Cooking

Cooking food on a stove in a wok

Cooking is a process to make food ready to eat by heating it. Cooking can kill bacteria that may be in the food.

Raw food is food that is not cooked. Some foods are good to eat raw. Other foods are not good for the body when they are raw, so they must be cooked. Some foods are good to eat either raw or cooking.

Methods

Cooking is often done in a kitchen using a stove or an oven. It can also be done over a fire (for example, over a campfire or on a barbecue).

The heat for cooking can be made in different ways. It can be from an open fire that burns wood or charcoal. It can be on a stove or in an oven that uses propane, natural gas, or electricity.

There are several different ways to cook food. Boiling cooks food in hot water. Frying (deep or shallow) cooks food in hot butter, fat or oil. Baking and roasting cook food by surrounding it with hot air. Grilling means cooking food on a metal grill that has heat under it.

People often cook meat by boiling, roasting, frying, or grilling it. Some foods such as bread or pastries are usually baked.

Usually food is cooked in some kind of pot or pan. Sometimes people cook food by putting it directly into the fire, or by wrapping the food in leaves before they put it into the fire.

Cooks

Cooks at work.

A person whose job it is to cook food may be called a cook or a chef. The word cooker means a machine or tool that a cook might use to cook food. Rice cookers and pressure cookers are examples.

The principles of cooking

In science the word “principle” ordinarily means a formulation of some general or constant mode of behavior—a generalization based on many observations of fact. In cookery the word is used in the same sense; for example, one may say that an important principle to bear in mind when cooking with any fat is that the fats may be melted without decomposition, but when too strongly heated they begin to decompose with the production of acrid and irritating products. Sometimes, however, we speak of “principles of cookery” in a broader and somewhat less exact sense to indicate the general purposes of cooking operations, as when we say that the most important principle of vegetable cookery is to soften the fiber without destroying the flavor or dissolving away the ash constituents of the vegetable.

That is, the change either chemical or physical that takes place in a certain foodstuff by the application of heat or cold or by the use of a fermentation process may be referred to as the underlying, working principle. We shall study in detail these changes as we experiment with and prepare each food material, but a general statement of the effect of heat on various foodstuffs will be helpful here.

Protein.—There are several forms of protein, with differences that we can understand only after a thorough study of chemistry. The most important proteins in meat, fish, eggs, milk, old beans and peas coagulate, or become slightly harder or firmer at a temperature below the boiling point of water. We shall perform an experiment to show this while studying the egg. There is no marked chemical change; that is, the protein is not changed to another substance.

Fats.—Solid fats are liquefied by heat, and freed from the tissue that contains them in animal fats like suet.

When a fat begins to smoke with heat, a chemical change is taking place. If intense heat is continued, all the hydrogen and oxygen are driven off and pure carbon remains. When the fat is “brown,” giving the flavor we like, a part of the oxygen and hydrogen have been driven off. The “boiling” of fat in a kettle is ordinarily due to the boiling of the water contained in the fat.

Starch.—Starch occurs in the form of granules. See Fig. 39. In boiling water, the granule expands and finally bursts, and frees the content, the pure starch, and the whole mass thickens.

Boiled with an acid the starch is changed to dextrin, a substance resembling a gum, and the mixture becomes thin; and this process continued changes the dextrin to dextrose.

With intense “dry” heat, as in toasting, the granule expands and opens, and the contents change to dextrin. Continued heat reduces the starch to pure carbon. The brown color and pleasant flavor in toast are a stage on the road to carbon.

Sugar.—Sugar first melts with heat, then begins to decompose, giving off water. This is also a stage on the road to pure carbon. Caramel, a familiar flavor, is sugar in the brown stage, with the water partly driven off.

The art in applying intense heat to fat, starch, and sugar is to know the stopping point,—to reach the “brown taste” and stop short of the “burnt taste.”

Mineral matter.—The “ash” remains for the most part unchanged by heat, but may be lost in the water in which vegetables and meat are cooked if the water is thrown away.

Vegetable fiber is softened by heat and moisture, and the protein, starch, fat, and sugar are freed, making them available for our digestion and nutrition.

Meat fiber softens at a low temperature, that is, below the boiling point of water, with moisture; continued intense heat shrinks and hardens it. A tender steak fried with fat in a hot pan will soon resemble sole leather.

French toast

The technique of food preparation

From the moment the food materials enter the kitchen until the unusable portions are destroyed or carried away, there is a best way of working with them at each step, and the sum of these may be said to make a good technique. This technique will include cleanliness first and foremost, then skill in the use of tools, judgment in managing cooking apparatus and in applying heat in cooking processes, and accuracy and rapidity of execution. It will also include or add to itself the æsthetic element, the fine art of flavoring, the dainty garnishing of a dish. Moreover, this technique is the method of putting into practice some basic, scientific principle. To illustrate:

The principle that underlies toast-making is threefold,—

• Heat evaporates moisture throughout the slice of bread.

• Intense heat changes the content of the starch granules on the surface of the slice of bread to dextrin.

• Intense heat, long continued, will change first the surface starch, and then all, to carbon (charcoal).

• A good technique will secure the first two, and avoid the third and includes,—

• The selection of bread already partially dry.

• The cutting of bread into slices of uniform thickness.

• Placing the slices firmly in a toaster, or on a fork, or evenly on a rack when toasting by gas.

• Keeping the toast at a distance from the source of heat that insures a steady but not too rapid change.

• Turning the toaster or the slices to cook each surface in turn and thus to make the process slower.

• Stopping the process before carbon is formed and the toast “burned.” (A good technique does not include scraping the toast!)

The æsthetic element in toast-making might be a pretty shape of the slices, say triangular pieces, and a dainty arrangement. In this case and in others it is true that the result of a good technique is æsthetic, in that correct manipulation while securing the desired chemical change also develops the pleasing golden brown that makes the toast so attractive.

Cooking terms

• adobo - noun a dish of marinated vegetables and meat or fish; served with rice

• al dente - adj. of pasta cooked so as to be firm when eaten

• alcohol - noun a liquor or brew containing alcohol as the active agent; any of a series of volatile hydroxyl compounds that are made from hydrocarbons by distillation

• alimentation - noun the act of supplying food and nourishment; a source of materials to nourish the body

• aluminium foil - noun foil made of aluminum

• anchovy paste - noun paste made primarily of anchovies; used in sauces and spreads

• animal fat - noun any fat obtained from animals

• animal product - noun a product made from animal material

• appliance - noun durable goods for home or office use; a device or control that is very useful for a particular job

• arabia - noun a peninsula between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf; strategically important for its oil resources

• aspic - noun savory jelly based on fish or meat stock used as a mold for meats or vegetables

• au jus - adj. served in its natural juices or gravy

• babassu oil - noun fatty oil from kernels of babassu nuts similar to coconut oil

• bacon - noun back and sides of a hog salted and dried or smoked; usually sliced thin and fried; English statesman and philosopher; precursor of British empiricism; advocated inductive reasoning (1561-1626); English scientist and Franciscan monk who stressed the importance of experimentation; first showed that air is required for combustion and first used lenses to correct vision (1220-1292)

• bagel - noun (Yiddish) glazed yeast-raised doughnut-shaped roll with hard crust

• bain-marie - noun a large pan that is filled with hot water; smaller pans containing food can be set in the larger pan to keep food warm or to cook food slowly

• baker - noun someone who bakes bread or cake; someone who bakes commercially

• baking - adj. as hot as if in an oven; noun cooking by dry heat in an oven; making bread or cake or pastry etc.

• bambino - noun a young child

• bandung - noun a city in Indonesia; located on western Java (southeast of Jakarta); a resort known for its climate

• barbecue - noun a rack to hold meat for cooking over hot charcoal usually out of doors; a cookout in which food is cooked over an open fire; especially a whole animal carcass roasted on a spit; meat that has been barbecued or grilled in a highly seasoned sauce; verb cook outdoors on a barbecue grill

• barbecue sauce - noun spicy sweet and sour sauce usually based on catsup or chili sauce

• barrel - noun a cylindrical container that holds liquids; a tube through which a bullet travels when a gun is fired; any of various units of capacity; the quantity that a barrel (of any size) will hold; a bulging cylindrical shape; hollow with flat ends; verb put in barrels

• bartender - noun an employee who mixes and serves alcoholic drinks at a bar

• basket - noun a score in basketball made by throwing the ball through the hoop; a container that is usually woven and has handles; horizontal circular metal hoop supporting a net through which players try to throw the basketball; the quantity contained in a basket

• basting - noun moistening a roast as it is cooking; loose temporary stitches

• batter - noun a flour mixture thin enough to pour or drop from a spoon; (baseball) a ballplayer who is batting; verb make a dent or impression in; strike violently and repeatedly; strike against forcefully

• bean - noun any of various edible seeds of plants of the family Leguminosae used for food; any of various leguminous plants grown for their edible seeds and pods; any of various seeds or fruits that are beans or resemble beans; informal terms for a human head; verb hit on the head, especially with a pitched baseball

• beurre noisette - noun clarified butter browned slowly and seasoned with vinegar or lemon juice and capers

• biscuit - noun small round bread leavened with baking-powder or soda; any of various small flat sweet cakes (`biscuit' is the British term)

• bivalve - adj. used of mollusks having two shells (as clams etc.); noun marine or freshwater mollusks having a soft body with platelike gills enclosed within two shells hinged together

• blackening - noun changing to a darker color

• blender - noun an electrically powered mixer with whirling blades that mix or chop or liquefy foods

• bluefish - noun bluish warm-water marine food and game fish that follow schools of small fishes into shallow waters; fatty bluish flesh of bluefish

• boiling - adv. extremely; noun cooking in a liquid that has been brought to a boil; the application of heat to change something from a liquid to a gas

• bone china - noun fine porcelain that contains bone ash

• book - noun physical objects consisting of a number of pages bound together; a number of sheets (ticket or stamps etc.) bound together on one edge; a major division of a long written composition; a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together); a collection of rules or prescribed standards on the basis of which decisions are made; a collection of playing cards satisfying the rules of a card game; the sacred writings of the Christian religions; the sacred writings of Islam revealed by God to the prophet Muhammad during his life at Mecca and Medina; a compilation of the known facts regarding something or someone; a written version of a play or other dramatic composition; used in preparing for a performance; a record in which commercial accounts are recorded; verb engage for a performance; record a charge in a police register; register in a hotel booker; arrange for and reserve (something for someone else) in advance

• borges - noun Argentinian writer remembered for his short stories (1899-1986)

• boston - noun state capital and largest city of Massachusetts; a major center for banking and financial services

