Cooking Terms Kids Should Know

Sometimes the cooking shows on television use fancy cooking terms. Kids might ask what these terms mean and how they relate to their own cooking adventures. Here's a partial list of some cooking terms that every kid cook should know.

• Sous Chef
  
  The Sous (pronounced soo) chef is the assistant to the main chef. They are second in command. When the main chef is away, the Sous chef usually takes over. It comes from a French word meaning "under".

• Deglaze
  
  Deglazing the pan is an important part of making a sauce base. Notice after you've cooked bacon or hamburger the dark stuck on substance. That's what you lift out when you deglaze. Just add liquid, typically water and stir and scrape up those bits of browned food particles.

• Roux
  
  Roux (pronounced roo) is a sauce of flour and fat. Gravy is started by making a roux and many thick and hearty soups are also made using a roux. It's simple to make. Add the fat such as butter, oil or grease to the pan. Once the fat is heated, add in the flour and stir until incorporated. Cook the mixture until it has the consistency needed or color wanted.

• Al Dente
  
  It's the term that describes the perfectly cooked pasta. It's an Italian phrase meaning "to the tooth". It means the pasta should have a firmness to it when cooked.

• Blanch
  
  Blanching is when you dip a vegetable in boiling water for a few minutes. It has many purposes but its main purpose is to preserve the original color and texture of the vegetable. Blanching can also be used to remove skins of peppers and tomatoes and similar vegetables that have an outer skin that is less desirable in the recipe. Many people blanch vegetables before freezing them to preserve color and texture.

• Dash
  
  A dash is just a small amount of a substance. It's also called a pinch. Experts say that it's about 1/16 of a teaspoon. It's just enough to add taste.

• Soft Ball
  
  Soft ball refers to mainly a stage of candy making. It's called soft ball because when you add the mixture at this stage to cold water, the mixture starts to form a ball that is soft. Fudge mixtures are cooked to this stage to become the final product. Soft ball stage begins about 235 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Marinate
  
  Marinating something means to put something into a liquid, usually acidic in nature, to help flavor and tenderize it. Meat is something people commonly marinate. The substance that you marinate in is called a marinade.

• Hard and Soft Peaks
  
  This is when something is beaten in a mixer usually cream or egg whites. The peak is made when you pull the beaters from the mixture. If the peak falls over, it's a soft peak. If it stays upright then the peak is stiff or hard. Egg whites are beaten to soft peak in custards whereas they would be beaten into hard or stiff peaks in a meringue. Whipped cream is made by beating heavy cream until it forms soft peaks.

• Knead
  
  When bread is made, the dough is kneaded to help form it and incorporate all the ingredients. Another name for kneading is massaging. You are massaging the bread dough into form.

• Simmer
  
  Simmering means allowing something to cook on low heat. Simmering allows ingredients to cook slowly. The result of simmering depends on what is being simmered. For example, simmering a soup can help thicken it if the right ingredients are added. Usually when you simmer something, you bring the water to a boil, then turn the heat down to the lowest setting.

Kids should learn basic cooking terms when they begin their cooking adventure. Search for a library book or on the Internet for more cooking terms to learn. It helps them read new recipes and it can help them converse with other cooks who use these cooking terms.

~Katina Mooneyham

Katina Mooneyham loves to cook with her kids. Living in rural central Ohio, she makes time to enjoy the outdoors. But in the kitchen and garden is where she enjoys her time most. She was trained to cook from an early age as both her parents love to cook and bake as well. She cooks and gardens beside or with her husband, three kids, several outside cats and a dog.