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Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management/Chapter LXII

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GLOSSARY OF CULINARY TERMSCHAPTER LXII

Abaissé (Fr.). A paste thinly rolled out, used for lining tarts and soufflés, croustades, etc.

Abatis (Fr.). The head, neck, liver, comb, kernels, and wings of a bird Giblets.

Abrieoté (Fr.). Candied apricot (Eng.). Masked with apricot marmalade.

Absinthe (Fr.). Name of an aromatic plant; also that of a liqueur prepared from this plant, much used in France and Switzerland as a beverage to stimulate the appetite; sometimes used for flavouring purposes.

Swiss Absinthe is made from plants related to wormwood and southernwood.

Aceto dolce (It.) (Sour and sweet). A kind of Italian pickle, prepared with various sorts of fruit, preserved in vinegar and honey. It is served with meats.

Achaja. Name of a Greek wine.

Africaine (à l'). African style. Also a name for small tartlets.

Agneau (Fr.). Lamb (Eng.). A young sheep.

Agneau de lait (Fr.). A milk lamb.

Aide de Cuisine (Fr.). Undercook (Eng.). Assistant cook.

Aiguillettes (Fr.). Needles. Small strips of cooked meat or fish.

Aguille-à-Brider (Fr.). Larding needle.

Ajoutées (Fr.). Added or mixed; small garnish or side dishes served with a vegetable course.

À la Broche (Fr.). Roasted in front of the fire on a spit or skewer.

À la mode de (Fr.). After the style or fashion of, e.g., à la Française, French style; à la Reine, Queen style; à l'lmperatrice, Empress style; à la Russe, Russian style, etc.

À l'Allemande. German style. A term applied to dishes prepared in a manner peculiar to Germany. Thus a dish garnished with sauerkraut and pork (pickled and boiled) is called à l'Allemande. A dish garnished with potato quenelles or smoked sausages may be similarly defined.

Allemande (Fr.). A white reduced velouté sauce, made from veal stock, thickened with flour, cream, yolk of egg, and seasoned with nutmeg and lemon-juice.

Allerei (Ger.). Name of a German dish, consisting of stewed early spring vegetables. A kind of macédoine of vegetables, popular in Leipzig.

Aloyau (Sirloin). The sirloin of beef is said to owe its name to King Charles II, who, dining off a loin of beef, and being well pleased with it, asked the name of the joint. On being told, he said: "For its merit, then, I will knight it, and henceforth it shall be called Sir Loin. In an old ballad the incident is thus referred to—

"Our Second Charles, of fame facete,
On loin of beef did dine;
He held his sword, pleased, o'er the meat,
'Arise, thou famed Sir Loin!'"

Ambigue (Fr.). A term indicating that the meat and sweets are served at the same time.

Ameaux (Fr.). Pastry made of puff paste and eggs.

Amirale (à l') (Fr.). A garnish; used chiefly for fish consisting of fried oysters, sliced fillets of lobster, and brown sauce. The term is also applied to meat dishes and sweet entremets.

Anglaise (à l') (Fr.). English style. Affixed to a dish usually, but not necessarily, implies that it consists of something plainly roasted or boiled, or that the dish is prepared in a style typical of England.

Angouste (à l') (Fr.). An American garnish for meat entrées, consisting of baked eggs.

Appereils (Fr.). Different ingredients mixed together into a purée or paste.

Appetissants (Fr.). Appetising bits (Eng.). Small tit-bits or savouries served before or between the courses of a dinner.

Aromates (Fr.). Aromatic herbs used for flavouring, such as thyme, bayleaves, tarragon, chervil, etc.

Aspic (Fr.). A savoury jelly, used as an exterior moulding for cold savouries and entrées of fish, poultry, game, etc. Also used for garnishing. À l'Aspic, set in aspic, or garnished with aspic.

Aspiquer (Fr.). A Parisian culinary phrase, meaning to put lemon-juice or "reduced vinegar" into a jelly, a sauce or a gravy (gouffe); the expression is however misleading, the proper term is aciduler, to acidulate.

Assaisonnement (Fr.). Seasoning, salt and pepper, etc. Forcemeat, condiment, sauce.

Assiette (plate) (Fr.). Assiettes are the small entrées and hors d'œuvres, the quantity of which does not exceed what a plate will hold. At dessert, fruits, cheese, chestnuts, biscuits, etc., if served upon a plate, are termed Assiettes.

Assiette volante is a dish which a servant hands round to the guests, but is not placed upon the table. Small cheese souffles, and different dishes which should be served very hot, are usually made Assiettes volantes.

Atelets (Fr.). (Also Hatelettes). A variety of skewers used for decorating joints and entrées.

Attereau (Fr.). A popular ragoût in Bretagne.

Attereaux (Fr.). Small rounds of raw minced meat, wrapped in a pig's caul and cooked on skewers.

Au bleu (Fr.). A culinary term applied to fish boiled in salted water, seasoned with vegetables, herbs, and white wine or vinegar.

Au four (Fr.). Baked in the oven.

Au gras (Fr.). A French term for meat dressed with rich gravy or sauce.

Au gratin (Fr.). A term applied to certain dishes prepared with sauce, garnish and breadcrumbs, and baked brown in the oven or under a salamander; served in the dish in which they are baked.

Au jus (Fr.). A term for dishes of meat dressed with their juice or gravy.

Au maigre (Fr.). A French expression used for dishes prepared without meat. Lenten dishes.

Au naturel (Fr.). Food cooked plainly and simply.

Aurore (Fr.). A yellow colour (Eng.). A culinary expression meaning "dished up " high. A garnish consisting of stuffed eggs, quartered, bread croûtons, and aurore sauce.
Aurore sauce consists of Allemande or Béchamel and Tomato Sauce, flavoured with chilli vinegar and dice of mushrooms.


Baba (Polish babka). A very light yeast cake. A substitute for tipsy cake.

Babka. Name of a Polish-Russian cake. Prepared as a custard, containing fruit, almonds, etc.

Bagration (Fr.). A word used to denote high-class dishes (soups). Bagration was a Russian Count, whose chief cook was the celebrated A. Carême.

Bain-marie (Fr.). The culinary water bath. It is a large open vessel, half filled with hot water, in which saucepans containing sauces, etc. are kept so that their contents are nearly at the boiling-point without burning or reducing.

Ballotine (Fr.). Slices of small galantines, usually made from the legs of game or poultry. Small balls or rolls of meat or fowl.

Baraquille (Fr.). A large pie made of rice, chicken and truffles.

Barbecue (Fr.). The mode of cooking (roasting) an animal whole; a social entertainment in the open air; to dress and roast whole.

Barbottes en casserole (Fr.). Stewed eel-pout (Eng.). En casserole also denotes a special process of cooking in a fireproof earthenware pan.

Batons royaux (Fr.). Small patties of minced chicken or game: the favourite dish of Charles XII. of France.

Batterie de cuisine (Fr.). A complete set of cooking utensils and apparatus.

Bavaroise (Fr.). Bavarian cream. A term applied to creams, but incorrectly used unless custard forms their base.

Béarnaise (Fr.). A word much used in cookery for a rich white herb sauce. It is derived from Béarn, one of the provinces into which France was formerly divided, its chief town, Pau, was the birthplace of King Henry IV, a great gourmand.

Béchamel (Fr.). French white sauce. Recognized as one of the four foundation sauces. It is supposed to take its name from the Marquis de Béchamel, an excellent chef, who acted as steward in the service of King Louis XIV.

Beignets (Fr.). Fritters (Eng.). Also a kind of pancake, fried in deep fat.

Blanquette (Fr.). A white fricassee or stew, usually made of veal or fowl, with a white sauce enriched with cream or egg-yolks.

Bombe (Fr.). An iced pudding filled with a rich custard of fruit cream, shape of a bomb.

Bon gout (Fr.). Highly flavoured dishes and sauces. Good taste.

Bordelaise (à la) (Fr.). Name of a French sauce (brown), in which Bordeaux or Burgundy forms one of the ingredients. Also a garnish.

Bouchées (Fr.). " A mouthful." Small puff paste patties (petits pátés).

Boullle à Baisse (Fr.). A kind of fish stew, very popular in France. Thackeray celebrated its virtues in his ballad, which begins:

"This Bouille à baisse, a noble dish is,
A sort of soup, a broth, or stew;
A hotel-potch of all kinds of fishes,
That Greenwich never could outdo," etc.