• bottle - noun a glass or plastic vessel used for storing drinks or other liquids; typically cylindrical without handles and with a narrow neck that can be plugged or capped; a vessel fitted with a flexible teat and filled with milk or formula; used as a substitute for breast feeding infants and very young children; the quantity contained in a bottle; verb put into bottles; store (liquids or gases) in bottles

• bottle opener - noun an opener for removing caps or corks from bottles

• bowl - noun a dish that is round and open at the top for serving foods; a round vessel that is open at the top; used for holding fruit or liquids or for serving food; a small round container that is open at the top for holding tobacco; a wooden ball (with flattened sides so that it rolls on a curved course) used in the game of lawn bowling; the quantity contained in a bowl; a concave shape with an open top; a large ball with finger holes used in the sport of bowling; a large structure for open-air sports or entertainments; verb engage in the sport of bowling; roll (a ball)

• braising - noun cooking slowly in fat in a closed pot with little moisture

• brand - noun a recognizable kind; identification mark on skin, made by burning; a piece of wood that has been burned or is burning; a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard; a symbol of disgrace or infamy; a name given to a product or service; verb burn with a branding iron to indicate ownership; of animals; mark or expose as infamous; to accuse or condemn or openly or formally or brand as disgraceful

• branding iron - noun implement used to brand live stock

• brazier - noun large metal container in which coal or charcoal is burned; warms people who must stay outside for long times

• bread - noun food made from dough of flour or meal and usually raised with yeast or baking powder and then baked; informal terms for money; verb cover with bread crumbs

• bread knife - noun a knife used to cut bread

• breadbox - noun a container used to keep bread or cake in

• brisket - noun a cut of meat from the breast or lower chest especially of beef

• brown - adj. (of skin) deeply suntanned; of a color similar to that of wood or earth; noun an orange of low brightness and saturation; abolitionist who was hanged after leading an unsuccessful raid at Harper's Ferry, Virginia (1800-1858); Scottish botanist who first observed the movement of small particles in fluids now known a Brownian motion (1773-1858); a university in Rhode Island; verb fry in a pan until it changes color

• browning - noun English poet best remembered for love sonnets written to her husband Robert Browning (1806-1861); English poet and husband of Elizabeth Barrett Browning noted for his dramatic monologues (1812-1889); United States inventor of firearms (especially automatic pistols and repeating rifles and a machine gun called the Peacemaker) (1855-1926); cooking to a brown crispiness over a fire or on a grill

• buffalo wing - noun crisp spicy chicken wings

• burnt - adj. ruined by overcooking; destroyed or badly damaged by fire; hardened by subjecting to intense heat; treated by heating to a high temperature but below the melting or fusing point; having undergone oxidation

• burrito - noun a flour tortilla folded around a filling

• butcher - noun a person who slaughters or dresses meat for market; a brutal indiscriminate murderer; a retailer of meat; someone who makes mistakes because of incompetence; verb kill (animals) usually for food consumption

• butcher block - noun a thick wooden slab formed by bonding together thick laminated strips of unpainted hardwood

• butcher knife - noun a large sharp knife for cutting or trimming meat

• butcher paper - noun a strong wrapping paper that resists penetration by blood or meat fluids

• butter - noun an edible emulsion of fat globules made by churning milk or cream; for cooking and table use; a fighter who strikes the opponent with his head; verb spread butter on

• butter churn - noun a vessel in which cream is agitated to separate butterfat from buttermilk

• butter dish - noun a small dish (often with a cover) for holding butter at the table

• butter knife - noun a small knife with a dull blade; for cutting or spreading butter

• butterfat - noun the fatty substance of milk from which butter is made

• cabinet - noun a piece of furniture resembling a cupboard with doors and shelves and drawers; for storage or display; housing for electronic instruments, as radio or television; a storage compartment for clothes and valuables; usually it has a lock; persons appointed by a head of state to head executive departments of government and act as official advisers

• caboose - noun a car on a freight train for use of the train crew; usually the last car on the train; the area for food preparation on a ship

• cake - noun a block of solid substance (such as soap or wax); made from or based on a mixture of flour and sugar and eggs; small flat mass of chopped food; verb form a coat over

• calabash - noun a pipe for smoking; has a curved stem and a large bowl made from a calabash gourd; tropical American evergreen that produces large round gourds; round gourd of the calabash tree; bottle made from the dried shell of a bottle gourd; Old World climbing plant with hard-shelled bottle-shaped gourds as fruits

• california - noun a state in the western United States on the Pacific; the 3rd largest state; known for earthquakes

• can opener - noun a device for cutting cans open

• candy thermometer - noun a thermometer used to determine the temperature of candy syrups during cooking

• canola oil - noun vegetable oil made from rapeseed

• carafe - noun a bottle with a stopper; for serving wine or water

• carhop - noun a waiter at a drive-in restaurant

• case knife - noun a knife with a fixed blade that is carried in a sheath; a metal blade with a handle; used as cutlery

• casserole - noun large deep dish in which food can be cooked and served; food cooked and served in a casserole

• castile soap - noun a good hard soap made from olive oil and sodium hydroxide

• cauldron - noun a very large pot that is used for boiling

• cavetto - noun a concave molding shaped like a quarter circle in cross section

• centrepiece - noun something placed at the center of something else (as on a table); the central or most important feature

• ceramic - adj. of or relating to or made from a ceramic; noun an artifact made of hard brittle material produced from nonmetallic minerals by firing at high temperatures

• ceramics - noun the art of making and decorating pottery

• chafing dish - noun a metal pan over a heater; used to cook or to keep things warm at the table

• character - noun (genetics) an attribute (structural or functional) that is determined by a gene or group of genes; the inherent complex of attributes that determine a persons moral and ethical actions and reactions; an actor's portrayal of someone in a play; a formal recommendation by a former employer to a potential future employer describing the person's qualifications and dependability; a written symbol that is used to represent speech; a person of a specified kind (usually with many eccentricities); good repute; a characteristic property that defines the apparent individual nature of something; an imaginary person represented in a work of fiction (play or film or story); verb engrave or inscribe characters on

• charcoal - adj. of a very dark grey; noun a stick of black carbon material used for drawing; a drawing made with a stick of black carbon material; a very dark grey color; a carbonaceous material obtained by heating wood or other organic matter in the absence of air; verb draw, trace, or represent with charcoal

• charcuterie - noun a delicatessen that specializes in meats

• charleston - noun an American ballroom dance in syncopated rhythm; popular early in the 20th century; a port city in southeastern South Carolina; state capital of West Virginia in the central part of the state on the Kanawha river; verb dance the Charleston

• cheesecake - noun a photograph of an attractive woman in minimal attire; made with sweetened cream cheese and eggs and cream baked in a crumb crust

• cheesecloth - noun a coarse loosely woven cotton gauze; originally used to wrap cheeses

• chef - noun a professional cook

• chicago - noun largest city in Illinois; a bustling Great Lakes port that extends 26 miles along the southwestern shoreline of Lake Michigan; a gambling card game in which chips are placed on the ace and king and queen and jack of separate suits (taken from a separate deck); a player plays the lowest card of a suit in his hand and successively higher cards are played until the sequence stops; the player who plays a card matching one in the layout wins all the chips on that card

• chipolata - noun a small thin sausage

• chocolate - noun a medium brown to dark-brown color; a food made from roasted ground cacao beans; a beverage made from cocoa powder and milk and sugar; usually drunk hot

• chopin - noun the music of Chopin; French composer (born in Poland) and pianist of the romantic school (1810-1849); United States writer who described Creole life in Louisiana (1851-1904)

• chrism - noun a consecrated ointment consisting of a mixture of oil and balsam

• church - noun a place for public (especially Christian) worship; one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship; the body of people who attend or belong to a particular local church; a service conducted in a house of worship; verb perform a special church rite or service for

• church key - noun can opener that has a triangular pointed end that pierces the tops of cans

• churning - adj. (of a liquid) agitated vigorously; in a state of turbulence; moving with or producing or produced by vigorous agitation

• cider - noun a beverage made from juice pressed from apples

• clambake - noun a cookout at the seashore where clams and fish and other foods are cooked--usually on heated stones covered with seaweed

• clamshell - noun the shell of a clam; a dredging bucket with hinges like the shell of a clam

• clarified butter - noun butter made clear by heating and removing the sediment of milk solids

• clark - noun Canadian politician who served as prime minister (1939-); United States psychologist (born in Panama) whose research persuaded the Supreme Court that segregated schools were discriminatory (1914-); United States general who was Allied commander in Africa and Italy in World War II and was commander of the United Nations forces in Korea (1896-1984); United States explorer who (with Meriwether Lewis) led an expedition from St. Louis to the mouth of the Columbia River; Clark was responsible for making maps of the area (1770-1838)

• cleaver - noun a butcher's knife having a large square blade

• cloche - noun a woman's close-fitting hat that resembles a helmet; a low transparent cover put over young plants to protect them from cold

• clover - noun a plant of the genus Trifolium

• cockle - noun common edible European bivalve mollusk having a rounded shell with radiating ribs; common edible European bivalve; verb to gather something into small wrinkles or folds; stir up (water) so as to form ripples

• cocoa butter - noun the vegetable fat from the cacao that is extracted from chocolate liquor; the basis for white chocolate; a yellow-white fat from cocoa beans

• coconut milk - noun clear to whitish fluid from within a fresh coconut; white liquid obtained from compressing fresh coconut meat

• coconut oil - noun oil from coconuts

• cod liver oil - noun an oil obtained from the livers of cod and similar fishes; taken orally as a source of vitamins A and D

• coffee - noun a beverage consisting of an infusion of ground coffee beans; any of several small trees and shrubs native to the tropical Old World yielding coffee beans; a medium brown to dark-brown color; a seed of the coffee tree; ground to make coffee

• coffee filter - noun filter (usually of paper) that passes the coffee and retains the coffee grounds

• cohune oil - noun semisolid fat from nuts of the cohune palm; used in cooking and soap making

• coiling - adj. in the shape of a coil

• colander - noun bowl-shaped strainer; used to wash or drain foods

• coleslaw - noun basically shredded cabbage

• colza oil - noun edible light yellow to brown oil from rapeseed used also as a lubricant or illuminant

• comal - adj. of certain seeds (such as cotton) having a tuft or tufts of hair

• confit - noun a piece of meat (especially a duck) cooked slowly in its own fat

• confiture - noun preserved or candied fruit

• container - noun any object that can be used to hold things (especially a large metal boxlike object of standardized dimensions that can be loaded from one form of transport to another)

