Glossary of terms - F

Faggot

1. Small savoury cake made of pork offal, onion and bread, which is usually baked. #2. A small bunch, e.g. of herbs which are tied with string

Falafel

Middle Eastern street food of spiced chickpea fritters, often served in warm pitta bread.

Farfalle

Pasta shaped like bow-ties or butterflies

Farina

Fine flour made from wheat, nuts and potatoes

Farle

Round, Hat oatmeal cake baked on a griddle.

Fava beans

Fresh or dried broad beans.

Fennel

Aromatic plant, with pale green, celery-like stems and bright green, feathery foliage.

Fenugreek

An aromatic Mediterranean plant that produces long pods containing oblong, brownish seeds. These have a slightly bitter taste and are roasted and ground and used as a flavouring in curries.

Ferment

To bring about a chemical change in foods and beverages: The change is caused by the enzymes in bacteria or yeasts. Beer, wine, yogurt, buttermilk, vinegar, cheese, and yeast breads all get their distinctive flavors from fermentation.

Feta cheese

A creamy white Greek cheese traditionally made from ewes' milk or ewes' and goats' milk mixed.

Fettuccine

Long flat pasta, similar to tagliatelle.

Fillet

A boneless, lean cut of meat, fish or poultry.

Filo pastry

Thin sheets of pastry commonly used in Greek, eastern European and Middle Eastern cuisines.

Fines herbes

A mixture of chopped aromatic herbs used in French cooking, particularly in egg dishes, sauces, salads and soups. A classic combination is chopped chervil, tarragon, parsley and chives.

Fish Sauce

Known as nam pla, this is a commonly used flavouring in Thai dishes in the same way that soy sauce is used in Chinese cooking.

Five-spice powder:

A popular condiment in Chinese cooking.

Flake

1. Separating cooked fish into individual flaky slivers. #2. Grating chocolate or cheese into small slivers

Flaky pastry

A pastry made in layers that become flakier towards the outside when cooked.

Flambe

Flamed; e.g. food tossed in a pan to which burning brandy or other alcohol has been added

Flan

Open pie containing sweet or savoury filling in a custard of eggs and cream

Fleurs de sel

Fleurs de sel is a moist salt from France

Florentine

1. fish and eggs; served on a bed of buttered spinach and coated with cheese sauce. #2. Thin petit-four biscuit made of nuts, glace fruit and chocolate.

Florets

Florets are the small, individual flower stems that make up the heads of vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower.

Flour

Finely ground cereal, such as wheat, barley, oats, rye, rice and maize (corn).

Focaccia

Italian olive-oil bread, large and flat, often flavoured with herbs, sometimes with a filling of ham or cheese

Foie gras

Literally French for 'fat liver', but usually used to refer to the rich pâté made from the liver of ducks and geese that have been force-fed and fattened until their livers become enlarged.

Fold

To combine a light mixture (such as beaten egg whites, whipped cream, or sifted flour) with a heavier mixture (such as a cake batter or the base of a souffle) without deflating either. A rubber spatula is the best tool.

Folding in

Enveloping one ingrediient or mixture in another, using a large metal spoon or spatula

Fond

The French word for stock - the flavoured liquid base used for making a sauce, stew or braised dish.

Fondant

Soft-textured sweet made of flavoured icing or Fondant potatoes are sautéed potatoes, crisp on the outside and melting in the middle.

Fondue

A Swiss dish of melted cheese served at the table in a pan.

Fontina

Semi-soft Italian cow's-milk cheese, which is easily melted. When matured, fontina can be grated and used like Parmesan.

Fool

Cold dessert consisting of fruit puree and whipped cream.

Fragrant rice

An aromatic long-grain rice favoured in Thai and Vietnamese cooking.

Frangipane

A pastry cream used when preparing various desserts, sweets, cakes and pancakes.

Freezing

Solidifying or preserving food by chilling and storing it at 0°C (32°F)'.

French dressing

Also known as vinaigrette. A cold sauce used for dressing salads, made from a mixture of olive oil, wine vinegar, pepper and salt to which various flavourings can be added.

French roast lamb

Meat, fat and connective tissue are removed from the tips of the rib bones. Carefully cut through and remove all the connective tissue, meat and fat from the first 2.5 cm (1 inch) of the rib ends.

Fricadelles

Meat balls, made with minced pork and veal, spices, white breadcrumbs, creamand egg; poached in stock or shallow-fried.

Fricassee

A white stew made from poultry and other white meat.

Frittata

An Italian omelette with a variety of fillings, eg potatoes, mushrooms, pumpkin, ham, cheese.

Fritter

Piece of raw or cooked meat, fish, fruit or vegetable coated in batter and deep-fried until crisp, golden and cooked through.

Fritto misto

An Italian dish (meaning literally 'fried mixture')

Fromage frais

A fresh, low-fat curd cheese made from pasteurised cow’s milk which can be used in cooking or in desserts.

Frost

1. To coat a cake with an icing of confectioners' sugar. #2. To dip the rim of a glass in egg white and caster sugar and then chill in a refrigerator until set.

Fumet

A strong-flavoured cooking liquor used for flavouring sauces.

Fusilli

Spiral-shaped pasta.