Batter or mixture used in making certain desserts (Genoese sponge, Progrès, etc.)
Canapé
A slice of bread spread with butter or fried in butter and topped with various garnishes.
Candy
To cook in sugar or syrup.
Caramelize
The process of heating sugar for a lengthy period of time until it turns a rusty brown. Use as soon as it is ready, otherwise you risk burning and blackening it.
Caul
Membrane from the abdominal cavity of a pig or sheep and used to wrap forcemeats, roasting meats, etc.
Chaufroiter
To coat a dish with a "chaud froid" sauce.
Chaufroiter
To coat a dish with a "chaud froid" sauce.
Chinois
A metal conical sieve.
Clarified butter
Melted and settled butter. The impurities and the whey remain at the bottom of the saucepan.
Clarified butter
Melted and settled butter. The impurities and the whey remain at the bottom of the saucepan.
Clarify
To eliminate impurities in a liquid by carefully skimming them during a gentle boil.
Coat
To cover an entremets or a cooked dish with a sauce, cream, jelly or icing to complete it. We say a cream or sauce "coats" a spoon when it has achieved the right consistency. Also, to cover completely, by soaking or dipping.
Coating
Chocolate, less sweet than normal, combined with cocoa butter. Used often in pastry-making and confectionery, for the most part to cover candies. Also, to cover with a thin layer.
Coulis
A fine and liquid puree resulting from the prolonged cooking of certain foods that are then passed through a sieve.
Court-bouillon
A flavorful bouillon in which foods that would otherwise be bland are cooked.
Cream (n)
Crème fraîche is a heavy cream that has thickened through fermentation. Cream is at once a food and a condiment. The word can also be used for a group of substances that make up a smooth liquid.
Cream (v)
To whisk sugar and eggs until they become frothy and white. Also, to soften a fat, with or without sugar, with a wooden spoon or electric mixer until soft and light.
Cream of tartar
A fine white powder used as a leavening agent, tartar is a by-product of wine-making. Cream of tartar is often used to stabilize egg whites beaten in angel food cake, sponge cakes, chiffon cakes, meringues and soufflés, and to keep sugar from crystallizing in confectioneries.
Croustade
Flat, bite-size pastry patties in various shapes made from pastry scraps.
Curry
Indian seasoning made up of pepper, turmeric and other ground spices.
