Flambé

Definition

Setting food on fire at the table for dramatic effect and/or to burn off alcohol. It's cooking's answer to a magic show, minus the actual magic and plus occasional eyebrow loss.

Example Usage

The crêpes were flambéed tableside, and the sommelier's composure remained intact despite the flames.

Origin

French term meaning 'flamed'

Fun Fact

Most alcohol doesn't actually burn off; you typically retain about 75% of the original alcohol content, so flambé is more theater than health benefit.

Source: Classical French dining and presentation standards

Related Terms

Beginner

Sear

Blasting food with extremely high heat to create a flavorful brown crust on the outside. It requires a pan so hot it could forge a samurai sword and the nerve to not touch the food while it does its thing. Every home cook's smoke detector knows this technique intimately.

🍳 Food / Culinary

Beginner

breakdown

The nightly ritual of dismantling, cleaning, and sanitizing the entire kitchen—the unglamorous reality that cooking shows conveniently ignore. Where food preparation goes to die, usually after midnight.

🍳 Food / Culinary

Intermediate

truss

Tying up poultry with kitchen twine to create a compact shape that cooks evenly and looks presentable. Basically origami with dead birds and string.

🍳 Food / Culinary

Intermediate

Emulsion

The magical act of forcing two liquids that hate each other -- like oil and water -- to get along. Mayonnaise is an emulsion. So is hollandaise. Basically, a whisk is a couples therapist for condiments. One wrong move and it 'breaks' like a bad relationship.

🍳 Food / Culinary

Intermediate

Lard

To insert strips of fat into lean meat before cooking—the pre-medieval way of preventing dry poultry (before brining was cool).

🍳 Food / Culinary

Beginner

schmear

A generous spread of soft cheese, cream cheese, or other spreadable ingredients, most famously associated with bagels. It's the Yiddish way of saying 'don't be stingy with the cream cheese.'

🍳 Food / Culinary

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