The words recipes assume you know.

Pasta or vegetables cooked until tender but still firm to the bite. Italian for "to the tooth".

A bath of hot water that a dish sits in, so it cooks or stays warm gently and evenly.

See also: Temper

To spoon or brush fat or pan juices over food while it cooks, adding flavour and helping it brown.

To cook briefly, then cool quickly in iced water. Sets colour, loosens skins and part-cooks vegetables.

See also: Boil

To brown food, then cook it slowly in a covered pot with a little liquid.

See also: Sear , Simmer

A very fine dice, roughly 3 mm cubes.

See also: Julienne

To cook sugar until it browns and develops deep, nutty flavour.

See also: Maillard reaction

Leafy herbs or greens stacked, rolled tightly and sliced into thin ribbons.

To add liquid to a hot pan and scrape, dissolving the browned bits stuck to it into a sauce.

See also: Fond , Reduce

A smooth, stable mixture of two liquids that don't normally mix, such as oil and vinegar.

To combine a light, airy mixture with a heavier one using gentle sweeping turns, so the air stays in.

The browned bits left on the bottom of a pan after searing. The base of a pan sauce.

See also: Deglaze

To cut into thin, even matchsticks.

See also: Brunoise

To work dough by pressing, folding and stretching it, which develops gluten and gives bread its structure.

See also: Proof

The browning reaction between amino acids and sugars that gives seared, roasted and baked food its savoury flavour.

See also: Caramelise

Having every ingredient measured, cut and within reach before cooking starts.

To cook gently in liquid kept below a simmer.

See also: Simmer

The final rise of shaped dough before it is baked.

See also: Knead

To simmer a liquid uncovered so water evaporates, thickening it and concentrating its flavour.

See also: Deglaze

Flour cooked in fat, used to thicken sauces, soups and stews.

To cook quickly in a little fat over fairly high heat, keeping the food moving.

See also: Sear , Sweat

To brown the surface of food quickly over high heat.

See also: Maillard reaction

To cook in liquid just below boiling, with small bubbles breaking the surface.

See also: Poach

To cook vegetables gently in a little fat so they soften and release moisture without browning.

See also: Sauté

To raise the temperature of an ingredient gradually, such as eggs, or to heat and cool chocolate so it sets glossy.

See also: Bain-marie

The thin, coloured outer skin of citrus fruit; also, to remove it.