Culinary Terms M

1.    Macaroni: An Italian pasta made of flour forced through a tube.
2.    Macaroons.: Small cakes made from almond paste, coconut. etc.
3.    Macedoine: A mixture, usually consisting of vegetables or fruit.
4.    Maitre d’hettel butter: A piquant sauce or butter flavoured with parsley and lemon.
5.    MARINATE:  To flavor and moisturize pieces of meat, poultry, seafood or vegetable by soaking them in or brushing them with a liquid mixture of seasonings known as a marinade. Dry marinade mixtures composed of salt, pepper, herbs or spices may also be rubbed into meat, poultry or seafood.
#Marjoram : A lemon-scented herb.
7.    Marzipan : A sweet or icing made of almonds ground to a paste with egg.
8.    Mask : To coat a dish with sauce or line a mould with Jelly.
9.    Matignon : A mixture of finely minced carrot. celery, onion. ham. thyme and crushed bay leaf used to cover joints or poultry before being roasted or cooked to impart a good flavor and generally served with the dish without straining.
10.    Mayonnaise: A thick sauce made of egg yolks. oil and vinegar. mustard, etc.
11.    Menu :List of fare of the dishes available in the food outlet.
12.    Meringue: A mixture of stiffly beaten egg white and sugar, used as a topping or for making confectionery products like macaroons..
13.    MEUNIERE: Dredged with flour and sauteed in butter.
14.    Mignonette pepper: White peppercorns. coarsely ground.
15.    MINCE: To cut or chop food into extremely small pieces.
16.    Minestrone: Italian soup with many vegetables and macaroni added.
#Mirepoix : Roughly cut onions. carrots. leeks. celery and a sprig of thyme, peppercorn and bay leaf.
18.    Mise-en-place:A pre-preparation in any culinary operations.
19.    MIX: To combine ingredients usually by stirring.
#Mocha : A flavouring usually made with a coffee infusion.
21.    Mousse : A light spongy dish. made with sweetened and flavoured cream. then whipped and set in a refrigerator. It is also made with a mixture of meat. vegetables etc.. mixed with gelatin, as a variation.
22.    Mousseline: Same as above but moulded in small quantities. Enough for one person at a time.
23.    Muffin:A drop batter baked in small individual moulds and eaten hot with butter.

#Macadamia Nut – The round, hard-shelled, creamy-fleshed nut of a tree native to Australia. Fresh or roasted nuts are eaten as a snack; crushed nuts can be added to ice-cream or used in biscuits (cookie), cakes or breads; whole nuts are coated with chocolate as a confectionery (candy).

#Macaroon – A small, flat, round biscuit (cookie), crunchy on the outside and soft and moist on the inside, made from ground almonds mixed with sugar and egg white. Macaroons originated in France and are a specialty of the Nancy region.

#Madeira Cake – A rich cake flavoured with lemon or orange juice and baked with a slice citron peel on top. In Victorian England the cake was traditionally served with a glass of Madeira wine.

Madeleine – Small cake baked in shell-shaped mould and served dusted with finely powdered sugar. They are a specialty of the town of Commercy, is northeastern France.

Malt – The term given to a grain, usually barley, which has been soaked, sprouted, roasted, and crushed. During this process the starch content of the grain is converted by partial fermentation into sugar. Further processing of malt produces beer; distillation results in whisky. Malt extract, which comes in syrup or dried form, can be added to drinks, cakes, puddings, and bread dough.

Mandarin – A small, loose-skinned citrus fruit with sweet, juicy, easily separated segments. It can be eaten as a fruit, used in fruit salad, or made into marmalade. The fruit is also known as the tangerine, after the seaport of Tangier in Morocco where it has long been grown.

#Mango – A tropical fruit with juicy, sweet, golden flesh clinging to a large seed. Mangoes are delicious eaten fresh; perhaps the least messy way into slice a cheek from each side of the seed, score the flesh into small squares then push the skin upwards so that the cubes bristle like a porcupine.

Mango is sometimes cooked in curries and other savoury dishes (it goes well with chicken). It is also made into chutney and pickles, which are often served with curries. Mango pulp can be used in ice-cream, mousse, and sorbet. Mangoes are in season in summer; they are also available canned.

Mangosteen – A tropical fruit, about the size and shape of an apple, with a shiny, thick, purple skin containing four to six segments of soft, white, lychee-like flesh. It is eaten fresh as a fruit. To prepare, cut in half, then scoop out the flesh with a tea spoon.

#Maple Syrup – The sap of various species of maple tree, boiled down into a syrup that varies in colour from pale amber (considered the finest) to dark amber (used mainly in cooking). Maple syrup is poured over pancakes, waffles, ice-cream, and other desserts. Maple-flavoured syrup is a blend of puree maple syrup and corn syrup.

