English Definitions of French Cooking Terms Come in Handy

This dictionary of French food terms will help you decipher a French menu or cookbook. And because French cooking is the basis of many other recipes, it will help you on many other occasions too.

-- Amandine (a men deen)--Made with almonds.

-- Au Poivre (o pwav)--Seasoned liberally with peppercorns.

-- Blanquette (blawn ket)--An egg-yolk-thickened cream sauce.

-- Boeuf (boef)--Beef.

-- Bourguignon (boor gee nyon)--A stew of beef braised in red wine with onions and mushrooms.

-- Brochette (bro shet)--Grilled skewered chunks of meat and vegetables, kebabs.

-- Cassoulet (ka soo lay)--Meaty bean stew usually containing sausages and poultry, typically garlic flavored.

-- Florentine (flor en teen)--Made with spinach.

-- Jambon (zham bon)--Ham.

-- Julienne (zhoo lyen)--Vegetables cut into thin strips.

-- Medaillon (me dal yen)--A small circular slice of meat or poultry.

-- Provencale (pro van sawl)--Cooked with garlic and tomatoes.

-- Roulade (roo lawd)--Slices of meat rolled around a filling, then browned and slowly braised.

-- Vol-au-vent (vol o vawn)--Baked pastry filled with sauced meat, fish or poultry mixture.