Words To Cook By…On to B
For those of you who don’t know French, understanding what you are reading is essential prior to cooking up a savory dish. If you aren’t familiar with a particular word-don’t let that throw you off. Creating delicious dishes is relatively easy once you understand exactly what you’re reading. The following are explanations of some of the lesser recognizable words and cooking terms that you will find on Gourmandia.com beginning with the letter B.
- Backoffen-Translates into Bakers Oven
- Bagnarde-It translates into the word convict. In cooking it assumes the definition of something that is encased and unable to escape as in the Tarte Bagnarde.
- Ballotin-When translated it is a candy wrapper or small box of chocolates. In the Salmon Ballotin recipe-it refers to the vegetables that “wrap” the salmon.
- Banyuls-An aperitif or dessert wine.
- Beignets-In French translates to “bump,” but it is basically a French doughnut or pastry that is deep-fried and served with confectioner’s sugar.
- Blanc/Blanche-White
- Bonbons-In French bon means “good.” Bonbons have become a blanket word for candy of many varieties, generally associated with chocolate.
- Bouillabaisse-A French stew that originated in the port city of Marseille.
- Braise-A cooking method where the substance of choice is first pan-seared and then cooked in liquid.
- Bream-A light, white fish.
- Brioche-A light and rich bread or cake.
- Brulee-French for burnt. Crème Brulee is a rich custard dish with a caramelized top.
Now that you have a few more pointers you will be able to tackle some of these recipes with no problem whatsoever. Check for future articles translating the remainder of the alphabet. To put these words to tasty use, visit Gourmandia.com. Happy Cuisson!