Bouilli (Fr.). Fresh boiled beef or other meat, but generally speaking boiled beef is understood by the term.

Bouillie (Fr.). Boiled fresh beef with vegetable garnish. A French dish resembling Hasty Pudding.

Bouillon (Fr.). Broth or stock made of veal, beef, or chicken.

Bouquet garni (Fr.). Parsley, thyme, and bay-leaves tied up in a small bunch; used to impart a rich flavour to stews, sauces, etc.

Brioche (Fr.). A light French yeast cake, similar to Bath buns. The favourite French breakfast bun, eaten hot with coffee or tea.

Brioche (à la). Roasted in front of the fire on a spit or skewer.

Buisson (Fr.). A garnish consisting of small groups of shrimps, crayfish, etc. Also applied to a method of twisting up pastry to a point.


Cabillaud farci (Fr.). Stuffed codfish.

Café Vierge (Fr.). An infusion of the whole coffee beans. Pure coffee.

Callipash. The fatty gelatinous substance close to the upper shell of a turtle.

Callipee. The glutinous meat found in the under part of a turtle's undershell.

Canapés. Small shapes of fried or toasted bread upon which savouries, etc., are served. The word means "sofa."

Canard rôti (Fr.). Roast duck (Eng.).

Canard sauvage (Fr.). Wild duck (Eng.).

Caneton rôti (Fr.). Roast duckling (Eng.).

Cannelons (Fr.) or Canelons. Small rolls of pastry or rice stuffed with minced meat, jam, cream, etc.

Capilotade (Fr.). A kind of hashed game or chicken.

Capon (Eng.). Chapon (Fr.). A castrated male chicken or fowl.

Caramel (Fr.). A substance made by boiling sugar to a dark brown, used for coating moulds and for liquid colouring.

Carcasse (Fr.). Carcass (Eng.). The body of an animal; the bones of poultry or game.

Carde à la moelle (Fr.). Pieces of marrow braised with bacon. Served with Gardes Purée.

Cardon (Fr.). Cardoon (Eng.). A vegetable of the celery tribe.

Carmin or Carmine. Crimson colouring used in confectionery, etc.

Carpentras (à la) (Fr.). A surname for dishes flavoured or garnished with truffles. Carpentras, like Périgord, is a district where truffles of excellent flavour and size grow largely.

Carte du Jour (la) (Fr.). The bill of fare for the day, showing the price of each dish.

Casserole (Fr.). A copper stewpan. When used in menus it indicates the case of rice, baked paste crust or macaroni, filled with minced meat, game purée, etc.

Caviar (Fr.). Caviare (Eng.). The salted roe of the sturgeon or sterlet fish.

Célestine. A monk so named after Pope Célestin. A garnish for clear soup, consisting of fine strips of fried pancakes. À la Celestine (Fr.), from the Latin coelestis (heavenly). Several dishes are so named.

Charcuterie (Fr.). "Roughly slashed"; in a culinary sense the word denotes "pretty tiny kickshaws" of pork, which are prepared in many different fashions. Black pudding, pig's feet truffled, smoked pig's ear with truffles, Nancy chitterlings, saveloy, pig's liver, are all items of charcuterie.

Charlotte (Fr.). A corruption of the old English word Charlyt, "a dish of custard." Charlotte russe and apple charlotte consist usually of thin slices of bread or biscuits, steeped in clarified butter or sugar, arranged in plain moulds in a symmetrical order, and afterwards garnished with cream, fruit, or preserve.

Chartreuse. Originally a preparation consisting of vegetables only, arranged in a plain mould. Now the term is applied to fruit set in jelly, and moulded game, poultry, etc.

Chateaubriand. Name of Viscount Francois Auguste, a great French gourmand, 1769-1848. A favourite dish of fillet steak is called after him.

Chaudfroid (Fr.). A cold entrée; a sauce used for masking cold fish, game, poultry, etc.

Chaussons (Fr.). A kind of French round pie filled with jam.

Chevreuse (Fr.). Small goose liver tartlets.

Chinois (Fr.). A pointed strainer with very fine holes, used for straining soups, sauces, and gravies. A Chinese fruit.

Chipolata (It.). Small Italian sausages. It takes its origin from an Italian ragoût. This name is also given to dishes which contain an addition of Italian sausages, or a kind of mixed minced meat with which they are served.

Choucroute (Fr.). Sauerkraut (Ger.). A kind of pickled cabbage; the national dish of Germany.

Chow-chow. Name of a kind of pickle consisting of a combination of various vegetables, such as cauliflower buds, button onions, gherkins, French beans, and tiny carrots. These are preserved in a kind of mustard sauce, seasoned with strongly flavoured aromatic spices.

Chowder (Eng.). A dish of American origin. It consists of boiled pickled pork cut in slices, fried onions, slices of turbot or other fish, and mashed potatoes, all placed alternately in a stewpan, seasoned with spices and herbs, claret and ketchup, and simmered.

Ciboulette (Fr.). Small green onions, chives.

Citronné (Fr.). Anything which has the taste or flavour of lemon.

Clouter (Fr.). To insert nail-shaped pieces of truffle, bacon, or tongue into meat or poultry. The holes to receive them are made by means of a skewer.

Cochenille (Fr.) (Cochineal). A liquid colouring substance, used for colouring creams, sauces, icing, etc. It is obtained from insects known as coccus, indigenous to Mexico and Guatemala. The insects are dried in an oven heated to 150° Fahr. It requires 70,000 insects to produce a pound of dye.

Cochin de lait (Fr.). Sucking pig (Eng.).

Colbert (Fr.). A French clear soup and other dishes, named after John Baptiste Colbert, a clever statesman in the reign of Louis XIV of France, 1619–1683.

Compiègne (Fr.). A light yeast cake with crystallized fruit. Also name of a famous French castle built by St. Louis and rebuilt by Louis XIV of France. Joan of Arc was taken prisoner here by the English, 1430.

Compote (Fr.). Stew of small birds. Fruit or vegetables stewed and daintily dressed.

Concasser (Fr.). Coarsely pounded.

Condé. Name of an old French family. Prince Louis de Conde (1621-1687) was a famous field-marshal. Several soups and entrées, of which rice forms an essential part, are styled "à la Conde."

Confiture (Fr.). Fruit jams. Also sweetmeats of sugar and fruits. Fruit pastes.

Consommé. Clear gravy soup. The clarified liquor in which meat or poultry has been boiled, or the liquor from the stock pot clarified.

Contiser (Fr.). To insert truffles into fillets of meat or fish.

Cordon (Fr.). A cord or ribbon bestowed as a badge of honour.

Cordon Bleu (Fr.). An ancient culinary distinction bestowed on skilful female cooks in France since the time of Louis XV. It consists of a rosette made of dark blue ribbon.

Cordon Rouge. Name of culinary distinction, granted by an English society of the same title to skilful cooks of both sexes, and to others who are celebrated for the invention of valuable articles of food or drink. The badge of the Order consists of a modelled white heart cherry, suspended by a cherry-red ribbon.

Côte (Fr.). A rib slice of beef or veal. The word côtelette is derived from côte, and means a piece of meat with the portion of the rib attached.

Côtelettes (Fr.). Cutlets. Small slices of meat cut from the neck of veal, mutton, lamb, or pork. Also thin slices of meat from other parts.

Cou-de-gin de modène (Fr.). Name of a special kind of Italian sausage.

Cougloff (Fr.). Kugelhopf (Ger.). A German cake; a kind of rich dough cake.

Coulibriac. Name of a Russian dish—a kind of fish-cake mixture wrapped up in Brioche paste and baked.

Coulis (Fr.). A rich savoury stock sauce; German grundsauce, i.e. bottom sauce below the fat, lean sauce of a bruise or blanc.

Court-Bouillon (Fr.). Name given to a broth in which fish has been boiled; a highly seasoned fish stock and stew.

Crapaudine (Fr.). A grating gridiron; hence "mettre à la crapaudine," to grill, e.g. pigeons. Gridiron. Meaning browned or grilled over, or in front of a fire.

Craquelins (Fr.). Cracknels (Eng.). Milk biscuits.

Crécy, Potage à la (Fr.). Crécy or carrot soup (Eng.). A vegetable purée said to have been invented by Baron Brisse. Dishes named "à la Crécy" are generally connected with carrots in the form of a purée.

Crêpes (Fr.). French pancakes (Eng.).

Crêtes (Fr.). Giblets of poultry or game.

Croquantes (Fr.). A transparent mixture of various kinds of fruit and boiled sugar.

