Cooking Dictionary Results

C

Chop - to cut into pieces of roughly the same size, either small (finely chopped) or larger (coarsely chopped). Also, rib section of beef, lamb, pork, or other animals.

Choux Pastry - Also called choux paste, pâte à choux and cream-puff pastry, this special pastry is made by an entirely different method from other pastries. The dough, created by combining flour with boiling water and butter, then beating eggs into the mixture, is very sticky and pastelike. During baking, the eggs make the pastry puff into irregular domes (as with cream puffs). After baking, the puffs are split, hollowed out and filled with a custard, whipped cream or other filling. Besides cream puffs, choux pastry is used to make such specialties as éclairs, gougère and profiteroles.

Chutney - from the Hindi chatni, it is a condiment made from fruit, vinegar, sugar and spices; its texture can range from smooth to chunky and its flavor from mild to hot.

Cider Vinegar - vinegar of unprocessed apple cider.

Cilantro - the dark green lacy leaves of the cilantro plant; used as an herb, they have a sharp, tangy fresh flavor and aroma and are used fresh in Mexican, South American and Asian cuisines; also known as Chinese parsley.

Cinnamon - a spice that is the inner bark of the branches of a small evergreen tree (Cinnamonum zeylanicum) native to Sri Lanka and India; has an orange-brown color and a sweet, distinctive flavor and aroma; usually sold in rolled-up sticks (quills) or ground and is used for sweet and savory dishes and as a garnish; also known as Ceylon cinnamon.

Citric Acid - an organic acid common to citrus fruits and used in preserving, retaining color or flavoring drinks.

Citron - a fruit likened to an overgrown knobbly lemon, it is famed for its peel, which is used in marmalades, candies and fruit cakes.

Clarified Butter - butter that has been melted and chilled. The solid is then lifted away from the liquid and discarded.