Literally, “to the tooth”; refers to an item, such as pasta or vegetables, cooked until it is tender but still firm, not soft.

Ingredients, such as herbs, spices, vegetables, citrus fruits, wines, and vinegar, used to enhance the flavor and fragrance of food.

Ingredients, such as herbs, spices, vegetables, citrus fruits, wines, and vinegar, used to enhance the flavor and fragrance of food.

A pizza that is stuffed with meats, vegetables, or cheese, folded over to resemble a large turnover, then baked or deep-fried.

A concentrated flavoring extracted from an item, usually by infusion or distillation. Includes items such as vanilla and other extracts, concentrated stocks, and fumets. Also: A sauce made from a concentrated vegetable juice.

Five-Spice Powder: A mixture of equal parts ground cinnamon, clove, fennel seed, star anise, and Szechwan peppercorns.

Prepared in accordance with Jewish dietary laws. Pure, refined salt used for pickling because it does not contain magnesium carbonate and thus does not cloud brine solutions. Also used to prepare kosher items. Also known as coarse salt or pickling salt.

A dish of rice cooked with onion, tomato, garlic, vegetables, and various meats, including chicken, chorizo, shellfish, and possibly other types. A paella pan is a specialized pan for cooking paella; it is wide and shallow and usually has two loop handles.

A mixture of herbs and spices used to season pickles. Often includes dill weed and/or seed, coriander seed, cinnamon stick, peppercorns, bay leaves, and others.

Spiced or seasoned foods, as opposed to sweet.

A dairy beverage with a slightly sour flavor similar to that of yogurt. Traditionally, the liquid by-product of butter churning, now usually made by culturing skim milk.

Refers to a number of sauces native to the Indian subcontinent, forming an integral part of the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys may be realized in such forms as a tomato relish, a ground peanut garnish, yogurt or curd, cucumber, spicy coconut, spicy onion or mint dipping sauce.

An aromatic mixture, such as pickles, chutney, and some sauces and relishes that accompanies food. Usually kept on the table throughout service.

Unsweetened canned milk from which water has been removed before canning.

French for stock or base. Drippings and bits of food left in a pan after foods are roasted.

Dark, syrupy meat glaze made by reducing beef stock.

Can be called fond lie, a sauce made by thickening brown stock using corn starch or similar starch.

Milk containing less than 2 percent fat.

An appareil used before cooking to flavor and moisten foods; may be liquid or dry. Liquid marinades are usually based on an acidic ingredient, such as wine or vinegar; dry marinades are usually salt-based.

Beaten egg that is cooked in butter in a specialized pan or skillet and then rolled or folded into an oval. Omelets may be filled with a variety of ingredients before or after rolling.

At or toward the front of an object.

Fresh herbs and vegetables tied into a cheesecloth bundle and used to flavor sauces, soups, stocks, stews.

The fruit of certain types of capsicum peppers (not related to black pepper), used fresh or dry as a seasoning. Chiles come in many types (for example, jalapeno, serrano, poblano) and varying degrees of spiciness.

A mixture such as chili powder, or a dish of the same name.

Dried chiles that have been ground or crushed, often with other ground spices and herbs added.

Partially cooking food by any cooking method. To partially cook an item before storing or finishing by another method; may be the same as blanching.

To cook gently in simmering liquid that is 160° to 185°F/70° to 82°C.

System of cooking that appreciates the proper techniques of ingredients and knowledge.

Containing herbs and spices used to flavor stocks, soups, and sauces. Easily removable.

To cook food in a pan, usually covered, without browning over low heat to encourage flavors to be extracted from vegetables and spices.