Culinary Terms F

1.    #FARCE : Stuffing.
2.    Fare: Any kind of stuffing.
3.    Fennel: A fragrant herb used for flavouring sauces (saunf).
4.    #Fillet : To bone fish, etc.. and cut into fillets.
5.    FILLET:  To remove the bones from meat or fish. A fillet (or filet) is the piece of flesh after it has been boned.
6.    Fillets: Fish with bone removed. Undercuts of veal or beef or slices from the breast of a bird.
7.    FLAKE: To break lightly into small pieces.
8.    #FLAMBE ‘: To flame foods by dousing in some form of potable alcohol and setting alight.
9.    Flan : A pastry case made in a flat tin and afterwards filled with a sweet or savoury mixture.
10.    Flute: A long crisp roll of bread (French) used to garnish soups or to serve with soup.
11.    #FoieGras: Liver of a fat goose.
12.    FOLD: To incorporate a delicate substance, such as whipped cream or beaten egg whites, into another substance without releasing air bubbles. Cut down through mixture with spoon, whisk, or fork; go across bottom of bowl, up and over, close to surface. The process is repeated, while slowing rotating the bowl, until the ingredients are thoroughly blended.
13.    #Fondant : Sugar boiled to °C (°F) and then beaten to a “fudge-like” smoothness. It used as an icing on any kind of sweet.
14.    Fool : A sweet made with sieved fruit and whipped into a frothy mixture and served with cream or custard.
15.    Forcemeat : Savoury stuffing.
16.    FORCEMEAT: Chopped meat.
17.    Frangipane : Confectioner’s custard.
18.    #Frappes :  Sweetened fruit juice. half frozen.
19.    Fricadelies: Braised game or meat in very small pieces.
20.    Fricassee : A stew generally made with chicken, veal. or lamb thickened with white sauce.
21.    FRICASSEE: To cook by braising; usually applied to fowl or rabbit.
22.    Fritters: Fruit. meat. vegetables or fish coated with batter and fried. usually in deep fat.
23.    #Frosting : A cooked or uncooked sugar icing used to cover and decorate cakes, etc.
24.    FRY:  To cook in hot fat. To cook in a fat is called pan-frying or sauteing; to cook in a one-to-two inch layer of hot fat is called shallow-fat frying; to cook in a deep layer of hot fat is called deep-fat frying.
25.    FUMET: A reduced and seasoned fish, meat, or vegetable stock.
26.    Fumet:A kind of essence extracted from fish.

Feijoa – An oval, green-skinned, egg-sized tropical fruit. The pale yellow flesh is similar in flavour to a mixture of pineapple and strawberry. Some times called pineapple guava, the feijoa is now cultivated in New Zealand, California and Australia. It can be eaten raw (when fully ripe, scooped from the skin with a teaspoon or served with cheese boards; poached for use in fruit salads; or used to make jellies, jams and sorbets.

Fig – A small, soft, pear-shaped fruit with sweet pulpy flesh studded with small, edible seeds. Varieties of fig tree grow in warm climate throughout the world. Fig is the sweetest of all fruits. When in season, in summer, it is served raw wrapped in prosciutto slices as a first course, in fruit salad, on cheese boards or baked as a dessert. The dried fruit, its sugar concentrated and sweetness intensified by the preservation process, can be stewed or used in cakes and puddings. The fig probably originated in the Middle East, where it has been eaten for 5,000 years or more. Figs were grown in the hanging gardens of Babylon; ripe figs were covered with hot dessert sands to dry and preserve them. Dried figs were sold in the markets of Paris from the fourteenth century.

Filo Pastry – Also known as phyllo, pastry made with dough of high gluten flour, water and oil that is stretched until tissue thin, then cut into sheets. Filo is widely used in the cooking of the Middle East, Turkey, Greece, Austria, and Hungary. Each sheet is lightly brushed with oil or melted butter before being topped with another. The layered sheets can be twisted or wrapped around a sweet or savoury filling; baking results in light, crisp, flaky layers. Filo can be made at home, but as it requires skill and time, commercially made filo, available chilled or frozen, is most often used.

#Flan – A shallow, open, round pastry case. The pastry, usually short-crust, can be either baked blind or with a filling (sweet or savoury) or served hot or cold. Flan tins, with fluted sides and a removable base, are available.

Flapjack – A thin pancake. Buttered, stacked in a pile, and topped with maple syrup, flapjacks are a popular breakfast food in North America. They are also known as griddlecakes, flannel cakes, hot cakes, and wheat cakes. In Britain the term is also used for a mixture of rolled oats, brown sugar and melted butter pressed into a shallow tin, baked, and while still warm, then cut into fingers or squares.

Fleuron – Small pieces of puff pastry, traditionally crescent-shaped but also made in oval or diamond shapes, used as decoration on pie crusts or to garnish fish and chicken dishes served in a rich sauce. The shapes are cut from thinly rolled trimmings of puff pastry, glazed and baked or fried.

#Florentine – Very thin biscuits (cookies) containing dried fruit and nuts and coated on one side with melted chocolate that has been decorated with the lines of a fork to create wavy lines on its surface.