• cook - noun someone who cooks food; English navigator who claimed the east coast of Australia for Britain and discovered several Pacific islands (1728-1779); verb transform and make suitable for consumption by heating; transform by heating; prepare for eating by applying heat; prepare a hot meal; fake or falsify

• cookbook - noun a book of recipes and cooking directions

• cooker - noun a utensil for cooking

• cookery - noun the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat

• cookie-cutter - adj. having the same appearance (as if mass-produced)

• cookie jar - noun a jar in which cookies are kept (and sometimes money is hidden)

• cooking - noun the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat

• cooking oil - noun any of numerous vegetable oils used in cooking

• cookware - noun a kitchen utensil made of material that does not melt easily; used for cooking

• cooler - noun a refrigerator for cooling liquids; a cell for violent prisoners; an iced drink especially white wine and fruit juice

• copaiba - noun an oleoresin used in varnishes and ointments

• cordon bleu - noun a chef famous for his great skill; an honor or award gained for excellence

• corkscrew - noun a bottle opener that pulls corks; verb move in a spiral or zigzag course

• corn oil - noun oil from the germs of corn grains

• cornucopia - noun the property of being extremely abundant; a goat's horn filled with grain and flowers and fruit symbolizing prosperity

• costermonger - noun a hawker of fruit and vegetables from a barrow

• cottonseed oil - noun edible oil pressed from cottonseeds

• couscous - noun a pasta made in northern Africa of crushed and steamed semolina; a spicy dish that originated in northern Africa; consists of pasta steamed with a meat and vegetable stew

• cracklings - noun the crisp residue left after lard has been rendered

• crawfish - noun large edible marine crustacean having a spiny carapace but lacking the large pincers of true lobsters; small freshwater decapod crustacean that resembles a lobster; tiny lobster-like crustaceans usually boiled briefly; verb make a retreat from an earlier commitment or activity

• creamer - noun a small pitcher for serving cream

• creamery - noun a workplace where dairy products (butter and cheese etc.) are produced or sold

• creel - noun a wicker basket used by anglers to hold fish

• crispiness - noun firm but easily broken

• crock - noun an earthen jar (made of baked clay); nonsense; foolish talk; a black colloidal substance consisting wholly or principally of amorphous carbon and used to make pigments and ink; verb soil with or as with crock; release color when rubbed, of badly dyed fabric

• croquette - noun minced cooked meats (or vegetables) in thick white sauce; breaded and deep-fried

• croton oil - noun viscid acrid brownish-yellow oil from the seeds of Croton tiglium having a violent cathartic action

• cuisine - noun the practice or manner of preparing food or the food so prepared

• culinary - adj. of or relating to or used in cooking

• curdling - adj. turning into a solid mass; noun the process of forming semisolid lumps in a liquid

• curing - noun the process of becoming hard or solid by cooling or drying or crystallization

• cutlery - noun tableware implements for cutting and eating food; a cutting implement; a tool for cutting

• cutlet - noun thin slice of meat (especially veal) usually fried or broiled

• cutting board - noun a wooden board where meats or vegetables can be cut

• decalcomania - noun the art of transfering designs from specially prepared paper to a wood or glass or metal surface; a design fixed to some surface or a paper bearing the design to be transferred to the surface

• decanter - noun a bottle with a stopper; for serving wine or water

• degustation - noun taking a small amount into the mouth to test its quality

• delicacy - noun subtly skillful handling of a situation; smallness of stature; refined taste; tact; lightness in movement or manner; the quality of being beautiful and delicate in appearance; lack of physical strength; something considered choice to eat

• delicious - adj. greatly pleasing or entertaining; extremely pleasing to the sense of taste; noun variety of sweet eating apples

• dessert - noun a dish served as the last course of a meal

• dessert spoon - noun a spoon larger than a teaspoon and smaller than a tablespoon

• dim sum - noun traditional Chinese cuisine; a variety of foods (including several kinds of steamed or fried dumplings) are served successively in small portions

• ding - noun a ringing sound; an impression in a surface (as made by a blow); verb go `ding dong', like a bell

• dippel's oil - noun dark-colored ill-smelling oil obtained by carbonizing bone; used especially in sheep dips and in denaturing alcohol

• dish - noun a piece of dishware normally used as a container for holding or serving food; directional antenna consisting of a parabolic reflector for microwave or radio frequency radiation; a particular item of prepared food; the quantity that a dish will hold; an activity that you like or at which you are superior; a very attractive or seductive looking woman; verb make concave; shape like a dish; provide (usually but not necessarily food)

• dishcloth - noun a cloth for washing dishes

• dishware - noun tableware (eating and serving dishes) collectively

• dishwasher - noun a machine for washing dishes; someone who washes dishes

• dishwasher detergent - noun a low-sudsing detergent designed for use in dishwashers

• dishwashing - noun the act of washing dishes

• dishwashing liquid - noun a low-sudsing detergent designed for use in dishwashers

• disney - noun United States film maker who pioneered animated cartoons and created such characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck; founded Disneyland (1901-1966)

• doughnut - noun a small ring-shaped friedcake; a toroidal shape

• dram - noun the basic unit of money in Armenia; 1/16 ounce or 1.771 grams; a unit of apothecary weight equal to an eighth of an ounce or to 60 grains

• drawn butter - noun butter made clear by heating and removing the sediment of milk solids

• drink - noun the act of drinking alcoholic beverages to excess; a single serving of a beverage; any large deep body of water; the act of swallowing; any liquid suitable for drinking; verb take in liquids; consume alcohol; drink excessive amounts of alcohol; be an alcoholic; be fascinated or spell-bound by; pay close attention to; propose a toast to

• drinking straw - noun a thin paper or plastic tube used to such liquids into the mouth

• dripping - adj. having liquid falling in drops; wet with secreted or exuded moisture such as sweat or tears; adv. extremely wet; noun a liquid (as water) that flows in drops (as from the eaves of house); the sound of a liquid falling drop by drop

• drop - noun the act of dropping something; a central depository where things can be left or picked up; a sudden sharp decrease in some quantity; a free and rapid descent by the force of gravity; a predetermined hiding place for the deposit and distribution of illicit goods (such as drugs or stolen property); a small indefinite quantity (especially of a liquid); a shape that is spherical and small; a curtain that can be lowered and raised onto a stage from the flies; often used as background scenery; a steep high face of rock; verb give birth; used for animals; stop pursuing or acting; go down in value; change from one level to another; utter casually; lose (a game); leave or unload, especially of passengers or cargo; to fall vertically; let fall to the ground; terminate an association with; grow worse; lower the pitch of (musical notes); leave undone or leave out; cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow; get rid of; let or cause to fall in drops; fall or drop to a lower place or level; pay out; stop associating with; hang freely

• dumpling - noun dessert made by baking fruit wrapped in pastry; small balls or strips of boiled or steamed dough

• dutch oven - noun n oven consisting of a metal box for cooking in front of a fire; iron or earthenware cooking pot; used for stews

• earthenware - noun ceramic ware made of porous clay fired at low heat

• egg timer - noun a sandglass that runs for three minutes; used to time the boiling of eggs

• enchilada - noun tortilla with meat filling baked in tomato sauce seasoned with chili

• epergne - noun a large table centerpiece with branching holders for fruit or sweets or flowers

• faience - noun glazed earthenware decorated with opaque colors

• falafel - noun small croquette of mashed chick peas or fava beans seasoned with sesame seeds

• fifth - adj. coming next after the fourth and just before the sixth in position; noun the musical interval between one note and another five notes away from it; a quantity of liquor equal to one fifth of a United States gallon; position five in a countable series of things; one part in five equal parts

• fillet - noun fastener consisting of a narrow strip of welded metal used to join steel members; a longitudinal slice or boned side of a fish; a boneless steak cut from the tenderloin of beef; a narrow headband or strip of ribbon worn as a headband; a bundle of sensory nerve fibers going to the thalamus; verb cut into filets; decorate with a lace of geometric designs

• film - noun a thin coating or layer; photographic material consisting of a base of celluloid covered with a photographic emulsion; used to make negatives or transparencies; a thin sheet of (usually plastic and usually transparent) material used to wrap or cover things; a medium that disseminates moving pictures; a form of entertainment that enacts a story by a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement; verb make a film or photograph of something; record in film

• finger bowl - noun small bowl for rinsing the fingers at table

• finger food - noun food to be eaten with the fingers

• fire - noun the act of firing weapons or artillery at an enemy; a fireplace in which a relatively small fire is burning; intense adverse criticism; the event of something burning (often destructive); a severe trial; the process of combustion of inflammable materials producing heat and light and (often) smoke; once thought to be one of four elements composing the universe (Empedocles); feelings of great warmth and intensity; verb bake in a kiln so as to harden; cause to go off; go off or discharge; drive out or away by or as if by fire; terminate the employment of; destroy by fire; start firing a weapon; call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses); provide with fuel

• firkin - noun a small wooden keg; a British unit of capacity equal to 9 imperial gallons

• fish ball - noun a fried ball or patty of flaked fish and mashed potatoes; well-seasoned balls of ground fish and eggs and crushed crumbs simmered in fish stock

• fish oil - noun a fatty oil obtained from the livers of various fish

• fish slice - noun a food turner with a broad blade used for turning or serving fish or other food that is cooked in a frying pan

• fisherman - noun someone whose occupation is catching fish

• fishmonger - noun someone who sells fish

• fishwife - noun someone who sells fish

• flagon - noun a large metal or pottery vessel with a handle and spout; used to hold alcoholic beverages (usually wine)

• flora - noun a living organism lacking the power of locomotion; all the plant life in a particular region or period

• fluid ounce - noun a United States unit of capacity or volume equal to 1.804 cubic inches; a British imperial unit of capacity or volume (liquid or dry) equal to 8 fluid drams or 28.416 cubic centimeters (1.734 cubic inches)

• foam - noun a mass of small bubbles formed in or on a liquid; a lightweight material in cellular form; made by introducing gas bubbles during manufacture; verb form bubbles

• fond - adj. (followed by `of' or `to') having a strong preference or liking for; absurd or silly because unlikely; extravagantly or foolishly loving and indulgent; having or displaying warmth or affection

• fondue - noun hot cheese or chocolate melted to the consistency of a sauce into which bread or fruits are dipped; cubes of meat or seafood cooked in hot oil and then dipped in any of various sauces

• food - noun any substance that can be metabolized by an organism to give energy and build tissue; anything that provides mental stimulus for thinking; any solid substance (as opposed to liquid) that is used as a source of nourishment

