The Language Of Cooking Lessons

Is puree a verb or a noun?Puree, for example, is a common term now and
Does sauté mean pan-frying or preparing foodsurprise! It is a verb, but as well as a noun. As a verb,
in a skillet with oil?in English, it means several things: mash, pulverize, and
Do you know the difference between fillet and filet?grind. Well, we've got the French to thank for the
If you're not sure about the answers to the questionscoining of the more elegant term puree.
above, well, don't worry, you're not alone. Many peopleSauté is another French term, which refers to
are not so sure about the meaning of different terms.pan-frying; however, the word has become so
In fact, two years ago, manufacturers of your simplecommon place that it is also used to refer to preparing
cake-mix decided to have box directions rewritten tofood in a skillet with oil. It is no wonder that some refer
make them simple enough for those who are notto skillets as sauté pans.
familiar with basic terms used by another generation.Fillet and filet are also two terms that many people,
The insertion of French words to the English languageeven writers of menu, get confused about. Fillet is only
made cooking terms more complicated. With thethe spelling in English, filet the term in French - a piece
dominance of these French people in the area of fineof boneless fish or meat. For beef tenderloin, it's filet
cuisine (another French term!), it is not so surprising thatmignon. This French word became so familiar that
numerous terms have been included now in theWebster's New World Culinary Arts Dictionary defines
language of cooking.filet as the fabrication of a boneless piece of meat, as
It is because of this that chefs need to study French inwell as a term for the production of the action
many culinary institutions and cooks at homes need tomentioned above. Fillet, on the other hand, refers to the
at least have some kind of acquaintance with a fewact of fish filleting and the side of fish without bones.
of them.