Illustrated Cooking Terms Trivia Quiz

Mirepoix, whose name derives from the 18th century French employer of the chef who first used it, is a preparation of onions, carrots and celery, cooked or not, which serves as the base for all sorts of soups, stews and sauces.

Before learning this, my rudimentary knowledge of French led me to think that peas (pois in French) were somehow involved. They are not.

To julienne a vegetable is to cut it into very fine strips, resembling matchsticks, using a knife. The name likely derives from a chef named Jules or Julien, who was an early champion of the technique.

I might have once thought that Julia Child was somehow involved here, but I'd likely have been wrong.

En croute is French for "in a crust", so something baked "en croute" is first encased in pastry, either flaky or regular, and then baked. The interior food could be seafood, pate, beef or almost anything. In the photo, it is a tuna pate en croute.

I have been guilty in the past of thinking that "au gratin" means "with cheese", when, in fact, the term derives from the French meaning "grated". It is true that what is grated atop certain dishes is often cheese, but the topping could also consist of bread crumbs and butter (with or without the cheese). Potatoes, cauliflower and various other vegetables can be prepared in this manner, preferably with the crust/topping browned in the oven.

For the longest time I thought this term meant to chew or grind something up into small pieces, but I believe I was getting confused with "masticate". The real meaning of "macerate", in cooking terms, is to soak a food in some liquid in order to soften it, or to add flavour, or both.

Here we have yet another French term, this time meaning "small oven", and having nothing to do with whether or not the bite-sized goodies are arranged in groups of four. These appetizers can be sweet or savoury, and should be eaten in one bite.

Ganache is a lovely thing, being composed of chocolate and cream and used as a topping or filling for cakes or candies or other goodies. The word itself was once used in French slang to mean "imbecile", and one anecdote has it that a young apprentice accidentally created the first ganache by clumsily spilling hot cream onto some chocolate.

His head chef called him a ganache and the youngster mixed the two together as if it was his intention all along, and the name devolved onto the concoction. That's the legend, anyway.

A levain is a leavening agent akin to a sourdough starter. While the latter is not used up entirely when making a single batch of dough, the levain will be. After helping the dough to rise, the levain, made up of flour, water and ripe starter, will be baked along with the dough.

Zest, in culinary terms, is the colourful outer layer of the rind of citrus fruits, like oranges, lemons and limes. One can use a grater to collect thin strips of zest (called "zesting") to be used in various recipes to add an extra hit of citrus flavour to the product.

Ceviche is a preparation of raw fish, marinated in lime or lemon juice to produce a firm texture. The dish originated in Latin America and is best used with freshly caught fish (or other seafood). UNESCO has recognised it as a traditional cuisine of Peru.