Slices
Seeds
culinary glossary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Paillard
- A piece of meat or fish that has been pounded very
thinly and grilled or sauteed.
Palmier
- A cookie made of sheets of puff pastry that are rolled
in sugar and folded to resemble palm leaves. These cookies are baked until the
sugar becomes caramelized.
Palm Sugar - Known as gula jawa (Indonesian), gula Malacca (Malaysian), nahm tahn beep (Thai). Ivory to light caramel colored sugar cakes. Its flavor is extracted from coconut flower or palm. It is similar to brown sugar. In fact, if you can't find it, you can substitute maple sugar or brown sugar blended with a little maple syrup (to moisten) for palm sugar.
Panada
- A thick paste used as a binding agent for forcemeats.
Flour panadas are made in a style similar to choux paste. Other types use
bread crumbs or potato puree.
Pan-bagnat
- A sandwich from southern France, consisting of small
round loaves of bread which have been hollowed out and filled with onions,
anchovies, black olives, and tuna, then drenched in extra virgin olive oil.
Pan Broiling - To cook in an uncovered skillet where the fat is poured off during cooking.
Pancakes - The pancake is a thin flat cake made from batter and fried on a griddle or in a skillet. The batter usually consists of eggs, flour, milk or water and oil or melted butter.
Pancetta
- Cured pork belly that is rolled and tied. Unlike
American bacon, this is not smoked.
Panforte
- A rich dense torte made of candied fruit and
nuts.
Panino
- The Italian word for sandwich.
Pannetone
- An Italian cake made with a dough rich in egg yolks,
traditionally served around Christmas time. The dough is studded with raisins,
candied fruits, and occasionally pistachios.
Panzanella
- A salad consisting of toasted cubes of bread tossed with
vegetables and vinaigrette. The salad is then marinated for at least one hour.
The bread should be very firm so that it will endure the soaking of dressing.
Vegetables can include tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and onions. Lots of
garlic, capers, black olives, and anchovies are added to the salad.
Papaya - A sweet tropical fruit. The juice of this fruit yields an enzyme that is used as a meat tenderizer. Also known as paw-paw.
Papillote - (French) Cooked in foil or parchment paper to seal in flavor, then served and cut open at table.
Pappardelle
- Wide flat pasta noodles served with rich, hearty sauces.
Paprika - This is the Hungarian word for pepper.
Parboiling - To cook partially by boiling for a short period of time.
Parchment Paper - A silicon based paper that can withstand high heat. It is especially nice to use with sugar and chocolate because they do not stick to the paper at all. Parchment paper can often be reused several times.
Parfait - A dessert consisting of ice cream, layered with a dessert sauce, fruit, or liqueur. In France, a parfait is a frozen dessert containing either whipped cream and Italian meringue or just whipped cream. Parfaits are traditionally served in tall, narrow, footed glasses.
Parmesan cheese - Parmesan is the name that is commonly used outside of Italy (sometimes in Italy), for a group of very hard cheeses that have been made and known in Italy for centuries as grana cheese. It is a hard, dry chesse made from skimmed or partially skimmed cow's milk and usually used for grating. It is one of the finest cheeses in the world. Can be eaten fresh but is best known as a hard grating cheese.
Pasilla Chili
Pepper - Called a chilaca in its fresh form.
The mature chilaca turns from dark green to dark brown. After drying (when it
becomes a pasilla) it changes to a blackish-brown. It has a rich hot flavor
and is generally ground and used for sauces.
Pasta e Fagioli
- A rich bean soup with pasta, in which a large
sausage(such as cotechino) has been cooked. The soup is eaten first, followed
by the sausage served with mustard and bread.
Pastry Cream
- A cooked custard thickened with flour. Some versions may
use cornstarch or a mixture of the two starches.
Pâté
- A French term referring to pastes or pastry.
Pâté Choux
- A paste used to make cream puffs, eclairs, and other
more elaborate pastries. It is made by adding flour to boiling water or milk,
which has been enriched with butter. Eggs are then added into the paste to
leaven it. Savory pastries such as gougere may also be made with this paste.
Pâté a Foncer
- A shortcrust pastry dough made with butter and
strengthened with water. Used as a lining for meat or fish pies.
Pâté Brisée
- A short crust pastry dough made with butter and eggs.
Pâté Feuilletae
- A dough comprised of many alternating layers of butter
and pastry. This is an extremely versatile dough though preparation of it is
labor intensive and very difficult.
