Tourner

Definition

A decorative vegetable cut with seven sides producing a barrel or football shape—the knife cut that proves you had way too much free time.

Example Usage

The competition required perfect tournered potatoes, so I questioned all my life choices.

Origin

French, from 'tourner' meaning 'to turn'

Fun Fact

Learning to execute a proper tourner takes months of practice and is often a culinary school gateway to actually joining the profession.

Source: Professional culinary knife skills

Related Terms

Beginner

bake

The fundamental cooking method of applying dry heat in an enclosed space, typically an oven, to transform raw ingredients into edible creations through the magic of thermal chemistry. It's also a social gathering where people eat baked foods, from clam bakes to cake sales. The term doubles as both verb and noun, much like the confusion over whether you're "having a bake" or "having a bake."

🍳 Food / Culinary

Beginner

straight up

An order without modifications or substitutions, exactly as written on the menu. The unicorn of modern dining and every cook's favorite type of order.

🍳 Food / Culinary

Intermediate

Jus

The natural juices from cooked meat, served as a light sauce. Not to be confused with gravy, because jus is French and therefore fancier, thinner, and three times the price. Ordering something 'au jus' makes you sound worldly even at Arby's.

🍳 Food / Culinary

Advanced

feuilleté

A French culinary term for dishes made with delicate layers of puff pastry, because saying 'puff pastry thingy' doesn't justify charging $28 for an appetizer. The word literally means 'leafed' or 'layered,' referring to those impossibly thin, buttery sheets that take hours to make properly. Pronounced 'fuh-yuh-TAY' if you want the waiter to respect you.

🍳 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

Advanced

Gastrique

A sweet-and-sour sauce made by caramelizing sugar and adding vinegar. Sounds like a stomach condition but tastes like culinary enlightenment. It's what separates a $12 duck breast from a $42 duck breast -- two tablespoons of fancy vinegar sugar.

🍳 Food / Culinary

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