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Sabayon: A
frothy custard of egg yolk, sugar, and wine that is made by whisking the
ingredients over simmering water. Served warm as a dessert or sauce. Mexican
sabayon differs from the classic Italian version in that it is not cooked.
The egg whites are whipped until stiff and then carefully folded into the
yolk mixture. |
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Sachertorte:
(SAH-kuhr-tohrt) - Sachertorte is a famous Viennese cake. It consists of
chocolate sponge cake cut into three layers, between which apricot peserves
are thickly spread. The whole cake is then iced with a velvet-like chocolate
and served with a side dish of whipped cream. History: Was created by
Chef Franz Sacher at the beginning of the 19th century. |
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Safflower oil:
Made from the seeds of the safflower, it contains more polyunsaturates than
any other oil. Owing to its high cooking temperature, it is good for
deep-frying. It is also good for salad dressings because it is almost
flavorless and colorless and does not solidify when chilled. |
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Salt:
Common salt is a rock, the only one we eat (an inorganix mineral composed of
40% sodium and 60% chloride, joined by one of the strongest chemical unions
there is, an ionic bond). One of the four elemental components of taste,
along with sweet, sour, and bitter. Salt sharpens and pulls together other
tastes. It comes from two primary sources; mines on land and water from the
sea. Salt is also essential to our health. Without it, our cells cannot
function properly and if we do not get enough of it, we will crave it until
our physical need is satisfied. |
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Salt Rising Bread: A bread that was
traditional before modern yeast made with a fermented mixture of cornmeal,
salt, sugar, flour and water. It is smooth textured and has a tangy flavor
and aroma. |
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Sanding Sugar:
Is a refined sugar product that has a larger sugar crystal size than normal
granulated sugar. |
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Sacristain
(sak
ree stan):
A small pastry made of twisted strip of puff paste coated with nuts and
sugar. |
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Saint-Honore: (1) A dessert made of a ring
of cream puffs set on a short dough base and filled with a type of pastry
cream. (2) The cream used to fill this dessert, made of pastry cream and
whipped egg whites. |
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Sauté: Is high heat cooking with very
little fat/oil in the pan. |
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Savarin: (French) Made from a yeast dough,
like babas, but without the
currants, savarins are baked in large or small ring molds, soaked with a
syrup usually flavored with rum or kirsch and then painted with a fruit
glaze. The center of the ring is filled with whipped cream or pastry cream,
and sometimes fresh or poached fruit is added. |
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Scald:
1. Method do preparation whereby milk or cream
is heated to just below boiling point. 2. Method of preparation whereby
fruit or vegetables are plunged into boiling water to remove the skins.
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Scaling:
Weighing, usually of ingredients or of dough's
or batters. |
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Scallop:
To bake in a sauce in a casserole. The food may
either be mixed or layered with the sauce. |
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Scone: (skon) - A
Scottish quick bread that has a texture half way between cake and biscuits
(harder than a cake but softer than a biscuit). Scones are best served warm
from the oven and should be eaten on the same day they are made. History:
It is thought that the name comes from the Stone of Destiny (or Scone).
Scottish kings have been crowned upon this stone for more than a thousand
years. The present British Queen Elizabeth II was crowned on the Stone in
1953. The original version of scones were made with oats and griddle baked.
Today they are flour-based and baked in the oven and come in various shapes
(triangles, rounds, squares, and diamonds). |
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Scone Flour: A mixture of flour and
baking powder that is used when very small quantities of baking powder are
needed. |
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Score:
1. Cutting gashes or narrow
grooves in the surface of food; Example -- in pork rind to produce
crackling. 2. Making a pattern of squares or diamonds on pastry crust. In
cake decorating, it's using
your spatula edge to make a mark in. |
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Scramble:
To cook over medium heat, stirring constantly.
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Seizing:
When warm, melted chocolate is mixed with another ingredient that is too
cold or is water, the cocoa butter (fat) in it suddenly contracts and
hardens. |
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Season a Baking Pan or Mold:
You can do this over a flame, or in the oven.
Put a little vegetable oil on it, then heat it until it smokes. Then, after
cooling, you can grease and flour it.
