Questions tagged [language]
Questions about naming and translation of culinary terms and phrases.
226
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19
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1
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What is sortexed rice?
Here is a link to rice I want to buy. It is quoted as being polished and sortexed. I was wondering exactly that meant? Sortexed is not a word I heard before.
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0
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What word do we actually mean to use when we say "vegetable"? [duplicate]
Technically, a peanut is a vegetable, and a tomato is not a vegetable. But no normal human being says "sautee your favourite vegetable" and means for you to use something like a peanut. So ...
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7
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What is this type of cookware called used for roasting and baking?
I'm looking for the English name for this cooking utensil:
It can be used for roasting on top of the stove, or it can be put in the oven for slow cooking.
I've stumbled upon 'roasting dish', or '...
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18
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5
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What exactly are American recipes containing "smoked sausage" or "smoked Italian sausage" referring to?
I have recently come across several American recipes that call for an ingredient described as 'Smoked Sausage' or 'Smoked Italian Sausage'. Here in Australia, we try to be a little more specific, so ...
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1
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Meaning: muffins are "blind"
The following expression was used in an old baking book, "The Modern Baker, Confectioner and Caterer" (1907) by John Kirkland:
The bad results so frequently obtained are generally due to ...
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2
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214
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Firm vs. crisp vs. crunchy for apples
I see these terms used to describe apples on signage at markets and I'm wondering whether they are meant to imply different things and if so what?
For example, this page uses the terms "firm"...
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24
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4
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What do American chefs mean by "Red pepper flakes"? [duplicate]
I see the term "Red pepper flakes" used often by American chefs, but to the European mind this term is very confusing. It could mean flaked and dried:
Red chilli (e.g. Kashmiri, Birds Eye ...
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4
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1
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What is the difference between castor, confectionary and icing sugar?
I see these labels used and was wondering what exactly they mean?
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6
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1
answer
209
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What is the name of this indirect grill?
In Japanese, it seems to be called a Machuugrill. It is fired by charcoal and the grill arrows are just air. It seems to be some convection heating with the temperature moderated by water. Translation ...
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4
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2
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431
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What are the dips in muffin/cupcake tins called?
When I was writing this answer I realized that I have no idea what to call the dips in muffin/cupcake tins. I used to call them cups but when I looked it up I found that the cups are the paper inserts ...
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4
votes
2
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215
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What is the distinction between baking and roasting?
Both baking and roasting refer to cooking things in the oven. The only foodstuff I am aware of that can be either baked or roasted is potatoes, and the distinction is that roast potatoes are cooked ...
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What's the difference between omelette/frittata/quiche?
What is the culinary difference between these dishes?
It seems to me that they are all egg dishes that are cooked with some fillings in them (onion/tomato/ham/cheese etc). Is quiche just a frittata in ...
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4
votes
1
answer
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Beating eggs for brownie
This brownie recipe (from this book) calls for eggs, beaten. I'm not entirely familiar with US recipes. What does it mean that the eggs have to be beaten? Is it sufficient to do this lightly with a ...
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1
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1
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Do French/International chefs really use/talk about Fahrenheit instead of Celsius degrees?
Example: https://youtu.be/lVcTvHTn6Dw?t=325
This chef is very French, yet he talks about Fahrenheit. In France, which is in Europe, surely they use Celsius? He seems to "think" in American ...
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1
vote
3
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Category name for restaurants NOT dressing food?
Is it there a specific category name or whatever, defining restaurants that serve food without dressing, or any kind of food art or dish decoration, despite still serving good quality, tasty food, ...
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1
vote
2
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240
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What are the tables called where food is delivered for service to dinner?
In formal dining rooms there is often a long table set to the side and the servers use it to stage dishes before they are served to the table. What is that appurtenance called?
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3
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1
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What is "compression" as a cooking technique?
I've recently stumbled on Masterchef professionals as an American, and it's very impressive! Many chefs serve "compressed" vegetables and fruits (e.g. tomatoes, pears, cucumber, mango, etc.)....
