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Baking: cooking food (breads, cakes, pies, cookies, etc.) using dry-heat cooking
Baste: brush or pour liquid over food as it cooks
Beat: make a mixture smooth using a brisk over-and-over motion with a spoon, wire whisk, or an electric or hand mixer
Blanch: cook quickly, but not completely in boiling liquid
Boil: heating liquid to the point that bubbles constantly rise to the surface and break
Braise: browning food in a small amount of fat followed by a long, slow moist-heat cooking method
Broil: to cook with direct heat from above using the broiler in an oven
Brown: cook briefly until the surface browns
Chop: cut food into small, irregular pieces using up-and-down motions
Cream: soften fat with a spoon or mixer often while mixing with another food to make the mixture soft, smooth, and creamy
Cube: cut food into small ½-inch square pieces
Cut In: distribute solid fat in small pieces evenly through dry ingredients, using a cutting motion with two knives, a fork, or a pastry blender
Deep-fry: cooking fat by completely covering it in a large amount of fat
Dice: cut into small, square pieces which are ¼-inch or smaller per side
Drain: pour off liquid from a food or place food in a strainer or colander to remove liquid from solids
Fold In: blend delicate ingredients gently using one motion to cut straight down through the mixture and another to turn the mixture up and over. Rotate the bowl one-quarter and repeat until the whole mixture is lightly blended.
Fry: cooking food in small or large amounts of fat
Garnish: decorate food or dish
Julienne: cut into match-like strips
Knead: Work dough with the hands by folding, pressing, and turning it
Marinate: let food stand in marinade for a period of time to tenderize it and develop flavor
Mince: cut into very fine pieces using an up-and-down motion
Mix: combine ingredients to evenly distribute them
Pan-fry: frying with a small amount of fat
Peel: strip off the outside skin or peel
Preheat: heat an appliance before you put food in it
Reduce: simmer or boil liquid until it is less than its original volume
Roasting: cooking food (fish, meat, poultry, vegetables) using dry-heat cooking
Sauté: pan-frying foods to precook them before they are used in a recipe
Sear: brown meat’s surface quickly with high heat
Season: add ingredients for more flavor
Simmer: heating liquid to the point that bubbles slowly form and break before they reach the surface
Steam: cooking food in steam
Stir: mix ingredients with a spoon using a circular motion to combine ingredients or to distribute heat evenly
Stir-fry: frying foods using a small amount of oil at a high temperature followed by steaming
Toast: brown food with direct heat or in the oven
Whip: beat rapidly with a beater, mixer, or wire whisk to incorporate air and add volume