Cooking Dictionary Results

D

Double Boiler - two saucepans, one of which fits into the top of the other. The lower pan is partially filled with water kept boiling or near boiling to keep the food in the upper pan cooking without excessive or uneven heat.

Dragée - colored sugar-coated nuts or candies.

Drain - to allow a liquid to withdraw from, pour out of, or pour off an item, sometimes with the use of a strainer or colander.

Draw - to remove the entrails of poultry, game.

Drawn Butter - melted butter, sometimes clarified butter.

Dredge - to coat lightly with a dry ingredient, for instance, flour, sugar, bread crumbs, or cornmeal.

Dress - to draw and clean a fowl for cooking. Also, to add dressing to a salad; to garnish.

Drippings - the fat, juices, and other residues separated from meat during cooking and left in the pan, or crusted onto the bottom of the pan. What actually happens is that the substance in the animal juices caramelizes, just as sugar does, on the bottom of a hot pan. Diluting and scraping these up, the cook created the basis for the flavor of the best stews and soups and gravies. Drippings from roasts or sautéed meats in cast iron utensils caramelize exceptionally well, and make possible tastier casseroles and gravies.

Dry Ice - used for refrigeration, this crystallized carbon dioxide is ice that does not produce water when melted. Don’t touch with bare hands and avoid prolonged breathing in an atmosphere saturated by melting dry ice.

Duchesse - a term for potatoes pureed with milk and butter.

Dumpling - a small ball of dough or bread or potatoes, steamed, or simmered in a stew or soup. Sweet dumplings are usually baked and contain fruit.