If a restaurant menu states, “We cook off our potatoes,” what in the heck does that mean? A truck driver who encountered such an announcement at a roadside cafe is still puzzling over what it means to “cook off” a tuber. He...
ratpack n.— «It is a helicopter ride away from a military hospital, food comes from 24-hour ration packs, known to soldiers as ratpacks or compo and far from fresh, and the water is almost exclusively for drinking and cooking.» —“‘I...
bake blind v. phr.— «When recipes tell you to bake blind, they don’t mean cover your eyes. Baking blind is the term for cooking a pie shell—partially or completely—without any filling. You shouldn’t just pop the shell in the oven. It’ll...
planover
n.pl.— «(subtitle).» —by Nancy Hawkins Chef’s magic: Quality cooking for planover meals , 1973. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
molecular gastronomy n. in cooking, the study and application of chemistry, physics, and other scientific principles on its processes, preparation, and materials. Editorial Note: Hervé This writes to say, “It’s not my friend Peter Barham...

