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Pain d’Epice (pan day
peece): A type of gingerbread.
French name means "spice bread." |
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Pain de gênes:
An almond cake similar to American pound cake.
Almond paste is substituted for some of the butter in a basic pound cake
recipe. |
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Palmier (palm yay):
A small pastry or petit
four sec made of rolled, sugared puff pastry cut into slices and baked.
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Panctone:
(Italian) Cake-like bread with raisins, which is
traditionally served at Christmas. |
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Panbroil (cooking):
To cook over high heat in a skillet or pan using no fat other
than what is needed to prevent sticking. |
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Pan Frying:
Uses enough oil/fat to cover the pan, about 1/4 to 1/2-inch
deep. |
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Paprika:
(Hungarian) Translated to sweet red pepper. A spicy seasoning ground from a
sweet variety of red pepper. It is used to season ragouts, stuffing, sauces,
and garnish. |
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Paraffin:
See also parawax. |
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Parawax:
The product name is paraffin wax, you can find it in the
grocery store usually in the preserves section or the cake section. It is
inexpensive. Parawax can be used with the chocolate to create a consistency
that will stick together and not mess up your fingers when set. It is not
harmful and is used commercially, but verify its safety with the
manufacturer. |
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Parchment Cone:
see also Cornet |
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Parchment Paper: A
silicon based paper that can withstand high heat. Often used to prepare
sugar and chocolate confections because they do not stick to the paper at
all. Parchment paper may be reused several times. |
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Parboil: To partially
cook in boiling water. Most parboiled foods require
additional cooking. |
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Pareve:
it’s the term used for foods that are neither “dairy” nor “meat” according
to the Jewish dietary laws, which forbid the mixing of the two at the same
meal, certainly in the same dish. You must even separate the eating of
“dairy” and “meat” by several hours, from three to six, depending on the
custom of your particular Jewish community. In other words, if you’ve had
meat for dinner, you would have to wait several hours before you could eat
ice cream. Certain foods are pareve by nature – eggs, fish (although there
are some restrictions on the mixing of fish and meat in some communities),
of course vegetables, and anything vegetable based. In regard to baking,
margarine and oil are used as shortening, and one cannot use milk as a
liquid ingredient. Water and fruit juice is fine, and soy milk, an
undetectable substitute for real milk. Chocolate is a small problem, because
even kosher dark chocolate often contains milk solids. |
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Parfait:
(French) (1) A type of sundae served in a
tall, thin glass. (2) A still-frozen dessert made of egg yolks, syrup, and
heavy cream (Pâte â bombe) folded together with whipped cream and then
flavored. Can be served frozen |
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Paris-Brest:
A dessert consisting of a ring of baked éclair paste filled
with cream. |
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Pasteurization:
Heat-treated (140-180 degrees F) food to kill bacteria that
might cause disease or spoilage. It does not eliminate all
microorganisms-present in a food product. |
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Pastillage: is
a Fondant (Sugar Paste) that is perfect for making decorations, as it dries
quickly and becomes very hard. This paste can be rolled very thin and formed
into everything from decorative boxes to lifelike flowers. This is
considered "technically" edible. If eaten, it will not harm you, but it is
not palatable. |
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Pastry 101:
Pie dough or flaky pastry is the standard American dough for
pies. It can be made with butter, vegetable shortening or lard, but most
often a combination of butter and shortening is used. Whatever fat is used,
it is rubbed or cut into the flour and then moistened with water to form the
dough. Salt is either dissolved in the water or added to the flour at the
start. The more finely the fat is rubbed in, the less flaky and more mealy
the baked dough will be. Pâte brisée, the French equivalent of our pie dough
or flaky pastry, uses the same proportions of ingredients, but the fat is
always unsalted butter and the liquid may be water, water and egg or all
egg. When well made, the pastry is flaky. Sweet dough, or pâte sucrée, is
made in a similar way with the addition of sugar and sometimes baking
powder. It is often used for small tarts where the filling is baked directly
in the raw dough. Cookie dough, or pâte sablé, is a delicate dough that is
usually made by beating the fat with sugar, then mixing in eggs, with the
flour (often cake flour) added at the end. This dough is usually baked blind
and then filled after it has cooled. |
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Pastry Cream:
A thick custard sauce containing eggs and starch.
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Pastry Flour:
A low-gluten flour used for pastries and cookies.
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Pasteurizing: (French) Method of sterilizing milk
by beating it to 60 to 82-C or 140 to 180-F degrees to destroy harmful
bacteria. The term is derived from Louis Pasteur, who developed the method.
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Pastry 101: Dough
made with flour, butter and water and baked or deep-fried until crisp.
