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!