Julienne to Sachet: Can You Guess What These Culinary Terms Mean?

Many of these words are quite technical and sounds something difficult but are actually much easy.

By: Madhuli Trivedi |
February 28, 2018 5:13 pm

While watching cooking shows, you must have heard words that might have left you reaching out for Google search or a dictionary. Many of these words are quite technical and only sound difficult. Here’s a handy guide to some of the most common terms you definitely should know the meaning of:

1. Bouquet Garni or Sachet
Bouquet Garni is bundling herbs like parsley and thyme and used for flavoring stew, or soup.

2. Roux
Roux is mixing of fat like butter and oil with flour and is later cook over low heat for making sauces.

3. Macerate
Macerate describes soaking fruits in liquid to absorb the flavor. Liquid used here are wine, juices, liqueur, or sugar syrup.

4. Knock-back
The process of pressing down bread dough to release excess air from it is called knocking back.

5. Julienne
Julienne is a technique to describe the process of cutting vegetables into short, thin strips.

6. Griddle
A griddle is a flat pan with a long handle made of cast iron or aluminum. These are generally used to cook foods like pancakes.

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7. Emulsify
A process of mixing liquids like yolk and mustard together that are difficult to blend is called emulsify.

8. Leaven
Leaven is the process of adding an ingredient that helps dough or batter to rise.

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9. Blanch
A cooking technique in which food is first plunged in boiling water and then put it in ice cold water to stop the cooking process is called blanch.

10. Pipe
As the name suggests, pipe is a term used to decorate food using thin lines of cream, paste, or icing.