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Cooking Terms

Arbol Chiles

Small red chilies most often sold dried. They are very hot and have a leathery skin and a thin flesh under the skin.

Worcestershire Sauce

Consists of malt vinegar, molasses, sugar, shallot, garlic, tamarind, clove, anchovy essence, and meat extract. Most often used for flavoring sauces and soups.

Verjuice

The juice of unripe grapes or even perhaps of crabapples (although this is not often seen). It was used extensively during the middle ages as an acidic component for sauces. It is also excellent when used to make vinaigrettes-- especially vinaigrettes that are wine friendly, unlike the traditional vinegar based vinaigrettes.

Vinaigrette

A basic mixture of oil and vinegar, usually in the proportions of 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. In English, it would best be translated from the original French as: vinegar and oil dressing. It can be flavored in a multitude of different ways.

Vialone Nano

A variety of Italian short grain rice used to make risotto. (This variety in particular produces a very creamy risotto.)

Tapanade

A black olive spread that is always mixed with olive oil and usually perfumed with a mixture of any or some of the following ingredients: anchovy, capers, herbs, and garlic. Tapanade is perhaps best loosely defined as a black olive spread with olive oil and other flavoring components such as: anchovy, caper, herbs, etc. But the truth is that this simple peasant dish from the south of France is open to a multitude of interpretations. Tapanade Recipe

Thyme

A culinary herb which is distinguished by its small green leaves and purple flowers. It is very aromatic and is one of the classical herbs used in seasoning. Often it is added to a reduction so as to perfume the reduction. Thyme can be easily removed by holding one end of the herb, pinching the stalk with the your other hand and sliding your index finger and thumb down the length of the stem.

Tajin (tagine)

This word has a double meaning. It is the name of an earthenware, concial cooking utensil used in Moroccan cuisine to cook thick "stews" over a fire for hours until the "stew" is very tender. It is also the name of the "stew" that is cooked in the tajin. Such stews are frequently heavily spiced and very complex (although not always spicy hot).

Tourne

Vegetables that are cut to resemble a small, slightly tapered cork, but instead of being smooth it is cut to have 7 equally large facets.

Truffle

A rare fungus that grows underground (only several inches below ground). They come in both white and black varieties. Not all truffles are created equal, as there can be considerable quality differences between truffles due to ripeness and location of harvest. Truffles have a pungent, almost magical flavor that is greatly appreciated among gourmets.
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