what to do. See how Kre cooks with you.

FAQ

What’s the difference between boiling and simmering?

Boiling has large bubbles breaking the surface constantly; simmering has small, gentle bubbles and a mostly still surface. Simmering is just below boiling point.

What does “season to taste” mean?

Add salt, pepper or other seasoning a little at a time, tasting as you go, until it’s right for you. It’s a judgement call, not a missing measurement.

What does “fold in” mean in baking?

Gently combine a light, airy mixture into a heavier one with a spatula, turning it over rather than stirring, so the air stays in.

Sources

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