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Seasoning:
Salt, pepper, spices or herbs, which are added to food to enhance the
flavor. |
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Semi-sweet or bittersweet
chocolate: Often utilized in cake
and cookie recipes. Both terms are often used interchangeably, though
bittersweet generally has more chocolate liquor (the paste formed from
roasted, ground cocoa beans). Semi-sweet chocolate contains at least 35%
chocolate liquor, while some fine bittersweets contain 50% or more. Either
chocolate possess a deep, smooth, intense flavor that comes from the blend
of cocoa beans used rather than added dairy products. Sugar, vanilla, and
cocoa butter must be added to the liquor to enhance the chocolate flavor.
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Shallow Frying:
Uses enough melted shortening or
oil to partially cover the food. |
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Shirr:
To crack eggs into individual buttered baking dishes then bake or broil
until the whites have set. Chopped meats or vegetables, cheeses, creamed, or
bread crumbs may also be added. |
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Short: Having a high fat content,
which makes the product (such as a cookie or pastry) very
crumbly and tender. |
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Shortbread: A crisp cookie made of
butter, sugar, and flour. |
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Shortening:
1) Any fat used in baking to
tenderize the product by shortening gluten
strands. (2) A white, tasteless, solid fat that has been formulated for
baking or deep-frying. |
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Shred:
To cut or shave food into slivers. |
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Shuck:
To remove the husk from corn or the shell from oysters, clams, etc.
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Sieve: To pass dry and liquid ingredients
through a closely meshed metal utensil so as to separate liquid from solid
and fine from coarse. |
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Sift: To pass usually dry ingredients
through a fine wire mesh so as to produce a uniform consistency and add air
to a dry ingredient, such as flour and catches any clumps or unwanted
particles to be discarded. It is done by using a flour sifter, or by
spooning the flour into a fine mesh food strainer and shaking or tapping it
over a bowl. When a recipe says: 1 cup sifted, flour -- it means sift,
then measure. To do, sift flour over measuring cup to measure. Or, 1 cup
flour, sifted -- that means to measure and then sift. |
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Simmer:
To cook on the stovetop just below the boiling
point; small bubbles will rise slowly to the surface. A mixture simmers
before it boils. The "simmer" is considered to be 180 to 190 degrees
F. |
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Simmering:
Method of preparation whereby food is cooked in
liquid which is heated to just below boiling point. |
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Simple Syrup:
Also known as
Sugar Syrup. It is a syrup consisting of dissolved
sucrose (table sugar) in water, in varying
proportions. It is then boiled and the water evaporates creating a simple
syrup. |
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Skewer:
To thread meat and vegetables onto a sharpened rod or to fasten closed the
opening of stuffed fowl with small pins. |
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Skim-coat:
A cake is
first frosted with a smooth and thin base layer. It is done to seal in the
crumbs and to provide a surface |
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Skimming:
Removing cream from the surface of milk, fat
from the tops of gravies and sauces or frothy scum from broths or jam and
jellies during cooking. |
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Slacken: In order
to ripen cream, you need to add a starter culture to the pasteurized, cooled
cream. A cupful of clabbered cream, yogurt, buttermilk, or sour cream is a
good starter culture. Use a good brand with as few ingredients as possible,
and always use a newly opened container. Before adding the starter, slacken
it by diluting with some of your cooled cream, being sure to break up any
lumps, then mix the dilution into the big pot. A wire whisk is ideal for
this job. |
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Smoke: To preserve or cook through
continuous exposure to wood smoke for a long period of time. |
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Soft peaks:
When the beaters are lifted from
egg whites or
whipped cream, peaks are briefly
formed, but they do not hold their shape. |
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Soft Wheat:
Wheat low in protein. |
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Sorbet
(sor bay):
French word for "sherbet". Ices made from fruit, liqueurs and/or heavy
wines. |
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Sorbetto: Italian word for "sherbet."
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Sorrel Leaves:
Bright green leaves with a lemony flavor that
soften when cooked. |
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Soufflé: (French) (1) A baked
dish containing whipped egg whites, which cause the dish to rise during
baking. (2) A still-frozen dessert made in a soufflé dish so that it
resembles a baked soufflé. |
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Souffle Dish: Straight-sided,
circular dish used for cooking and serving souffles. |
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"Sour milk": isn't milk that's gone
bad. It's milk which has had a couple of teaspoons of buttermilk stirred
into it, has been put in a scalded container and wrapped in a towel, and
left in some peaceful corner at about 75 degrees F for 24 hours. The
original Irish name is bainne clabhair (BAHN-yeh clavAIR),
"clabbered milk", or "bonnyclabber" as the Scots have anglicized it. The
flavor isn't quite as tart as buttermilk, but there's enough acid
to make the baking soda in the recipe, react correctly. |
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Sourdough:
(1) A
yeast-type dough made with a mixture of flour, water and oftentimes yeast.
