Definitions @ Cooks.com
| - Paprika
- Hungarian red pepper. A kind of sweet capsicum of a brilliant scarlet color, grown in Southern Europe; it is less pungent than the Spanish pepper (see pimiento).
| - Pare
- To cut away the outer layer, or surface portion of food, such as what is done with vegetables or, less often, fruit. An implement, such as a peeler, with a sharp, razor like blade, is most frequently used, but a short, sharp paring knife can also be used. Vegetables such as carrots are sometimes peeled with the sharp back of the blade of a knife.
| - Parmesan
- Name of an Italian cheese, largely used for culinary purposes.
| - Parsley
- A native plant of Sardinia, introduced into England in 1548. Parsley is used for sauces and salads, and as a pot-herb. Its leaves are strong-tasting, and makes a pretty garnish for dishes.
| - Parsnips, boiled
- Wash, scrape and split the parsnips. Place in a pot of boiling salted water; and simmer until quite tender, which will be in one or two hours, according to their size and age. When tender, drain on paper towels, transfer to a serving dish and pour melted butter or white sauce over them. Serve them up with any sort of boiled meat or with salt cod.
Parsnips are also very good baked or stewed with meat and added to stews or pot roasts.
| - Parsnips, stewed
- After washing and peeling the parsnips, slice them about half of an inch thick. Place in a saucepan of boiling water with just enough water to barely cook them. Add a tablespoon of butter. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cover tightly.
Stew until the water has cooked away, watching carefully and stirring often to prevent burning, until soft. When they are done, they will be of a creamy light straw color and deliciously sweet, retaining all the goodness of the vegetable.
| - Pasta
- Pasta is a "paste" made from hard winter wheat (durum wheat) combined with water, and flavored with oil, salt, and sometimes eggs. Pasta can be prepared by pressing the paste through a shaped die (extrusion) or by rolling into flat thin pieces, then cutting it into shapes or long strands for noodles or spaghetti.
Common forms of pasta are spaghetti, linguine, egg noodles, lasagna, cannelloni, ravioli, gnocchi, vermicelli, pierogi, ditalini, angel hair, tagliatelle, tortellini, macaroni, penne, and ziti, but this list merely scratches the surface. Pasta, a good source of protein and B vitamins, is a complex carbohydrate, and provides long sustaining energy. Pasta can be served sauced (most commonly a tomato sauce), or tossed simply with butter, olive oil or cheese and then seasoned lightly before serving. It can add substance to soups or stirred into casseroles or prop up a meat dish in the same manner as a bed or rice. Pasta should only be boiled in salted water until al dente (firm to the tooth); and never overcooked. Bring 1 gallon of water to a rolling boil for 1 pound of pasta. Add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water, then return to a boil. Add pasta, submerging completely in the water. Stir occasionally. If desired, 1 tablespoon of olive oil can be added to the cooking water. Taste the pasta after 4-5 minutes (for dry pasta) or 2 minutes, if the pasta is freshly made. Fresh home-made pasta (as opposed to store bought dried pasta) cooks in only a few minutes, so watch carefully. Any leftover pasta can be tossed with olive oil and stored in a plastic bag under refrigeration. In the home, pasta was traditionally prepared on a dough board (or tavolini board) and rolled out using a rolling pin. For this method, a small mountain of flour is placed directly on the board and a well is dug out in the center into which the eggs and water are poured, then worked into a paste by a skilled hand. Today, pasta can be quickly prepared in a food processor or using a pasta machine. Both die extrusion and roller machines are available for the home market. A general noodle recipe, which can be varied endlessly, calls for 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk per cup of flour, adding sufficient water to make a dry paste, and optionally 1 tablespoon of good olive oil to add richness and cause the pasta to be more manageable. Recipe: Egg Noodles with Green Noodles Variation
| - Pasteurization of Eggs
- Pasteurizing is the heating of foods at a low enough temperature to destroy food-borne or soil-borne bacteria, but not at a temperature which is so high that the food will cook, or even lose the flavors normally attributed to a fresh taste.
Regarding eggs, The American Egg Board states, "The white will coagulate (set) between 144 and 149° F, the yolk between 149 and 158° F, and whole egg between 144 and 158° F. Egg products made of plain whole eggs are pasteurized (heated to destroy bacteria), but not cooked, by bringing them to 140° F and keeping them at that temperature for 3 1/2 minutes. If you bring a food to an internal temperature of 160° F, you will instantly kill almost any bacteria. By diluting eggs with a liquid or sugar (as in custard), you can bring an egg mixture to 160° F. Use these temperatures as rough guidelines when you prepare eggs."
| - Patent Flour
- Patent flour is a flour milled from wheat having a protein content of approximately 11-13.5%, normally somewhat less than high gluten flour. It is suitable for use in baking thin pizza crusts, sweet doughs, artisan breads, bagels, rolls or any bread products requiring a higher gluten content for enhanced structure and crust.
The higher gluten content of patent flour makes it particularly suitable for combining with other flours such as rye or whole wheat while still maintaining sufficient gluten (the elastic component of bread dough which traps air) for good structure and rise. Straight grade flour contains 100% of the flour which has been separated out from the wheat berries or kernels; patent flour is the innermost 70-80% portion of the separation. Clear flour is the remainder which is left when the patent flour has been separated out from the straight grade and is considered to be of second quality for baking purposes and normally is combined with other flours (such as rye for bread making).
| - Pepper
- Both white and black pepper are procured from the seed of a small shrub which grows in various parts of India. The sole difference between the two is that in white pepper the outer husk of the seed is removed. As that can only be done with the best kinds, it forms an additional security that the pepper is good.
Red peppers (Guinea Pepper, Cayenne Pepper) are prepared from the rye seeds of the chillie or capsicum pods, which are grown in Cayenne, and Guinea, on the west coast of Africa, the latter being the more pungent variety.
| - Pie
- Meat, fish, or fruit baked in a dish covered with pastry. The most ancient for of pie is the pasty, which is made without a dish.
| - Pimiento
- Red Spanish pepper-pod of sweet and pungent flavor; used for garnishing and in salads.
| - Pineapple
- A type of large dark yellow tropical fruit, native to South America, with a mass of thin stiff leaves on top. It was first imported to Europe about the middle of the 18th century. (See pineapple recipes).
| - Poach
- To simmer in water just below the boiling point. Eggs are often poached in water with a few drops of vinegar after being gently slipped from their shells. A popular fruit dish is prepared when pears are poached in wine.
| - Poached Eggs
- To poach eggs, fill a saucepan or deep frying pan 3/4 full of water, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. When water is boiling, break egg into a saucer and carefully lower into the water. Baste the yolks once or twice to cook the tops. The water should not boil after the eggs have been added. Keep the water at the simmering point (between 180-190℉.) Simmer until the white of the egg is firm, then remove carefully, using a slotted spoon or skimmer. Poached eggs are often served over slices of buttered toast.
| - Pot Roast
- For a perfect Pot Roast, use a Dutch Oven made from heavy cast iron. With the lid firmly in place, the oven operates similar to a modern day pressure cooker.
| - Prosciutto
- Italian dry cured ham. An Italian-style aged, dry cured raw ham; often coated with pepper. Prosciutto can be eaten raw because the low water content prevents bacterial growth. PARMA HAM is prosciutto from the Parma locale in Italy. These hams tend to be larger than the U.S. produced product, as Italian hogs are larger at slaughter. Source: USDA
| - Puree
- Cooked food pressed through sieve or processed until smooth in a blender, as in a thick soup.
|
|
top of page
| | |