Croquants. Confections giving the sound of crunching or cracking between the teeth.

Croque en Bouche (Fr.). Large set pieces for suppers or dinners, such as nougat, iced cakes, fruits, covered with boiled sugar to give them a brilliant appearance. The real meaning of the word is "crackle in the mouth."

Croquettes (Fr.). Savoury mince of fowl, meat or fish, prepared with sauce to bind, variously shaped; generally egged, crumbed, and fried crisp.

Croustades (Fr.). Shapes of fried bread, rice or pastry, in which various mixtures are served.

Croûtes. Blocks or shapes of fried bread, used as a basis for dressing salmis, whole birds, etc.

Croûte-au-pot. Clear soup garnished with small crisply-baked slices of bread.

Croutons (Fr.). Sippets of fried or toasted bread cut into dice shapes and fried, used for garnishing dishes.

Cuillères de cuisine (Fr.) are wooden spoons. The use of wooden spoons is strongly recommended instead of metal spoons, especially for stirring sauces. The latter often contain acids which produce a black colour.

Cuisine (Fr.). Kitchen, cookery. Faire la cuisine, to cook or to dress victuals.

Cuissot. The haunch. Cuissot de veau, cuissot de cochon, cuissot de boeuf. etc.

Culinaire (Fr.). This term is applied to anything connected with the kitchen or the art of cooking. A good cook is called "un artiste culinaire."

Culotte. Aitchbone of beef.

Curaçao (Fr.). A liqueur prepared from the yellow part of the rind of a peculiar kind of bitter orange grown in the island of Curaçao, S. America, whence its name. Used for flavouring creams, jellies, ices, etc.


Dampfnudeln (Ger.) (literally steam-nudels). Ribbon macaroni steamed. A sweet dish popular in Germany.

Dariole (Fr.). A kind of small entrée pâté, composed of a compound of forcemeat or mince, baked or steamed in small moulds. Certain small tarts are called by this name. The name usually applies to the shape of the moulds. Also some kinds of cheese-cakes are called darioles. Kettner asserts that a dariole means something made of milk. Origin of the word unknown.

Darne (Fr.). The middle cut of large fish, salmon or cod.

D'Artois (Fr.). A kind of French pastry (puff paste and jam).

Daub or Daube (Fr.). Meats or poultry stewed, larded.

Daubière (Fr.). An oval-shaped stewpan, in which meats or birds are to be daubed or stewed.

Dauphine (Fr.). A style of garnish; also name of a kind of dough-nuts,

beignets, etc. A kind of potato croquette. Known in Germany as Berliner Pfannkuchen.

Débrider (Fr.). To untruss; to remove the strings or skewers from a piece of meat or bird.

Dégraisser (Fr.). To skim off fat or grease from soups, etc.

Désosser (Fr.). To bone; to remove the bones from meat, poultry, or game.

Dhall or Dholl. A kind of pulse much used in India for kedgeree, or as a kind of porridge. In England it is best represented by split peas or lentils.

Diable (Fr.). "Devil." The term is applied to dishes with sharp and hot seasoning.

Dîner (Fr.). Dinner (Eng.). "L'heure du diner," dinner hour, in Henry VIII's time was at 11a.m.

Dormant or Surtout de table (Fr.). Decorative objects which are left on the table to the end of a meal.

Dorure or Dorer (Fr.). Beaten yolks of eggs, used for brushing over pastry, etc.

Dragées (Fr.). Sugar plum (Eng.). A kind of sweetmeat made of fruits, small pieces of rinds or aromatic roots, covered with a coating of icing.

Dunelm. A dish of braised mutton or veal, originating from Durham, the Roman name of which was Dunelm.

Duxelles or D'Uxelles (Fr.). A name given to a mixture of chopped mushrooms, shallots, parsley, etc. added to sauce. Name of a French marquis, a great gourmand and gastronomer, who lived at the end of the seventeenth century. Author of an excellent book on French cookery. A savoury purée (mince) and a sauce are known by this name.


Échauder (Fr.). To steep in boiling water. This is often done with fowls or game, to facilitate the removing of the feathers or hair.

Éclair (Fr.). A French pastry filled with cream or custard.

Éclanche (Fr.). Shoulder of mutton.

Ecossaise (a l'). Scotch style.

Émincé (Fr.). Minced; finely sliced or shredded.

Émonder (Fr.). To blanch almonds. When almonds are steeped in boiling water in order to peel them, the French say "on les émonde."

En couronne. Anything dished in the shape of a crown.

Entrée (Fr.). A course of dishes, or corner dish for the first course; the conventional term for hot or cold side dishes. Also defined as dishes generally served with a sauce.

Entremets (Fr.). Dainty dishes of vegetables or hot and cold sweets and after-dinner savouries served as second course.

Epigrammes (Fr.). "A short pointed poem." Used as a culinary term for small fillets of poultry and game, and the breast of lamb or mutton braised and divided into small portions, egged, crumbed and fried. Also defined as a dish of alternate cutlets of the neck and breast.

Escalopes (Fr.). Thin round steaks of veal called "collops." Obsolete cascalope, meaning thin slices of any kind of meat, usually egged, crumbed and fried. Fish, meat, etc., served in scallop shells.

Escargot (Fr.). The edible vineyard snail.

Estouffade (Fr.) or Etuvée. A term used to denote a way of cooking meats, etc., slowly in a covered stewpan.


Faire Revenir (Fr.). A term often used in French cookery books; meaning to partially fry meat or vegetables, slightly browning without actually cooking them.

Fanchonnettes (Fr.). Small custard tartlets masked with meringue.

Farce (Fr.). Forcemeat or stuffing, from the Latin word farsum, to fill, to stuff. From this is derived the word farcimen, a sausage. The term is applied to herb preparations of which meat forms no part, as well as forcemeats consisting principally of meat.

Faubonne (Fr.). A vegetable puree soup seasoned with savoury herbs.

Faux (Fr.) (false). Used in "potage à la fausse tortue" (mock turtle soup).

Fécule (Fr.). A fine flour used for binding soups and sauces.

Fermière (à la) (Fr.). Farmhouse style. Denotes a garnish consisting of cooked carrots, lettuce, cauliflower, and small round fried potatoes.

Feuilletage (Fr.). Puff paste; leafy, flaky.

Fidelini (It.). A kind of straight vermicelli paste.

Filet (Fr.). Fillet. The under-cut of a loin of beef, mutton, veal, pork and game. Boned breasts of poultry, birds, and the boned sides of fish also are called fillets.

Financière (Fr.). Name of a very rich ragoût used in entrées consisting of cocks' combs, truffles, etc.

Fines-herbes (Fr.). A combination of finely chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, tarragon, chervil and other kitchen herbs; mostly used in omelets and sauces.

Flamande (à la). (Fr.) Flemish style. A garnish consisting of braised savoy cabbage and a macedoine of vegetables.

Flamber (Fr.). To singe poultry or game. To cover a pudding or omelet with spirit and set it alight.

Fleurons (Fr.). Small half-moon shapes of puff paste, baked, used for garnishing entrées.

Flummery (Eng.). Cold sweet dish, mainly of cereals, originally of oatmeal set in a mould and turned out. To be eaten with wine, cider, milk or a compound sauce. Dutch flummery is made with isinglass, yolks and flavourings; Spanish flummery, of cream, rice flour, cinnamon and sugar; to be eaten with sweet preserves.

Foie-gras (Fr.). Fat goose liver.

Foie de veau (Fr.). Calf's liver.

Foncer (Fr.). To line the bottom of a stewpan with slices of ham or bacon.

Fond (Fr.). Strong gravy, meat, stock; bottom, as in "fond d'artichaut."

Fondant (Fr.). Melting. A soft kind of icing; dessert bon-bons.

Fondue (Fr.). A preparation of melted cheese, originally made in Switzerland. A savoury.

Fouettée (Fr.). Whipped with the whisk.

Fourré (Fr.). Coated with sugar, cream, etc.

Fraises (Fr.). Strawberries.

Framboises (Fr.). Raspberries.

Française (à la) (Fr.). In a manner peculiar to France.

Frangipane. A substitute for custards made of milk, some flour, with an addition of lemon-peel, rum, brandy, vanilla, etc., to flavour.

Frapper (Fr.). To place on ice. Ice (used when cooling champagne). To beat or strike.

