Much Ado About Stuffing: Thanksgiving Vocabulary: A Recipe for Success: Thanksgiving Cooking Words

Recipes are not only about how to cook a particular dish. They're about words. Here are a baker's dozen (that means 13) of essential terms collected from popular Thanksgiving recipes and dishes.

For more recipe words, see "Words to Know Before You Defrost the Bird."
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. aromatic
    having a strong pleasant odor
    Add half the beans, half the ginger and half the garlic, and cook, stirring and tossing constantly, until beans are heated through and ginger and garlic are softened and aromatic.
    – The New York Times
  2. congeal
    solidify, thicken, or come together
    Skim off the fat with a spoon, or put in the refrigerator or freezer until the fat has congealed on top, then remove fat.
    – The New York Times
  3. dice
    cut into cubes
    Dice, toss in oil and roast at 400 degrees.
    – Cape Cod Times
  4. douse
    wet thoroughly
    You need gravy to lubricate the turkey, moisten the potatoes, douse the stuffing.
    – The New York Times
  5. heap
    fill to overflow
    In a bowl, combine lemon juice and 1 heaping teaspoon [of] salt.
    – Food.com
  6. incorporate
    make into a whole or make part of a whole
    Add the flour all at once, whisking until incorporated.
    – RecipeThing
  7. intact
    undamaged in any way
    Peel onions, leaving root ends intact.
    – The Seattle Times
  8. knit
    tie or link together
    Sour cream knits the dish together perfectly.
    – The New York Times
  9. liquid
    tending to flow
    If all the cranberries pop, the sauce may be too liquid.
    – The Buffalo News
  10. render
    melt (fat or lard) in order to separate out impurities
    The fat renders out of the skin, flavoring the stuffing.
    – The New York Times
  11. steep
    let sit in a liquid to extract a flavor or to cleanse
    Add garlic cloves and set aside to steep.
    – Harvest Health Foods
  12. submerge
    put under water
    Proceed to the final cooking step, such as submerging the potato pieces in actively simmering water until tender.
    – Salon
  13. translucent
    allowing light to pass through diffusely
    Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
    – Food.com
Created on Mon Nov 23 11:27:28 EST 2015 (updated Wed Oct 11 17:22:14 EDT 2023)

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