Cooking Glossary
B
Babka -- A Polish sweet bread made with rum, almonds, raisins, and orange peel.
Babka Recipes
Bagoong -- An Asian fish sauce from the Philippines made from salted, cured, and fermented fish or shrimp.
Bagoong Recipes
Bake -- To cook in the oven.
Basmati rice -- A long-grain, nutty flavored rice.
Basmati Rice Recipes
Baste -- To brush liquid over meat during roasting to add flavor and to prevent it from drying out.
Batter -- A mixture of flour, fat, and liquid that is thin enough in consistency to require a pan to contain it.
Beard to tail -- For crustaceans such as shrimp or lobster, once the head and body have been removed what is left is cut "beard to tail" or top to bottom on the underside to extract the meat.
Beat -- To smoothen a mixture by briskly whipping it.
Bechamel sauce -- A French white sauce made with milk and a roux of butter and flour. A thin sauce is made with one tablespoon of butter and of flour to one cup of milk. For medium sauce, use two tablespoons each, and for a thick sauce, use three tablespoons each.
Bechamel Recipes
Bell pepper -- The best known of American sweet peppers it is mild, sweet flavored and crisp. Though most often bright green, there are also red, yellow, orange, purple and brown varieties. They may be used in cooking or eaten raw, with seeds and stems removed.
Bell Pepper Recipes
Bellini -- Italian drink made with champagne and peach nectar.
Bellini Recipes
Berbere -- Ethiopian spice blend used in stews and soups.
Berbere Recipes
Besan -- Indian flour made from ground, dried chickpeas. Used as a thickener, and in doughs and noodles.
Besan Recipes
Betty -- Baked pudding made from sugar, spices, fruit, butter, and breadcrumbs.
Betty Recipes
Bias-slice -- To slice a food crosswise at a 45-degree angle.
Biltong -- From Africa; air-dried, cured meat strips.
Bind -- To thicken a sauce by stirring in ingredients such as eggs, flour, butter, or cream.
Bisque -- A thick soup made of pureed food and cream.
Bisque Recipes
Bitters -- Bitter flavored distillation of herbs, bark, roots, and plants.
Blackened -- Cajun-style cooking method in which seasoned foods are cooked over high heat in a super-heated heavy skillet until charred.
Blanch -- To boil briefly to loosen the skin of a fruit or a vegetable. After 30 seconds in boiling water, the fruit or vegetable should be plunged into ice water to stop the cooking, and then the skin easily slices off.
Blend -- To mix ingredients together to obtain equal distribution throughout the mixture.
Bockwurst -- A German sausage made with ground veal and herbs.
Bockwurst Recipes
Boil -- To cook food in heated water or other liquid that is bubbling vigorously.
Bolognese -- A cooking style named after Bologna, Italy, in which dishes are served with a thick meat and vegetable sauce made with wine and milk or cream.
Bone -- To remove the bones.
Borscht -- A Russian soup made with beef stock, beets, and other vegetables or meat.
Borscht Recipes
Bouillon -- A strained broth made by cooking any vegetable, meat, seafood, or poultry in water.
Bouquet -- The fragrance of wine.
Bouquet garni -- Herbs tied or bagged in cheesecloth and used to flavor soups or broths.
Braise -- A cooking technique that requires browning meat in oil or other fat and then cooking slowly in liquid.
Brazil nut -- The seed of a large, Amazon jungle tree.
Brazil Nut Recipes
Bread -- To coat the food with crumbs.
Broil -- To cook food directly under the heat source.
Broth -- A flavorful liquid made by gently cooking meat, seafood, or vegetables in water.
Brown -- A quick sautéing, pan/oven broiling, or grilling method done either at the beginning or end of meal preparation.
Brown sugar -- Granulated or white sugar combined with molasses giving it a soft texture.
Brown Sugar Recipes
Brush -- Using a pastry brush, to coat a food such as meat or bread with melted butter, glaze, or other liquid.
Bubble and squeak -- An English side dish made with mashed potatoes and cooked cabbage, mixed together and fried.
Bubble and Squeak Recipes
Bundt pan -- Tube baking pan having fluted sides.
Butterfly -- To cut open a food down the center without cutting all the way through, and then spread apart.
Byrrh -- French drink of combined red wine and quinine water.
Byrrh Recipes
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