It is allowed to sit in a warm place to let the yeast to ferment, which
develops a sour flavor. Once fermented, a piece or all of the starter can be
used in bread recipes to provide a characteristic sour flavor. (2) A bread
made with all or some of the sourdough as a leavener. (More
related terms) |
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Sous Chef: the assistant to the chef
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Sponge:
A . This batter is so stiff that it
does not drop from a spoon, but can be handled; B. Also called a sourdough.
Made from a mixture of wheat flour and a liquid, usually water, left to
ferment. The fermented sponge is used as the leavener in
bread and other recipes. A sponge is
a batter to which packaged yeast
is added, while a sourdough does not. See also
sourdough. |
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Sponge Cake:
Sponge cakes are leavened by beating air into whole eggs and sugar or by
beating the sugar with the yolks and whites separately. The cakes tend to be
fairly lean, even when they contain butter, and are often split into layers,
moistened with a flavored sugar syrup and filled. |
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Sponge Method:
A cake mixing method based on whipped eggs and
sugar. |
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Sprinkles:
These are small candies that are sprinkled on
cakes and
cookies. Varieties includes nonpareils, dragées, snowflakes,
and jimmies. |
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Springform Mold: Baking tin with
hinged sides, held together by a metal clamp or pin, which is opened to
release the cake or pie cooked inside of it. |
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Spun Sugar:
Boiled sugar made into long, thin
threads by dipping wires into the sugar syrup and waving
them so that the sugar falls off in fine streams. |
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Staling:
The change in texture and aroma of baked goods
due to the loss of moisture by the starch granules. |
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Starch:
Carbohydrate obtained from cereals and potatoes or other tubers |
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Steam:
Process whereby food is cooked in the steam rising from boiling water in a
steamer, on a rack or in a double
boiler. |
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Steeping:
1. Soaking in liquid until saturated with a
soluble ingredient. 2. Soaking to remove an ingredient; Example -- salt from
smoked ham or salted cod. |
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Sterilizing:
Destroying germs by exposing food to heat as specific temperatures.
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Stew: To
cook chopped bite-seized pieces of meat over low heat in simmering liquid.
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Stiff peaks:
When the beaters are lifted from the egg whites,
peaks are formed that hold their shape. When egg whites have reached the
stiff peak stage, they are opaque, thick, and shiny, or glossy. |
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Starter Bread Terms
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Sterilize: To cleanse and purify
through exposure to intense heat. |
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Stewing:
Process whereby food is simmered slowly in a covered pan or casserole.
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Stir:
To move spoon
in circular motion to incorporate ingredients. Usually refers to combining
liquids or melted ingredients. To stir ingredients cooking on the stove top,
use a wooden spoon and stir from the bottom of the pan to prevent scorching.
Stirring helps to cool a mixture and evenly distribute the heat.
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Stir-fry: To cook Chinese-style, thinly
sliced food quickly in a skillet or wok. |
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Stollen: A
type of sweet yeast bread with fruit. |
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Straight Dough:
A single step method of mixing a dough in which
all the ingredients are mixed into a single batch. |
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Straight Flour:
Flour made from the entire wheat
kernel minus the bran and germ. |
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Strain:
To pass through a strainer, sieve or cheesecloth to break down or remove
solids or impurities. |
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Strings
or outline:
When the outlining method
is used, the icing that flows out of the tip to follow contours of a shaped
cake or to cover pattern design marks are called "strings" or outlines.
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Streusel
(stray
sel): A
crumbly topping for baked goods, consisting of
a ratio flour, sugar, and butter rubbed together. |
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Strudel:
(Austrian) A traditional Viennese strudel dough
contains more fat (oil) than phyllo dough
and is stretched to a large tissue-thin sheet before being rolled around a
filling to make one strudel. Although prepared strudel dough is sometimes
hard to find, phyllo can be used in its place to make small strudels (both
can be mail-ordered). |
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Strong Flour:
Flour with a high protein content. |
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Strudel:
(1) A type of dough that is stretched
until paper-thin. (2) A baked item consisting of a filling rolled up in a
sheet of strudel dough or
phyllo dough.