Pâté Sablée
- Another type of sweet, short crust dough.
Pâté Sucrée
- A sweet, short crust dough for tarts and tartlets.
Paupiette
- A thin slice of meat, like a scallopine, which is
stuffed and rolled. These may also be made of fish or vegetables.
Pavlova - The Pavlov consists a base made of a meringue crust topped with whipped cream and fresh fruits such as kiwis, strawberries, etc.
Peach Melba – A dessert made up of poached peach halves, vanilla ice cream, and raspberry sauce.
Peche - (French) Peach.
Pecorino Romano - The Pecorino cheeses are made from sheep's milk in Italy. Romano is the best known. Parmesan is a good Romano substitute.
Penne
- Quill-shaped pasta tubes with smooth sides. Those with
ridges are called penne rigati. These are also called mostaciolli. Large
quill-shaped tubes are called manicotti.
Pepperoncini, pepperoncino - Also known as
Tuscan peppers, sweet Italian peppers, and golden Greek peppers. The Italian
varieties, grown in the Tuscany region of Italy, tend to be more bitter than
their Greek counterparts. The more popular Greek varieties are sweeter and
commonly found in pizzerias tossed in salads for a crunchy, salty taste.
Persillade
- A mixture of chopped parsley and garlic, added to
recipes at the end of cooking.
Pesto
- A delicious sauce used for pastas, grilled meats, and
poultry. This is made of fresh basil, garlic, olive oil, and parmesan cheese.
Some versions will also add parsley and walnuts or pine nuts. The ingredients
are ground into a paste and moistened with the olive oil. Pesto is also used
to describe similar sauces that contain other herbs or nuts.
Petit Four
- A small cookie or cake served on elaborate buffets or at
the end of a multi-course meal.
Phyllo - From the Greek word for "leaf." Phyllo is a paper-thin pastry dough used in Greek and Middle Eastern sweet and savory dishes. The most popular use of phyllo is the pastry, baklava. Frozen and fresh phyllo dough can be found in supermarkets and Middle Eastern grocery stores. Unopened, phyllo can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a month. Once opened, use within 2 to 3 days. Frozen phyllo can be stored for up to 1 year. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Refreezing phyllo will make it brittle.
Pickling - Pickling is the preserving of food in an acid (usually vinegar), and it is this acid environment that prevents undesirable bacteria growth. People the world over preserve food through pickling in salt or vinegar.
Pico de Gallo
- Literally meaning "rooster's beak", this is a very hot,
raw salsa made of fresh chiles, onions, and tomatoes.
Pimiento - Pimientos are simply a variety
of a red bell pepper. Usually they are peeled and packed in brine. The are
different from roasted peppers in that they have not been roasted at all. In
cooking, pimientos are interchangeable with roasted peppers.
Pine nut - Also known as the Indian
nut, pinon, pignoli, pine kernel, and pignolia. Not actually a nut, but a seed
from the cone of the Mediterranean stone pine. There are two main varieties of
pine nuts, the Mediterranean and the Chinese. The Mediterranean pine nut is
more delicately flavored than the Chinese pine nut, which has a stronger pine
flavor. The nuts come from the inside of a pine cone, which generally must be
heated for their removal. Toasting brings out their buttery flavor. An
important ingredient in pesto, also good in salads
Pinot gris - A dry white wine.
Piroshki
- Small Russian meat pies, like empanadas, eaten for lunch
or snacks.
Pissaladiere
- A southern French pizza consisting of a thick bread
crust covered with cooked onions flavored with garlic. The pizza is then
topped with black olives and anchovies.
Pistachio nut - The small bright green nut has a yellowish-red skin and is enclosed in a smooth pale shell. They have a sweet, delicate flavor. Pistachios are available year-round shelled and unshelled. When buying unshelled pistachios make sure the shells are partially open (closed shells mean the nutmeat is immature).
Pita Bread
- Flat round bread made with or without a pocket.
Pizza - Pizza is the Italian word for "pie," therefore English-speaking peoples who call it a "pizza pie" are being redundant. The root word in Latin is "picea," which describes the blackening of the crust caused by the fire underneath.
Pizzelle - Pizzelle's come from Italy. Pizzelle are also known as Italian wafer cookies and there are various ways which to spell pizzelle such as "piazelle," "piazella," "pizzele" and "pizelle." The name comes from the Italian word "pizze" for round and flat. Many different cultures have adapted this cookie and re-named it accordingly. In Scandinavia they are also known as Lukken and indeed the Krumcake is baked using a similar iron as the pizzelle.