• food processor - noun a kitchen appliance with interchangeable blades; used for shredding or blending or chopping or slicing food

• footman - noun a man employed as a servant in a large establishment (as a palace) to run errands and do chores

• forcemeat - noun mixture of ground raw chicken and mushrooms with pistachios and truffles and onions and parsley and lots of butter and bound with eggs

• fork - noun cutlery used for serving and eating food; an agricultural tool used for lifting or digging; has a handle and metal prongs; the region of the angle formed by the junction of two branches; the act of branching out or dividing into branches; the angle formed by the inner sides of the legs where they join the human trunk; verb shape like a fork; place under attack with one's own pieces, of two enemy pieces; divide into two or more branches so as to form a fork; lift with a pitchfork

• fricassee - noun pieces of chicken or other meat stewed in gravy with e.g. carrots and onions and served with noodles or dumplings; verb make a fricassee of by cooking

• frying - noun cooking in fat or oil in a pan or griddle

• frying pan - noun a pan used for frying foods

• funnel - noun (nautical) smokestack consisting of a shaft for ventilation or the passage of smoke (especially the smokestack of a ship); a conically shaped utensil having a narrow tube at the small end; used to channel the flow of substances into a container with a small mouth; a conical shape with a wider and a narrower opening at the two ends; verb move or pour through a funnel

• furniture - noun furnishings that make a room or other area ready for occupancy

• galley - noun the area for food preparation on a ship; the kitchen area for food preparation on an airliner; (classical antiquity) a crescent-shaped seagoing vessel propelled by oars; a large medieval vessel with a single deck propelled by sails and oars with guns at stern and prow; a complement of 1,000 men; used mainly in the Mediterranean for war and trading

• gallon - noun United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters; a British imperial capacity measure (liquid or dry) equal to 4 quarts or 4.545 liters

• garlic butter - noun butter seasoned with mashed garlic

• garlic press - noun a press for extracting juice from garlic

• garnish - noun any decoration added as a trimming or adornment; something (such as parsley) added to a dish for flavor or decoration; verb decorate (food), as with parsley or other ornamental foods; take a debtor's wages on legal orders, such as for child support

• gas stove - noun a range with gas rings and an oven for cooking with gas

• gazpacho - noun a soup made with chopped tomatoes and onions and cucumbers and peppers and herbs; served cold

• ghee - noun clarified butter used in Indian cookery

• gill - noun respiratory organ of aquatic animals that breathe oxygen dissolved in water; any of the radiating leaflike spore-producing structures on the underside of the cap of a mushroom or similar fungus; a United States liquid unit equal to 4 fluid ounces; a British imperial capacity unit (liquid or dry) equal to 5 fluid ounces or 142.066 cubic centimeters

• glass - noun a container for holding liquids while drinking; glassware collectively; the quantity a glass will hold; a brittle transparent solid with irregular atomic structure; a small refracting telescope; a mirror; usually a ladies' dressing mirror; an amphetamine derivative (trade name Methedrine) used in the form of a crystalline hydrochloride; used as a stimulant to the nervous system and as an appetite suppressant; verb put in a glass container; enclose with glass; scan (game in the forest) with binoculars; furnish with glass; become glassy or take on a glass-like appearance

• glaze - noun coating for fabrics, ceramics, metal, etc.; a glossy finish on a fabric; any of various thin shiny (savory or sweet) coatings applied to foods; verb become glassy or take on a glass-like appearance; coat with a glaze; coat with something sweet, such as a hard sugar glaze; furnish with glass

• gourmet - noun a person devoted to refined sensuous enjoyment (especially good food and drink)

• grater - noun utensil with sharp perforations for shredding foods (as vegetables or cheese)

• greaseproof paper - noun paper that is impermeable to oil or grease; used in cooking

• griddle - noun cooking utensil consisting of a flat heated surface (as on top of a stove) on which food is cooked; verb cook on a griddle

• gridiron - noun the playing field on which football is played; a cooking utensil of parallel metal bars; used to grill fish or meat

• grilling - noun cooking by direct exposure to radiant heat (as over a fire or under a grill)

• grinder - noun a machine tool that polishes metal; machinery that processes materials by grinding or crushing; grinding tooth with a broad crown; located behind the premolars; a large sandwich made of a long crusty roll split lengthwise and filled with meats and cheese (and tomato and onion and lettuce and condiments); different names are used in different sections of the United States

• guacamole - noun a dip made of mashed avocado mixed with chopped onions and other seasonings

• half-and-half - adj. in equal parts; adv. in equal parts; noun half milk and half light cream; contains 10% to 18% butterfat

• halfway - adj. including only half or a portion; at a point midway between two extremes; equally distant from the extremes; adv. at half the distance; at the middle

• ham and eggs - noun eggs (scrambled or fried) served with ham

• hamburger - noun a sandwich consisting of a fried cake of minced beef served on a bun, often with other ingredients; beef that has been ground

• hamper - noun a basket usually with a cover; a restraint that confines or restricts freedom (especially something used to tie down or restrain a prisoner); verb prevent the progress or free movement of; put at a disadvantage

• harare - noun the capital and largest city of Zimbabwe

• haute cuisine - noun (French) an elaborate and skillful manner of preparing food

• hawker - noun a person who breeds and trains hawks and who follows the sport of falconry; someone who travels about selling his wares (as on the streets or at carnivals)

• heater - noun device that heats water or supplies warmth to a room; (baseball) a pitch thrown with maximum velocity

• hefty - adj. of considerable weight and size; large in amount or extent or degree; (of a person) possessing physical strength and weight; rugged and powerful

• hell's kitchen - noun a district in Manhattan formerly noted for its slums and vice

• hibachi - noun a portable brazier that burns charcoal and has a grill for cooking; verb cook over a hibachi grill

• highlander - noun a native of the Highlands of Scotland; a soldier in a Scottish regiment from the Highlands

• highway - noun a major road for any form of motor transport

• hogshead - noun a large cask especially one holding 63 gals; a British unit of capacity for alcoholic beverages

• holloware - noun silverware serving dishes

• home appliance - noun an appliance that does a particular job in the home

• home fries - noun sliced pieces of potato fried in a pan until brown and crisp

• hors d'oeuvre - noun a dish served as an appetizer before the main meal

• hot-dog - verb perform intricate maneuvers while skiing

• hot plate - noun a portable electric appliance for heating or cooking or keeping food warm

• hummus - noun a thick spread made from mashed chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice and garlic; used especially as a dip for pita; originated in the Middle East

• hygiene - noun the science concerned with the prevention of illness and maintenance of health; a condition promoting sanitary practices

• ice cream - noun frozen dessert containing cream and sugar and flavoring

• infusion - noun the act of infusing or introducing a certain modifying element or quality; (medicine) the passive introduction of a substance (a fluid or drug or electrolyte) into a vein or between tissues (as by gravitational force); the process of extracting certain active properties (as a drug from a plant) by steeping or soaking (usually in water); a solution obtained by steeping or soaking a substance (usually in water)

• jadeite - noun a hard green mineral consisting of sodium aluminum silicate in monoclinic crystalline form; a source of jade; found principally in Burma

• japan - noun lacquer with a durable glossy black finish, originally from the orient; lacquerware decorated and varnished in the Japanese manner with a glossy durable black lacquer; a string of more than 3,000 islands east of Asia extending 1,300 miles between the Sea of Japan and the western Pacific Ocean; a constitutional monarchy occupying the Japanese Archipelago; a world leader in electronics and automobile manufacture and ship building; verb coat with a lacquer, as done in Japan

• jerk - noun an abrupt spasmodic movement; raising a weight from shoulder height to above the head by straightening the arms; a dull stupid fatuous person; (mechanics) the rate of change of acceleration; a sudden abrupt pull; meat (especially beef) cut in strips and dried in the sun; verb throw or toss with a quick motion; move with abrupt, seemingly uncontrolled motions; make an uncontrolled, short, jerky motion; pull, or move with a sudden movement; jump vertically, with legs stiff and back arched

• jubilee - noun a special anniversary (or the celebration of it)

• juicer - noun a squeezer with a conical ridged center that is used for squeezing juice from citrus fruit; a person who drinks alcoholic beverages (especially to excess)

• kazan - noun an industrial city in the European part of Russia; United States stage and screen director (born in Turkey) and believer in method acting (1909-2003)

• kebab - noun cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables

• kentucky - noun a state in east central United States; a border state during the American Civil War; famous for breeding race horses

• kettle - noun a metal pot for stewing or boiling; usually has a lid; a large hemispherical brass or copper percussion instrument with a drumhead that can be tuned by adjusting the tension on it; the quantity a kettle will hold; (geology) a hollow (typically filled by a lake) that results from the melting of a mass of ice trapped in glacial deposits

• kiln - noun a furnace for firing or burning or drying such things as porcelain or bricks

• kitchen - noun a room equipped for preparing meals

• kitchen cabinet - noun an inner circle of unofficial advisors to the head of a government

• kitchen stove - noun a kitchen appliance used for cooking food

• kitchen utensil - noun a utensil used in preparing food

• kitchenette - noun small kitchen

• kitchenware - noun hardware utensils for use in a kitchen

• knish - noun (Yiddish) baked or fried turnover filled with potato or meat or cheese; often eaten as a snack

• knob - noun a round handle; a circular rounded projection or protuberance; an ornament in the shape of a ball on the hilt of a sword or dagger; any thickened enlargement

• ladle - noun a spoon-shaped vessel with a long handle; used to transfer liquids; verb remove with or as if with a ladle; put (a liquid) into a container by means of a ladle

• lambda - noun the craniometric point at the junction of the sagittal and lamboid sutures of the skull; the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet

• lame - adj. disabled in the feet or legs; pathetically lacking in force or effectiveness; noun a fabric interwoven with threads of metal; someone who doesn't understand what is going on; verb deprive of the use of a limb, especially a leg

• lard - noun soft white semisolid fat obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of the hog; verb prepare or cook with lard; add details to

• las vegas - noun largest city in Nevada; located in southeastern Nevada; originally settled by Mormons but is now famous for entertainment and gambling and general excess

• lauric acid - noun a crystalline fatty acid occurring as glycerides in natural fats and oils (especially coconut oil and palm-kernel oil)

• legume - noun the seedpod of a leguminous plant (such as peas or beans or lentils); an erect or climbing bean or pea plant of the family Leguminosae; the fruit or seed of any of various bean or pea plants consisting of a case that splits along both sides when ripe and having the seeds attach to one side of the case