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5
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What is "layering flavors"? What does it accomplish and how do I do it?
Recently I've been into cooking videos and tutorials and something that stands out to me is this concept of "layering flavors" that some chefs use when they add ingredients.
Example:
We're ...
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12
votes
5
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3k
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What kind of yeast is this?
I have a type of yeast that I'm finding hard to identify by English standard.
These are picture of it:
Whole, uncut.
cut in half
In my country, Bulgaria, we call it "live" yeast, despite ...
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6
votes
2
answers
950
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What is a “small cup” in Australia and/or old recipes?
In older or Australian recipes, is “small cup” a specific (if not quite standardized) measurement? If so, what, approximately, is that measurement?
I’m going to be making a recipe from an Australian ...
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3
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Are heavy-bottom stock pots called something else?
I would quite like to get hold of a large stock pot with a thick base so I can make things like preserves as well, but whenever I look at kitchenware in my local shops (I'm in NZ if that makes a ...
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2
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1
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Is sour milk, soured milk, and milk that has gone sour, all the exact same thing?
Is sour milk, soured milk, and milk that has gone sour, all the exact same thing?
Related to this question:
Is buttermilk another term for sour milk or some part of sour milk?
and especially this ...
4
votes
1
answer
802
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What's the 'opposite' of mise en place?
Mise en place definition for those unaware.
Mise en place (French pronunciation: [mi zɑ̃ ˈplas]) is a French culinary phrase which means "putting in place" or "everything in its place&...
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3
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What is a refrigerator tray in older recipes?
Many older cookbooks call for filling a “refrigerator tray”. For example, in the 1960 Better Homes and Gardens Dessert Cook Book the recipe for “Banana Ice Cream” says to “Pour into refrigerator trays....
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1
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Do blini have to be thin?
In case you're wondering, Blin (or Блин) is just Pancake in Russian.
It was given by my favorite YouTuber that these pancakes have to be thin to be a proper blin. Is this true?
user91735
2
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2
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315
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Simmering, rather than caramelizing, onions (plus garlic and ginger)
I can caramelize onions, garlic, and ginger over 30 minutes, stir frying.
But this requires me to stand in front of the stove for 30 minutes. Instead, I prefer to spend 90 minutes, adding a bit of ...
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votes
3
answers
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What is a stem pan?
I have a vintage cookbook, from Charlotte, North Carolina and about 1958, that has a recipe for “Different Applesauce Cake”. It says to “Cook in stem pan approximately 1 hour, 10 minutes”.
Searches ...
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votes
1
answer
196
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What does it mean for a dish to be called poêlé?
I was watching a show and they mentioned Fois Gras Poêlé. Now I know what fois gras is so I looked up what poêlé meant since I assumed it was a cooking technique. However, Google (patent pending) ...
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2
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Is there an English word for the Spanish pepper called Ñora?
Is there an English word for the Spanish pepper called Ñora?
I have translated the following from Wikipedia
The ñora is a cultivated variety of Capsicum annuum or pepper, called
"bola" in ...
4
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3
answers
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Recipe word for "not trimmed"
I'm trying to write up a recipe by weight and include both the "cleaned" weight and the "uncleaned" weight. I can't find a good word for "uncleaned" and I'm hoping ...
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2
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221
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Choosing between semolina and non-semolina durum flour
I have a big confusion between flours, aggravated by the fact that I do not live in an english-speaking country and labeling and translations are confusing.
I like fresh pasta and have experimented ...
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0
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2
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What's the difference between thin crust pizza and a cracker
My friend says that thin pizza crust is nothing but a cracker, but I think there are significant differences between the two products. For example, if you buy a store-bought cracker and add pizza ...
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4
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Is a pizza like this unheard of in the USA?
My idea of a pizza, bought from a pizzeria in Sweden (at least growing up and when I last did, which was a few years ago now), is as follows:
A standard pizza dough is grabbed and turned into a flat ...
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2
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What is the difference between "water/drink enhancers" and cordial?
