| Calorie |
A scientific term used in dietetics to measure the heat and energy producing quality of a food. |
| Candying |
Method of impregnating pieces of fruit or peel with sugar to preserve them. |
| Caramel |
A substance gained by heating sugar syrup very slowly until a rich brown colour. |
| Caramelise |
To change sugar into caramel by gentle heating so it dissolves and turns brown. |
| Carbonade |
A rich stew or braise of meat including beer. |
| Casserole |
A dish with a well-fitting lid used for cooking meat and vegetables, also applied to food cooked this way. |
| Celsius |
Also known as Centigrade. A scale for measuring temperature in which the freezing point of water is 0ƒ and the boiling point is 100ƒ. Now used for the oven settings on electric cookers, replacing the Fahrenheit scale which is gradually becoming obsolete in Europe. |
| Charlotte |
A hot or cold moulded dessert. For a hot charlotte the mould is lined with bread and for a cold charlotte it is lined with sponge fingers. |
| Chilling |
Cooling food without freezing. |
| Chining |
Severing the rib bones from the backbone by sawing through the ribs near to the spine. Joints such as loin or neck of lamb, veal or pork are best chined as this makes them easier to carve into chops or cutlets after cooking. |
| Chopping |
Cutting food into small neat pieces without damaging the tissues. |
| Clarifying |
The process of extracting sediment or impurities from a food. Butter and dripping may be clarified so that they can be used for frying at higher temperatures. |
| Clotting |
A gentle heat applied to cream which results in the thick clotted cream of the south-west of England. |
| Coddling |
A method for soft boiling eggs. |
| Colander |
Perforated metal or plastic draining basket. |
| Compote |
A mixture of fruit stewed in sugar and water. |
| Concasser |
Literally to pound, crush or grind. In cookery, to chop roughly. It is most often applied to skinned, seeded and chopped tomatoes. |
| Conserve |
Jam containing whole fruits. |
| Consistency |
Term used to describe the texture of a mixture, e.g. firm, dropping or soft. |
| Consommè |
Concentrated stock which has been clarified. |
| Corned beef |
Pieces of beef cured in salt and sugar, pressed together into blocks and canned. |
| Cornflour |
Flour from maize. Also known as cornstarch. |
| Crackling |
The crisp skin on roasted pork. |
| Cream of tartar |
Raising agent which is an ingredient of baking powder and self-raising flour. |
| Cream, double |
Double cream is the name in Britain for a very rich cream - containing 48% butterfat. Whipping cream in the US, by contrast, contains
between 30% and 40% butterfat.
Double cream is so rich that it is easy to overwhip it and get it too thick. Some cooks add a tablespoon or so of milk to 8 to 10 ounces of
double cream before whipping it to keep it loose. |
| Cream, single |
Single cream in Britain is comparable to American half and half (and may also be called pouring cream), with between 10% and 12% fat.
Lower fat content than double cream and should not be used for whipping |
| Creaming |
Beating together fat and sugar until the mixture resembles whipped cream in texture and colour (pale and fluffy). Used in cakes and puddings which contain a high proportion of fat and require the incorporation of a lot of air. |
| Crimping |
Decorating the edges of a pie, tart or shortbread by pinching it at regular intervals to provide a fluted effect. Also using special icing tools to decorate fondant iced cakes. |
| Croquettes |
Minced food, coated with egg and breadcrumbs, shaped into a roll and fried. |
| Curd |
The parts of milk which coagulate when natural fermentation takes place, or when a curdling agent, such as rennet or an acid is added. The term also refers to a creamy preserve made from fruit (usually lemon or orange) and sugar, eggs and butter. |
| Curdle |
To separate fresh milk or a sauce either by adding an acid such as lemon juice or by over heating. Also used to refer to creamed mixtures which have separated when the egg has been beaten in too quickly. |
| Cure |
To preserve fish, meat or poultry by salting, drying or smoking. |
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