• linseed oil - noun a drying oil extracted from flax seed and used in making such things as oil paints

• liqueur - noun strong highly flavored sweet liquor usually drunk after a meal

• liquid - adj. clear and bright; smooth and flowing in quality; entirely free of harshness; existing as or having characteristics of a liquid; especially tending to flow; filled or brimming with tears; in cash or easily convertible to cash; smooth and unconstrained in movement; changed from a solid to a liquid state; noun a frictionless continuant that is not a nasal consonant (especially `l' and `r'); the state in which a substance exhibits a characteristic readiness to flow with little or no tendency to disperse and relatively high incompressibility; a substance in the fluid state of matter having no fixed shape but a fixed volume; a substance that is liquid at room temperature and pressure

• litre - noun a metric unit of capacity equal to the volume of 1 kilogram of pure water at 4 degrees centigrade and 760 mm of mercury (or approximately 1.76 pints)

• liturgy - noun a rite or body of rites prescribed for public worship; a Christian sacrament commemorating the Last Supper by consecrating bread and wine

• lock - noun any wrestling hold in which some part of the opponent's body is twisted or pressured; a fastener fitted to a door or drawer to keep it firmly closed; a restraint incorporated into the ignition switch to prevent the use of a vehicle by persons who do not have the key; enclosure consisting of a section of canal that can be closed to control the water level; used to raise or lower vessels that pass through it; a mechanism that detonates the charge of a gun; a strand or cluster of hair; verb become rigid or immoveable; fasten with a lock; hold in a locking position; build locks in order to facilitate the navigation of vessels; hold fast (in a certain state); pass by means through a lock in a waterway; place in a place where something cannot be removed or someone cannot escape; keep engaged; become engaged or intermeshed with one another

• lodge - noun any of various native American dwellings; a small (rustic) house used as a temporary shelter; small house at the entrance to the grounds of a country mansion; usually occupied by a gatekeeper or gardener; English physicist who studied electromagnetic radiation and was a pioneer of radiotelegraphy (1851-1940); a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers; a formal association of people with similar interests; verb fix, force, or implant; provide housing for; be a lodger; stay temporarily; file a formal charge against

• los angeles - noun a city in southern California; motion picture capital of the world; most populous city of California and second largest in the United States

• lunch meat - noun any of various sausages or molded loaf meats sliced and served cold

• maceration - noun softening due to soaking or steeping; extreme leanness (usually caused by starvation or disease)

• magic bullet - noun a remedy (drug or therapy or preventive) that cures or prevents a disease

• majolica - noun highly decorated earthenware with a glaze of tin oxide

• mallet - noun a tool resembling a hammer but with a large head (usually wooden); used to drive wedges or ram down paving stones or for crushing or beating or flattening or smoothing; a light drumstick with a rounded head that is used to strike percussion instruments; a sports implement with a long handle and a head like a hammer; used in sports (polo or croquet) to hit a ball

• manchester - noun a city in northwestern England (30 miles east of Liverpool); heart of the most densely populated area of England; largest city in New Hampshire; located in southeastern New Hampshire on the Merrimack river

• mane - noun long coarse hair growing from the crest of the animal's neck; growth of hair covering the scalp of a human being

• manila - noun the capital and largest city of the Philippines; located on southern Luzon; a strong paper or thin cardboard with a smooth light brown finish made from e.g. Manila hemp

• margarine - noun a spread made chiefly from vegetable oils and used as a substitute for butter

• marmite - noun a large pot especially one with legs used e.g. for cooking soup; soup cooked in a large pot

• mart - noun an area in a town where a public mercantile establishment is set up

• marzipan - noun almond paste and egg whites

• mason jar - noun a glass jar with an air-tight screw top; used in home canning

• measuring cup - noun graduated cup used for measuring ingredients

• meat grinder - noun any action resulting in injury or destruction; a mill for grinding meat

• meat pie - noun pie made with meat or fowl enclosed in pastry or covered with pastry or biscuit dough

• meat thermometer - noun a thermometer that is inserted into the center of a roast (with the top away from the heat source); used to measure how well done the meat is

• meatball - noun ground meat formed into a ball and fried or simmered in broth

• meatloaf - noun a baked loaf of ground meat

• melamine resin - noun a thermosetting resin formed from melamine and an aldehyde; used in molded products, adhesives, and coatings

• melon ball - noun a bite of melon cut as a sphere

• mess kit - noun kit containing a metal dish and eating utensils; used by soldiers and campers

• miami - noun a city and resort in southeastern Florida on Biscayne Bay; the best known city in Florida; a haven for retirees and a refuge for Cubans fleeing Castro; a member of the extinct Algonquian people formerly living in northern Indiana and southern Michigan

• michelangelo - noun Florentine sculptor and painter and architect; one of the outstanding figures of the Renaissance (1475-1564)

• microwave oven - noun kitchen appliance that cooks food by passing an electromagnetic wave through it; heat results from the absorption of energy by the water molecules in the food

• millstone - noun one of a pair of heavy flat disk-shaped stones that are rotated against one another to grind the grain; any load that is difficult to carry; (figurative) something that hinders or handicaps

• mincing - adj. affectedly dainty or refined

• miniature - adj. being on a very small scale; noun copy that reproduces something in greatly reduced size; painting or drawing included in a book (especially in illuminated medieval manuscripts)

• mixer - noun a kitchen utensil that is used for mixing foods; electronic equipment that mixes two or more input signals to give a single output signal; club soda or fruit juice used to mix with alcohol; a party of people assembled to promote sociability and communal activity

• mold - noun container into which liquid is poured to create a given shape when it hardens; sculpture produced by molding; a fungus that produces a superficial growth on various kinds of damp or decaying organic matter; loose soil rich in organic matter; the process of becoming mildewed; the distinctive form in which a thing is made; verb become moldy; spoil due to humidity; fit tightly, follow the contours of; shape or influence; give direction to; make something, usually for a specific function; form by pouring (e.g., wax or hot metal) into a cast or mold; form in clay, wax, etc

• mug - noun with handle and usually cylindrical; the quantity that can be held in a mug; the human face (`kisser' and `smiler' and `mug' are informal terms for `face' and `phiz' is British); a person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of; verb rob at gunpoint or with the threat of violence

• mung bean - noun erect bushy annual widely cultivated in warm regions of India and Indonesia and United States for forage and especially its edible seeds; chief source of bean sprouts used in Chinese cookery; sometimes placed in genus Phaseolus

• musical instrument - noun any of various devices or contrivances that can be used to produce musical tones or sounds

• mustard oil - noun oil obtained from mustard seeds and used in making soap

• mutchkin - noun a Scottish unit of liquid measure equal to 0.9 United States pint

• namer - noun a person who gives a name or names

• napoleon - noun a card game similar to whist; usually played for stakes; a rectangular piece of pastry with thin flaky layers and filled with custard cream; French general who became emperor of the French (1769-1821)

• new orleans - noun a port and largest city in Louisiana; located in southeastern Louisiana near the mouth of the Mississippi river; a major center for offshore drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico; jazz originated here among black musicians in the late 19th century; Mardi Gras is celebrated here each year

• new york - noun a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies; one of the British colonies that formed the United States; the largest city in New York State and in the United States; located in southeastern New York at the mouth of the Hudson river; a major financial and cultural center

• new zealand - noun North Island and South Island and adjacent small islands in the South Pacific; an independent country within the British Commonwealth; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1907; known for sheep and spectacular scenery

• nippy - adj. a sharp biting taste; pleasantly cold and invigorating

• nut - noun a small (usually square or hexagonal) metal block with internal screw thread to be fitted onto a bolt; Egyptian goddess of the sky; usually large hard-shelled seed; one of the two male reproductive glands that produce spermatozoa and secrete androgens; someone who is so ardently devoted to something that it resembles an addiction; a whimsically eccentric person; half the width of an em; verb gather nuts

• nutcracker - noun speckled birds that feed on nuts; a compound lever used to crack nuts open; any of various small short-tailed songbirds with strong feet and a sharp beak that feed on small nuts and insects

• nutritionist - noun a specialist in the study of nutrition

• occupation - noun the act of occupying or taking possession of a building; the principal activity in your life that you do to earn money; any activity that occupies a person's attention; the control of a country by military forces of a foreign power; the period of time during which a place or position or nation is occupied

• office - noun a religious rite or service prescribed by ecclesiastical authorities; place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed; professional or clerical workers in an office; (of a government or government official) holding an office means being in power; a job in an organization; the actions and activities assigned to or required or expected of a person or group; an administrative unit of government

• oil - noun oil paint containing pigment that is used by an artist; a slippery or viscous liquid or liquefiable substance not miscible with water; any of a group of liquid edible fats that are obtained from plants; verb cover with oil, as if by rubbing; administer an oil or ointment to ; often in a religious ceremony of blessing

• olive oil - noun oil from olives

• olla - noun leaf or strip from a leaf of the talipot palm used in India for writing paper

• omelette - noun beaten eggs or an egg mixture cooked until just set; may be folded around e.g. ham or cheese or jelly

• open sandwich - noun sandwich without a covering slice of bread

• organisation - noun the act of forming something; the activity or result of distributing or disposing persons or things properly or methodically; the act of organizing a business or an activity related to a business; an ordered manner; orderliness by virtue of being methodical and well organized; an organized structure for arranging or classifying; a group of people who work together; the persons (or committees or departments etc.) who make up a body for the purpose of administering something

• orzo - noun pasta shaped like pearls of barley; frequently prepared with lamb in Greek cuisine

• oven - noun kitchen appliance used for baking or roasting

• palm kernel - noun see o any oil palm

• palm oil - noun oil from nuts of oil palms especially the African oil palm

• palmitic acid - noun a saturated fatty acid that is the major fat in meat and dairy products

• pancake - noun a flat cake of thin batter fried on both sides on a griddle

• pant - noun the noise made by a short puff of steam (as from an engine); a short labored intake of breath with the mouth open; (usually in the plural) a garment extending from the waist to the knee or ankle, covering each leg separately; verb breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted; utter while panting, as if out of breath

• paper bag - noun a bag made of paper or plastic for holding customer's purchases

• pasta - noun shaped and dried dough made from flour and water and sometimes egg; a dish that contains pasta as its main ingredient

• paste - noun an adhesive made from water and flour or starch; used on paper and paperboard; any mixture of a soft and malleable consistency; a tasty mixture to be spread on bread or crackers; verb cover the surface of; hit with the fists; join or attach with or as if with glue

• pastry - noun any of various baked foods made of dough or batter; a dough of flour and water and shortening