Poblano Chili
Pepper - A dark, sometimes almost black green
chili pepper with a mild flavor. Best known for its use in "Chili Rellenos", a
Mexican stuffed pepper.
Polenta
- The Italian version of cornmeal mush. Coarsely ground
yellow cornmeal is cooked with stock or water and flavored with onions,
garlic, and cheese. Polenta may be eaten fresh out of the pot, as a perfect
accompaniment to stews. Polenta may also be poured into a greased pan and
allowed to set. It is then sliced, saut‚ed, and topped with cheese or tomato
sauce. When cooked properly, polenta is a simple treasure.
Pomegranate - Hidden beneath its hard, leathery skin are dozens of crunchy, translucent, scarlet seeds embedded in white membranes. Pomegranates are the size of a small grapefruit (about 4 to 6 inches in diameter). Choose fruit with a rich, red skin bearing no signs of shriveling (they should feel heavy). Use the seeds as you would use nuts to garnish fruit, vegetables, salads, pasta, etc. The juice is also used in cooking.
Pomelo/pummelo - Also called Chinese grapefruit, shaddock, pumelo, pommelo, and pompelmous. The pummelo is an exotic large citrus fruit. Pummelo is the largest of the citrus fruits with a shape that can be fairly round or slightly pointed at one end (the fruit ranges from nearly round to oblate or pear-shaped). The skin is green to yellow and slightly bumpy; flesh color ranges from pink to rose.
Poppy seeds - The opium poppy, from which the seeds are cultivated, is among the oldest cultivated plants. Greeks grew the plant specifically for its seeds, which, among other uses, were mixed into cakes with honey and taken by Olympic athletes to provide an immediate burst of energy. Poppy seeds have none of the narcotic qualities of the opium drug.
Port - A strong, dark red wine that comes from Portugal and was traditionally drunk by gentlemen at the end of dinner when they withdrew from the ladies to smoke their cigars.
Portbello (portbella) mushrooms - The name "portobollo" was what the mushroom was first called. It still is in most parts of the world. Somewhere along the line, somebody decided to make the name sound more Italian by spelling it "portabella." This spelling is the one now used by most commercial growers and wholesalers, but the name "portobollo" remains on menus today. You will find both variations today. This wonderful mushroom is one of the most popular mushrooms today. It is a very large cremini (cremini is a brown or cream-colored version of the white button mushroom) and is the largest and hardiest of cultivated mushrooms, with flat caps and open veils, up to 6 inches in diameter. This large, impressive mushroom makes a great meat substitute. When grilled it tastes a lot like steak.
Porterhouse Steak - A cut of meat from the rear end of the short loin. The name originates from the days when it was served in public alehouses that also served a dark beer called porter. It consists of a hefty chunk of tenderloin with an even heftier chunk of sirloin tip. Some folks like to remove the tenderloin to serve separately as filet mignon.
Praline
- In French cookery this is a powder or paste made of
caramelized almonds and/or hazelnuts. American cookery refers to a candy
consisting of caramel and pecans.
Primavera - Primavera literally means "spring style " in Italian. This usually means topping a dish with fresh vegetables (raw or blanched). Pasta Primavera is one of the most common primavera dishes and usually has a combination of the following: broccoli, squash, asparagus, red bell peppers, and peas. Just on its own pasta with fresh vegetables might be too bland, so many cooks supplement the dish with either a light, broth based sauce or a creamy cheese sauce.
Profiterole
- A small puff made with pate choux usually filled an
served as an appetizer.
Prosciutto
- The Italian word for ham, usually referring to the raw
cured hams of Parma. Though once impossible to obtain in the United States due
to USDA regulations, fine prosciuttos from Italy and Switzerland are now being
imported. These hams are called prosciutto crudo. Cooked hams are called
prosciutto cotto. Prosciutto is best when sliced paper thin served with ripe
figs or wrapped around grissini.
Pumate
- Italian for sun-dried tomatoes.
Pumpernickel – Pumpernickel is dark, coarsely ground rye flour that is used in making pumpernickel bread. Pumpernickel flour is made in much the same way as whole-wheat flour, which is milled from the entire rye grain including the bran.
Puttanesca
- A piquant pasta sauce made of tomatoes, onions, black
olives, capers, anchovies, and chile flakes. The hot pasta is tossed in this
sauce prior to serving. Some recipes leave the ingredients raw, allowing the
heat of the pasta to bring out the flavors.