Fricandeau (Fr.). Braised larded fillet of veal. This dish is supposed to have been invented by Jean de Carême, who was the direct ancestor of the famous Carême. He was cook to Pope Leo X. This pontiff possessed magnificent tastes; he fostered the genius of Raphael the painter, and encouraged also the genius which could discover a fricandeau.

Fricandelles (Fr.). Small thin braised steaks of veal or game.

Fricandines (Fr.). Small round patties containing mince. Something crisply fried, such as rissoles and croquettes.

Fricassée (Fr.). Fricasseed. The word comes from the English freak, brisk, dainty. A white stew of chicken or veal.

Frit (Fr.). Fried in shallow or deep fat.

Frittata (It.). An Italian dish; a kind of rolled pancake crumbed and fried in fat.

Friture (Fr.). This word has two significations; it applies to the fat, which may be oil, lard or dripping in which articles are fried. It is also applied to anything that has been fried, such as egged and crumbed fried fish, fried potatoes; croquettes or rissoles being pre-eminently popular under this term.

Fromage glacé (Fr.). A dish of ice-cream in a cheese-like shape, or anything glazed with cheese.

Fumet (Fr.). The flavour or essence of game, fish, or any highly flavoured concentrated substance used to impart a rich flavour to certain dishes.


Galantine (Fr.). A dish of white meat, rolled, served cold. A fowl or breast of veal, boned and stuffed with farce, tongue, truffle, etc.

Galette (Fr.). A kind of French pastry. A species of light breakfast roll.

Galimafré (Fr.). A kind of ragoût made of cold meat. Origin of the word unknown.

Gargotage (Fr.). Badly dressed victuals.

Gastronomie (Fr.). Gastronomy. The art of good living. Strictly speaking, the science of life, by which we discover what food, under various circumstances, is the most suitable; it also teaches us the effect it bears upon man individually or a nation.—"The Autocrat of the Dinner Table."

Gâteau (Fr.). A round flat cake, generally decorated. Essentially a cake made of well-beaten butter dough.

Gaufre (Fr.). A thin wafer-like biscuit; wafer; baked or fried in specially constructed gaufre moulds. These consist of two opposed plates, and are worked by handles.

Gelée (Fr.). Jelly. Inspissated juice of fruit or meat. "En gelée," set very thinly in sweet or savoury jelly.

Génevoise (à la) (Fr.). Geneva style.

Genièvre (Fr.). Juniper berry. A blue-black berry, possessing a peculiar aromatic flavour, used as a flavouring condiment in mirepoix, marinades, etc.; also used in syrups and liqueurs.

Génoise (Fr..). Genoese style. Also the name of a rich sponge cake. A brown fish sauce.

Ghee. An Indian word for clarified butter. Indian butter is generally prepared from buffaloes' milk.

Gibier (Fr.). Game. Animals taken in the chase.

Gibolette (Fr.). A rabbit stew dressed with butter, onions and olive-shaped potatoes.

Gigot à sept heures, or Gigot à la cuillère (Fr.). A leg of mutton which has been cooked for seven hours, when it may be carved with a spoon.

Gimblettes (Fr.). A kind of French pastry, resembling and prepared similarly to croque en bouche.

Gitana (Sp.). Signifies a garnish of which Spanish onions form the chief part. Gipsy fashion.

Glacé (Fr.). Frozen, iced or glazed; coated or masked with glaze.

Glace de sucre (Fr.). (Glace royale). Icing sugar; very fine dust sugar.

Glace de viande (Fr.). Meat glaze.

Glacer (Fr.). To glaze.

Glasure or glaze. A sugar icing.

Glaze (Eng.). Stock or gravy reduced to the thickness of jelly; used for glazing meats, etc., to improve their appearance. Well-made glaze adheres firmly to the meat. Used also for strengthening soups and sauces.

Gnocchi (It.). A light savoury dough, boiled and served with grated Parmesan cheese (Italian dish).

Godiveau (Fr.). Rich veal forcemeat. Quenelles. Used as a garnish almost exclusively.

Goulash or Gulash. A Hungarian dish. Finely sliced beef or veal stew, highly seasoned with paprika (a kind of mild capsicum pepper).

Gourmand (Fr.). An epicure; a ravenous eater; a glutton.

Gourmet (Fr.). A judge of good living; one who values and enjoys good eating; connoisseur in wine.

Goût (Fr.). Taste or savour. Relish, to perceive by the tongue; the sense of tasting; an intellectual relish.

Goûter (Fr.). An afternoon meal; a meat tea. To taste, to relish.

Gramolata (It.) A kind of half-frozen lemon. Water-ice served in glasses.

Gras (au) (Fr.). Dressed with rich meat gravy.

Gratin (au) (Fr.). A term applied to certain dishes prepared with sauce, garnish and breadcrumbs, and baked brown in the oven or under a salamander; served in the dish on which baked.

Gratiner (Fr.). To brown the surface of contents of a dish.

Grenadine (Fr.). Small fillets of veal or fowl larded and braised.

Griotte (Fr.). A dark-red cherry, called Armenian cherry, suitable for compote and jam.

Groseilles (Fr.). Gooseberries or currants.

Guinée pepper (Eng.). Poivre de guinée (Fr.). A kind of cayenne, prepared from the seeds of the ripe chilli or capsicum annum. Also called chilli pepper. Large quantities of this aromatic plant are grown in Cayenne, in South America. The name of Guinée pepper is also given to the ground seeds of dried fruit of certain plants of the same kind as capsicums, all of which are of a pungent character, and are products of West Africa.

Guisado (Sp.). A Spanish dish, mostly prepared with meat and potatoes stewed together.

Gumbo. The American term for okra soup, or other preparations from okra, gumbo being the name by which okra is chiefly known in South America. Chicken gumbo is a purée or soup made from okra and chicken.


Hache (Fr.). Minced meat, finely sliced meat.

Hacher-menu (Fr.). To mince meat finely.

Haggis. A kind of liver sausage (Scotch dish), from "Hag." to chop, or "Hachis," to mince. The modern haggis consists of the liver, lights and the heart of a sheep finely chopped, mixed with oatmeal and suet, and seasoning. This is inserted in a sheep's paunch and boiled for several hours. Robert Burns greatly esteemed this dish, which was, it is said, a favourite dish of the Romans.

Halaszle. A Hungarian fish stew.

Haricots panachés (Fr.). French beans or string beans mixed with flageolets (green kidney beans).

Hâtelet (Fr.). A small silver skewer garnished with cut roots, truffles, mushrooms, aspic, cocks' combs, etc., used for ornamenting fish and remove dishes.

Hâtereau (Fr.). A dish of sliced liver; a ragoût popular in Bretagne.

Hautboy (Eng.). A species of strawberry.

Hautgoût (Fr.). Good taste. High flavour or strong seasoning.

Hollandaise (Fr.). Dutch style. Name of a cream-like sauce served with fish or vegetables.

Horly. See Orly.

Hors d'oeuvres (Fr.). Small side dishes, served cold, generally before the soup, in order to create an appetite. They consist of anchovies, caviare, sardines and other dainty relishes. "

Hure (Fr.). Boar or pig's head; also head and shoulders of some large fish.

Hure de sanglier (Fr.), Wild boar's head.

Indienne (à l') (Fr.). Indian style, peculiar to India.

Irlandaise (à l') (Fr.). Irish style. This term is applied to dishes containing potatoes in some form, either introduced during the process of cooking, or else served round a dish to form its garnish.


Jambon (Fr.). Ham. Name given to the hind leg of pork, which is salted and cured or smoked.

Jambonneau (Fr.). A very small ham.

Jardinière (Fr.). A garnish of mixed spring vegetables; vegetables stewed down in their own sauce.

Jaune-Mange (Fr.). A kind of egg jelly made from gelatine, white wine, lemons, sugar and eggs. It is so called on account of its yellow colour.

Jernik-Kalwasi. A Russian dish, consisting of semolina, milk and honey.

Julep. Ancient Arabian name for a cooling drink containing mucilage, opium, etc. An American drink.

Julienne (Fr.). Name of a vegetable clear soup, first made in 1875 by a cook named Jean Julien; also a garnish consisting of fine strips of mixed vegetables.

Junket (Eng.). From the Latin word juncus. Name of a favourite Devonshire dish, which consists of milk turned with rennet, double cream, sugar and ground cinnamon or other flavouring. Usually served with fruit, fresh or preserved.

Jus (Fr.). Juice, broth, gravy. The juice of cooked meats seasoned, but without any liaison (thickening).