• pasty - adj. resembling paste in color; pallid; having the sticky properties of an adhesive; noun (usually used in the plural) one of a pair of adhesive patches worn to cover the nipples of exotic dancers and striptease performers; small meat pie or turnover

• peanut butter - noun a spread made from ground peanuts

• peanut oil - noun a oil from peanuts; used in cooking and making soap

• peel - noun the rind of a fruit or vegetable; British politician (1788-1850); the tissue forming the hard outer layer (of e.g. a fruit); verb get undressed; come off in flakes or thin small pieces; strip the skin off

• peeler - noun a device for peeling vegetables or fruits; a worker who peels the skins from fruits and vegetables; a performer who provides erotic entertainment by undressing to music

• peg - noun a wooden pin pushed or driven into a surface; a holder attached to the gunwale of a boat that holds the oar in place and acts as a fulcrum for rowing; regulator that can be turned to regulate the pitch of the strings of a stringed instrument; a prosthesis that replaces a missing leg; small markers inserted into a surface to mark scores or define locations etc.; informal terms of the leg; verb stabilize (the price of a commodity or an exchange rate) by legislation or market operations; fasten or secure with a wooden pin; pierce with a wooden pin or knock or thrust a wooden pin into; succeed in obtaining a position

• pellicle - noun thin protective membrane in some protozoa

• pesto - noun a sauce typically served with pasta; contains crushed basil leaves and garlic and pine nuts and Parmesan cheese in olive oil

• pilaf - noun rice cooked in well-seasoned broth with onions or celery and usually poultry or game or shellfish and sometimes tomatoes

• pin - noun a small slender (often pointed) piece of wood or metal used to support or fasten or attach things; a piece of jewelry that is pinned onto the wearer's garment; flagpole used to mark the position of the hole on a golf green; cylindrical tumblers consisting of two parts that are held in place by springs; when they are aligned with a key the bolt can be thrown; informal terms of the leg; a club-shaped wooden object used in bowling; set up in triangular groups of ten as the target; a holder attached to the gunwale of a boat that holds the oar in place and acts as a fulcrum for rowing; axis consisting of a short shaft that supports something that turns; a number you choose and use to gain access to various accounts; small markers inserted into a surface to mark scores or define locations etc.; when a wrestler's shoulders are forced to the mat; verb immobilize a piece; attach or fasten with pins; pierce with a pin; to hold fast or prevent from moving

• pinch - noun a squeeze with the fingers; an injury resulting from getting some body part squeezed; a painful or straitened circumstance; the act of apprehending (especially apprehending a criminal); a small sharp bite or snip; a sudden unforeseen crisis (usually involving danger) that requires immediate action; a slight but appreciable addition; verb irritate as if by a nip, pinch, or tear; squeeze tightly between the fingers; cut the top off; make ridges into by pinching together; make off with belongings of others

• pint - noun a United States liquid unit equal to 16 fluid ounces; two pints equal one quart; a United States dry unit equal to 0.5 quart or 33.6 cubic inches; a British imperial capacity measure (liquid or dry) equal to 4 gills or 568.26 cubic centimeters

• pirozhki - noun small fruit or meat turnover baked or fried

• pizza - noun Italian open pie made of thin bread dough spread with a spiced mixture of e.g. tomato sauce and cheese

• plant - noun a living organism lacking the power of locomotion; buildings for carrying on industrial labor; something planted secretly for discovery by another; an actor situated in the audience whose acting is rehearsed but seems spontaneous to the audience; verb put firmly in the mind; place something or someone in a certain position in order to secretly observe or deceive; put or set (seeds, seedlings, or plants) into the ground; place into a river; fix or set securely or deeply; set up or lay the groundwork for

• plastic - adj. capable of being influenced or formed; forming or capable of forming or molding or fashioning; capable of being molded or modeled (especially of earth or clay or other soft material); noun generic name for certain synthetic or semisynthetic materials that can be molded or extruded into objects or films or filaments or used for making e.g. coatings and adhesives

• plastic wrap - noun wrapping consisting of a very thin transparent sheet of plastic

• plate - noun dish on which food is served or from which food is eaten; a metal sheathing of uniform thickness (such as the shield attached to an artillery piece to protect the gunners); a sheet of metal or wood or glass or plastic; a shallow receptacle for collection in church; structural member consisting of a horizontal beam that provides bearing and anchorage; a full-page illustration (usually on slick paper); a flat sheet of metal or glass on which a photographic image can be recorded; the positively charged electrode in a vacuum tube; any flat platelike body structure or part; a main course served on a plate; the thin under portion of the forequarter; a rigid layer of the Earth's crust that is believed to drift slowly; the quantity contained in a plate; a dental appliance that artificially replaces missing teeth; (baseball) base consisting of a rubber slab where the batter stands; it must be touched by a base runner in order to score; verb coat with a layer of metal

• platter - noun a large shallow dish used for serving food; sound recording consisting of a disk with a continuous groove; used to reproduce music by rotating while a phonograph needle tracks in the groove

• poaching - noun cooking in simmering liquid

• popover - noun light hollow muffin made of a puff batter (individual Yorkshire pudding) baked in a deep muffin cup

• porcelain - noun ceramic ware made of a more or less translucent ceramic

• porridge - noun soft food made by boiling oatmeal or other meal or legumes in water or milk until thick

• porringer - noun a shallow metal bowl (usually with a handle) from which children eat

• pot - noun metal or earthenware cooking vessel that is usually round and deep; often has a handle and lid; street names for marijuana; a container in which plants are cultivated; slang for a paunch; the cumulative amount involved in a game (such as poker); the quantity contained in a pot; a resistor with three terminals, the third being an adjustable center terminal; used to adjust voltages in radios and TV sets; a plumbing fixture for defecation and urination; (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent; verb plant in a pot

• potbelly stove - noun a bulbous stove in which wood or coal is burned

• pothook - noun an S-shaped hook to suspend a pot over a fire

• pottage - noun a stew of vegetables and (sometimes) meat; thick (often creamy) soup

• potter's wheel - noun a horizontal rotating wheel holding the clay being shaped by a potter

• pottery - noun the craft of making earthenware; ceramic ware made from clay and baked in a kiln; a workshop where clayware is made

• poultry - noun flesh of chickens or turkeys or ducks or geese raised for food; a domesticated gallinaceous bird thought to be descended from the red jungle fowl

• pretzel - noun glazed and salted cracker typically in the shape of a loose knot

• primus stove - noun a portable paraffin cooking stove; used by campers

• profession - noun an occupation requiring special education (especially in the liberal arts or sciences); affirmation of acceptance of some religion or faith; an open avowal (true or false) of some belief or opinion; the body of people in a learned occupation

• punnet - noun a small light basket used as a measure for fruits

• pyrex - noun a borosilicate glass with a low coefficient of expansion; used for heat-resistant glassware in cooking and chemistry

• pyrometric cone - noun a pyrometer consisting of a series of cones that melt at different temperatures

• quart - noun a United States liquid unit equal to 32 fluid ounces; four quarts equal one gallon; a United States dry unit equal to 2 pints or 67.2 cubic inches; a British imperial capacity measure (liquid or dry) equal to 2 pints or 1.136 liters

• ramekin - noun a small fireproof dish used for baking and serving individual portions; a cheese dish made with bread and egg crumbs that is baked and served in individual fireproof dishes

• rapeseed oil - noun edible light yellow to brown oil from rapeseed used also as a lubricant or illuminant

• ready - adj. (of especially money) immediately available; brought into readiness; completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress; mentally disposed; apprehending and responding with speed and sensitivity; noun poised for action; verb make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc; prepare for eating by applying heat

• recipe - noun directions for making something

• reduction - noun the act of reducing complexity; any process in which electrons are added to an atom or ion (as by removing oxygen or adding hydrogen); always occurs accompanied by oxidation of the reducing agent; the act of decreasing or reducing something

• refrigerator - noun white goods in which food can be stored at low temperatures

• rendering - noun giving in acknowledgment of obligation; perspective drawing of an architect's design; a coat of stucco applied to a masonry wall; the act of interpreting something as expressed in an artistic performance; an explanation of something that is not immediately obvious; a written communication in a second language having the same meaning as the written communication in a first language; a performance of a musical composition or a dramatic role etc.

• resh - noun the 20th letter of the Hebrew alphabet

• resist - verb withstand the force of something; stand up or offer resistance to somebody or something; refuse to comply; resist immunologically the introduction of some foreign tissue or organ; express opposition through action or words; elude, especially in a baffling way

• restaurant - noun a building where people go to eat

• restaurateur - noun the proprietor of a restaurant

• rna - noun (biochemistry) a long linear polymer of nucleotides found in the nucleus but mainly in the cytoplasm of a cell where it is associated with microsomes; it transmits genetic information from DNA to the cytoplasm and controls certain chemical processes in the cell

• roadblock - noun a barrier set up by police to stop traffic on a street or road in order to catch a fugitive or inspect traffic etc.; any condition that makes it difficult to make progress or to achieve an objective

• roasting - noun cooking (meat) by dry heat in an oven (usually with fat added)

• roll - noun the act of rolling something (as the ball in bowling); a flight maneuver; aircraft rotates about its longitudinal axis without changing direction or losing altitude; walking with a swaying gait; anything rolled up in cylindrical form; photographic film rolled up inside a container to protect it from light; a list of names; the act of throwing dice; a document that can be rolled up (as for storage); a long heavy sea wave as it advances towards the shore; the sound of a drum (especially a snare drum) beaten rapidly and continuously; a deep prolonged sound (as of thunder or large bells); rotary motion of an object around its own axis; small rounded bread either plain or sweet; a roll of currency notes (often taken as the resources of a person or business etc.); a round shape formed by a series of concentric circles (as formed by leaves or flower petals); verb execute a roll, in tumbling; show certain properties when being rolled; take the shape of a roll or cylinder; shape by rolling; pronounce with a roll, of the phoneme /r/; "She rolls her r's"; begin operating or running; move by turning over or rotating; cause to move by turning over or in a circular manner of as if on an axis; move, rock, or sway from side to side; move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment; move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion; emit, produce, or utter with a deep prolonged reverberating sound; occur in soft rounded shapes; boil vigorously; flatten or spread with a roller; wrap or coil around; move along on or as if on wheels or a wheeled vehicle; sell something to or obtain something from by energetic and especially underhanded activity

• rolling pin - noun utensil consisting of a cylinder (usually of wood) with a handle at each end; used to roll out dough

• rotisserie - noun a restaurant that specializes in roasted and barbecued meats; an oven or broiler equipped with a rotating spit on which meat cooks as it turns

