Hotpot

Common French Culinary Terms

A la carte	Dishes on a menu prepared to order and individually priced.
Anglaise	Beaten egg with oil and seasoning.
Au bleu	“Blue”. When applied to meat it means very underdone. When applied to trout it is a specific dish -truite au bleu.
Au gratin	Sprinkled with breadcrumbs and/or cheese and browned.
Le bain-marie	a. A container for keeping foods hot without burning. b. A shallow pan of water for cooking foods in the oven without them burning or boiling. c. A deep narrow container for storing hot soup, sauces and gravies.
Bien Cuit	Well cooked.
La blanquette	A white stew cooked in stock from which the sauce is made e.g. Blanquette de veau.
La bouchee	Small puff pastry case.
Le bouillon	Unclarified stock.
Le bouquet-garni	A bundle of herbs, usually parsley stalks, thyme and bay leaf, tied inside pieces of celery and leek.
Brunoise	Small neat dice.
Le canapé	A cushion of toasted or fried bread on which food is served. It is used as a base for savouries. When served cold as canapé Muscovite the base may be toast, biscuits, short paste or puff paste pieces with savoury food on top and glazed with aspic.
Chantilly	Sweetened whipped vanilla flavoured cream.
Le chateaubriand	The head of the fillet of beef.
Le chaud-froid	A creamed veloute or demi-glace with gelatine or aspic added, used for masking cold dishes.
Cloute	Studded, as with a clove inserted in an onion.
La cocotte	Porcelain fireproof dish.
La compote	Stewed fruit eg compote de poires.
Concasse	Coarsley chopped, e.g. parsley and tomatoes.
Le consommé	Basic clariffied soup.
Le contrefilet	Boned sirloin of beef
Le court-bouillon	A cooking liquor for certain foods e.g. oily fish, calf’s brain, etc. It is water-containing vinegar, sliced onion, carrots, herbs and seasoning.
Crapandine	Birds split down the back and laid out flat for cooking.
La dariole	Mould shaped like a small flower pot.
Degorger	Using salt to draw out the moisture from food. Also to draw out bitter juices as in the case of aubergines.
Demi-glace	Half glazed – reduced espagnole. Equal quantities of brown stock and brown sauce reduced by half.
Emincer	To slice thinly or to cut into small pieces.
L’entrecote (f)	A steak from a boned sirloin.
En branche	Vegetables cooked and served as whole leaves.
L’escalope (f)	Thin slices of meat
Espagnole	Spanish sauce; brown sauce.
Etude	To stew, braise or steam in its own juice.
Farce	Stuffing.
Farci	Stuffed.
Le foie gras	Fat goose liver.
Le fricassee	A white stew in which the poultry or meat is cooked in the sauce.
Fume	To smoke e.g. salmon, ham, etc.
Fumet	Concentrated stock from fish, game or meat.
Glace	Iced.
Hors d’oeuvre	Preliminary dishes of an appetising nature, served hot or cold
Jardinière	Cut into batons.
Julienne	Cut into fine strips.
Le jus lie	Gravy thickened with arrowroot or cornflour or fecule.
Le jus roti	Roast gravy.
La liaison	Name given to yolks of egg and cream when used as a thickening.
Macedoine	A mixture of vegetables cut into 5mm dice, or a mixture of fruit.
Le marinade	A richly spiced pickling liquid for enriching the flavour and tenderness of meats before braising.
Les mille-feuilles	“Thousand leaves”, puff pastry.
Mignonette	Coarse ground pepper.
La mirepoix	Roughly cut onions, carrots, celery and a sprig of thyme and bay leaf used for flavouring soups and sauces.
Mis-en-place	Basic preparations prior to serving.
Navarin	Brown lamb or mutton stew.
La noisette	a. A small round cut of meat, usually lamb or mutton. b. Shaped or coloured like a nut, eg noisette potatoes, noisette butter.

Noix	Nut, also the cushion piece of leg of veal.
Papillote	Cooked in a paper bag or buttered paper to preserve moisture and flavour.
La pate	A dough, paste or butter.
Le pate	A pie or pastry; also a savoury meat or fish paste cooked in a piece dish.
La paupiette	A strip of fish, meat or poultry rolled round a stuffing and usually poached in a stock.
Paysanne	“Country style”. Usually vegetables cut into thin 15mm round or square shapes.
Printaniere	“Springtime”. Generally a garnish of spring vegetables.
Rechauffer	To reheat leftover cooked foods.
Le roux	Flour and fat cooked together for thickening.
Le sabayon	Yolks of egg and a little water cooked until creamy.
Sauté	To cook quickly in a shallow pan with the minimum of fat.
Le soufflé	A light aerated dish, sweet or savoury hot or cold. Whites of egg are added to the hot basic preparation and whipped cream to the cold.
Le supreme	Most delecate fillet cut, especially of chicken and fish.
Table d’hote	A meal of several courses, which may have a limited choice served at a fixed price.
Le troncon	A steak of large flat fish cut with the bone, after the fish has been cut in half lengthways.
Le veloute	a. Basic sauce.
	b. The basis of a soup of creamy consistency.
Le vol-au-vent	A puff pastry case.