Vocabulary Words about Food and Cooking: A Sweet Confection

A Cook's Vocabulary

A great meal is surely one of life's finest pleasures. Although I am a writer by profession, I also am a serious amateur cook and savor the whole cooking process, not to mention the (usually) tasty result!

One of my step-sons, from a very early age, also shared my interest in fine food and cooking, and used to shadow me around the kitchen as I prepared meals. It was no accident when he decided to go to a Culinary School for college (Johnson and Wales, Providence, RI), and today he has a brilliant career as a big time chef. I'm proud of his accomplishments and like to think my fascination with cooking played a part in his discovering his profession.

I will never will forget the time when he was 8 years-old, though, and started a bonfire in my wok! The whole house smelled of smoke and burned food for a week! Or the afternoon he ate the 6 pound pork roast I'd made for dinner . . . he didn't even leave me a bite! Talk about a back-handed compliment!

These days, however, Ben has mastered far more than cooking with a wok properly, and has far outstripped me in culinary expertise. Something he is annoyingly smug about, I might add. The shoe is on the other foot, for I now humbly go to Ben for cooking tricks and tips.

The vocabulary words that follow are a composite of my own cooking experience and Ben's professional education. Yet they are not highly specialized, technical terms of interest only to chefs.

Instead, they are, first and foremost, wonderful w-o-r-d-s, and words that educated people in the English-speaking world understand and use frequently at fine restaurants, in the kitchen and in casual conversations with friends about food.

The definitions are brief and to the point, and by no means exhaustive. They reflect the most common usage of the word, which is a great place to start if you want to pump up your vocabulary fast. For complete definitions and word origins, consult a good dictionary.

I hope you enjoy this word-feast and become sated and satisfied from increasing your vocab in this category.

Bon Appetit! (This meal has 0 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 carbs, but will energize your brain. )

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Word or Phrase	Definition	Pronunciation
sous chef	second in command in a kitchen	sous rhymes with new, the S is silent
mes en plas	getting everything ready and organized to cook a recipe or meal	MAYS-en -plaas
reduction	simmering a juice or broth slowly to reduce it to its strongest, most flavorful essence	re-DUCK-shun
bouillabaisse	a French shellfish and fish stew	BOOL-ya-BAAS
ragout	highly season stew of meat and veggies	RAH-goo
braise	searing and browning the outside of meat before reducing heat to cook slowly until done	braze
epicurean	lover of fine food and drink	epp-ih-CURE-ee-un
apertif	alcoholic drink served before a meal to stimulate appetite	APP-per-TEEF
polenta	Italian corn meal mush use in many recipes	po-LEN-tuh
al dente	cooked to be tender, but still crisp	al-DENT-tay
al fresco	eating outside	al-FREZ-koh
a la mode	usually means topped with ice cream	ah-la-MODE
palate	with respect to food, this means one's ability to taste and enjoy	PAL-lut
truffles	edible fungi that grow underground, considered a delicacy	TRUFF-uls
nougat	a confection of honey and roasted nuts (yum!)	NEW-gut
fricasee	meat or poultry cut into small pieces and cooked in its own juice	FRICK-uh-see
blintz	a thin small pancake filled with cheese, fruit etc. then cooked	rhymes with wince
blanche	a cooking process in which fruit, veggies or nuts are placed into boiling water for a short time, and then plunged into ice water	rhymes with branch
executive chef	top man in a professional kitchen (restraunt, country club etc.)	------------------
cuisine	cooking traditions and foods associated with a particular culture	kwi-SEEN
gastronomy	the art and science of fine food, delicious eating	gas-TRON-oh-me
flambe'	a cooking procedure in which alcohol is added to the surface of a dish and ignited, burst of flames results, really just for show at time of serving	flaam-BAY
croquettes	a small fried roll of food, like an "egg roll"	crow-KETTES
petit fours	small cakes covered with fancy icing served for dessert	PETty-fours
brioche	muffin-shaped French breads made with lots of eggs and butter	bree-OSHE
aspic	meats, fruits or veggies set in gelatin and served cold	AAH-spick
amandine	food covered or encrusted with almonds	AH-mun-deen
steak tartare	finely chopped or ground meat served as a dish raw	steak tar-TARR
seviche	a citrus marinated seafood dish	`seh-VEECH-uh
gourmand	a person who takes great pleasure in food	gore-MAAHND