Definition

A creamy clay-water cocktail that ceramicists love and everyone else finds inexplicably messy. It's the artistic equivalent of mud, but way more sophisticated and infinitely more useful in pottery.

Example Usage

The potter mixed slip to a consistency perfect for attaching handles to the coffee mugs.

Source: Pottery and ceramic arts terminology

Related Terms

Intermediate

clarify

Removing impurities from butter (making ghee) or clearing cloudy stock until it's transparent. The pursuit of purity through heat and patience, or egg whites if you're making consommé.

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sauté

To cook food quickly in a shallow pan with a small amount of fat over high heat, achieving that coveted golden-brown crust while keeping the inside tender. It's the cooking technique that makes everything better and is legally required for at least one step in every French recipe. The culinary equivalent of a quick sprint rather than a marathon.

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Rondelle

A round slice cut perpendicular to the length of a vegetable. It's the lazy person's knife cut that somehow still looks professional.

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Julienne

Cutting vegetables into thin, matchstick-sized strips because apparently the shape of a carrot matters. It's the knife skill that separates professional chefs from people who own a mandoline and a collection of band-aids.

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Advanced

enology

The fancy scientific term for wine studies, because apparently "wine nerd" wasn't prestigious enough for academia. It's the study of everything from grape cultivation to fermentation chemistry, providing the intellectual justification for professional day-drinking. Practitioners get to call themselves enologists instead of sommeliers, which sounds more like a medical degree.

🍳 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

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