I read something in the newspaper the other day. Certain companies such as Kraft and Betty Crocker have decided not to use certain terms in their recipes anymore. Some of these include braise, sear, broil, fold, beat and simmer. They know that there are too many out there today who don't know what they mean. It's very sad that cooking has become such a dying art. I'm trying to revive that in my household, but I don't know what some of those terms mean either! But I'm determined to make cooking a big part of my training and teaching of my children.
–Gena
I’ll admit I did look up some of these to get the terminology right, but the only one I really had no idea about was braise.
beat: (you’re joking, right?) to mix rapidly, often with a beater or whisk (this one is considered so basic it wasn’t on the website dictionary)
braise: To cook meat or vegetables slowly in steam in a covered pan.
broil: (also so basic it was not in the dictionary I consulted) to bake directly under high heat
fold: To mix ingredients whilst retaining air. Often to incorporate flour or sugar with beaten egg whites.
sear: (yet another one not in the dictionary; I did try more than one) to cook just the outside of a piece of meat under very high heat to browness
simmer: To keep a liquid just below boiling point.
(reference: http://www.thefoody.com/glossary)
I’ve noticed that my mom’s Betty Crocker Cookbook, my BC Cookbook, and my sister’s “New” BC Cookbook are all different. My mom’s has all the old methods only. Mine keeps most of the old methods, but includes microwaving. My sister’s has few of the old methods and lots of microwaving. Bleh! 🙂
CM
Yes, they said that instead of “beat” they would say something like “crack eggs in a bowl and stir rapidly with a fork.” Pretty sad, huh?
–Gena
I see it everywhere how much our society is dumbed down. And rather than educating people about the meanings the words get dropped.
I have been known to call my, much more cooking savvy, mother to find out what certain cooking/baking terms mean.
I have to share that we had company come over for supper one time who didn’t know what a hot dish was!!! That was kind of fun! It made my “casserole” sound much more extravagant! Hee hee!!
Blessings! ~Beckie
Gena, I see you live in Illinois. We are in New Boston which is 2 hours NW of Peoria. Have we met before? Laurie
Hi Laurie,
We haven’t really officially met, although I have heard you speak a couple of times and have bought some of your wonderful materials.
Gena