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Founded in 1941, Barron's Educational Series is a leading publisher of test preparation manuals and school directories. Among the most widely recognized of Barron's many titles in these areas are its SAT and ACT test prep books, its Regents Exams books, and its Profiles of American Colleges. In ...
N. A staple since prehistoric times, bread is made from flour, water (or other liquid) and usually a leavener. It can be baked (in an oven or, as with pancakes, on a griddle), fried or steamed. Yeast is the leavener in yeast bread, which requires kneading to stretch the flour's gluten. A yeast batter bread uses strenuous beating instead of kneading to the same end. Quick breads are so called because they require no kneading and use baking soda, baking powder or eggs to leaven the bread. As the name implies, unleavened bread (such as matzo) uses no leavening and therefore is quite flat. Grains, seeds, nuts and fruit are often added to bread for flavor and texture. See also anadama; babka; baguette; barm brack; Bâtarde; baton; biscuit; black bread; boston brown; boule; bread crumbs; bread sauce; brioche; bruschetta; challah; chapati; cornbread; cornell; corn pone; crostini; crumpet; ficelle; flat bread; focaccia; french bread; fry bread; garlic bread; gingerbread; hardtack; hushpuppy; irish soda bread; italian bread; johnnycake; khachapuri; lahvosh; limpa bread; mandelbrot; monkey bread; muffin; naan; pancake; panettone; panko; pappadam; paratha; petit pain; pita; poori; popover; pueblo bread; pumpernickel; roti; sally lunn; salt-rising bread; scone; soda bread; sourdough; spoon bread; steamed bread; stollen; tortilla; waffle; zwieback. bread v. To coat food with bread, cracker or other crumbs, usually by dipping it first into a liquid (beaten eggs, milk, beer, etc. ), then into the crumbs, which may be seasoned with various herbs. The breaded food is then fried or baked. Breading helps retain a food's moisture and forms a crisp crust after cooking.
Industry:Culinary arts
N. A thin, glossy coating for both hot and cold foods. A savory glaze might be a reduced meat stock or aspic, whereas a sweet glaze could be anything from melted jelly to a chocolate coating. An egg wash brushed on pastry before baking to add color and shine is also called a glaze. glaze v. To coat food with a thin, liquid, sweet or savory mixture that will be smooth and shiny after setting.
Industry:Culinary arts
N. Any of a number of various confections — soft and hard — composed mainly of sugar with the addition of flavoring ingredients and fillings such as chocolate, nuts, peanut butter, nougat, fruits and so on. Sugar syrup is the foundation for most candies, the concentration of the mixture depending upon its temperature, which can either be checked by a candy thermometer or by a series of cold-water tests. The tests and appropriate thermometer readings are as follows: thread stage — the point at which a spoon coated with boiling syrup forms a 2-inch thread when immersed in cold water (230° to 234°F); soft-ball stage — a drop of boiling syrup immersed in cold water forms a soft ball that flattens of its own accord when removed (234° to 240°F); firm-ball stage — a drop of boiling syrup immersed in cold water forms a firm but pliable ball (244° to 248°F); hard-ball stage — a drop of boiling syrup immersed in cold water forms a rigid ball that is somewhat pliable (250° to 265°F); soft-crack stage — a drop of boiling syrup immersed in cold water separates into hard though pliable threads (270° to 290°F); hard-crack stage — a drop of boiling syrup immersed in cold water separates into hard, brittle threads (300° to 310°F). Candy may come in tiny bits, small one- or two-bite pieces, or in the form of a candy "bar," containing several bites. Candy bars usually have a chocolate coating. So-called "nutritious" candy bars usually contain honey instead of sugar, and often substitute carob for chocolate. candy v. To sugar-coat various fruits, flowers and plants such as cherries, pineapple, citrus rinds, angelica, ginger, chestnuts, violets, miniature rose petals and mint leaves. Candying food not only preserves it, but also retains its color, shape and flavor. The candying process usually includes dipping or cooking the food in several boiling sugar syrups of increasing degrees of density. After the candied fruit air-dries, it is sometimes dipped in granulated sugar.
Industry:Culinary arts
N. Any of various plants, herbs and spices (such as bay leaf, ginger or parsley) that impart a lively fragrance and flavor to food and drink.
Industry:Culinary arts
N. The center of a fruit such as an apple, pear or pineapple. Cores may contain small seeds, or they may be tough and woody. core v. As a verb, the word refers to removing the core from the fruit.
