Poach:
Two meanings: cooking fish or poultry in a small amount of water; cooking eggs out of their shells in slightly acidified water just below boiling point.
Bake
To cook by dry heat, without adding water.
Braise
Method of cooking used for meat and vegetables. The term comes from traditional country cooking: in the morning a piece of meat was placed in a pot covered with embers (the word comes from “brese” in Old French and is still “brasi” in Piemontese), which was eaten in the evening, when the long cooking had made it tender. In the case of meat, the piece is browned on low heat, with a liquid (which may be water, wine or gravy), in a covered dutch oven. The cooking needs to be continued until the juices from the meat, together with the almost evaporated liquids, the fats, and the aromatic elements have formed a gravy.
Brown:
To cook a food until it becomes golden on the surface. Vegetable, meat and fish can be browned by heating them up in a frying pan, while puddings and sweets can be brushed with egg yolk mixed with milk, and then placed in the oven.
Julienne
A particular way of cutting food (vegetables, salami, etc.) into very thin strips. When cut like this, the food absorbs the condiment – such as oil, vinegar, sauces or lemon – that much better. Note: stringy vegetables should be cut across the grain.
Roast brown
To colour a food uniformly in order to season it. Depending on the type of fat used (butter, extra-virgin olive oil), it may be cooked on high or low heat. The cooking fat is then eliminated.
Sauté
A method of cooking in the pan, which involves tossing the food with a quick movement of the wrist. It can be used for a number of foods: for vegetables, with oil or butter; for pasta, to ensure a uniform spread of the sauce; for meat, when browning.
Scald or blanch
To plunge raw food into boiling water for a few seconds. This helps mitigate the bitter taste of some type of vegetables (artichokes), eliminate skins more easily (tomatoes), soften foods, or brighten up the colour (broccoli, green beans, etc.). Fatty foods, on the other hand, are scalded in order to remove excess salt or fat, so that they can be stuffed.
Sieve or sift
To put an ingredient in powder form (as flour) through a sieve in order to eliminate impurities or any lumps caused by humidity.
Evaporating
The Italian term for pouring a liquid onto a very hot food – the heat evaporates the liquid almost immediately. The dish then continues to cook with the addition of another liquid.
Stew
Method of cooking which involves the use of two different heat conductors: humidity and fatty substances. An open dutch oven is used for this process, in which steam is formed and the fats brown the food being cooked.
Toast
To colour an ingredient by means of dry heat (oven) or in a frying pan, so that it becomes crisp. This process is normally used before the dish is actually cooked
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