Measure – When it comes to the term measure in cooking or baking there are actually two ways to measure your ingredients.
Dry vs Wet
Dry ingredients are things like flour, sugar, rice etc. With dry items like those you use a typical metal or plastic measuring cup. Level it off with the straight end of a butter knife and you are good to go. Dry measuring cups typically come in 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and 1 cup sizes.
If you are measuring things like dry ingredients like baking soda and baking powder – two powerful agents used in baking – you want to use a the proper size measuring spoon called for and carefully scrape over the top of the spoon to ensure you don’t overfill it – these two agents in particular could drastically alter your cookies for example if to much or to little are added.
Wet ingredients like oil, water, broth etc call for the use of a liquid measuring cup which also allows you to measure ounces and ml. On a liquid measuring cup there are many more lines in which to help you get it right. Plus there is a spout to ensure smooth pouring. Liquid measure cups typically come in a 1 or 2 cup size with numerous markings as mentioned earlier. Place the cup on a flat surface, get your eye level with it and fill it up to the exact spot called for in your recipe.
Happy Measuring!
Posted November 3rd, 2010 by Colleen in Culinary Term of the Week | No Comments »
Cream – Many recipes tell you to cream butter and sugar.
That means you need to use softened butter, add in some sugar and either with a spatula, whisk or mixer work or beat the mixture until it becomes smooth and fluffy. Creaming the two together merges two separate ingredients into one, it will have a totally different color and texture.
Posted October 13th, 2010 by Colleen in Culinary Term of the Week | No Comments »
Grease – If a recipe calls for you to grease the pan or dish you are using, that means you need to apply butter, oil, shortening or cooking spray before you add food or batter to it.
Greasing your pan or dish will make sure that the food you are making will easily come out once done. To get the job done right – grease with your clean fingers, or a pastry brush. Make sure all areas of the pan/dish are coated.
If using cooking spray, just aim and squirt.
Tip: Use parchment paper for baking cookies (and cakes too – just cut into a circle). Not only will your cookies turn our beautiful but clean up is a snap!
Note: When using cooking spray, use a paper towel to wipe any excess spray that gets on your pans surface…otherwise your pan may become permanently spotted in those areas.
Posted September 6th, 2010 by Colleen in Culinary Term of the Week | No Comments »
3 – B’s in the Kitchen
Bake – To cook in the oven.
Beat – Mixing ingredients quickly by hand with a spatula, spoon or whisk or with a mixer. Air is added to the mixture in the process making it come together smoothly.
Blend – Similar to beat, mixing ingredients together until they become one using a spoon whisk or a mixer.
Posted August 20th, 2010 by Colleen in Culinary Term of the Week | No Comments »
Let’s start with the obvious, shall we lol…
Culinary – Culinary art is the art of preparing and/or cooking foods. The word “culinary” is defined as something related to, or connected with, cooking or kitchens. A culinarian is a person working in the culinary arts. A culinarian working in restaurants is commonly known as a cook or a chef.
Source: Wikipedia
Posted August 1st, 2010 by Colleen in Culinary Term of the Week | No Comments »