• roulade - noun (music) an elaborate run of several notes sung to one syllable; a dish consisting of a slice of meat that is rolled around a filling and cooked

• roux - noun a mixture of fat and flour heated and used as a basis for sauces

• safflower - noun thistlelike Eurasian plant widely grown for its red or orange flower heads and seeds that yield a valuable oil

• safflower oil - noun oil from seeds of the safflower plant; oil from safflower seeds used as food as well as in medicines and paints

• salad - noun food mixtures either arranged on a plate or tossed and served with a moist dressing; usually consisting of or including greens

• salad bowl - noun a large bowl for mixing and serving a salad; a plate or bowl for individual servings of salad

• salted - adj. (used especially of meats) preserved in salt

• salver - noun a tray (or large plate) for serving food or drinks; usually made of silver

• samovar - noun a metal urn with a spigot at the base; used in Russia to boil water for tea

• san francisco - noun a port in western California near the Golden Gate that is one of the major industrial and transportation centers; it has one of the world's finest harbors; site of the Golden Gate Bridge

• sana - noun the capital and largest city of Yemen; on the central plateau

• sandwich - noun two (or more) slices of bread with a filling between them; verb insert or squeeze tightly between two people or objects; make into a sandwich

• sangria - noun sweetened red wine and orange or lemon juice with soda water

• saran - noun any of various thermoplastic resins used to make things

• sauce - noun flavorful relish or dressing or topping served as an accompaniment to food; verb add zest or flavor to, make more interesting; dress (food) with a relish; behave saucy or impudently towards

• saucer - noun a small shallow dish for holding a cup at the table; a disk used in throwing competitions; directional antenna consisting of a parabolic reflector for microwave or radio frequency radiation; something with a round shape like a flat circular plate

• sauerkraut - noun shredded cabbage fermented in brine

• sausage - noun highly seasoned minced meat stuffed in casings; a small nonrigid airship used for observation or as a barrage balloon

• sausage roll - noun sausage meat rolled and baked in pastry

• schmaltz - noun (Yiddish) excessive sentimentality in art or music

• scoop - noun a large ladle; the shovel or bucket of dredge or backhoe; the quantity a scoop will hold; a hollow concave shape made by removing something; street names for gamma hydroxybutyrate; a news report that is reported first by one news organization; verb take out or up with or as if with a scoop; get the better of

• scots - adj. of or relating to or characteristic of Scotland or its people or culture or its English dialect or Gaelic language; noun the dialect of English used in Scotland

• scraper - noun any of various hand tools for scraping

• scruple - noun an ethical or moral principle that inhibits action; uneasiness about the fitness of an action; a unit of apothecary weight equal to 20 grains; verb have doubts about; raise scruples; hesitate on moral grounds

• scullery - noun a small room (in large old British houses) next to the kitchen; where kitchen utensils are cleaned and kept and other rough household jobs are done

• seasoning - noun the act of adding a seasoning to food; something added to food primarily for the savor it imparts

• seattle - noun a major port of entry and the largest city in Washington; located in west central Washington on the protected waters of Puget Sound with the snow-capped peaks of the Cascade Range and Mount Ranier visible to the south and east; an aerospace and computer center; site of the University of Washington

• sender - noun someone who transmits a message; set used to broadcast radio or tv signals

• sesame oil - noun oil obtained from sesame seeds

• set - adj. being below the horizon; converted to solid form (as concrete); fixed and unmoving; set down according to a plan:"a carefully laid table with places set for four people"; (usually followed by `to' or `for') on the point of or strongly disposed; situated in a particular spot or position; determined or decided upon as by an authority; noun several exercises intended to be done in series; the act of putting something in position; any electronic equipment that receives or transmits radio or tv signals; (psychology) being temporarily ready to respond in a particular way; the descent of a heavenly body below the horizon; a group of things of the same kind that belong together and are so used; (mathematics) an abstract collection of numbers or symbols; an unofficial association of people or groups; evil Egyptian god with the head of a beast that has high square ears and a long snout; brother and murderer of Osiris; a unit of play in tennis or squash; representation consisting of the scenery and other properties used to identify the location of a dramatic production; a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way; the process of becoming hard or solid by cooling or drying or crystallization; verb set to a certain position or cause to operate correctly; put into a certain state; cause to be in a certain state; establish as the highest level or best performance; give a fine, sharp edge to a knife or razor; insert (a nail or screw below the surface, as into a countersink); fix in a border; put into a position that will restore a normal state; apply or start; locate; disappear beyond the horizon; arrange attractively; bear fruit; alter or regulate so as to achieve accuracy or conform to a standard; make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc; get ready for a particular purpose or event; equip with sails or masts; become gelatinous; estimate; fix conclusively or authoritatively; decide upon or fix definitely; urge a dog to attack someone; put into a certain place or abstract location; put or set (seeds, seedlings, or plants) into the ground; adapt for performance in a different way; set in type

• sevilla - noun a city in southwestern Spain; a major port and cultural center; the capital of bullfighting in Spain

• ship's galley - noun the area for food preparation on a ship

• shocking - adj. giving offense to moral sensibilities and injurious to reputation; glaringly vivid and graphic; marked by sensationalism

• shortening - noun act of decreasing in length; fat such as butter or lard used in baked goods

• shot glass - noun a small glass adequate to hold a single swallow of whiskey

• sicilian pizza - noun pizza made with a thick crust

• sieve - noun a strainer for separating lumps from powdered material or grading particles; verb distinguish and separate out; check and sort carefully; separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements; examine in order to test suitability

• silo - noun a cylindrical tower used for storing silage; military installation consisting of an underground structure where ballistic missiles can be stored and fired

• silver spoon - noun the inherited wealth of established upper-class families

• simmering - noun cooking in a liquid that has been brought to a boil

• sink - noun plumbing fixture consisting of a water basin fixed to a wall or floor and having a drainpipe; (technology) a process that acts to absorb or remove energy or a substance from a system; a covered cistern; waste water and sewage flow into it; a depression in the ground communicating with a subterranean passage (especially in limestone) and formed by solution or by collapse of a cavern roof; verb descend into or as if into some soft substance or place; pass into a specified state or condition; fall or drop to a lower place or level; cause to sink; go under, "The raft sank and its occupants drowned"; fall heavily or suddenly; decline markedly; embed deeply; fall or sink heavily; appear to move downward

• size - adj. (used in combination) sized; noun the property resulting from being one of a series of graduated measurements (as of clothing); the physical magnitude of something (how big it is); a large magnitude; the actual state of affairs; any glutinous material used to fill pores in surfaces or to stiffen fabrics; verb make to a size; bring to a suitable size; sort according to size; cover or stiffen or glaze a porous material with size or sizing (a glutinous substance)

• skewer - noun a long pin for holding meat in position while it is being roasted; verb drive a skewer through

• skimmer - noun gull-like seabird that flies along the surface of the water with an elongated lower mandible immersed to skim out food; a cooking utensil used to skim fat from the surface of liquids; a rapid superficial reader; a stiff hat made of straw with a flat crown

• slip - noun the act of avoiding capture (especially by cunning); a minor inadvertent mistake usually observed in speech or writing or in small accidents or memory lapses etc.; a flight maneuver; aircraft slides sideways in the air; a small sheet of paper; an accidental misstep threatening (or causing) a fall; a young and slender person; potter's clay that is thinned and used for coating or decorating ceramics; a socially awkward or tactless act; an unexpected slide; bed linen consisting of a cover for a pillow; a woman's sleeveless undergarment; artifact consisting of a narrow flat piece of material; a slippery smoothness; a place where a craft can be made fast; a part (sometimes a root or leaf or bud) removed from a plant to propagate a new plant through rooting or grafting; verb insert inconspicuously or quickly or quietly; get worse; pass out of one's memory; move smoothly and easily; pass on stealthily; move out of position; to make a mistake or be incorrect; move obliquely or sideways, usually in an uncontrolled manner; move stealthily

• slop bowl - noun a bowl into which the dregs of teacups and coffee cups are emptied at table

• smith - noun someone who works metal (especially by hammering it when it is hot and malleable); someone who works at something specified; Scottish economist who advocated private enterprise and free trade (1723-1790); English explorer who helped found the colony at Jamestown, Virginia; was said to have been saved by Pocahontas (1580-1631); religious leader who founded the Mormon Church in 1830 (1805-1844); United States blues singer (1894-1937); United States suffragist who refused to pay taxes until she could vote (1792-1886); United States singer noted for her rendition of patriotic songs (1909-1986); United States sculptor (1906-1965); Rhodesian statesman who declared independence of Zimbabwe from Great Britain (born in 1919)

• smoking - adj. emitting smoke in great volume; noun the act of smoking tobacco or other substances; a hot vapor containing fine particles of carbon being produced by combustion

• smothering - adj. causing difficulty in breathing especially through lack of fresh air and presence of heat

• soap dispenser - noun dispenser of liquid soap

• soda jerk - noun someone who works at a soda fountain

• sommelier - noun a waiter who manages wine service in a hotel or restaurant

• sorbet - noun an ice containing milk

• soul food - noun food traditionally eaten by African-Americans in the South

• soup - noun liquid food especially of meat or fish or vegetable stock often containing pieces of solid food; an unfortunate situation; any composition having a consistency suggestive of soup; verb dope (a racehorse)

• soup spoon - noun a spoon with a rounded bowl for eating soup

• souring - noun the process of becoming sour

• souvlaki - noun made of lamb

• soybean oil - noun oil from soya beans

• spatula - noun a hand tool with a thin flexible blade used to mix or spread soft substances; a turner with a narrow flexible blade

• sperm oil - noun an animal oil found in the blubber of the sperm whale

• spicery - noun the property of being seasoned with spice and so highly flavored

• spoon - noun a piece of cutlery with a shallow bowl-shaped container and a handle; used to stir or serve or take up food; formerly a golfing wood with an elevated face; as much as a spoon will hold; verb scoop up or take up with a spoon; snuggle and lie in a position where one person faces the back of the others

• spork - noun trademark for a plastic eating utensil that has both tines and a bowl like a spoon

• spread - adj. prepared or arranged for a meal; especially having food set out; distributed or spread over a considerable extent; fully extended in width; noun act of extending over a wider scope or expanse of space or time; the expansion of a person's girth (especially at middle age); two facing pages of a book or other publication; process or result of distributing or extending over a wide expanse of space; a tasty mixture to be spread on bread or crackers; decorative cover for a bed; farm consisting of a large tract of land along with facilities needed to raise livestock (especially cattle); a conspicuous disparity or difference as between two figures; a haphazard distribution in all directions; a meal that is well prepared and greatly enjoyed; verb distribute or disperse widely; become distributed or widespread; distribute over a surface in a layer; cover by spreading something over; strew or distribute over an area; spread across or over; cause to become widely known; become widely known and passed on; spread out or open from a closed or folded state; move outward