Maraschino – A liqueur made from a bitter black cherry called marasca. Maraschino cherries are sweet cherries that have been bleached, stoned, then steeped in a sugar flavoured with maraschino liqueur; they are used in baking and as a garnish for cocktails.

Marble Cake – A cake which, when sliced, has a marble-like appearance, achieved by colouring the portions of the batter (pink, chocolate and plain) then mixing them in the pan before baking.

#Margarine – A butter-like spread made from vegetable oil or a combination of vegetable and animal oils. In most recipes margarine can be substituted for butter. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated margarines are made from a refined and purified vegetable oil and have a smooth, easy-to-spread consistency. Cooking or block (stick) margarine is firmer, contains saturated animal fats and vegetable oils, and is used like butter for frying and baking.

#Marmalade – A thick, jam-like spread made from citrus fruit and peel (either a single fruit as a combination). It is usually eaten at breakfast, on hot buttered toast.

Marshmallow – A whipped confectionery (candy) with a springy, puff texture made from gelatin, sugar, flavouring, and colouring. It is commercially available in bite-sized, sugar-dusted portions or can be made at home.

Marzipan – A confectionery (candy) made from a sugar and water syrup, almond paste, and sometimes egg white cooked, cooled, and then kneaded into a smooth firm paste. It is cut or moulded into small shapes, which are used to decorate cakes, or it is boxed as gift confectionery; it is used as a coating under the top icing of rich fruitcakes.

Mascarpone – A fresh unripened, soft, creamy cheese, made from cow’s milk cream, with a high fat content and a rich, buttery taste. It is usually served as a dessert with sweetened fruit or mixed with brandy or liqueurs.

Matzo – A thin sheet of unleavened bread, usually made with wheat flour, and only. It is traditionally eaten during the Jewish Passover when only unleavened products are eaten. Matzo meal, made from ground matzo crackers, is used in place of breadcrumbs at Passover.

Medlar – A plum-sized fruit with yellowish-brown skin and firm greyish flesh borne on a tree native to Central Asia. Edible only when over-ripe it has a wine like flavour. It can be made into preserves.

Melon – Large fruit with a thick rind and juicy flesh. The many varieties fall into three main groups: round with netted, bark-like skin, fragrant orange flesh and a cluster of pale seeds in the centre, such as the cantaloupe (rockmelon), gallia melon and Persian melon; oval and smooth-skinned with creamy white to dark green sweet flesh and a central cluster of seeds such as the honeydew, casaba, charentais, crenshaw, ogen melon

Microwave Ovens – These ovens produce microwaves which are absorbed by food molecules; they cause the molecule to vibrate rapidly, creating friction which provides the heat that cooks the food. Microwave cooking is much faster than conventional cooking. It is best used for foods that are usually boiled, steamed, or poached and is particularly successful with vegetables, fruit, and fish. The microwave oven is an excellent way to defrost or reheat food.

Mille-Feuille – A pastry consisting of layers of crisp puff pastry interspersed with layers of whipped cream or crème pâtissière and jam (usually strawberry or raspberry). The top pastry layer is glazed or dusted with finely powdered sugar or glazed with icing (frosting). Savoury mille-feuille, with a filling of creamy salmon or shellfish, may be served as a first course or as a buffet or luncheon dish.

#Mint – A herb with a strong fresh scent and flavour. There are many varieties. Most used in cooking is spearmint, which is made into jelly and sauce to accompany lamb, goes well with peas, and boiled potatoes, is finely, chopped as an ingredient in Middle Eastern salads and dips, and flavours drink. Apple mint, lemon mint and pineapple mint are often added to fruit salads. Peppermint oil is used in the confectionery (candy) industry.

Mixed Spice – Also known as pudding spice, a traditional English blend of sweet spices, generally nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and ginger, but sometimes also including allspice and coriander, used in rich fruit cakes, puddings and biscuits (cookies).

Mock Cream – A fresh cream substituted used as a filling for cakes and buns. It is generally made by beating together icing (confectioners) sugar and butter until stiff and fluffy.

#Molasses – A thick, dark syrup produced in the manufacture of cane sugar.

Mousse – A rich, light sweet or savoury dish that derives its smooth, foamy texture from whisked egg white, whipped cream, or both. It may be served hot or cold. The name comes from the French word for froth or foam.

#Muffin – also known as American muffin, a light, sweet, soft bread baked in small, deep, round moulds. Basic muffins are made from a batter of egg, milk, flour, and sugar. Sweet or savoury flavouring can be added.

#Mulberry – A juicy berry, similar in appearance to a blackberry. Mulberries may be eaten fresh dusted with sugar and accompanied by cream, can be pureed for sorbets and ice-cream, stewed as a pie filling or made into jam. They are not usually commercially available (the berries are easily crushed), but the tree is common in gardens and bears a copious crop each summer.