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Pastry
Wheel: Small, serrated wooden or metal wheel-like
utensil for cutting and fluting pastry. |
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Pasty:
Small pastry pie with
a savory filling of meat, potatoes and onion. |
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Pâte â bombe:
Whipped yolks to which cooked sugar (at the soft
ball stage) is added; the mixture is then whipped until lukewarm, thick, and
doubled in volume. Used as a base for a parfait. |
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Pâté à Choux:
éclair or cream puff dough |
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Pate
Feuillete (pot foo
va fay):
French name for puff pastry. |
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Patent
flour: A
fine grade of wheat flour milled from the inner portions of the kernel. It
is the highest grade of flour. It is lower in ash and protein with good
color. |
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Pâtissier: pastry
chef |
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Paton: Term
used when making puff pastry. A paton is dough to which butter has been
added. |
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Patty Shell:
A shell made from puff paste to hold creamed mixtures or
fruit. |
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Peanut:
(United States) Ground nut, eaten plain or roasted. Used to
make peanut butter and oils. |
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Pectin:
Substance extracted from fruit and vegetables. Used to set
jellies and jams. |
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Percolator: Two-part coffee pot which forces
boiling water from lower half up through coffee grains contained in upper
half, and finally filtered through a fine sieve. |
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Petits Fours: (French) Tiny
sponge cakes, iced and decorated. A
delicate cake or pastry small enough to be eaten in one or two bites. Petits
fours literally means "small ovens"; centuries ago, little cakes were baked
after the large ones, when the brick ovens had cooled off. Petits Fours Secs
("dry" petits fours) are usually thin, delicate cookies often sandwiched
with preserves, ganache or praline paste, although plain butter cookies
could also fall under this heading. Petits fours glacés are tiny iced cakes
sandwiched with preserves, ganache or buttercream and delicately decorated.
Petits fours frais are miniature pastries like fruit tarts or eclairs that
are filled either with pastry cream or with buttercream. |
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pH:
A measurement of acidity and
alkalinity on a scale from 0 to 14. The midpoint 7 represents neutral,
below 7 indicates higher hydrogen ion concentrations (acidic) and pH above 7
indicates higher hydroxyl ion concentrations (alkaline). pH levels in
baking can be very critical for reactions to place and for preservation. |
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Phyllo
(fee lo): is a tissue-thin pastry dough cut
into sheets that is used in Middle Eastern desserts, such as baklava, and is
similar to strudel dough. Sheets of phyllo are brushed with melted butter
and layered before baking. Phyllo is increasingly available in the freezer
section of supermarkets. |
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Pies 101 |
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Pimento:
Green or red
preserved pepper. |
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Pine
Nuts: Also known as pignolias and pinon. The pine
nut is the seed of the stone pine. Creamy in appearance and contains a light
pine taste. Often in utilized Italian, Spanish, and Middle Eastern cooking.
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Pipe:
To force meringue icing, savory butter, potato puree or other
mixtures through a forcing bag fitted with a nozzle, to decorate or garnish
various dishes. |
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Piping: Making designs on
cakes or
cookies by squeezing a filled pastry bag fitted with a tube to make
decorations. Pastry bags can be filled with
ganache or
buttercream,
for example, as well as
other icings. |
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Piping Gel or
Jelly: A transparent, sweet gel or
jelly used for decorating cakes. |
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Piquante:
(French) Term often used in wine tasting which
means pleasantly sharp and appetizing. |
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Pit: To remove seed
from peaches, plums, etc. |
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Pith: The white
cellular lining to the rind covering the flesh of citrus fruits.
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Pithiviers
(fee tee vyay):
A cake made of puff pastry filled with almond cream. |
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Pizza:
(Italian) Open-faced pie consisting of a rich yeast dough,
topped with tomatoes, cheese, anchovies and olives. |
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Plank: To broil and
serve on a board or wooden platter. |
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Plantains:
Also known as machos. The plantain is a green skinned, pink
fleshed banana-like fruit which is usually flatter and longer than a regular
banana. Contains more starch and less sugar than its cousin the banana .
Traditionally prepared fried, mashed, or in stews in South American,
African, and West Indian cuisine. |
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Plasticity:
Occurs due to a mixture of solid fat crystals and liquid oil.
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Plump:
To soak fruits, usually dried, in liquid until
they appear puffy and swollen. |
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Poaching: Cooking method whereby food is simmered
in a liquid, just below boiling point. |
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Polenta:
(Italian) A coarse yellow cornmeal mush. As versatile as
pasta or noodles, polenta is served hot with a variety toppings. It can be
molded, then cut into squares and fried or grilled. |
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Pomegranate Molasses: (Middle Eastern) Also known
as pomegranate syrup. Condiment prepared from yellow sour pomegranates
cooked with sugar. Provides fruity and tangy flavor to savory dishes.
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Pound Cake: This is the
ultimate butter cake. It gets its name (and texture) from the traditional
proportions of its ingredients -- one pound each of butter, sugar, eggs and
flour -- although over the years cooks have tinkered with the original
formula and baking powder is sometimes added to the batter.
