[mofsb]The reason that the terms roux and béchamel can be confusing is that a bechamel is made from a roux. Still confused? A roux is the technique of cooking flour in fat or oil. Most often, butter is used, but other fats or oils can also be used. The reason the flour is “cooked” in … Read more
The term “flavor profile” is great for describing the unique characteristics of a certain cuisine or dish. Thai food has a different flavor profile than Mexican food. The term refers to the combinations of tastes, aromas, and textures that make food unique. The kind of spices and other ingredients that are typically used determine the … Read more
Cuisson [kwee-SOHN] is French for cooking. It is a word that certain pretentious chefs, who don’t speak a word of French, use to sound impressive when talking about things being perfectly cooked. It’s usually applied to things like steak and fish. The cuisson, the cuisson. It’s all about the cuisson! When not being applied by … Read more
Most of us pronounce common French cooking terms in an anglicized way. Usually, this is fine. But, have you ever wanted to know how to pronounce all the classic French culinary terms in the proper French way? Maybe you want to make a cooking video and use French words for everyday cooking techniques so that … Read more
I was making pie dough the other day and while preparing the dough a common term used in baking, cut in, jumped out at me. I realized how confusing this term must be to novice cooks and especially to non-native English speakers. It’s actually a phrasal verb and is idiomatic: to cut in or ‘cutting … Read more
Most of us know what it means to boil a food. We do it with dried pasta when we bring water to a rolling boil and put in the pasta. Even if we reduce the heat of the burner to stop the pot from boiling over, we are still boiling the pasta. But, what does … Read more