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Canape
A canape is a small decorative taster snack that is usually served as an appetiser with cocktails. Canapes often consist of pieces of bread (toasted or untoasted) that are topped with a savory garnish. Canapes may be simple or elaborate, hot or cold. Increasingly, canapes are styled to resemble a mini version of classic dishes.
Capers
Capers are the unopened buds of the caper plant. They are pickled or preserved in brine or salt and used in Mediterranean cookery to add a distinctive sour tang to dishes.
Caramelise
Caramelising is the process of either heating sugar until it liquefies and becomes a syrup (ranging in colour from golden to dark brown) before setting as a hard glaze (as on the top of a creme brulee), or cooking fruit or vegetables in water and sugar until they become brown and glazed. You can invest in a cook's blow torch to caramelise the tops of desserts, but a very hot pre-heated grill is usually adequate for the job.
Casserole
This term refers to both a baking dish and the ingredients it contains. A casserole dish usually refers to a deep, round, ovenproof container with handles and a tight-fitting lid. A casserole's ingredients can include tougher cuts of meat, poultry or game, vegetables, beans, rice and often a topping such as cheese or bread crumbs is added for texture and flavour. A casserole is cooked slowly at a low temperature over a long period of time.
Cavity
A cavity is a space or gap which is vacant/empty.
Chateaubriand
A special cut of beef that is a particularly thick slice of tenderloin, often broiled and served with potatoes and a bearnaise sauce. Because of its thickness, cooking chateaubriand requires care to avoid overcooking the outside while leaving the centre raw. The dish is usually offered as a serving for two, as there is just enough meat in the centre of the average fillet for two portions.
Chinese rice wine
Rice wine is a sweet, golden wine made from fermenting freshly steamed glutinous rice. Most rice wines are low in alcohol. Chinese rice wines include Chia Fan, Hsiang Hsueh, Shan Niang and Yen Hung. The most well-known Japanese rice wines are Sake and Mirin.
Chipolata
Chipolatas are small coarse-textured pork sausages (usually 2” or 3” long) that are sometimes called "little fingers”. They are highly spiced with thyme, chives, coriander, cloves and sometimes hot red-pepper flakes.
Chop
A chop is a small cut of meat taken from the rib section, including part of the rib. Pork and lamb chops are the most popular. Chop can also be used as a verb to describe a method of cutting which uses quick, heavy blows of a knife or cleaver to cut food into bite-size (or smaller) pieces.
Clarified butter
Also known as drawn butter, clarified butter is made clear by heating and removing the sediment of milk solids. The process involves slowly melting the butter and separating the milk solids (which sink to the bottom of the pan) from the golden liquid on the surface. Foam can be skimmed off the top and the clear (clarified) golden liquid butter can then be used in cooking. The clarified butter can then be used to cook at higher temperatures and the lack of solids delays rancidity.
Compress
To compress is to push down or reduce the size or volume of an object through a forceful pushing action, either from one or multiple angles.
Concentrated
A concentrate is a refined form of a substance which has had the majority of its base component (usually water) removed. This can be done through a variety of methods. Concentrates are beneficial to use in cooking as they encapsulate pure flavours.
Coppa ham (Capricola)
Capricola, or coppa, is similar to the more widely known prosciutto, and is a traditional Neapolitan Italian cold-cut pork taken solely from the shoulder and neck and dry-cured whole.
Coriander
Coriander (native to the Mediterranean and the Orient) is related to the parsley family. It is known for both its dark green, lacy leaves and its seeds (that are the dried, ripe fruit of the plant). The flavours of the seeds and leaves bear no resemblance to each other. Coriander leaves are used widely in the cuisines of India, Mexico, the Orient and the Caribbean, and often as a garnish on a variety of dishes.
Cottage pie
Cottage pie is a dish made up of cooked ground or minced beef mixed with gravy and vegetables and topped with mashed potato, which is often forked over. The pie is then baked until the mixture is hot and the potato top browns. Cottage and Shepherd’s pie are fundamentally the same despite their key ingredient difference of containing beef and lamb respectively.
Creme de cassis
Creme de cassis is a blackcurrant-flavored liqueur. It is commonly used as an integral ingredient in Kir Royale, which is a white wine that is flavored with cassis and usually served as an aperitif.
Creme fraiche
Creme fraiche is a matured, thickened cream that has a slightly tangy, nutty flavour and a velvety rich texture. The thickness of creme fraiche can range from that of commercial sour cream to almost as solid as room-temperature margarine. Creme fraiche is an ideal addition for sauces or soups because it can be boiled without curdling. It is often also spooned over fresh fruit or other desserts such as warm puddings.
Crumble
A crumble is a British dessert in which fruit is topped with a crumble mixture that consists of flour, sugar and butter (and sometimes oats) combined together to resemble breadcrumbs. Crumble is also used as a verb to describe a method of breaking something down into small pieces or crumbs (usually with the fingers). For example, crumbling a stock cube.
Crystal salt
Crystal salt was previously known as or referred to as "king's salt" because it was only available to the richest elite of society. This is because pure crystal salt only occurs sporadically in the natural world and it is often necessary to mine one hundred times the amount of rock salt in order to secure crystal salt.
Curdle
To curdle is to cause a liquid to change state by clotting or coagulating. When milk curdles it separates into curds and whey. Sauces may curdle and become sour when exposed to prolonged or high heat. Acids such as lemon juice also cause curdling in some mixtures. Increased acidity causes the milk proteins (casein) to tangle into solid masses, or curds. The remainder, which contains only whey proteins, is the whey.