Kabobs (Khubab) or Kebobs. Name of a dish served in India and Turkey, consisting of small slices of mutton run on skewers, and grilled or braised.

Kagne (Fr.). A sort of vermicelli.

Kaimak. A Russian sweet, similar to cream custard.

Kari. The translation in French or German of the English word "curry."

Kebobs. See Kabobs.

Kedgeree (Kadgiori, Kitchri, or Kegeree). An Indian dish of fish and rice curried. The name is taken from Khichri, an Indian dish, consisting of boiled or salt fish, eggs and rice, garnished with hard-boiled eggs, strips of chilli, etc.

Kelkel (Ger.). A slice of sole dried and salted.

Kickshaw (Eng.). Espice de ragoût or charcuterie (Fr.). This is a name used in cookery which may be given to any dish prepared with extraordinary nicety; but it is usually applied to such things as are regarded luxuries by the rich.

Klôsse (Ger.). German dish, composed of small light balls boiled in water, milk or gravy. They are made of bread, potatoes, rice and eggs, and are varied with meat, fish or liver.

Knôdel (Ger.). Bavarian name for a kind of small dumpling.

Koofthas. Name of an Indian dish; a mince of meat or fowl curried, shaped into balls and fried.

Kromeskis (Kromeskys, Cromeskis or Kromouskys). A Polish word, having the same meaning as croquette in French. Balls or rolls of forcemeat or of minced chicken and ham, wrapped in caul or bacon, braised or crumbed, or else dipped in batter and fried in hot fat.


Lapins en accolade (Fr.). Brace of rabbits placed side by side on a dish.

Légumes (Fr.). Vegetables or plants used as such.

Levure (Fr.). Luting. A flour and water paste used for fastening lids on pie dishes in which game is preserved.

Livournais (à la) (Fr.). Leghorn style.

Lyonnaise (á la) (Fr.). Lyonese style. As a garnish it generally signifies that shredded onion (fried) has been introduced as the principal ingredient.

Macaroni (It.). This is a peculiar paste prepared from flour and manufactured into tubes. It is an Italian invention. The name is said to be derived from a Greek word, meaning the blessed bread, in allusion to the ancient custom of eating it at feasts for the dead.

Macaroons. Sweet biscuits made of almonds, sugar and the white of eggs.

Macédoine (Fr.). A mixture of various kinds of vegetables or fruits, cut in even-shaped discs. The name is also applied to a collection of ripe fruit imbedded in jelly and set in a mould, or a fruit salad flavoured with liqueurs and syrup.

Maçon (Fr.). A French wine grown in the neighbourhood of the town Macon.

Madeleine (Fr.). Small cakes or biscuits well known throughout France. Also the name of a pear.

Madère (Fr.). Madeira wine. A Spanish wine very often used in cooking.

Maigre (au) (Fr.). A dish without meat. Applied to Lenten dishes.

Maintenon. Name of the Marchioness Françoise d'Aubigné; born 1635, died 1719; a great patroness of cooks, a born admirer of fine cooking. Several dishes are called "à la Maintenon," usually signifying some thing broiled in a paper case. The dish "Côtelettes de veau à la Maintenon" is said to have been invented by this lady, who was Louis XIV's favourite, and did all in her power to tempt the failing appetite of the King when he was advanced in age.

Maitrank (Ger.). (May Drink.) A delicious beverage, originally consumed in Germany—made of Hock or other white wine which is flavoured with woodruff, lemon, bay-leaves and sugar.

Maitre d'Hôtel (a la) (Fr.). Hotel stewards' fashion. The name of a flavouring butter, mixed with chopped parsley and seasoned with lemonjuice, pepper and salt; served on grilled meats. Dishes named Maitre d'Hôtel are usually composed of food quickly and plainly prepared, parsley being the principal flavouring.

Maitre d'Hôtel Sauce. A white sauce containing chopped parsley.

Marabout (Fr.). A very large coffee-pot.

Maraschino. Marasquin (Fr.). A delicately flavoured white liqueur, distilled from a species of cherry, grown in Dalmatia, used for flavouring jellies and ices.

Marcassin (Fr.). Grice (Eng.). Young wild boar, generally cooked whole.

Marée (Fr.). A fresh seafish i.e., seafish which is sold quite fresh.

Marinade (Fr.). A preparation of oil, herbs, vinegar, etc., in which fish or meat is soused or pickled.

Marquer' (Fr.). To prepare and arrange in a stewpan a piece of meat for cooking.

Marsala (It.). A wine similar to Madeira, but made from a mixture of different grapes; named after a town in Scilly.

Marzipan (Ger.). Delicate German dessert dainties made from almond paste.

Masquer (Fr.). To sauce a dish which is ready for serving; also to mask the inside of a mould with savoury jelly, chaudfroid sauce or forcemeat, when required for entrées.

Massepan (Fr.). A French dessert pastry.

Maté. A Paraguayan tea. Its real name is Yerba de Maté; it consists of the powdered leaves of a South American species of holly and green shoots of plants. This beverage has long been known to the native Indians of South America.

Matelote (Fr.). A marine dish; a rich fish stew with wine and herb flavouring. Usually prepared from fresh-water fish—carp, tench, pike, eel, etc.

Mayonnaise (Fr.). A kind of salad of fish or poultry, with a thick cold sauce made of yolks of eggs, oil and vinegar. A salad sauce or dressing. The sauce is said to have been invented by the chef to the Duc de Richelieu, after the victory of Mahon (Mahonnaise).

Mazagran. A French term for a glass of black coffee, sugar and water.

Mazarines (Fr.). Turbans. Forcemeat ornaments of fish, poultry or game. Entrées consisting of combined fillets of meat and forcemeat.

Menu (Fr.). The bill of fare. Literally the word means minute detail of courses. A list of the dishes which are to be served at a meal. Menus were first used in 1541. Pronounce "Menu" as "mennuu," so that the second syllable is sounded as something between "new" and "noo."

Menu rot (Fr.). Small roast birds.

Menus droits (Fr.) Pig's ears served up as an entrée.

Merise, Meriser (Fr.). A wild cherry, wild cherry tree. The Kirschwasser is made of this fruit.

Merluche (Fr.). Stock-fish, haddock—dried or smoked.

Mets (Fr.). The meal or dish. "Mets de farine," farinaceous; "entremets de douceur," sweet; "de legumes," vegetable, etc.

Mignonette Pepper. Coarsely-ground white peppercorns. A form of comminuted pepper, which resembles mignonette seed when sifted.

Mijoter (Fr.). To cook slowly; to simmer gently over a small fire.

Millecantons (Fr.). Name of a small fish of the whitebait kind, found in the Lake of Geneva, cooked in the same manner as whitebait. In season in July and August.

Minute (à la) (Fr.). A surname given to dishes which are hurriedly prepared, or anything cooked in the quickest possible style. Omelets and grills come under this heading.

Mirabelles (Fr.). A kind of small yellow plum, very sweet and juicy, used for compotes, fresh or dried.

Mirepoix (Fr.). The foundation preparation of vegetables, herbs and lard, for brown soups and sauces; also for braised meats, etc. Name derived from the Duke de Mirepoix.

Mirlitons (Fr.). A kind of French pastry. Tartlets with a basis of puff paste and filled with custard mixture.

Miroton (Fr.). Thin slices of meat, the size of a five-shilling piece, braised, stewed and dished up in a circular form.

Mitonner (Fr.). To simmer, to soak. To steep and allow to boil during a certain time.

Möelle de boeuf (Fr.). Beef marrow. The fatty substance in the hollow part of bones.

Mont-Frigoul (Semoule Italienne) (Fr.). The name of a French soup.

Mortadelle (Fr.). A kind of sausage, largely manufactured in Bologna.

Mortifie (Fr.). Term applied to meat well hung.

Mote or Moti. Name of an Indian fish curry.

Mouiller (Fr.). To moisten. To add broth, water or any other suitable juice during the cooking of meats.

Mousse (Fr.). A light ice-cream. Among the definitions given for the word are: mossy, froth, and foam. Mousse frappéc is a dish prepared with whipped cream and flavouring, frozen without working. Hot puddings are also prepared as mousses.

Mousseron (Fr.). A kind of white mushroom, principally used for ragoûts.

Mulligatawny. An Indian curry soup; a paste made of curry; derives its name from two words, tamil and molegoo, pepper and tunnee. Derived from an East Indian word meaning pepper water.

