| A | B |
|---|
| Agar Agar | Dried purified seaweed which forms a clear gel in liquid. Vegetarian alternative to gelatine. |
| Arrowroot | Starch used to thicken sauces. It gives a clear appearance with no flavour |
| Acidulated Water | lemon juice added to water to stop some fruits discolouring (50 water: 1 acid) |
| Batter | Flour and liquid mixture to make pancakes and coat fried food. Let it stand before use. |
| Bavarois | Sauce Anglaise, stabilised with gelatine and lightened and enriched with wihpped cream. Usually moulded. |
| Blind Bake | Pastry case baked without filling. Usually filled with rice or beans. |
| Bouchée | Small round puff pastry case used for serving savoury mixtures. |
| Brulée | A sweet product usually cooked in serving dish and finished by caramelising sugar on the surface. |
| Caramel | Sugar heated till it melts and browns. |
| Caramelise | To heat sugar until it melts and turns brown. |
| Chocolate filigree | Piped chocolate shapes for decorating dessert and pastry products. |
| Coagulate | Change of protein from liquid to solid. Caused by heat, acid or enzymes. |
| Compote | Fruit cooked in a sugar syrup, fruit needs to hold its shape. |
| Compound chocolate | Chocolate that includes the cocoa mass, but the cocoa butte is replaced by vegetable oil. Lacks flavour but does not need tempering. |
| Conde | A rice based dessert |
| Coulis | a puree sauce |
| Couverture Chocolate | A chocolate coating made from the cocoa bean where both the cocoa mass and cocoa butter are included. Must be tempered to set properly. |
| Cream | Fat and some liquid separated from milk. Must be stored and whipped between 1 and 4.5 degrees C. |
| Cream Chantilly | Sweetened whipped cream with vanilla |
| Baumé | A scale used to measure density or specific gravity in syrups and brines. Using a saccharometer. |
| Crystallise | Formation of crystals which occurs in sugar syrups when agitated after boiling. |
| Curdling | Separation of milk or sauce into solids and liquids. Caused by overheating or acids. |
| An emulsion curdles | if a liquid is added too quickly or at the wrong temperature. |
| Docking | pricking the pastry before baking. |
| Dough | a firm mixture of flour and water. |
| Dough can also include | other ingredients to change the taste and texture. |
| Dredge | to coat or sprinkly with sugar, flour, cocoa etc. |
| Emulsifying Agent | Used to help in making an emulsion. E.g., egg, gums, lecithin, glycerol monosterate and alginates. |
| Emulsion | Fine, even mixture of oil or fat in water. |
| Fermentation | Process where yeast breaks the sugar down into carbon dioxide (CO²) and alcohol. |
| Carbon Dioxide (CO²) | is used to aerate or expand doughs and batters. |
| Folding | gentle method to combine fragile ingredients. |
| Fondant | an icing made by boiling sugar, water and glucose to the soft ball stage (115°C), cooling, then manipulating to form a mass of very fine crystals. |
| Fondants can be | flavoured and coloured. They need a careful control of temperature. |
| Ganache | paste of boiled cream with chocolate added. Used as a filling, coating or sauce. |
| Gelatine | Protein substance from bones and tissues of animals. Used to make jelly by melting in hot water and cooling. |
| Gelatinisation | Heating of starch in liquid till the granules burst. The liquid will then thicken. |
| Glucose | a simple sugar often added to sugar syrups to prevent crystallization |
| Gluten | elastic protein in wheat and many cereals |
| Gluten forms a structure | in flour products to trap carbon dioxide and allow aeration. |
| Hydrogenated | means treated with hydrogen. |
| Hydrogenated Fats | are treated with hydrogen to produce a firmer texture. Pastry often uses hydrogenated fats. |
| Hygroscopic | means able to attract moisture, soak up water. |
| Ice cream | a frozen milk dessert which legally contains more than 10% milk fat |
| Knead means | to fold, stretch and mix ingredients to form a dough. |
| Folding and stretching dough | helps bring air into the dough to improve the texture. |
| Leavening Agent is | an ingredient which brings Carbon Dioxide into a flour product. |
| Examples of a Leavening Agent are | egg, yeast and baking powder. |
| To macerate means | to steep or soak fruit in alcohol to improve flavour and texture |
| To steep means | to soak food in a liquid. To add flavour, to soften. |
| Marzipan is | a paste made from almonds and sugar |
| Nap (or Nappe) | means to coat foods evenly with a sauce |
| Panada | Thick mixture used as a binding agent. Example: pastry cream used as a base for hot sweet soufflés. |
| Pastry Cream | Flour and egg, thickened, sweet milk mixture, vanilla flavoured. Used to fill pastry. Other flavours are possible. |
| Pinning | to roll out pastry or paste with a rolling pin. |
| Praline | carmelised nuts and sugar milled to a smooth paste. |
| To prove | is to let the air rise in yeast dough before baking. |
| Carbon Dioxide is produced | by the yeast in the dough. |
| Purée | a pulp made from food (fruits and vegetables). It should be smooth and thick. |
| Rennet | An enzyme from calf's stomach. Used to set milk when making junket or cheese. |
| Royal Icing | an icing made from eggs and icing sugar, for decorating. |
| Zabaglione is Italy's great dessert gift | to the rest of the world. In French it is Sabayon. |
| Sabayon is the French word | for Zabaglione. |
| Sabayon is a dessert | made from egg yolks with liquid (water, wine, flavouring) whisked over heat till thickened to the ribbon stage. |
| Saccharometer | is used to measure the density of a sugar syrup. |
| Sauce Anglaise | Sweet sauce thickened with egg yolk which will coat the back of a spoon. Smooth and rich. |
| Sorbet | a soft water ice with fruit, wine, champagne or liqueur base. |
| Synerisis means | the separation of water from a gel. Example: egg custard that has been overcooked. The egg protein shrinks and forces liquid out. |
| Thermometer | is used to measure temperature |
| Viscosity | is the consistency or thickness of a liquid. Example: sauce. |
| Vol-au-vent | a puff pastry case, same as a bouchée but larger. |
| Zest | is the oily outer skin of citrus fruit. It gives more flavour than the juice. |
