Cooking Lessons Cooking Vocabulary 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Your recipe says to "reduce" the sauce by half. What should you do?
- Pour off half the sauce and discard it
- Dilute it with an equal amount of water
- Simmer it uncovered until half the liquid evaporates (Correct answer)
- Strain it through a fine sieve twice
Correct answer: Simmer it uncovered until half the liquid evaporates
Reducing means simmering a liquid so water evaporates, concentrating flavor and thickening the sauce.
Question 2: What does it mean to "cream" butter and sugar?
- Melt them together over low heat
- Chill them until firm
- Cut cold butter into sugar with a fork
- Beat them together until light and fluffy (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Beat them together until light and fluffy
Creaming beats softened butter with sugar to incorporate air, which helps cakes and cookies rise.
Question 3: A "chiffonade" cut is used for which type of ingredient?
- Leafy herbs and greens, sliced into thin ribbons (Correct answer)
- Root vegetables, cut into thick wedges
- Meat, sliced against the grain
- Cheese, shaved into curls
Correct answer: Leafy herbs and greens, sliced into thin ribbons
Chiffonade means stacking and rolling leaves like basil, then slicing them into fine ribbons.
Question 4: What is the difference between "simmer" and "boil"?
- A simmer is done covered; a boil is always uncovered
- A simmer has small gentle bubbles below boiling; a boil bubbles vigorously (Correct answer)
- A simmer uses less water than a boil
- There is no difference; the terms are interchangeable
Correct answer: A simmer has small gentle bubbles below boiling; a boil bubbles vigorously
Simmering happens just below the boiling point with gentle bubbles, while boiling is a vigorous rolling bubble.
Question 5: To "score" a piece of meat or bread dough means to:
- Weigh it on a kitchen scale
- Rate its quality before cooking
- Pound it flat with a mallet
- Make shallow cuts across the surface (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Make shallow cuts across the surface
Scoring means making shallow surface cuts to help fat render, prevent curling, or control how dough expands.
Question 6: What does "macerate" mean?
- Mash cooked vegetables into a puree
- Grind spices into a fine powder
- Soak fruit in sugar or liquid to soften it and draw out juices (Correct answer)
- Marinate meat in an acidic liquid
Correct answer: Soak fruit in sugar or liquid to soften it and draw out juices
Macerating softens fruit by soaking it in sugar, liqueur, or juice, drawing out its natural syrup.
Question 7: In baking, what is a "bain-marie" used for?
- Rolling out dough to an even thickness
- Gently cooking delicate dishes in a hot water bath (Correct answer)
- Proofing bread in a warm drawer
- Whipping cream over ice
Correct answer: Gently cooking delicate dishes in a hot water bath
A bain-marie surrounds a dish with hot water so delicate foods like cheesecake or custard cook gently and evenly.
Cooking Lessons Cooking Vocabulary 4
Your recipe says to "reduce" the sauce by half.
What should you do?