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Sugar:
Is the sucrose disaccharide. |
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Sugar 101 |
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Sugar Paste (also known as Fondant):
An icing sugar (sugar paste) and
gum based paste (gum paste). |
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Sugar Saturation:
How are sugar
saturations accurately measured in liquids? There are two basic "devices and
scales" used to test density or the specific gravity of sucrose solutions.
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Baume Scale
- is a glass tube
hydrometer, or sometimes referred to as a saccharometer. It is
then placed into the desired liquid to float freely. The graduated
scale within the tube, measures between 0-50 degrees baume (BE). 0
(zero) degrees being that of plain water.
Sorbets mixtures read between 14 to18 degrees BE, and a 1:1
simple syrup reads 28 degrees BE. |
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Brix Scale
is a refractometer. It is a handheld instrument that determines
the "percentage" of a sucrose concentration dissolved in water.
For example: If 4 ounces of sugar is dissolved in 10 ounces of
water, the scale will read 40 degrees brix! |
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Sugar Syrup:
Also called "Simple Syrup", sugar
syrup is a solution of sugar(s), typically white granulated sugar and/or
corn syrup and water that is cooked over low heat until dissolved and then
boiled. Sugar syrup can be made in various densities: (3 parts water to 1
part sugar); Medium (2 parts water to 1
part sugar); Heavy (1 part water to 1
part sugar.) |
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Sucrose:
The
chemical name for regular granulated sugar and confectioners' sugar.
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Sumac: (Middle East) Spice that comes
from the grated skin of a dark berry that possesses a slightly acidic,
astringent flavor. |
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Superfine Sugar:
Also known as Caster sugar. Pulverized
granulated sugar. Can be purchased or prepared at home by whipping
granulated sugar in the blender. |
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Sugar Cooking:
When sugar is dissolved in water and brought to a
boil, it forms a solution called a syrup. Simple syrup is made with equal
quantities of sugar and water. As the syrup boils, the sugar becomes more
concentrated and the syrup more dense. The various stages of the cooked
sugar solution can be measured with a candy thermometer. Simple syrup is
used to moisten cakes, and sugar cooked to various stages is used in the
making of fondant, buttercream, boiled icing, and Italian meringue. Sugar
cooked to between 320 and 350 degrees becomes caramel, which is used for
glazing and making spun sugar, caramel cages and praline paste.
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Sunflower oil: This oil is made from
sunflower seeds. It is pale yellow and has a bland flavor. It is a good
all-purpose flour that is low in saturated fat and high in polyunsaturated
fat. |
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Supreme:
(1) To remove the flesh sections of citrus fruit
from the membranes. Using a sharp knife, cut away all of the skin and pith
from the outside of the fruit. Place the knife between the membrane and the
flesh of one section and slice down. Turn the knife catching the middle of
the fruit. Slice up, removing each section sans membrane. (2) The wing and
breast of chicken or game bird. (3) A fillet of sole or fish. |
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Sweet Chocolate:
Like the composition of semi-sweet chocolate,
sweet chocolate has more sugar added and less chocolate liquor. |
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Sweet Milk:
is an expression that means fresh milk. It means
not spoiled, sour, or decaying; fresh: sweet milk. Whole milk works the best
in baking because of its fat content. |
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Sweeteners:
Any food that adds a sweet flavor to foods. |
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Swirling the Pan:
means making slow circles with the pan itself.
Some candy recipes as you to swirl the sugar solution. |
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Swiss Roll: A thin sponge cake layer
spread with a filling and rolled up. |
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Syllabub: (SIHL-uh-buhb)
- Syllabub is softly whipped cream that is flavored with wine, sweetened
cider, and sometimes brandy. The froth is skimmed off and served in glasses.
It is a very light and fragile dessert. It is closely related to eggnog, but
less potent because no strong spirits are used. Syllabubs comes from the
early English word "silly" meaning "happy" plus a dialect word "bub,"
meaning liquor. History: Originally an English recipe from the 17th
century, the first syllabubs were made by diary maids who would direct the
warm milk straight from the coew to a pal containing sherry or cider. In
their heyday, they were as popular as ice cream is today. These are know as
the oldest of all English desserts. They have been especially popular in
Maryland, Virginia, and other parts of the South since the first American
colonies were established. |
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Syrup:
Is a viscous, concentrated sugar solution which
occurs due to evaporation of of liquid. |
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Syrup Pack:
A type of canned fruit containing sugar syrup.
