BEAT: To use a circular motion to change the texture of ingredients. Beating softens butter, incorporates air, smooths a lumpy batter, or mixes wet and dry ingredients together. It can be done with a whisk, a spoon, an electric mixer, or a stand mixer.
BOIL: To heat a liquid so that big bubbles vigorously break the surface. At sea level this occurs at 212°F (100°C).
CARAMELIZE: To melt sugar until it turns amber or dark brown. This process changes the flavor of the sugar as well as the color. The term applies to both plain sugar (as in caramel sauce, page 220); as well as the sugar that naturally occurs in food (as in caramelized onions, page 76).
CHILL: To refrigerate something until it’s cold all the way through.
CURDLE: When a milk product separates and forms grainy clumps. Milk, yogurt, and sour cream can curdle when overcooked or an acid is added to it. Cream is the one dairy product that won’t curdle from heat or acid.
DRAIN: To remove unwanted liquids from food. Often done using a mesh strainer or colander.
DRIZZLE: To pour a liquid such as honey, melted chocolate, sauce, or oil over food in a very fine stream using a back-and-forth motion.
DUST: To put a fine coating of sugar, cocoa powder, or flour on the surface of something. The best way to dust is to put the ingredient in a fine mesh strainer and tap it lightly over the surface. Alternatively, you can sprinkle with your hands.
FOLD: To combine ingredients gently by sliding a spoon or spatula across the bottom of the bowl, up the side, and turning the mixture over. This is done to keep air in the batter and is used most often with whipped egg whites or whipped cream. The heavier mixture is usually added to the lighter.
KNEAD: A fold-and-press motion performed to develop the glutens in flour. Used most often with yeasted dough, kneading can be done by hand or with a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
MELT: To turn a solid into a liquid by heating it.
NONREACTIVE: A nonreactive pot, pan, or bowl is one that doesn’t react chemically with food. Some recipes specify nonreactive vessels when an acid—like lemon juice or tomato sauce—can leave a metallic taste in the finished dish. Nonreactive materials include stainless steel, enamel, glass, clay, and even plastic. When a recipe calls for a nonreactive pan, do not use copper, aluminum, or untreated cast iron.
PEEL: The thin outer layer of citrus fruit (also known as zest) or the act of removing it. You can grate citrus using a box grater or microplane or remove it in long, thin strips using a zester.
PREHEAT: To heat a cooking device before baking or cooking. The term usually applies to ovens, but you can also preheat griddles and broilers.
PUREE: To make something smooth by grinding it with the blade of a food processor or blender.
REDUCE: To boil off some of the liquid in a sauce in order to concentrate the flavor and make the sauce thicker.
SCORE: To make a shallow cut in the surface of pastry or yeast breads. It can be used to create a design (such as in the tarts on pages 127 and 138) or to make final cuts easier (as with the sesame snaps on page 196).
SEIZE: When melted chocolate turns grainy and lumpy because it came in contact with moisture.
SIFT: To remove lumps from a powder—most often flour, cocoa powder, or confectioners’ sugar. This is usually done using a mesh strainer.
SIMMER: To heat a liquid to just below the boiling point so that small bubbles will gently break the surface.
STRAIN: To remove the liquid from an ingredient by letting it drain through a sieve.
TOSS: To mix ingredients together by lightly lifting and releasing them. Do this when you wish to combine ingredients but maintain their shape. For example, you don’t want to break the raspberries when coating them with flour in Rhubarb-Raspberry Galette (page 169).
WHIP: To rapidly beat a liquid (usually egg whites or heavy cream) until it becomes full of air and can form peaks. This can be done using a whisk, an electric mixer, or a stand mixer.
WHISK: To use a whisk to blend ingredients together.