cookcabulary - food words starting with c

Cardamom (KAR-duh-muhm)

If you like cardamom, you've got expensive taste—cardamom is the world's third most expensive spice, trailing only saffron and vanilla. Moreover, you may have acquired a taste for cardamom without even knowing it—cardamom helps give chai tea its exotic taste and figures prominently into spice mixes like garam masala.

Cardamom is the fruit of a perennial herb related to ginger. In its native India, it's hailed as "The Queen of Spices." Dried pods are oblong, typically green in color and about the size of a cranberry. Each pod contains about 20 tiny seeds, the primary source of scent and flavor.

The fact that cardamom has long been used in Scandinavian cuisine is paradoxical—in the context of the medieval spice trade, India and Scandinavia seem at opposite ends of the universe. Historians believe Vikings encountered cardamom in Constantinople about 1000 A.D. The Nordic adventurers were awed by the sophistication and variety in what they called "The Great City." And Byzantine merchants were intrigued by what the Vikings brought to trade—amber, furs and slaves they'd captured in Russia.

Ground cardamom loses its flavor quickly, but whole pods retain their flavor for a long time. For optimum taste, buy whole pods. Soak them in milk to soften and then scrape the seeds into your dish. You also can grind the whole pod with a mortar and pestle or crush pods lightly and simmer them in stews or rice dishes. Today, Guatemala is the world's largest exporter of cardamom; most of the cardamom produced in India stays in India. Don't let its high price-per-pound scare you; a little goes a very long way.

carpaccio (kahr-PAH-chee-oh) Thin shavings of raw beef fillet, which may be drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice or served with a mayonnaise or mustard sauce. Often topped with capers, it’s generally served as an appetizer.

chez (SHAY) A French word meaning “at the home of,” chez is often used before a chef’s name to denote the name of his or her restaurant.

chiffonade (shihf-uh-NAHD). Chiffonade is one of those terms that conjures up a trick that could be mastered only by a wiz with Cordon Bleu credentials. But the technique can easily be accomplished by anyone with two hands and a kitchen—or at least a cutting board.

Literally translated, chiffonade is French for “made of rags.” As a food term, it refers to very thin shreds—typically leafy vegetables like spinach or herbs like basil—often used as a garnish.

To create a chiffonade, remove stems from leaves that have been washed and dried, then stack leaves in a neat pile. (Start with four or five.) Roll into a tight cylinder, and hold firmly with one hand. Using a sharp chef’s knife, cut crosswise into thin strips. See the confetti-like tangle before you? Voila! You have a chiffonade.

A cooking demonstration I recently attended illustrated how exotic language makes ordinary tasks sound impressive: the chef produced a side dish he dubbed “cabbage chiffonade.” Not exactly the way grandma referred to coleslaw. But of course, taste isn’t just in our mouths. Any well-presented dish proves we “eat with our eyes.” And a sophisticated waitperson’s description of a well-crafted menu item will quickly have you “eating with your ears.”

—Jo Marshall

chipotle (Chih-POHT-lay) This hot chile is actually a dried, smoked jalapeño. With a wrinkled, dark brown skin and a smoky, sweet, almost chocolaty flavor, chipotles can be purchased dried, pickled and canned in adobo sauce.

confit (kohn-FEE) A specialty of Gascony, France, this is a method of preserving meat by salting and slowly cooking it in its own fat. The cooked meat is then packed in a crock or pot and covered with its cooking fat, which acts as a seal and preservative. A confit de canard is preserved duck.

crème fraîche (krehm FRESH). This thickened cream has a slightly tangy, nutty flavor and a velvety rich texture, similar to sour cream. In France where crème fraîche is a specialty, the cream is unpasteurized, and therefore contains the bacteria necessary to thicken it naturally. In America where all cream is pasteurized, the fermenting agents necessary for crème fraîche can be obtained by adding buttermilk or sour cream. It’s easy to make your own: combine 1 cup whipping cream and 2 tablespoons buttermilk in a glass container. Cover and let stand at room temperature from 8 to 24 hours or until very thick. Stir well and refrigerate up to 10 days.

crêpe (KRAYP) French for “pancake,” crêpes are paper thin creations made from plain or sweetened batters with various flours and used for savory or dessert dishes.