• stage - noun a section or portion of a journey or course; a large platform on which people can stand and can be seen by an audience; a small platform on a microscope where the specimen is mounted for examination; the theater as a profession (usually `the stage'); any scene regarded as a setting for exhibiting or doing something; a large coach-and-four formerly used to carry passengers and mail on regular routes between towns; a specific identifiable position in a continuum or series or especially in a process; any distinct time period in a sequence of events; verb plan, organize, and carry out (an event); perform (a play), especially on a stage

• steak - noun a slice of meat cut from the fleshy part of an animal or large fish

• steaming - adj. filled with steam or emitting moisture in the form of vapor or mist; adv. (used of heat) extremely

• stew - noun food prepared by stewing especially meat or fish with vegetables; agitation resulting from active worry; verb cook slowly and for a long time in liquid; bear a grudge; harbor ill feelings; be in a huff; be silent or sullen

• stilt - noun long-legged three-toed black-and-white wading bird of inland ponds and marshes or brackish lagoons; long-legged three-toed wading bird of brackish marshes of Australia; one of two stout poles with foot rests in the middle; used for walking high above the ground; a column of wood or steel or concrete that is driven into the ground to provide support for a structure

• stone - adj. of any of various dull tannish or grey colors; noun building material consisting of a piece of rock hewn in a definite shape for a special purpose; a lack of feeling or expression or movement; United States architect (1902-1978); United States jurist who served on the United States Supreme Court as chief justice (1872-1946); United States journalist who advocated liberal causes (1907-1989); United States feminist and suffragist (1818-1893); United States filmmaker (born in 1946); United States jurist who was named chief justice of the United States Supreme Court in 1941 by Franklin D. Roosevelt (1872-1946); the hard inner (usually woody) layer of the pericarp of some fruits (as peaches or plums or cherries or olives) that contains the seed; an avoirdupois unit used to measure the weight of a human body; equal to 14 pounds; a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter; material consisting of the aggregate of minerals like those making up the Earth's crust; a crystalline rock that can be cut and polished for jewelry; verb kill by throwing stones at; remove the pits from

• stoneware - noun ceramic ware that is fired in high heat and vitrified and nonporous

• stork - noun large mostly Old World wading birds typically having white-and-black plumage

• stove - noun any heating apparatus; a kitchen appliance used for cooking food

• stuffing - noun padding put in mattresses and cushions and upholstered furniture; a mixture of seasoned ingredients used to stuff meats and vegetables

• suckling pig - noun whole young pig suitable for roasting

• suet - noun hard fat around the kidneys and loins in beef and mutton

• sugar bowl - noun a dish in which sugar is served

• sugar spoon - noun a spoon for serving sugar; often made in the shape of a seashell

• sunflower oil - noun oil from sunflower seeds

• supreme - adj. greatest or maximal in degree; extreme; final or last in your life or progress; highest in excellence or achievement; greatest in status or authority or power

• sweating - adj. being wet with perspiration; noun the process of the sweat glands of the skin secreting a salty fluid

• tabbouleh - noun a finely chopped salad with tomatoes and parsley and mint and scallions and bulgur wheat

• table knife - noun a knife used for eating at dining table

• tablecloth - noun a covering spread over a dining table

• tablespoon - noun a spoon larger than a dessert spoon; used for serving; as much as a tablespoon will hold

• tableware - noun articles for use at the table (dishes and silverware and glassware)

• taco - noun a tortilla rolled cupped around a filling; offensive terms for a person of Mexican descent

• tahini - noun a thick Middle Eastern paste made from ground sesame seeds

• tall oil - noun an oil derived from wood pulp and used in making soaps or lubricants

• tallow - noun obtained from suet and used in making soap, candles and lubricants

• tamale - noun corn and cornmeal dough stuffed with a meat mixture then wrapped in corn husks and steamed; a city in northern Ghana

• tandoor - noun a clay oven used in northern India and Pakistan

• tantalus - noun (Greek mythology) a wicked king and son of Zeus; condemned in Hades to stand in water that receded when he tried to drink and beneath fruit that receded when he reached for it

• taylor - noun 12th President of the United States; died in office (1784-1850); United States film actress (born in England) who was a childhood star; as an adult she often co-starred with Richard Burton (born in 1932); United States composer and music critic (1885-1966)

• tea caddy - noun a can for storing tea

• tea chest - noun chest for storing or transporting tea

• tea cosy - noun a padded cloth covering to keep a teapot warm

• tea set - noun a set of china or silverware for serving tea

• tea-strainer - noun a device to keep back tea leaves when pouring a cup of tea

• tea urn - noun an urn in which tea is brewed and from which it is served

• teacup - noun a cup from which tea is drunk; as much as a teacup will hold

• teaspoon - noun a small spoon used for stirring tea or coffee; holds about one fluid dram; as much as a teaspoon will hold

• tempering - adj. moderating by making more temperate; noun hardening something by heat treatment

• template - noun a model or standard for making comparisons

• teriyaki - noun beef or chicken or seafood marinated in spicy soy sauce and grilled or broiled

• terrine - noun a pate or fancy meatloaf baked in an earthenware casserole

• texas - noun the second largest state; located in southwestern United States on the Gulf of Mexico

• texture - noun the feel of a surface or a fabric; the characteristic appearance of a surface having a tactile quality; the musical pattern created by parts being played or sung together; the essential quality of something

• tiffany - noun United States artist who developed Tiffany glass (1848-1933)

• tiffin - noun a midday meal

• timbale - noun small pastry shell for creamy mixtures of minced foods; individual serving of minced e.g. meat or fish in a rich creamy sauce baked in a small pastry mold or timbale shell

• title - noun an established or recognized right; an identifying appellation signifying status or function: e.g. `Mr.' or `General'; an appellation signifying nobility; the name of a work of art or literary composition etc.; a heading that names a statute or legislative bill; may give a brief summary of the matters it deals with; (usually plural) written material introduced into a movie or TV show to give credits or represent dialogue or explain an action; a general or descriptive heading for a section of a written work; an informal right to something; a legal document signed and sealed and delivered to effect a transfer of property and to show the legal right to possess it; the status of being a champion; verb designate by an identifying term; give a title to

• toast - noun slices of bread that have been toasted; a celebrity who receives much acclaim and attention; a drink in honor of or to the health of a person or event; a person in desperate straits; someone doomed; verb propose a toast to; make brown and crisp by heating

• toaster - noun a kitchen appliance (usually electric) for toasting bread; someone who proposes a toast; someone who drinks to the health of success of someone or some venture

• toastmaster - noun the person who proposes toasts and introduces speakers at a banquet

• toby jug - noun a drinking mug in the shape of a stout man wearing a three-cornered hat

• tomato paste - noun thick concentrated tomato puree

• tongs - noun any of various devices for taking hold of objects; usually have two hinged legs with handles above and pointed hooks below

• tool - noun an implement used in the practice of a vocation; the means whereby some act is accomplished; obscene terms for penis; a person who is controlled by others and is used to perform unpleasant or dishonest tasks for someone else; verb work with a tool; drive; furnish with tools; ride in a car with no particular goal and just for the pleasure of it

• toothpick - noun pick consisting of a small strip of wood or plastic; used to pick food from between the teeth

• toque - noun a tall white hat with a pouched crown; worn by chefs; a small round woman's hat

• trade - noun the skilled practice of a practical occupation; the commercial exchange (buying and selling on domestic or international markets) of goods and services; the business given to a commercial establishment by its customers; an equal exchange; a particular instance of buying or selling; people who perform a particular kind of skilled work; steady winds blowing from east to west above and below the equator; verb exchange or give (something) in exchange for; turn in as payment or part payment for a purchase; engage in the trade of; be traded at a certain price or under certain conditions; do business; offer for sale as for one's livelihood

• trencher - noun a wooden board or platter on which food is served or carved; someone who digs trenches

• trivet - noun a stand with short feet used under a hot dish on a table; a three-legged metal stand for supporting a cooking vessel in a hearth

• tung oil - noun a yellow oil obtained from the seeds of the tung tree

• unit - noun a single undivided whole; an organization regarded as part of a larger social group; a single undivided natural thing occurring in the composition of something else; an individual or group or structure or other entity regarded as a structural or functional constituent of a whole; an assemblage of parts that is regarded as a single entity; any division of quantity accepted as a standard of measurement or exchange

• united states - noun North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776; the executive and legislative and judicial branches of the federal government of the United States

• utensil - noun an implement for practical use (especially in a household)

• vegetable oil - noun any of a group of liquid edible fats that are obtained from plants

• vessel - noun a craft designed for water transportation; an object used as a container (especially for liquids); a tube in which a body fluid circulates

• vigor - noun active strength of body or mind; an imaginative lively style (especially style of writing); forceful exertion

• waffle iron - noun a kitchen appliance for baking waffles; the appliance usually consists of two indented metal pans hinged together so that they create a pattern on the waffle

• waitress - noun a woman waiter; verb serve as a waiter or waitress in a restaurant

• walnut oil - noun oil from walnuts

• warranty - noun a written assurance that some product or service will be provided or will meet certain specifications

• wax paper - noun paper that has been waterproofed by treatment with wax of paraffin

• wet bar - noun a bar for mixing drinks that has a sink with running water

• whale oil - noun a white to brown oil obtained from whale blubber; formerly used as an illuminant

• wheat gluten - noun gluten prepared from wheat

• whisk - noun a small short-handled broom used to brush clothes; a mixer incorporating a coil of wires; used for whipping eggs or cream; verb whip with or as if with a wire whisk; brush or wipe off lightly; move somewhere quickly; move quickly and nimbly

• white heat - noun the hotness of something heated until it turns white

• wine - noun a red as dark as red wine; fermented juice (of grapes especially); verb treat to wine; drink wine

• wine bottle - noun a bottle for holding wine

• wok - noun pan with a convex bottom; used for frying in Chinese cooking

• wooden spoon - noun a spoon made of wood; a booby prize consisting of a spoon made of wood

• woods - noun the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area

• yak butter - noun butter made from yaks' milk

Also see

• Glossary of cooking

Other websites

• Cooking tips and recipes
• Best Vegetable Recipes
• Cook the Part