Mûre (Fr.). Mulberry. Black and white fruit of a delicate flavour. Used for making jellies, syrups and vinegar.

Muscade (Fr.). Nutmeg or mace.

Muscat (Fr.). Muscadine (Eng.). A wine, also the grape producing it (muscadine grape).

Muscovado. Name given to unrefined sugar.


Napolitaine (à la) (Fr.). Naples or Neapolitan style.

Napper (Fr.). To cover a dish with a layer of thick sauce, jelly or jam.

Naturel (Fr.) (au natural). Plain, simple. Plainly and quickly prepared.

Navarin (Fr.). A stew of mutton or lamb. A kind of haricot mutton. The name is of ancient origin, being mentioned in one of the plays of Sodelle in the early part of the seventeenth century. Turnips form the principal garniture of a navarin.

Negus. Name of a hot drink composed of port wine, sugar, nutmeg and lemon-juice; so-called after Colonel Negus (in the reign of Queen Anne).

Neige (Fr.). Snow. White of eggs beaten to a snow or a froth.

Nepaul pepper. A red pepper of the same character as cayenne and Guinée pepper, being a species of capsicum of a sweet pungent flavour. It is largely grown in Hindustan.

Nesselrode. Name of a pudding, iced, and flavoured with chestnuts, invented by Mony, chef to the famous Count Nesselrode.

Niokes or Niokies. A farinaceous dish prepared with semolina or Indian maize, flavoured with grated cheese, cream, etc. Of Russian invention.

Nivernaise (à la) (Fr.). Nivernese style.

'Noix de muscat (Fr.). Nutmeg. The fruit of the nutmeg tree; an aromatic spice.

Noques (Fr.). An Italian farinaceous preparation. Small dumplings made from flour, milk or cream, boiled in soup or salt water, and served as garnish.

Normande (à la)(Fr.). Normandy style, with the exception of a dish known as filets de soles à la Normande, and other fish entrées. The application of this name implies that the flavour of apple has in some form or other been introduced into the composition of the dish.

Nougat (Fr.). Almond rock candy. A sweetmeat made with sugar, honey, almonds, pistachios, etc.

Nouilles (Fr.). Nudels. A German preparation, "Nudeln." It consists of a stiff dough made with flour and eggs, rolled out very thinly, cut up in thin strips and boiled, and served as garnish, or fried and served as a sweet. When cooked nouilles resemble macaroni.

Noyau (Fr.). The stone of a fruit; a liqueur flavoured with peach or nectarine kernels.


Okra. Name of a vegetable extensively used in South America. Used as a vegetable and also for soup.

Orangeat (Fr.). Candied orange peel.

Orgeate (Fr.). Barley water or almond milk; a favourite summer drink.

Orloff. A number of dishes or their garniture are thus styled. Orloff is the name of a magnificent diamond, owned by the Russian Count Alexis Orloff, who was known as a great gourmand and epicure.

Orly, also Horly. Name given to dishes prepared in a certain style. Usually slices of fish or meat dipped in a rich batter and fried in fat.


Paillasse (Fr.). A grill over hot cinders.

Pain (Fr.). Bread, forcemeat, fruit purée, etc.

Pain d'épice (Fr.). Spiced bread; a kind of gingerbread.

Palais de boeuf (Fr.) Ox palate.

Panaché (Fr.). Striped, streaked, variegated. Mixed with two or more kinds of vegetables, fruits, etc.; also salads, jellies, or creams.

Panada. Culinary paste of flour and water or soaked bread, used for preparing forcemeat or stuffing.

Paner (Fr.). To egg and breadcrumb.

Pannequets or Crêpes (Fr.). Pancakes.

Panurette (Fr.). A preparation of grated rusks, used for crumbing, for coating the inside of moulds, and for decoration in place of lobster coral.

Paprica. The fleshy fruit of the green and red mild capsicum, grown in the south of Europe, and used as spice for ragoûts or salads.

Paprika. Hungarian red pepper. A kind of sweet capsicum of a brilliant scarlet colour; it is less pungent than the Spanish pepper.

Parisienne (à la) (Fr.). Parisian style. A surname applied to various kinds of dishes, principally meat dishes, which are dressed in a more or less elaborate style. No particular specification as to garnish or mode of cooking can be given, as these vary in almost every dish thus styled.

Parmesan. Name of an Italian cheese, usually made from goat's milk, largely used for culinary purposes.

Passer (Fr.). Pass (Eng.). A word much used in cookery. To pass a sauce, soup, vegetable or meat means to run it through a tammy cloth, sieve or strainer. In culinary language the word "passer" has also the same meaning as faire revenir, i.e. to slightly fry in butter over a quick fire so as to form a crusty surface on meats or vegetables which are intended to be finished by some other process of cooking (usually stewing or braising).

Pâte eroquante (Fr.). Crisp almond and sugar paste.

Pâte feuilletée (Fr.). Puff paste.

Pâte frisée (Fr.). Short paste.

Pâte pastillage (Fr.). Gum paste.

Pâté (Fr.). A pie, pastry; a savoury meat pasty or a raised pie.

Pâté de Périgord. Name of a French pie, which derives its name from Perigueux, a place celebrated for its truffles.

Pâté-de-foie-gras (Fr.). A well-known delicacy prepared from the livers of fat geese. Alsace is the country where the celebrated so-called "terrines de foie-gras" are made. This delicacy was first introduced by a cook named Close.

Pâtiser (Fr.). To make pastry.

Pâtisserie (Fr.). Pastry. A pastry cook's business.

Paupiettes (Fr.). Slices of meat or fish rolled with forcemeat.

Paysanne (à la) (Fr.). Peasant's fashion. Prepared in a homely way.

Pepper Pot. A West Indian dish, consisting of stewed pickled pork or bacon, shellfish, rice, vegetables, and aromatic herbs, highly seasoned with cayenne, okra, chillies and cassareep.

Périgord or Périgueux (à la) (Fr.). Perigord style. This name is applied to dishes in which a truffle sauce or a garniture consisting of truffles has been used.

Perry. (Eng.). Name of a beverage made of pears, similar to cider made of apples. It contains but little alcohol, and when preserved in casks or bottles it keeps good for some years.

Persillade (Fr.). A thick white sauce in which a large quantity of parsley is used.

Petit lait (Fr.). Whey. The thin part of milk.

Petits pains (Fr.). Very small rolls scooped out and stuffed with various kinds of savoury purées; served as savoury or side dishes.

Petits pois verts (Fr.). Small green peas.

Pilau. A Turkish national dish, made of rice and onions, etc.

Pilcaithly Bannock. Name of a kind of Scotch shortbread, consisting of flat round cakes, the paste being composed of flour, butter, sugar, almonds, peel, and caraway seed.

Pièce de resistance. The principal joint or other important dish of a dinner.

Pilaw. An Indian dish made of fish or meat and rice.

Pimento. Allspice. Jamaica pepper. A condiment possessing the combined flavours of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

Piquante (Fr.). Sharp flavoured, stimulating, pungent or sour.

Piquer (Piquée) (Fr.). Larded. To insert narrow strips of fat bacon, truffles, tongue, etc., into lean meat, poultry, game or fish.

Pistaches (Fr.). Pistachios. Kernels of the nut of the turpentine tree, used for flavouring and garnishing galantines, sweets, etc.—an almond-flavoured green nut.

Poêle (Fr.). A cooking pot or pan.

Poêler (Fr.). A mode of braising meat, etc., in a fireproof earthenware pan placed on a charcoal fire.

Polenta (It.). A standard Italian dish made of Indian cornflour. In appearance and taste it resembles semolina.

Pollo con Formaggio. Name of an Italian dish, composed of stewed chicken, highly flavoured with Parmesan cheese.

Pollocowarroz. Name of an Italian dish consisting chiefly of rice stewed in broth (stock).

Polonaise (à la) (Fr.). Polish style. There are two kinds of dishes known under this name. The first is a kind of gratin style (baked), differing somewhat from the ordinary way of baking au gratin. The other is the more generally known, but little appreciated in this country, its characteristic being to introduce the red juices of pickled root and red cabbage and sour cream into various dish à la Polonaise and ragoûts à la Polonaise are types of dishes in which this peculiar flavour is introduced.

Posset. Hot milk curdled with wine, ale, vinegar, treacle or acid; from the Welsh, posel, curdled milk.

Potage (Fr.). Soup. A nourishing broth or liquor, forming the first course of a dinner.