I was doing a bit of internet browsing today, and I came across this image (linked rather than embedded because of copyright), which shows a bottle of hand disinfectant along with three bottles ...
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"tomato sauce" vs. "tomato paste" [duplicate]
amazon returns almost 50 hits for "tomato sauce" and just 3 for "tomato paste"
Do "tomato sauce" and "tomato paste" mean the same thing?
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1
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What does it mean to let gluten relax?
I'm new to cooking and have no experience cooking.
I know a bit about gluten in that it gives bread the toughness for stretching, which is good for chewy bread and bad for soft cakes.
I've watched ...
3
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1
answer
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What's 香茜 or 芫荽 in English?
Many Hong Kong Cuisine restaurants use 香茜 or 芫荽 in soup dishes. Please see the picture below.
Are 香茜 or 芫荽 the same species of plant?
What's the correct English translation? I'm hankering to buy ...
user91594
2
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2
answers
182
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What is the correct term for this method of cooking?
I'm a reluctant cook at the best of times but I'm interested to know what I just did.
I got a massive bone for the dog from the butcher. There was quite a lot of meat on it so I thought the dog and I ...
4
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3
answers
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What does resting mean
I'm a little confused with what resting actually means.
I've typically seen this term being used where you move food (typically meat) from the oven/grill/heat and then keep it warm for "some time" (...
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1
answer
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A “puck” of frozen food
I found a recipe that calls for 5 “pucks” of frozen spinach. I cannot find a definition of the term. I need to know how many ounces are in a puck?
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1
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What are the vertical-edge plates called?
I'm assuming asking this question is ok since questions about kitchen equipment and cutlery are permitted.
So far I've only found steel plates that have a vertical edge. Do these vertical-edged ...
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3
votes
3
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414
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Flavor of wasabi, horseradish, mustard, capers, and jalapeño
What is the name of the flavor of wasabi, horseradish, mustard, capers, and jalapeño?
Unfortunately, I'm not fond of the taste of the above ingredients.
To me, they taste similar.
I don't mind the ...
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1
answer
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What are the different parts of a zester called?
Earlier I was trying to describe which part of a zester to use and realized I have no idea what the different parts are called. I fell back on google, and was surprised to find nothing, there are ...
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2
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What's the process of making black garlic called?
it's not caramelized – it doesn't get hot enough.
it's not fermented – the process is enzymatic, not due to fungus, yeast, or bacteria.
it's not pickled – no acid brine is added
it's not curing – no ...
4
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3
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Name for a master "cook plan" that describes how you prepare and serve all courses of a meal
I'm writing some software and could use some help (from some experts!) naming something. In cooking, culinary arts, etc. I have to imagine that there exists a concept where you, the chef, have a ...
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What would "Disintegrant", "Ammonium", or the units of measure "glass" or "gl" mean in a non-American book?
Just purchased a baking cookbook online which, while written in English, is clearly from a country outside of the U.S. Units are metric, which is fine, but there a couple of terms with which I am ...
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1
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Are "shelled nuts" with or without their shells?
I'm using MyFitnessPal to log what I'm eating, and I can't figure out whether 'shelled pistachios' are pistachios with or without their shells.
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4
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Common term for "roughly-grind Semolina" (as used to make couscous)
A course common in all North-African coast cuisines is Couscous, which is made of "roughly-grind Semolina" lightly cooked or steamed with a bit of water and salt;
Very often, a vegetable based stew is ...
user79730
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2
answers
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Is Irish buttermilk different from Estonian buttermilk?
I'm Irish but living in Estonia. Just now, I decided to make some soda bread which I have made a couple of times before. I bought some "pett", which Google translate and a professional chef told me is ...
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3
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What does "Massage with salt" mean in a recipe?
I want to try this recipe for Vegan Lox by Tasty.
Step 5 is
Use a vegetable peeler to shave the carrots lengthwise into ribbons.
Massage with salt.
I don't understand what "Massage with salt" ...
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