I wish I could say I love to cook. Honestly it is the least favorite household chore I do. I did not grow up in a cooking family. Our joke was if it didn’t come out of a box and you couldn’t add water our mother didn’t make it. Well, we thought it was funny. Mom not so much. Even if it was true.
As an adult, I tried to cook a variety of dishes. Cookbooks were my best friends. I wish I could say that I have a natural ability to cook, but I don’t. So as I use these cookbooks I also need to understand some of the vocabulary used. Here is a list of ten cooking words that I’ve run across in reading or watching television shows and their meanings.
Albert Sauce: A horseradish sauce with a base of butter, flour and cream.
Alfredo Sauce: A sauce made with heavy cream, butter, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.
Ceviche: An appetizer from Latin America made of raw fish marinated in citrus juice.
Bearnaise: A sauce made from a reduction of vinegar, wine, tarragon, shallots and finished with egg yolks and butter.
Acai: A dark purple berry from Central and South America that is rich in nutrients.
Cacciatore: Meaning to prepare food “hunter style” with mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, herbs and wine.
Aioli: A garlic mayonaisse
Acini de pepe: Is Italian for peppercorns. Pronounced ah-chee-nee dee-Pay-pay which in cooking can mean tiny rice shaped pasta.
Caffeine: An organic compound found to stimulate the nervous system, release insulin, stimulate heart and kidneys, and dilate the blood vessels.
All Spice: A spice named due to the fact it tastes like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. It is taken from the berry of the evergreen pimiento tree from Jamaica.
Happy Cooking!