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Tamarind Paste: A vitamin-rich, tangy,
prune-like pulp from the pods of the tropical tree found in Asia. Primarily
used as a seasoning in curries and chutneys or made into drinks, jams, or
sorbets. |
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Tarts 101:
Tarts are shallow and straight sided (as opposed to sloped-sided
American pies) and usually have only a bottom crust, but this is by no means
the rule. They are baked in pans with removable bottoms or in flan forms
(frames that support the sides of the tart as it bakes on a baking sheet)
and are usually served unmolded. Tarts can also be baked free-form on a
sheet, and is then called a galette.
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Temperate Zone:
After tempering and when using, chocolate must be maintained in the
temperate zone of 84 to 91 degrees F (dark) and 86 to 87 degrees F (milk and
white) and stirred every few minutes. If the temperature goes lower and it
is still liquid, it can be used, but it will be thick. As soon as chocolate
hardens, it is out of temper and the process has to start again.
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Temperatures: for cooking and
baking |
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Tempering:
1) A three-step process of melting and
cooling chocolate to specific
temperatures in order to prepare it for dipping, coating, or molding. This
stabilizes the cocoa butter and brings many types of fats in the chocolate
to a state where they come together. Tempering helps to avoid
crystallization and gives a good surface gloss when it hardens. If chocolate
is not tempered, it will either not set up or the fat in the chocolate will
rise to the surface, making a smear of gray, called "bloom";
2) To make two liquids, with two different
temperatures, as equal as possible so you can mix them together. For
example, when adding a warm milk to room temperature eggs, the eggs would
curdle if you added it all at once. By tempering, you first stir a small
amount of warm milk with the eggs, which brings its temperature almost to or
equal to the milk's. You can then add the rest of the warm milk to the egg
mixture without curdling them. |
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Tepid: Tepid means 100 to 105 degrees F,
which is moderately warm or lukewarm. |
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Timbale:
(French) 1. Cup-shaped earthenware or metal mod; 2. Dish prepared in such a
mold. |
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Toast: To brown and crisp usually by means
of direct heat. |
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Toasting Nuts: Process
whereby heat brings the oils closer to the surface of the nut which brings
out more flavor. Method is useful in low fat cooking in order to use less
nuts. Toasting also makes removing the skins off of nuts easier. |
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Tofu:
A soybean curd that looks like a white cheese square. Stored in
water to maintain its moisture. Popular vegetarian meat-substitute. Often
utilized in Chinese and Japanese dishes. |
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Tournant: rounds chef or replacement chef
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Torte: (pl. torten) Eastern European word
for various types of cakes, usually layer cakes; meringue type dessert,
usually rich in eggs and nuts. |
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Torting: To cut cake
layers |
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Tourage:
(too-RAHJ) A French term for the technique of making
puff pastry whereby the dough is repeatedly folded into thirds, rolled out
and folded into thirds again. This process creates hundreds of flaky pastry
layers. |
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Truffles: A French
chocolate confection resembling a real truffle; small, round with a rough
texture. A truffle is where ganache or other filling are enclosed by
tempered chocolate and dusted with cocoa powder, confectioner's sugar or
chopped nuts; the essence of ganache. |
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Tube pan:
Ring-shaped tin for baking cakes, especially Angel Food cakes. Is
also used to prepare sponge cakes. |
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Tulipe: A thin, crisp cookie molded into a
cup shape. |
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Tunneling: A condition of muffin
products characterized by large, elongated holes; caused by overmixing.
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Turnover: Sweet or savory pasty made by
folding a circle or square of pastry in half to form a semicircle or
triangle. |
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Turmeric: (Indian) A rhizome that is dried
and ground, then utilized to spice and color dishes bright yellow. Primarily
used in Indian and Southeast Asian cooking. |
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Turn
Out: To "turn out" is to take a dough right from the mixing bowl
to the kneading surface touching it with your hands as little as possible.
In other words, you tip the bowl and tease the dough out onto the surface
vs. grabbing the wad of dough and throwing it down. |
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Turntable:
A pedestal with a flat, rotating top, used for holding cakes while they are
being decorated. |
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Tutti Frutti: (Italian) Dried mixed fruits
as added to ice cream. |
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Two-Stage Method: A cake mixing method,
beginning with the blending of flour and high-ratio shortening, followed by
the addition of liquids. Also called the high-ratio method. |
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, 
