Culinary Terminology and Vocabulary

What this unit covers

This unit sits in the Kitchen Foundations strand of Cooking and gastronomy. It is a vocabulary unit, so most of what you will find is built for quick recall: flashcard decks, mind maps and a small number of quizzes, all made by GoConqr users.

Where to begin

Start with the flashcard deck Culinary terms. It runs from mise en place, sous chef and A La Carte to Table D' Hote, amuse bouche, canapé, petit four and the steak cooking stages saignant, à point and bien cuit.

Next, open Culinary Terms. It covers accompaniments, al dente, au gratin, bain-marie, brûlée, coulis, croutons, en croute, entrée and flambé. Then try Culinary Arts Freshman Vocabulary, which asks questions such as the six dry heat cooking processes and the five forms of fat, and adds egg wash, emulsification, en papillote, fond, forcemeat, fumet and garde manger.

Everyday kitchen words

Several decks share a similar word list: arcing, bake, balanced meal, beat, blender, boil, burner, chop, cream, cut in, dice, dietary guidelines, measuring cups and expiration date. Look at Unit 2 Foods Vocab first, then compare it with the other unit 2 decks. They suit anyone who needs the basic food-room language before the French terms.

Using maps and quizzes together

The mind maps are mostly titled cooking terms, and they let you see words grouped on one screen. The map Catering Terminology_1 gives short definitions, such as al dente as cooked but still firm when bitten and au gratin as sprinkled with breadcrumbs or grated cheese and browned.

1. Read a map to see the whole set of words.
2. Run through a flashcard deck until the terms feel familiar.
3. Take the Culinary Terms Quiz or the quiz on preparing and cooking food to check what stuck.
4. Note the words you missed and go back to the deck.

There is also a note, Preparation Terms, created from a mind map, and a deck of key words for a catering exam.

Next step

Choose one deck today, work through it, then make a map of the terms you find hardest.