Pot-au-feu (Fr.) is an economical and wholesome beef broth. It is the standard dish of all classes in France, and the origin of beef stock.

Pot pourri. A stew of various kinds of meats and spices a favourite dish in Spain.

Potrock. Name of a Russian thick soup.

Poularde (Fr.). A very fat fowl or fine pullet.

Poule-au-pot (Fr.). A boiled fowl served with reduced pot-liquor and vegetables.

Poulet en casserole. Chicken fried and basted with butter in an earthenware stewpan. When the chicken is browned in the butter the lid is put on the stewpan, and it is allowed to cook slowly till done, being basted occasionally.

Poulet à la Reine (Fr.). Chicken dressed with white sauce. Name given to fine specimens of young chickens.

Poulette (Fr.). A young hen. A sauce made of flour, stock, butter and chopped herbs, used for the dishes prepared "à la pouletee."

Poulpeton or Polpetti. Slices of veal with minced meat.

Poupelin (Fr.). A kind of pastry.

Poupeton (Fr.). A ragoût of fish or flesh enclosed in rice and baked brown.

Praline (Fr.). Burnt almond.

Praliné (Fr.). Flavoured with burnt almonds.

Pré-salé (Fr.). Meat of prime mutton (Southdown mutton).

Profiteroles (Fr.). A kind of light cake, baked in hot ashes, and filled with cream or custard.

Provençale (à la) (Fr.). A surname for certain French dishes, indicating generally that garlic or onion and olive oil has been used in the preparation.

Pumpernickel (Ger.). Westphalian brown bread.

Punch à la Romaine (Fr.). A kind of soft white ice, made from lemon-juice white of egg, sugar, and rum. It is served in goblets, usually after the remove, and acts as a digestive. It forms a sort of interlude between two acts of that grand play—the dinner.

Purée (Fr.). A smooth pulp, mashed vegetables, thick soup. The name is also given to meat or fish which is cooked, pounded in a mortar, and passed through a sieve.


Quark (Ger.). Name of a German cheese, similar to curd cheese, known in France as "fromage mou."

Quartier d'agneau (Fr.). A quarter of lamb.

Quasi de veau (Fr.). The chump end of a loin of veal.

Quenèfres (Fr.). An Italian paste, similar to macaroni—used for soups, etc.

Quenelles (Fr.). Forcemeat of different kinds, composed of fish, poultry or meat, eggs, etc., shaped in various forms—balls, ovals, etc., poached, and served as an entrée or garnish to soup, etc.

Queue (Fr.). Tail. "Queues de boeuf," "queues d'ecrevisses." Ox-tail, crayfish tails, etc.

Quoorma. Name of a very mild Indian curry.


Rafraichir (Fr.). To refresh or cool by immersion in cold water or refrigeration.

Ragoût (Fr.). A rich stew of meat, highly seasoned.

Ramequin (Fr.). Ramakin. Cheese fritter; small fondues served in china or paper cases.

Râper (Fr.). To scrape, shred, rasp or grate.

Ratafie or Ratafia. A culinary essence; the essence of bitter almonds. A special kind of almond biscuits, in the shape of drops, are called ratafias. The name is also given to a liqueur flavoured with almonds.

Raton (Fr.). A kind of cheesecake.

Ravigote (Fr.). A very richly flavoured green herb sauce; served cold. First heard of in 1720. Ducereau, a French writer, mentions it in one of his poems.

Ravioles (Fr.). Small round nouille-paste dumplings, filled with spinach, forcemeat, etc. Used as garniture for soups.

Réchauffé (Fr.). Warmed-up meat recooked or redressed.

Réchauffer. To re-heat.

Réduire (Fr.). To boil down, to reduce; to boil liquid gradually to a desired consistency.

Relever (Fr.). To remove, to turn up, to raise.

Relevé (Fr.). The remove. A course of a dinner, consisting of large joints of meat, four-footed game, and sometimes joints of fish.

Remouillage (Fr.). Second stock.

Rémoulade (Fr.). A cold sauce, flavoured with savoury herbs and mustard, used as salad-dressing, etc.

Renaissance (Fr.). Something reintroduced. A word used for dishes of modern invention.

Rennet. The name given to the prepared inner membrane of a calf's, pig's, hare's or fowl's stomach; used for curdling or coagulating milk.

Rillettes (Fr.). A French savoury meat preparation, used for hors d'oeuvres and savouries.

Ris de veau (Fr.). Calf's sweetbread.

Rissolé (ée) (Fr.). Well browned, fried or baked, covered with crumbs.

Rissoles (Fr.). A mixture of minced fish or meat, enclosed in paste, half-moon shapes, and fried in fat or butter.

Rissolettes. Similar to rissoles; thin pancakes being used in place of paste.

Rizzered Haddie. The name of a Scotch dish, made from haddocks or codfish dried in the sun.

Rognons (Fr.). Kidneys.

Romaine (Fr.). Cos lettuce. "À la Romaine," Roman style.

Romankeintjes (Du.). A Dutch pastry made of eggs, sugar, and almonds.

Roquefort (Fr.). Roquefort, a highly-esteemed French cheese.

Rôti (Fr.). The roast, indicating the course of a meal which is served before the entremets. Roast meat, poultry, and game.

Roulade (Fr.). Roll, rolling. Rolled meat smoked and cooked.

Roux (Fr.). A preparation of butter and flour for thickening soups and sauces.

Royal. Name of an egg custard used for garnishing clear soups. Also the name applied to an icing (glace royale), made with whites of egg and icing sugar, and used for coating and decoration.


Sabayon (Fr.). Pudding sauce, composed of cream or milk, sugar, white wine, and eggs.

Saccharometer. A culinary thermometer. An instrument to test the various degrees of heat for cooking.

Saignant (Fr.). Underdone, bloody.

Saindoux (Fr.). Hog's lard. Used for frying and for modelling socles, flowers, etc.

Salade (Fr.). Salad. Raw herbs, edible plants, raw and cooked vegetables, etc., dressed with oil and vinegar.

Salamandre (Fr.). An utensil which, after being made red hot, is used for browning any dishes that want colour.

Saler (Fr.). To salt, to season with salt. "Saler de la viande," to cure meat.

Saleratus. A kind of baking powder, consisting of potash, incorporated with an acid. A natural mineral water.

Sally Luns or Lunn. Name of a kind of tea-cake, slightly sweetened and raised with brewer's yeast. Sally Lunn was a pastrycook who, at the close of the eighteenth century, used to make and sell a kind of tea-biscuits known as Sally Lunns. She used to sell these in the streets of Bath.

Salmagundi. Name of a very old English supper dish. It is a kind of meat salad, mixed and decorated with hard-boiled eggs, anchovy, pickles, and beetroot.

Salmi or Salmis. A hash made of half-roasted game.

Salpicon. A mince of poultry or game with ham, tongue, and mushrooms, used for croquettes, bouchées, rissoles, etc.

Salsify or Salsifls. An edible plant; sometimes called oyster plant, the flavour of the root resembling somewhat that of the oyster.

Salzgurken (Ger.). A German pickle served with boiled or roast meats, made of cucumbers soused in salt water.

Samp. A food composed of coarsely-ground maize, boiled and eaten with milk (American dish).

Sanbaglione. A delicious sweet chocolate cream, served in glasses either hot or cold.

Sangaree. The name of an Indian punch drink. It is made with sherry, water, lemon-juice, and sugar.

Sangler (Fr.). To strap, to girth. To prepare the ice mixture ready for freezing. One part of salt to five parts of broken ice is the proper proportion used for freezing.

Sapaceau (Fr.). An egg punch.

Sarbotière (Fr.). A pewter freezing-pot or freezing-pan.

Sassafras. The name of an agreeable beverage much drunk in North America. A tree of the laurel family.

Sasser (Fr.). To sift. To stir rapidly with a spoon in a stewpan.

Sauce piquante (Fr.). A sharp sauce.

Saucer (Fr.). To sauce over the contents of a dish.

Saucière (Fr.). A sauceboat. A deep narrow-shaped dish, in which sauce is served.

Saucisse (Fr.). French pork sausages.

Saucisson (Fr.). Smoked sausages.

Sauerkraut (Ger.). Choucroute (Fr.). Sourkrout (Eng.). A kind of pickled cabbage; cabbage preserved in brine. A national dish of Germany. Served hot with bacon or sausages.

Saugrenee (Fr.). A French process of cooking, implying stewed with a little water, butter, salt, and herbs. Despois à la saugrenee are stewed peas, cooked as above described.