Flour – Finely ground cereals, seeds, or roots. Cereals commonly ground into flour include wheat, corn (maize), barley, oats, rye, and rice; in Western countries the term generally refers to wheat flour. Dried chickpeas are ground into besan flour; arrowroot is ground from the tuber of a plant; and soybeans are also ground into flour.

Flower, Edible – Fresh whole flowers or petals bring touch to salads, sorbets, and drinks; when crystallized (candied) they are used to decorate cakes and desserts.

Not all flowers are edible; if in doubt, check with the local poisons centre or agriculture department. Make sure that flowers have not been treated with pesticides or other harmful chemicals. Flowers commonly added to salads include the petals of yellow and white chrysanthemums, whole nasturtiums, marigold and calendula petals, whole blooms of violet, heartsease, pansy, honeysuckle and cornflower, and herb flowers such as borage and chive. A salad dressing light in vinegar or lemon juice should be used, and the flowers strewn across the top after the greens have been tossed, as the dressing will affect their colour. Pumpkin, zucchini (courgette) and squash flowers can be stuffed or dipped in batter and fried. Crystallized candied petals (rose and violet are most commonly used) can be made by dipping (use tweezers) clean dry petals into beaten egg white and then into sugar until evenly coated; dry on a cake rack and store in an airtight containers.

Flummery – A dessert of fruit, fruit juice and cream or milk, thickened with gelatin and whipped until fluffy, then poured into a wetted mould and chilled until set. It is of Welsh origin and was originally thickened with oatmeal.

#Focaccia  – A flat bread made from yeasted dough, sprinkled with coarse salt and baked in a shallow, well-oiled pan. It is originally from Italy. Flavourings and baked toppings (such as herbs, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and olives) vary according to the region. Warmed and filled with salads and cheese or meat, focaccia is popular as a snack or light meal.

Fondant – A sweet, smooth confectionery (candy) made from sugar, water, and a pinch of cream of tartar. Fondants, with flavourings added is used for many chocolate centres and to make moulded fruits, flowers, and icings.

Fool – A dessert of fresh or cooked fruit, which has been puréed, sweetened, chilled, and just before serving, mixed with, whipped cream or custard.

#Frappé  – The French term for ‘iced’. It is used to describe both a drinks that is poured over crushed ice and a refreshing dessert made of partially frozen sweetened fruit juice.

Frosting – A cooked topping for cakes, consisting of water, sugar, cream of tartar, and egg white. In North America the term covers all sweet cooked and uncooked toppings for cakes and cookies.

Fruit – Botanically, a fruit is the pulp that covers the seeds of various flowering plants. This includes nuts and some fruits principally eaten as vegetables, such as the eggplant (aubergine), tomato, corn, olive, and avocado. In general usage the term is restricted to fruits that are fleshy, sweet and sometimes juicy. Low in fat and high in fibre, fruit is an essential part of a healthy diet. It is eaten fresh, but can also be cooked.

Fruit, Diced – Fruit that is preserved by having its natural water content reduced by exposure to the sun in the open air or by heating. Such dehydration slows the growth of bacteria, allowing most dried fruit to be stored for up to a year. Fruits most commonly dried include apples, apricots, bananas, dates, figs, grapes (as currants, raisins, and sultanas), and peaches, pears and plums (as prunes). Dried fruit mixtures, for use in rich fruitcakes, fruit minces and boiled fruit puddings are also available.

Fruit Cake – A rich moist cake containing dried and crystallized (candied) fruit, crystallized fruit peel, nuts and spices. Well wrapped in muslin (cheesecloth), soaked in brandy, rum or fruit juice and stored in an airtight container, a fruit cake will keep for several months, its flavour deepening and maturing with each passing day. Fruit cakes are traditional holiday and celebration fare (weddings, christenings and Christmas). Forms of fruit cake have been made since ancient times, when the Greeks and Romans baked cakes containing honey, walnuts, pine nuts and dried figs.

Fruit Leather – A chewy confectionery (candy) made by boiling down pureed fruit (such as apricot, peach, apple, plum, strawberry, or raspberry) and sugar until it forms a thick paste. This is spread on a lightly greased flat surface to dry and then cut into strips. Fruit leather has a sweet, tangy taste; it can be served after a meal with coffee or included in a packed lunch.

Fruit Salad – A combination of chopped, sliced or small whole fruits served as a dessert accompanied by cream, ice-cream, or custard. Fresh fruit (raw or poached and cooled), dried fruit (soaked, poached, and cooked) or canned fruit can be used. The fruit is generally first sprinkled with sugar (for canned fruit use the syrup instead of sugar) and steeped in fruit juice, liqueur or sweet wine, and is served chilled with the flavoured juices poured over. Fruit salad as a dessert was developed in France, in the early nineteenth century, prompted by the appearance in the Paris markets of numbers of new, exotic fruits.

#Fudge – A soft, sweet confectionery (candy) made with sugar and milk or cream to which dried fruits, nuts, and other flavourings, such as chocolate and coffee are added. The mixture is poured into a shallow tin and when cold, it is cut into squares. Fudge originated in the nineteenth century.