Little Flower Wading River

Here are some kitchen terms and the meanings for them, so they may be helpful to you when trying to understand the cookbooks on today's market. They may come in handy to help understand the terminology that chef's and pastry chefs use in the kitchen when describing items or tasks.

Bain Marie - technically, the French term for water bath. For candy making purposes it means to place a container (baking pan, bowl, or dish.) in a large pan of warm water to be used as a double boiler.

Bark - confectionery coating used to make candy, and for dipping.

Chocolatier - a person who works with and is knowledgeable in all aspects of chocolate.

Citric Acid - natural fruit acid that adds tang to sour candies.

Crystallizing - a method of preserving fruit or flowers with superfine sugar after they have been dipped in beaten egg whites.

Dipper - a utensil used for dipping candies or to mark the surface decoratively.

Divinity - fluffy white candy мейд with egg whites.

Dragree - very tiny gold or silver hard candy balls used to decorate cookies, cakes, and other candies.

Embellish - to decorate.

Emulsifier - an agent that binds food together.

Enrobe - to drench candy in an outer covering, usually chocolate.

Extracts - pure oil flavorings.

Fondant - a sugar syrup мейд with the addition of glucose to keep it soft and creamy. It is worked and kneaded until smooth, after which it is cut into shapes or draped over cakes.

Foot - a pool of chocolate that collects and hardens at the base of a piece of candy after it has been dipped.

Ganache - chocolate mixture мейд by combining chocolate and boiling cream then stirring until smooth. It can be used as a filling, or base for truffles and other chocolate candy.

Glucose - a substance used to prevent the sugar from crystallizing during boiling.

Jellies - candies мейд with unflavored gelatin as a thickening agent.

Marzipan - sweetened almond paste used for making candy and other decorations.

Molds - transparent plastic shapes that allow chocolate to be poured in, and released easily when hardened.

Nougat - a French candy мейд by whipping egg whites until they are light and frothy. A sugar or honey syrup is added, along with nuts, such as almonds, pistachios, or walnuts. Other flavoring ingredients can be added to create different flavors. Its compact chewy texture is achieved by weighing it down.

Penuche - brown sugar fudge.

Praline - nuts covered in caramelized sugar.

Pulled Candy - candy мейд from a sugar syrup that is repeatedly pulled and folded to incorporate air bubbles. Taffy is a pulled candy.

Spun Sugar - candy мейд by spinning sugar that has been boiled to a high temperature. Cotton candy is spun sugar.

Summer Coating - a confectionery coating that has chocolate flavor but should not be confused with real chocolate. It may contain small amounts of cocoa butter or chocolate liquor, but primarily contains other vegetable fats and cocoa for easier handling and faster set up. The colored summer coatings have a vanilla flavor.

Temper - a procedure that stabilizes the fat crystals in chocolate so that it does not streak, and retains a glossy finish.

Toffee - a candy мейд by boiling brown sugar or molasses with butter and sometimes nuts. It can be soft and chewy, or hard and brittle.

Truffle - rich candy мейд from a basic combination of chocolate, butter and cream. It is scooped or rolled into balls and then covered in optional coatings.a

Chef Shelley Pogue, a Cum Laude, Le Cordon Blue graduate and Executive Research and Development Chef, for Vertical Sales and Marketing, San Ramon, CA. Shelley is also the desserts editor for