Saur (Fr.). Smoke-dried.

Saurer (Fr.). To dry or cure in smoke.

Saute-pan. Sautoire (Fr.). A shallow, thin-bottomed cooking-pan made of copper.

Sauter (ée) (Fr.). To toss over the fire, in a saute or frying-pan, with little butter or fat. Anything that requires a sharp fire and quick cooking.

Sauterne(Fr.). A French white wine, produced at Sauterne, in the Gironde, France; much used in cookery.

Schmorbraten (Ger.). A German dish, consisting of rump of beef braised (à la mode fashion), garnished with mushrooms, gherkins, and braised vegetables.

Scots Kail. Name of a thick broth; a kind of pot-au-feu, served as a standing dish in Scotland. A variety of cabbage.

Sevigné (Fr.). A French soup named after the Marchioness Sevigne, of Rabutin-Chantal, a French authoress, born 1626, died 1696.

Sillsillat. A Swedish dish; a salad of pickled herring, with mussels, meat, eggs, onion and beetroot.

Simnel cake. A Lenten or Easter cake, with raised crust, coloured with saffron, the interior being filled with the materials of a very rich plum pudding. They are made up very stiff, boiled in a cloth for several hours, then brushed over with egg, and baked.

Singer (Fr.). To imitate. To dust with flour from the dredging-box.

Slapjack. A kind of broad flat pancake.

Sling. A drink made of rum and water, sweetened with grated nutmeg.

Socles. Stands of fat, rice, etc., used to raise entrées, etc., above the level of the dish.

Sorbet (Fr.). An iced Turkish drink. Also the name of a water ice with fruit or liqueur flavour, usually served in goblets.

Soubise (Fr.). A smooth onion pulp served with various kinds of meat entreés. The name is supposed to come from Prince Charles Soubise (born 1715, died 1787), who was a celebrated epicure. He served as a field-marshal during the reign of Louis XIV of France. As a surname to dishes, à la Soubise is generally applied when onions enter largely into the composition of a dish; the term implies a strong onion flavour, or a garnish of onion purée.

Soufflé (Fr.). A very light baked or steam pudding; an omelet. Also applied to light savoury creams.

Soufflé glacé (Fr.). A very light sweet cream mixture, iced and served in cases.

Soy. The name of a dark-brown sauce, originally made in Japan; there are many English relishes in which soy is employed as one of the ingredients.

Spaghetti (It.). An Italian cord-like paste, intermediate in size between macaroni and vermicelli.

Spread Eagle (Eng.). Poulet a la Crapotine (Fr.). A young fat chicken split down the back, flattened, breast bone removed, seasoned, oiled or buttered, and grilled or baked.

Squab (Eng.). A young pigeon; name used particularly in North America.

Squab chicken, a young chicken, applicable to animals while young, fat, and clumsy. Squab pie is therefore primarily a (young) pigeon pie. Such a pie becomes Devonshire squab pie by the addition of apples. Squab pigeons—innocents of French cooks.

Stechi. A Russian oatmeal soup.

Stirabout. Name of an Irish dish similar to Scotch porridge.

Succotash. An American dish made of green corn and Lima beans. The dish is said to be borrowed from the Narraganset Indians, known to them as msickquatash.

Suédoise (à la) (Fr.). Swedish style.

Suprême (Fr.). A rich, delicately flavoured cream sauce, made from chicken stock, etc.

Syllabub. A kind of milk punch flavoured with liqueurs and spices. Usually served in glasses.

Tagliarini (It.). A kind of macaroni paste cut in fine shreds.

Tailler la soupe (Fr.). A culinary expression. Thin slices or crusts of bread placed in a soup tureen are called tailler. "Tremper la soupe" is the French term applied when the broth is poured over the slices.

Talmouse (Fr.). A kind of French pastry, sweet or savoury, made in the shape of parsons' caps.

Tamis (Fr.). Tammy. Woollen canvas cloth which is used for straining soups and sauces.

Tansy (Eng.). A herb with strong aromatic flavour, sometimes used for flavouring in puddings. A variety of custard.

Tarragon (Eng.). Estragon (Fr.). Aromatic plant used for flavouring vinegar, sauces, etc.

Tartare (Fr.). A cold sauce, made of yolks of egg, oil, mustard, capers, gherkins, etc., served with fried fish or cold meats; also a salad dressing.

Terrapin. South American, fresh-water and tidal turtle, very little known and used in England.

Terrine (Fr.). A small earthenware pan or pot, used for potting foie-gras, pâtés and potted meats. A tureen for soup.

Tête de veau (Fr.). Calf's head.

Timbale (Fr.). Literally "kettle-drum." A kind of crusted hash baked in a mould.

Tobasco. Name of a savoury Indian dish.

Toddy. An American punch. The fundamental juice of various palms of the East Indies; a mixture of whisky, sugar, and hot water.

Tokai (Fr.). Tokay (Eng.). A wine produced at Tokay, in Hungary; a variety of grape.

Tom and Jerry. An American drink of hot rum and eggs, spiced and sweetened; an egg punch.

Tomber à glace (Fr.). To reduce a liquid till it has the appearance of a thick syrup.

Tonalchile (Fr.). Guinea pepper.

Topinambours (Fr.). Jerusalem artichokes.

Tortue (Fr.). Turtle; also called sea-tortoise.

Toulouse (à la) (Fr.). A rich white stew of white meats, mushrooms, truffles, etc., used for filling crusts or for garnishing.

Tournedos (Fr.). Small thin fillets of beef served as entrees. First served in Paris in 1855.

Tourner (Fr.). To turn. To stir a sauce; also to pare and cut roots.

Tourte (Fr.). An open tart baked in a round shallow tin; also a flat dough case in which ragoûts are served.

Tourtelettes (Fr.). Small tartlets.

Tranche (Fr.). Slice. Mostly applied to salmon, cod, etc.

Trautmannsdorff (Ger.). Name of an Austrian count, born 1749, died 1827. Several sweets are styled after his name.

Trousser (Fr.). To tie up, to truss a bird.

Truffer (Fr.). To garnish a sauce with truffles, or to season the interior of poultry or game with truffle stuffing, such as capons, turkeys, and pheasants.

Truite saumonée (Fr.). Salmon trout.

Tutti-frutti (It.). An Italian expression for various kinds of fruits, or a mixture of cooked vegetables.

Tyrolienne (à la) (Fr.). Tyrolean style.

Usquebaugh. The name of an Irish beverage (whisky), consisting of a compound spirit made with spices and sugar.


Vanille (à la). Flavoured with vanilla.

Vanner (Fr.). To stir a sauce quickly so as to work it up lightly in order to make it smooth.

Vénitienne (à la) (Fr.). Venetian style.

Velouté (Fr.). A rich white sauce. Foundation sauce.

Vermicelle (Fr.). Vermicelli (It.). Very fine rolls of paste, made from the dough of wheat flour, and forced through cylinders or pipes till it takes a slender, worm-like form, when it is dried; used in soups, puddings, and for crumbing.

Vert-pré (Fr.). Name of a green herb sauce or garnish.

Viande (Fr.). Meat, viands. An ancient name for victuals.

Viennoise (à la). Vienna or Viennese style.

Vin blanc (au) (Fr.). Dressed with white wine.

Vinaigre (Fr.). Vinegar. Vinaigrer, to season with vinegar.

Vinaigrette (Fr.). A sauce of vinegar, oil, pepper, and herbs.

Volaille (Fr.). Poultry, chicken.

Vol-au-vent (Fr.). A light round puff paste crust, filled with delicately flavoured ragoûts of chicken, sweetbread, etc. (à la financiére).

Volière. Birdcage style of dressing poultry or game.

Vopalliére. A dish of small chicken fillets, larded and braised, served with truffle sauce.

Vraie tortue (Fr.). Real turtle.


Xeres (Sp.). Spanish strong wine of deep amber colour and aromatic flavour; so-called from Xeres, a place near Cadiz.


Zabyajone (It.). A frothing mixture of wine, yolks of eggs and sugar, thickened over the fire and served hot in glasses.

Zambaglione. A kind of chocolate cream, served in glasses either hot or cold.

Zéphire (Fr.). Name of a small oval-shaped forcemeat dumpling, a kind of quenelle, poached and served with a rich sauce.

Zuppa al brodo. A fish broth with toasted bread and cheese.

Zythum or Zythos. A liquid made from malt and wheat; a kind of malt beverage.