Industry:Culinary arts
N. The finely ground and sifted meal of any of various edible grains. Giant steel or stone rollers are used to break and grind the grain. Most supermarkets carry steel-ground flour, meaning it's crushed with huge, high-speed steel rollers or hammers. The heat that is generated with these high-velocity machines strips away the wheat germ and destroys valuable vitamins and enzymes. The more naturally nutritious stone-ground flour is produced by grinding the grain between two slowly moving stones. This process crushes the grain without generating excess heat and separating the germ. Stone-ground flours must usually be purchased in health-food stores, though some large supermarkets also carry them. A flour can range in texture from coarse to extremely soft and powdery, depending on the degree of bolting (sifting) it receives at the mill. Wheat is the most common source of the multitude of flours used in cooking. It contains gluten, a protein that forms an elastic network that helps contain the gases that make mixtures (such as doughs and batters) rise as they bake. All-purpose flour is made from a blend of high-gluten hard wheat and low-gluten soft wheat. It's a fine-textured flour milled from the inner part of the wheat kernel and contains neither the germ (the sprouting part) nor the bran (the outer coating). U. S. law requires that all flours not containing wheat germ must have niacin, riboflavin, thiamin and iron added. (Individual millers sometimes also add vitamins A and D. ) These flours are labeled "enriched. " All-purpose flour comes in two basic forms — bleached and unbleached — that can be used interchangeably. Flour can be bleached either naturally, as it ages, or chemically. Most flour on the market today is presifted, requiring only that it be stirred, then spooned into a measuring cup and leveled off. Bread flour is an unbleached, specially formulated, high-gluten blend of 99. 8 percent hard-wheat flour, a small amount of malted barley flour (to improve yeast activity) and vitamin C or potassium bromate (to increase the gluten's elasticity and the dough's gas retention). It is ideally suited for yeast breads. The fuller-flavored whole-wheat flour contains the wheat germ, which means that it also has a higher fiber, nutritional and fat content. Because of the latter, it should be stored in the refrigerator to prevent rancidity. Cake or pastry flour is a fine-textured, soft-wheat flour with a high starch content. It makes particularly tender cakes and pastries. Self-rising flour is an all-purpose flour to which baking powder and salt have been added. It can be substituted for all-purpose flour in yeast breads by omitting the salt and in quick breads by omitting both baking powder and salt. Instant flour is a granular flour especially formulated to dissolve quickly in hot or cold liquids. It's used mainly as a thickener in sauces, gravies and other cooked mixtures. Gluten flour is high-protein, hard-wheat flour treated to remove most of the starch (which leaves a high gluten content). It's used mainly as an additive to doughs made with low-gluten flour (such as rye flour), and to make low-calorie "gluten" breads. All flour should be stored in an airtight container. All-purpose and bread flour can be stored up to 6 months at room temperature (about 70°F). Temperatures higher than that invite bugs and mold. Flours containing part of the grain's germ (such as whole wheat) turn rancid quickly because of the oil in the germ. Refrigerate or freeze these flours tightly wrapped and use as soon as possible. Other grains — such as barley, buckwheat, corn, oats, rice, rye and triticale — are also milled into flours. flour v. To lightly coat a food, utensil or baking container with flour. Flouring food to be fried facilitates browning, and coating foods that tend to stick together (such as chopped dried apricots) helps separate the pieces. Flouring a pie, pastry or cookie dough will prevent it from sticking to a work surface; flouring your hands, rolling pin or work surface prevents dough from sticking. Dusting greased baking pans with flour provides for easy removal of cakes, breads and other baked goods.
Industry:Culinary arts
N. This term refers to the backbone of an animal. It can also describe a cut of meat including the backbone with some adjoining flesh. The chine is removed from the rib bones in cuts such as rack of lamb. chine v. A butchering term meaning to sever the backbone.
Industry:Culinary arts
N. Upon standing, unhomogenized milk naturally separates into two layers — a milk fat-rich cream on top and almost fat-free (or skimmed) milk on the bottom. Commercially, the cream is separated from the milk by centrifugal force. Almost all cream that reaches the market today has been pasteurized. There are many varieties of cream, all categorized according to the amount of milk fat in the mixture. Light cream, also called coffee or table cream, can contain anywhere from 18 to 30 percent fat, but commonly contains 20 percent. Light whipping cream, the form most commonly available, contains 30 to 36 percent milk fat and sometimes stabilizers and emulsifiers. Heavy cream, also called heavy whipping cream, is whipping cream with a milk fat content of between 36 and 40 percent. It's usually only available in specialty or gourmet markets. Whipping cream will double in volume when whipped. Half-and-half is a mixture of equal parts milk and cream, and is 10 to 12 percent milk fat. Neither half-and-half nor light cream can be whipped. Ultrapasteurized cream, seen more and more in markets today, has been briefly heated at temperatures up to 300°F to kill microorganisms that cause milk products to sour. It has a longer shelf life than regular cream, but it doesn't whip as well and it has a slight "cooked" flavor. All other cream is highly perishable and should be kept in the coldest part of the refrigerator. Pressurized whipped cream, contained in cans under pressure, is a mixture of cream, sugar, stabilizers, emulsifiers and gas, such as nitrous oxide. It's not really "whipped" but, more aptly, expanded by the gas into a puffy form. Aerosol "dessert toppings," which are usually made with hydrogenated vegetable oils, have absolutely no cream in them . . . and taste like it. Read the label — the fat content of real cream mixtures must be indicated on the product label. See also clotted cream; crème fraîche; sour cream. cream v. To beat an ingredient or combination of ingredients until the mixture is soft, smooth and "creamy. " Often a recipe calls for creaming a fat, such as butter, or creaming a mixture of butter and sugar. When creaming two or more ingredients together, the result should be a smooth, homogeneous mixture that shows neither separation nor evidence of any particles (such as sugar). Electric mixers and food processors make quick work of what used to be a laborious, time-consuming process.
Industry:Culinary arts
Named after Cornwall, England, these savory turnovers consist of a short-crust pastry enfolding a chopped meat-and-potato filling. Other vegetables and sometimes fish are also used. In the 18th and 19th centuries, pasties were the standard lunch of Cornwall's tin miners. It was common to place a savory mixture in one end and an apple mixture in the other so both meat and dessert could be enjoyed in the same pasty.
Industry:Culinary arts
Named after Dagwood Bumstead, a character in the "Blondie" comic strip, this extremely thick sandwich is piled high with a variety of meats, cheeses, condiments and lettuce.
Industry:Culinary arts
