Have you just started cooking and are quite confused with the cooking jargons these cooking classes or cookery books talk about? Then this is the right article you are looking into as we discuss about the various Baking process and definitions that will make your cooking a pleasurable and learning experience.

A La Mode
Desserts that are either served or dressed with an ice-cream topping like the pie a la mode.

Bake
Cook and make edible by placing the food in dry heat in an oven.

Bavarian Cream
Dessert pudding that stands on a gelatin-cream base. Bavarian cream can be served as such but many use it as a filling.

Blend
To fuse all the cooking ingredients to get a single component.

Boil
To prepare food at a boiling temperature of 212 degrees Fahrenheit at sea level. The temperature drops about 1 degree for every 500 feet in elevation; the reason why a few recipes provide alternate directions for higher elevations which is above 3500 feet.

Bon Bon
A sweet dish cooked with or dipped into fondant.

Broil
Prepare food with direct heat like by broiler or over coals.

Caramelize
The process of heating dry sugar or sugary foods to get brownish look and caramel flavor.

Charlotte
A dessert prepared by coating a dish with strips of cake, lady fingers or bread where fruits, whipped cream or custard are generally used as fillers.

Clarified Butter
The golden fluid that is a residue of the heated butter. During the heating process the water gets evaporated and is also separated out of the milk solids.

Cobbler
A deep fried fruit pie topped with a rich pastry or biscuit dough.

Cream
The process of making the content light and fluffy by vigorously beating it. Sugar, flour and eggs may be creamed into the shortening.

Dust
To evenly sprinkle sugar, flour or crumbs on the surface of the food. This is also done to roll out the dough.

Dredge
To cover the surface with flour or a any finely crushed ingredient.

clair
A finger shaped pastry that is filled with small custard or whipped cream.

Fold
A way to blend ingredients with a spoon or wire whisk making an up and over hand movement. Especially used while adding in a delicate mixture into a heavier one without stirring.

Fondant
A thick creamy candy made by kneading the sugar paste.

Garnish
Decorate or add flavor to foods by topping it with attractive and complementary foodstuffs before serving.

Glaze
To coat with thin sugar syrup and cooked to the crack stage. To cover the surface of the food with a thin icing. The term is also interchangeably used to brush-on milk, egg or sugar before baking which gives a shiny golden finish.

Knead
The process of gently pressing soft dough with the heels of your hand and by folding, pressing and stretching the dough to make it smooth and elastic.

Meringue
A mixture of batted egg whites and sugar generally used as pie topping or to lighten other mixtures.

Parfait
Dessert that contains ice cream, fruits and topped with whipped cream; or a frozen mixture of egg whites or yolks, cooked with hot syrup and mixed with whipped cream.

Scald
To warn up liquid to a temperature just below the boiling point. A thin skim forming over milk indicates sufficient heating.

Simmer
To cook in liquid that is just below the boiling point.

Torte
A cake or pastry made of many eggs, sugar and grated nuts or dry bread crumbs (instead of flour) which are baked in a large flat pan. Occasionally, comes in with a jam filling and coated with an icing.

Whip
To batter or cream stiff and creamy food by adding air to it with short quick movements, generally using a fork, whisk or an electric beater.

Zest
The coarse but colorful outer peel of all citrus fruits like lemons and oranges. The colored outer portion helps in adding flavor to the food where as the inner white portion is not used because it is bitter.