Poach

Definition

Gently cooking food in liquid that's just below boiling -- essentially giving your food a warm, relaxing hot tub experience instead of the violent rolling boil of death. It's the gentlest cooking method, perfect for eggs, fish, and people who are afraid of oil splatter.

Example Usage

"I tried to poach an egg and ended up with what can only be described as egg drop soup. The internet lied about how easy this would be."

Related Terms

Intermediate

cryovac

Vacuum-sealed packaging used to preserve meats and other foods, named after the Cryovac brand that popularized the technology. Also describes the distinctive slightly funky smell that hits you when opening one.

🍳 Food / Culinary

Intermediate

stretch it

The art of making insufficient ingredients somehow serve more portions through creative cutting, padding, or wishful thinking. Required when par levels meet unexpected demand.

🍳 Food / Culinary

Intermediate

86

Restaurant industry code meaning an item is out of stock, dead, gone, no longer available—basically the menu equivalent of 'sold out.' Shouted across kitchens to alert staff that they need to stop promising customers something that doesn't exist anymore. The term has origins debated more hotly than most cooking techniques, but everyone agrees on what it means.

🍳 Food / Culinary

Intermediate

jump

When a line cook temporarily helps another station that's drowning in tickets, because teamwork supposedly matters more than your own impending disaster. The kitchen's version of cross-training under fire.

🍳 Food / Culinary

Advanced

mousseline

A light, airy preparation made by folding whipped cream into a flavored base, creating ethereal textures that practically float off the spoon. The fancy cousin of mousse that's even more delicate and pretentious.

🍳 Food / Culinary

Beginner

Resting

Letting cooked meat sit undisturbed after cooking so the juices redistribute throughout. It's the hardest part of cooking because it requires doing absolutely nothing while a perfect steak sits there taunting you. Most people fail this step because they are human and steak is delicious.

🍳 Food / Culinary

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