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Cooking Terms

Hot Smoking

The term used to smoke a product where the product cooks thermally while at the same time gaining flavor and color from the smoke. The smoke house routinely gets hotter than 170 degrees. Hams and most smoked sausages are cooked this way.

Galette

Is nothing more than a flat round cake that is either sweet or savory in nature. The French version of galette is savory and is made of thinly sliced potatoes, bacon, and onions.

Gelatin

A water soluble protein that when mixed with a liquid and chilled becomes firm (or sets up). Good examples are aspic and the ubiquitous Jell-O. It is also essential in sauce making where it helps give body to sauces that are thickened solely by reduction or high heat (i.e. brown sauces).

Grenadine

A liquid coloring and flavoring made from pomegranate.

Gruyere

Large cow milk cheese made predominately in French-speaking Switzerland and in parts of the French Jura mountains. It has a deep flavor when of high quality and sufficient age. It is used often in French cooking where it is melted into sauces like sauce Mornay. It is also used in many Swiss fondues.

Fennel

A bulb vegetable that has a very clean crisp and slightly anise/licorice flavor to it. Both fresh fennel and it's seeds are used. Fennel seeds come from a nonbulbing variety. The leaves are often used as a garnish.

Fermier

French word for a farm. When refering to food, especially cheese, it denotes a farm stead production which is usually small, unique and of high quality. It is the opposite of a large scale inudustrial production, which can sometimes produce high qualtiy products but often do not have the same unique characteristics of a fermier product.

Foie Gras

Literally fatted liver. The enlarged liver of a force fed goose or duck which is very high in fat and has been considered a delicacy since at least ancient Egyptian times. Duck Foie gras is the only foie gras presently produced in the U.S.

Fond

Caramelized drippings left in a pan after roasting or sautéing. Generally where much of the flavor of a particular dish originates.

Fondue:

Literally "to melt" in French. Traditionally a Swiss dish comprised of local cheeses, white wine, garlic, and cornstarch, and melted into a type of thick sauce. Bread is then dipped into the bubbling pot of cheese at the table and eaten. Other types of fondue include:
fondue bourgignonne in which guests dip (and cook) raw ingredients into hot broth which is placed in the center of the table.
fondue orientale is the same as fondue bourgignonne, but hot oil replaces the simmering broth.
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