Cooking Lessons Cooking Vocabulary 4

Question 1

Your recipe says to "reduce" the sauce by half. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Simmer it uncovered until half the liquid evaporates

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

Beat them together until light and fluffy

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

Leafy herbs and greens, sliced into thin ribbons

Answer

Chiffonade means stacking and rolling leaves like basil, then slicing them into fine ribbons.

Question 4

What is the difference between "simmer" and "boil"?

Accepted Answer

A simmer has small gentle bubbles below boiling; a boil bubbles vigorously

Answer

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:

Accepted Answer

Make shallow cuts across the surface

Answer

Scoring means making shallow surface cuts to help fat render, prevent curling, or control how dough expands.

Cooking Lessons Practice Test