cooking - the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat; "cooking can be a great art"; "people are needed who have experience in cookery"; "he left the preparation of meals to his wife"

change of state - the act of changing something into something different in essential characteristics

baking - cooking by dry heat in an oven

toasting, browning - cooking to a brown crispiness over a fire or on a grill; "proper toasting should brown both sides of a piece of bread"

broil, broiling, grilling - cooking by direct exposure to radiant heat (as over a fire or under a grill)

frying, sauteing - cooking in fat or oil in a pan or griddle

fusion cooking - cooking that combines ingredients and techniques and seasonings from different cuisines

braising - cooking slowly in fat in a closed pot with little moisture

poaching - cooking in simmering liquid

roasting - cooking (meat) by dry heat in an oven (usually with fat added); "the slow roasting took several hours"

percolation - the act of making coffee in a percolator

seasoning - the act of adding a seasoning to food

cuisine, culinary art - the practice or manner of preparing food or the food so prepared

challah, hallah - (Judaism) a loaf of white bread containing eggs and leavened with yeast; often formed into braided loaves and glazed with eggs before baking

curry - (East Indian cookery) a pungent dish of vegetables or meats flavored with curry powder and usually eaten with rice

alcoholise, alcoholize - treat or infuse with alcohol; "alcoholize the fruit and let them sit in the refrigerator"

conserve - preserve with sugar; "Mom always conserved the strawberries we grew in the backyard"

pickle - preserve in a pickling liquid

salt - preserve with salt; "people used to salt meats on ships"

can, tin, put up - preserve in a can or tin; "tinned foods are not very tasty"

brine - soak in brine

fortify, lace, spike - add alcohol to (beverages); "the punch is spiked!"

fortify - add nutrients to; "fortified milk"

boil down, concentrate, reduce - cook until very little liquid is left; "The cook reduced the sauce by boiling it for a long time"

bake - cook and make edible by putting in a hot oven; "bake the potatoes"

ovenbake - bake in an oven; "ovenbake this chicken"

brown - fry in a pan until it changes color; "brown the meat in the pan"

coddle - cook in nearly boiling water; "coddle eggs"

fire - bake in a kiln so as to harden; "fire pottery"

farce, stuff - fill with a stuffing while cooking; "Have you stuffed the turkey yet?"

baste - cover with liquid before cooking; "baste a roast"

souse - cook in a marinade; "souse herring"

crispen, toast, crisp - make brown and crisp by heating; "toast bread"; "crisp potatoes"

shirr - bake (eggs) in their shells until they are set; "shirr the eggs"

parboil, blanch - cook (vegetables) briefly; "Parboil the beans before freezing them"

overboil - boil excessively; "The peas are overboiled"

fricassee - make a fricassee of by cooking; "fricassee meats"

stew - cook slowly and for a long time in liquid; "Stew the vegetables in wine"

jug - stew in an earthenware jug; "jug the rabbit"

simmer - boil slowly at low temperature; "simmer the sauce"; "simmering water"

roast - cook with dry heat, usually in an oven; "roast the turkey"

barbecue, barbeque, cook out - cook outdoors on a barbecue grill; "let's barbecue that meat"; "We cooked out in the forest"