Culinary Dictionary

Cooking Dictionary - E

Eatin' irons - An old Western term for utensils; fork, spoon and knife.

Eau-de-vie - [French] "water of life," describes any colorless brandy distilled from fermented fruit juice. Kirsch (cherry) and framboise (raspberry) are two popular varieties.

Eccles Cake - a round flat cake made of pastry filled with currants etc. This cake originated in the two of Eccles, Lancashire, England.

Eclair - [French] a small finger-shaped bun made of puff paste with a glace icing, filled with custard or whipped cream.

Ecrivisses - [French] crayfish.

Effiler - To remove the fibrous string from a string bean; to thinly slice almonds.

Egg roll - Usually served as an appetizer, this small, deep-fried Chinese pastry is filled with minced or shredded vegetable and often meat. Egg roll skins are available in Asian markets and most large supermarkets.

Egg thread - Lightly beaten eggs that are poured slowly into a hot broth, creating irregular shaped threads used to garnish soups.

Egg White Powder - Spray dried egg albumen, which can be used in most recipes requiring egg white. It produces an exceptionally high volume, stable egg white foam for use in angel food cakes, chiffon pies, meringues, and divinity. Use egg white powder for uncooked foods such as marzipan and buttercream icing, or foods which are lightly cooked (pie meringues), without the worries associated with fresh egg white, because it is heat treated to meet USDA standards for being salmonella negative.

Eggplant - Eggplants are native to Africa and Asia, and in many parts of those continents, they have come to be regarded as a satisfying substitute for meat. Also known as an aubergine.

Ejotes - [Spanish] green beans; string beans.

Elephant garlic - Elephant garlic is not true garlic but a form of leek. Its white- or purple-skinned cloves are the size of Brazil nuts, and their flavor mild enough to not require cooking. Peel the cloves as you would an onion and use as you would garlic.

Elotes - [Spanish] fresh corn cut from the cob; ear of fresh corn.

Emmental cheese - Named for Switzerland's Emmental valley, this mellow, sweet but nutty cheese is the best Swiss cheese you can buy. It has big holes and a natural, light-brown rind.

Empanada - A small savory pie from Spain and South America. Fillings may be made of meat, seafood, or vegetables. The fillings can be seasoned in many ways. Those from around Spain are flavored with peppers, onions, and tomatoes. Those from South America have a sweet/sour undertone from the addition of raisins and green olives. Crusts may be made from bread dough or flaky dough like pate brisee and puff pastry. Baked or fried pastry turnovers; stuffed with sweet or savory fillings; a street food eaten throughout Latin America.

Empanaditas - Tiny turnovers; traditional New Mexican Christmas food when filled with a Southwestern version of mincemeat.

Emulsion - A mixture of two or more liquids that don't easily combine. such as oil and vinegar.

En crocite - [French] food encased in pastry.

En Papilotte - [French] Food wrapped, cooked and served in oiled or buttered paper or foil.

Encebollada - [Spanish] a dish, often meat, covered with cooked onions.

Encharito - [Spanish] a huge enchilada made with a flour tortilla; a cross between a burrito and an enchilada.

Enchilada - [Spanish] the word comes from the way the dish is made, by drenching or dipping tortillas en chile; rolled or stacked corn tortillas filled with meat or cheese, covered with chile sauce, then baked.

Encurtido - [Spanish] pickled; preserved.

Endive - Closely related to and often confused with chicory, endive comes in two main varieties - Belgian and curly. Belgian endive is creamy white and oblong with pale yellow tips; it's grown completely in the dark to prevent it from turning green. Curly endive has prickly dark green leaves and a pleasantly bitter flavor.

Enebro - [Spanish] juniper.

Eneldo - [Spanish] dill.

Enfrijolada - [Spanish] a type of enchilada made with corn tortillas, refried beans and cheese.

English chop - A double-rib lamb chop.

Enoki - A slender Asian mushroom sold in small packages; good raw in salads or cooked as a garnish. To use, just trim off the spongy base and separate the strands.

Enriched - Resupplied with vitamins and minerals lost or diminished during processing of food.

Ensalada - [Spanish] salad.

Entrecete - A steak cut from the rib section of beef. It is boneless and has a very thin layer of fat. Though steaks cut from the loin ends of the rib are a finer quality steak, the whole rib may be used for entrecete. The term is sometimes used referring to a strip steak. This is not an accurate description. This cut of beef is called the faux-filet or contre-filet. The same as Delmonico steak; a rib chop.

Entree - Originally, a meat of fish served before the main course; also used to designate the main dish of the meal.

Envinado/a - [Spanish] wine added.

Epazote - Strong, bitter perennial herb used primarily to flavor beans; also known as Mexican tea, stinkweed, pigweed, wormseed or goosefoot; occasionally mistaken for lamb's lettuce; grows wild in the United States and Mexico; flavor is intense, reminiscent of eucalyptus; used for tea, stews, soups, green pipi ns and moles; cooked with all types of beans to reduce their gaseous qualities.

Epinards - French - spinach

Escabeche - [Spanish] pickled; souse; vegetables, especially chiles, marinated or pickled in vinegar. A highly seasoned marinade used to flavor and preserve food. Fish and chicken are the most common foods used for escabeche. First the meat is fried and placed in a dish large enough to hold all of the food in one layer. Then a marinade made of onions, peppers, vinegar, and spices is poured over the food while hot. The whole dish is then allowed to rest overnight and served cold.

Escalope, Escallop - [Italian] a thinly sliced food similar to a scaloppini. This may consist of meat, fish, or vegetables; food baked in layers, covered with sauce and crumbs.

Escargot - An edible snail. It is the common name for the land gastropod mollusk. The edible snails of France have a single shell that is tan and white, and 1 to 2 inches diameter.

Escarole - See Endive.

Espagnole Sauce - This is the foundation of all of the brown sauces. A number of modifications have been made of this sauce since its conception. The sauce is now made of a rich brown veal stock thickened with a brown roux. The sauce is then simmered with a mirepoix, bouquet garni, and wine. The long, slow cooking help to purify and concentrate its flavor. It is finally strained through very fine muslin. Demi-glace and glace de viande are all structured around a fine espagnole sauce.

Espinacas - [Spanish] spinach.

Espresso - This thick, strong coffee is made from French or Italian roast - beans with a shiny, dark oily surface.

Essence - Extract. While the words may be used interchangeably US-Great Britain, all essences are extracts, but extracts are not all essences. A stock is a water extract of food. Other solvents (edible) may be oil, ethyl alcohol, as in wine or whiskey, or water. Wine and beer are vegetable or fruit stocks. A common oil extract is of cayenne pepper, used in Asian cooking (yulada). Oils and water essences are becoming popular as sauce substitutes. A common water essence is vegetable stock. A broth is more concentrated, as in beef broth, or bouillon. Beef tea is shin beef cubes and water sealed in a jar and cooked in a water bath for 12 to 24 hours. Most common are alcohol extracts, like vanilla. Not possible to have a water extract of vanilla (natural bean) but vanillin (chemical synth) is water solution. There are also emulsions lemon pulp and lemon oil and purees (often made with sugar) Oils, such as orange or lemon rind (zest) oil, may be extracted by storing in sugar in seal ed container. Distilled oils are not extracts or essences. Attar of rose (for perfume) is lard extracted rose petal oil.

Estilo - [Spanish] "in the style of."

Estofado - [Spanish] stew.

Estouffade - A beef stew made with red wine.

Evaporated milk - Preserved milk that has much of the water content removed through evaporation. Similar to condensed milk, but not nearly as sweet.