Veganomicon_ The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook - Isa Chandra Moskowitz [16]
Bias: Often we say to slice something on a bias—say, carrots, for example. This mean to cut diagonally instead of straight down or across. This is usually specified when the cut makes a big difference to the texture of the food, or in situations where it will be more aesthetically pleasing. This way, instead of people barely noticing that you sliced a carrot, they will gasp in admiration of your damn fine-looking carrots.
Blanching: A quick boil, when you don’t want to cook your veggies all the way but just get them a bit softened up, usually because they will be cooked further somewhere down the line.
Blend: Stirring the contents of a bowl, pot, or pan to combine all of the ingredients. Usually done at a vigorous pace and sometimes done in a blender (obviously).
Braise: Briefly sautéing a piece, or pieces, of food to lightly sear or brown the outside. Then a small amount of liquid is poured over the hot food; often it’s a seasoned vegetable broth or alcohol but water works, also. The food is then covered and allowed to steam just enough to make the food tender. An easy way to think about braising is a cross between sautéing and steaming.
Caramelize: To cook, usually over moderate heat for an extended period of time, until the sugars begin to brown.
Chop: Cutting things up any which way. Although most recipes will give you a general size to shoot for, when we say simply to chop something rather than dice or julienne or another more specific term, it usually means that it doesn’t much matter what the shape is.
Deglaze: After your vegetables (usually garlic and onions) are cooked, adding liquid to the hot pan to lift up anything stuck to the bottom. This is a great way to make sure that all the food and flavors are incorporated into the entire dish, rather than turning into burnt bits and getting sacrificed to the bottom of your pan. Deglazing also makes a great sizzling noise that makes you feel like a real chef.
Dice: Chopping vegetables or other items into uniform cubes. When we say uniform we don’t mean that you should whip out a tape measure, just aim to get them as alike as you can. Typically, dicing is done in rather small pieces, about ½ inch or less.
Fold: Gently stirring in a single ingredient into a larger mixture or batter, usually done by stirring the bottom batter over the added ingredient with a large spoon or spatula. The idea is not to overmix the main batter or mixture, rather to evenly incorporate the new ingredient without disturbing the overall texture.
Grate: Scraping food along the surface of a shredder or microplane grater to yield fine shreds or particles of food.
Grill: Cooking marinated vegetables or proteins over a heated metal outdoor or indoor grill. The food is often turned several times to ensure it’s completely cooked and the exterior lightly caramelized.
Julienne: We will take our carrots in matchstick form, thank you. We rarely julienne anything else, except for a cucumber here or there.
Mince: Using a knife, chopping vegetables or herbs into very small particles, around ⅛ inch across or even smaller.
Process: Basically our lazy way of saying use a food processor or blender to puree something.
Puree: Blending the heck of out something in a food processor or blender.
Reduce: Simmering a sauce or soup on a stove top until some of the water has evaporated. Usually done with the pot uncovered or partially covered. Reducing will eliminate some of the total volume of the sauce and help intensify the flavors.
Roast: Baking food in an oven until the exterior has browned or caramelized and the interior is fully cooked. When roasting vegetables and protein foods, it’s often necessary to rub the exterior with an oil to prevent its drying out entirely.
Roux: A cooked