Mise en place your vocabulary with these culinary gems.
A light, aromatic poaching liquid made with water, vegetables (mirepoix), and seasonings, used for cooking fish, seafood, or vegetables; basically light stock with attitude.
Preserving food with salt and/or sugar, sometimes with added spices and nitrates. It's one of humanity's oldest food-preservation techniques and still delicious centuries later.
Butter with the water and milk solids removed, leaving pure butterfat. It has a higher smoke point than regular butter and a cleaner appearance in sauces.
A paste made from butter, water, flour, and eggs that puffs dramatically when baked—the foundation for éclairs, profiteroles, and other showoff pastries. It's magic disguised as cooking.