C - Glossary of Cooking Terms

  • café au Lait (ka-fay o lay) - Coffee with milk.
  • café noir (ka-fay nooar) - Black coffee.
  • canapés (kan-ap-ay) - Small slices of bread toasted or sautéd in butter and spread with a savory paste of meats, fish, or vegetables. They are served either hot or cold as an appetizer or as a first course for lunch or dinner.
  • canard (kan-ar) - Duck.
  • cannelon - Stuffed rolled-up meat.
  • capers - Small pickled buds of a European shrub, used in sauces and in seasoning.
  • capon - A male fowl castrated for the purpose of improving the quality of the flesh.
  • caramel - A sirup of browned sugar.
  • casserole - A covered earthenware dish in which foods are cooked.
  • champignons (shang-pe-nyong) - The French name for mushrooms.
  • chartreuse (shar-truhz) - A preparation of game, meat, fish, etc., molded in jelly and surrounded by vegetables. The name was given to the dish by the monks of the monastery of Chartreuse.
  • chiffonade (shif-fong-ad) - Salad herbs finely shredded and then sautéd or used in salads.
  • chillies - Small red peppers used in seasoning.
  • chives - An herb allied to the onion family.
  • chowder - a thick, rich soup, unstrained and usually served in small soup plates or shallow bowls.
  • chutney - An East Indian sweet pickle.
  • citron - The rind of a fruit of the lemon species preserved in sugar.
  • cocktail - The anglicized pronunciation of the name of a damsel in Mexico who served her master with a mixed drink so pleasing that he gave it her name, Octel. So, while the liquid cocktail comes from Mexico, the edible cocktail is an American misnomer popularized by usage.
  • collops - Meat cut in small pieces.
  • compote - Fruit stewed in syrup.
  • consomme - Clear soup or bouillon boiled down till very rich, i.e. consumed.
  • coquilles (ko-ke-yuh) - Scallop shells in which fish or oysters are sometimes served.
  • créole, à la (kray-ol, ah lah) - With tomatoes.
  • croquettes - A savory mince of fish or fowl, made with sauce into shapes, and fried.
  • croustade (kroos-tad) - A thick piece of bread that has been hollowed out and then toasted or fried crisp. The depression is filled with food.
  • croutons (kroo-tong) - Bread diced and fried or toasted to serve with or in soup.
  • curry - An East Indian preparation made of hot seeds, spices, and dried herbs.