Cooking Terms, Part XII Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cut them into small even pieces anywhere between 1/4-inch on a side and 3/4-inch on a side

"Chop" is a general term which does not specify a particular size for the finished product. If size is important, a more specific term can be used. It is important that the vegetables be of uniform size to ensure even cooking. Appearance is unimportant as the vegetables will be removed and discarded once they have sacrificed their flavour to the stock.

Answer: Unlike table salt, pickling salt contains neither iodine nor anti-caking additives.

The additives to table salt, if used in pickling, tend to turn the pickled food dark and the brine cloudy. Pickling salt is often more fine grained than table salt in order to more quickly and thoroughly dissolve. Pickling salt is sometimes sold as "canning salt."

Answer: A thin crispy flatbread, something like a cracker

The recipe for papadums varies regionally but they are generally made of fine-ground lentils or fine-ground chickpeas or rice flour or wheat flour or even, in some places, of potato. Dough is salted and mixed with a bit of oil and flavoured with ground spices. The resulting flatbread may be deep-fried or oven roasted or even cooked over an open flame.

Answer: A lump, glob or unmeasured portion of a soft substance, often ladled out with a spoon

A dollop of any ingredient is an informal measure meaning "just enough." One adds a dollop of whipped cream to a dessert, a dollop of cream to a cup of coffee, a dollop of whiskey to a sauce, or a dollop of ketchup to a hamburger. The term may derive from a Scandinavian/Norwegian term meaning a clump of grass or weeds, which then came to mean a lump of something.

It entered English in the early 19th Century.

Answer: An outer casing or shell of one food stuffed with another

A chile relleno is literally a "stuffed chile." The verb rellenar in Spanish means to fill, to refill, to stuff, or to pad. The typical chile relleno is a New Mexico pepper, gutted and stuffed with cheese or meat, breaded or battered and deep-fried or pan-fried, served with a sauce. Repollo relleno, a dish popular in Bolivia, is a head of cabbage which has been hollowed out and filled with a meat mixture, then simmered in broth.

Answer: A large deep covered bowl of ceramic or silver

Elaborate tureens were in particular fashion in 17th and 18th Century France. They were sometimes of two pieces with a matching sort of platter for underneath. The word "tureen" may derive from the name of Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne (1611-1675) or, more likely, from the French "terrine" (earthenware vessel), which derives from the Latin "terra" (earth).

Answer: to squeeze the juice from a citrus fruit using a conical ridged device

Reamers are ridged devices made of glass, plastic, metal (or even wood) which are hand- or electrically-powered. Half a citrus fruit is pressed into the ridged cone and twisted. The process is designed to extract more juice than squeezing alone.

Answer: Clementine

The Tangerine was named after the seaport of Tangier in Northern Morocco. The Satsuma was named after a southern province on the Japanese island of Kyushu, now known as Kagoshima province. The city of Saskatoon took its name from a Cree Indian word-phrase meaning "at the place of many saskatoonberries." The Clementine was named after Father Clément Rodier who "discovered" it growing in the garden of the orphanage he operated in Algeria; there are other plausible stories about the origins of the Clementine, as well.

Answer: A white radish

The daikon radish is grown all over Asia and is used in most Asian cuisines. They grow large and white, often in the shape of a giant carrot. The flavour is mild and, at their best, they are very moist and crunchy.

Answer: Stirring cold butter into a sauce immediately before service

Whisking small cold bits of butter into a sauce gives it a lovely texture, a glossy appearance and adds flavour. It also thickens the sauce a bit. The term comes from the French "monter au beurre" meaning "to mount with butter." This is the process by which the classic "beurre blanc" sauce is made.