Blanch - to immerse food briefly into boiling water, then plunge into cold water. The process firms flesh, heightens and sets color and flavor and loosens skin as in tomatoes intended for peeling.

Canola oil - Canola oil is a versatile, neutral-tasting oil that is very low in saturated fat. Puritan is a well-known brand.

Fenugreek - Fenugreek is indigenous to the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea, but it is grown in India, Morocco, Egypt and England. The herb can grow to be about two feet tall. It blooms white flowers in the summer and has very aromatic seeds. Fenugreek seeds are ground and roasted and used to flavor to curry. The seeds are also soaked and then powdered and used to make lip balm and tonic. The seeds can be used to make tea, which can reduce fever and menstrual pains, or they can be used in an ointment to treat skin infections. Ground seeds are often used to give a maple flavor to sweets and candies. Ground seeds are also used to flavor cattle food, including different vegetable meals and hays. Fenugreek's leaves, which are high in iron, are used in salads.

Flour (kinds of) - Although there are many types of flour, all-purpose (or occident) flour is used most frequently. Bread flour is higher in protein. Unbleached flour is simply not as white as bleached. Whole-wheat flour is brown in color, and is derived from the complete wheat kernel (the bran and germ). Cake flour has the least amount of gluten of all wheat flours, making it best for light, delicate products. Pastry flour also has a low gluten content, though it contains a bit more than cake flour. Made from a soft wheat flour, it is used for making tart and pie doughs, some cookie batters, and muffins.High-gluten flour is milled from hard wheat and has a high protein content, making it high in gluten. Spelt flour contains gluten. It can, however, be tolerated by people with gluten allergies.

Most people think of flour in terms of wheat flour. When, in fact, flour can be ground from a variety of nuts and seeds.

American flours and British equivalents:

Cake and pastry flour = soft flour
All-purpose flour = plain flour
Bread flour = strong flour, hard flour
Self-rising flour = self-raising flour
Whole-wheat flour = wholemeal flour

Ginger - A subtropical plant grown for its nobby root (rhizome or underground stem). The root has tan skin, ivory to pale green flesh, and a peppery, slightly sweet flavor. Ginger is planted in August or September using the previous year's crop. Ginger takes about nine months to reach maturity. After the flowers appear, the tops begin to die, leaving the ginger rhizomes ready to harvest Ginger is a mainstay of Asian and Indian cooking and is used grated, ground and slivered. Ginger juice is the juice of the root. Candied or crystallized ginger is ginger cooked in sugar syrup, while preserved ginger is in a sugar-salt mixture: both of these are used primarily for sweets and desserts. Pickled ginger, used as a palate cleanser with sushi, is ginger preserved in sweet vinegar.

Glaze - any shiny coating applied to a food or created by browning. In meat preparation, a jelled broth applied to meat surface; in breads and pastries, a wash of egg or syrup; for doughnuts and cakes, a sugar preparation for coating.

Grate - to reduce a larger piece of food to smaller particles by rubbing it against a coarse, serrated surface, either by the use of hand-grater or a food processor.

Gravy - a sauce made from meat or poultry juices combined with a liquid (ex. milk, broth or wine) and a thickening agent (ex. flour or cornstarch).

Icing - a sweet covering or filling such as buttercream or ganache; used for cakes and pastries; also known as frosting.

Marinade - a seasoned liquid blend, usually acid-based with wine, vinegar, yogurt or lemon juice, or a dry spice rub.

Marinate, to - to cover food with a marinade for a specified amount of time before cooking to make it more flavorful, more moist and/or more tender. (Food should be covered and refrigerated while marinating.).

Parsley - There are more than 30 varieties of parsley, but the most common are curly-leaf and the more pungent Italian or flat-leaf parsley. The flat-leaf has more flavor than curly parsley and is preferred for cooking, while dried parsley has little flavor at all. In ancient times parsley wreaths were used to ward off drunkenness. Chewing parsley will help with bad breath from food odors such as garlic.

Phyllo (pastilla) - pastry dough made with very thin sheets of a flour-and-water mixture; several sheets are often layered with melted butter and used in sweet or savory preparations.

Ras El Hanout - A Moroccan spice bland that can have up to 50 ingredients, such as ginger, anise, cinnamon, nutmeg, peppercons, cloves, cardamom, dried lavender, dried rose petals, nigella, mace, galangal and turmeric.

Smen (also called sman, semneh, or sminn) - Is a traditional cooking oil most commonly in North African and Middle Eastern cuisines. It is produced using the butter made from the milk of sheep or goats.

Tps - Table spoon

Turmeric - The root of a tropical plant related to the gingerroot has a bitter, pungent taste and a bright yellow-orange color. Turmeric adds flavor and color to East Indian cooking and puts the yellow in American mustard.