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Powdered
Sugar:
Is a sugar product produced by grinding a mixture of granulated sugar and
corn starch. |
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Praline:
(French) Sweet consisting of unblanched almonds caramelized
in boiling sugar. |
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Praline Paste
(Praliné):
This smooth paste is made by adding equal proportions of
skinned hazelnuts (or hazelnuts and almonds) to hot caramel, letting it
harden and then pulverizing until creamy. A perfectly smooth praline paste
is difficult to make at home, but is available in specialty food shops.
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Preheat: To heat
oven to desired temperature before putting food in to bake. With most ovens,
it takes from 15 to 20 minutes. |
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Prep Table:
area where food preparation is done in a restaurant
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Preserve: To prevent
food spoilage by pickling, salting, dehydrating, smoking, boiling in syrup,
etc. Preserved foods have excellent keeping qualities. |
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Presifted
Flour:
is sifted at the mill, making it unnecessary to sift before measuring.
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Press
cake:
Made when the cocoa butter is extracted from the
chocolate liquor. The dry cakes are then made into cocoa powder. product
that remains after most of the cocoa butter has been pressed from the
chocolate-liquor. Press cake is pulverized to make cocoa powder.
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Pressed Sugar:
Is a sugar product formed by molding and pressing
damp granulated sugar into shapes such as cubes and drying the product.
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Profiterole:
A small puff made of éclair
paste. Often filled with ice cream and served with chocolate sauce.
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Proofing:
The term proofing has two meanings and is associated
with bread baking -- one having to
do with yeast and the other having to do with dough. 1) Yeast is proofed in
water and a small amount of sugar to determine whether its active before
using. Fill a small glass with 110 to 115 degree F water (subtract the
amount used from the recipe), add 1/2 teaspoon sugar for each tablespoon of
yeast, and mix until combined. Sprinkle the yeast over the surface of the
water and whisk again. If active, the yeast should begin to foam and swell
in 5 to 10 minutes. If it doesn't, it's time to throw it out. If it does,
it's safe to proceed with the recipe; 2) Proof also denotes a stage in the
rising of the dough. After its first rise, the dough is punched down and
shaped in its final form. It is then set out for its final rise, also known
as "proofing". |
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Pudding:
1. Baked or boiled sweet dessert. 2. Boiled suet crust which
is filled with meat or poultry. |
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Pueblo Bread: Made
with unbleached flour, salt, water, yeast and lard or shortening (sometimes
sugar or eggs) and baked in an adobe oven. A hot fire is started in the oven
and allowed to burn out. The bread is baked in the hot ashes. When I was a
teen, I experienced making this while living with the Hopi Indians in
Arizona and apprenticing to a well-known Hopi Silversmith.
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Puff Pastry:
A very light, flaky pastry made from a rolled-in
dough and leavened by steam. This is the multilayered buttery pastry in
napoleons and palmiers. The thin, crisp, flaky layers are formed when the
dough and butter are rolled together, then folded in thirds like a letter
and rolled again in a process called a turn; classic puff pastry is "turned"
six times, which creates over 1,000 layers of dough (thus the French term
mille-feuille, which means 1,000 leaves). Well-made puff pastry rises to 5
times its original volume during baking. As it bakes, the water in the dough
converts to steam, filling the places previously occupied by the butter,
which has already melted and been absorbed by the dough. Preparing the dough
from scratch is an exacting process and many people prefer to buy the dough
ready made. Quick puff pastry is made by tossing large cubes of butter with
flour before the water is added to form the dough; the dough is then rolled
and folded like puff pastry. Although it does not rise so high as classic
puff dough, the quick pastry has the same delicate, flaky texture and can be
used for any desserts where the pastry doesn't have to rise as tall.
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Pulled Sugar:
Sugar that is boiled to the hard-crack stage, allowed to
harden slightly, then pulled or stretched until it develops a pearly sheen.
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Pullman Loaf: A
long, rectangular loaf of bread baked in a Pullman Pan. |
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Pullman Pan: is a
loaf pan with a lid that slides across the top to seal the dough inside. The
dimensions are usually 13x4x4 inches. The bread is generally compact and
square since it is trapped within the pan. It makes good slicing bread for
sandwiches. |
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Pulp:
1. Soft, fleshy tissue of fruits or vegetables. 2. To reduce
food to a soft mass by crushing or boiling. |
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Pumpernickel Flour: A coarse, flaky
meal ground from whole rye grains. It bakes into a dark loaf and is best
suited to rustic black breads and dark pumpernickels. |
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Pumpernickel Loaf: A
heavy dark bread made with a high proportion of rye to wheat flour and
frequently with molasses and cocoa powder to add color and flavor to the
loaf. |
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Punch down:
To deflate a risen yeast dough by
pushing it down with the fist. |
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Purée:
To reduce the pulp of cooked fruit and vegetables
to a smooth and thick liquid by straining or blending. |
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Purse: (French) 1.
Sieved raw or cooked food. 2. Thick vegetable soup which is passed through a
sieve or an electric blender or food processor. |
Below
are important baking terms, plus, a few cooking ones, as well. Select
a letter that begins the word you are looking for, and you will be
brought to a listing of them. For kitchen equipment terms and
descriptions, 
