The Ultimate Cooking Techniques Quiz

By: Torrance Grey
Estimated Completion Time
3 min
The Ultimate Cooking Techniques Quiz
Image: ansonmiao/E+/Getty Images

About This Quiz

Cooking: Who isn't afraid that their skills in the kitchen don't measure up? No matter what else you might be aces at, from playing the cello to rebuilding a carburetor, if you're all thumbs in the kitchen, you probably feel a little inadequate. Certainly, you don't want to make a mess of a meal you're preparing for friends. 

But, maybe, that's not you. What if you're completely confident in your culinary skills? Well, then, maybe it's time to see if that confidence is justified! We've got a quiz that can help, with no messy egg-breaking or dish washing afterward. We'll test your knowledge of cooking methods -- indoor and outdoor, recent or time-honored. Do you know what the more common synonym for "fricassee" is? Or what liquid fruits and vegetables are pickled in? How about the difference between "grilling" and "barbecuing"? OK, we won't argue about that last one too much ... we don't want to start a fight! People feel strongly about the right and wrong names for things in the kitchen, just like they do about the "right" and "wrong" way to make recipes and prepare foods. We're not just looking at barbecue-loving Southerners here, but also at the French, who have pretty rigid rules about cooking, too. 

So take off your apron, put on your thinking cap, and try our quiz. Don't worry -- we won't reveal your score to Gordon Ramsay!

"Al dente," meaning "to the tooth," comes from which language?
French
Italian
Arabic
German
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

When you cook pasta "al dente," you boil it until it still has a slight resistance to the bite, or tooth. It's considered ideal for pasta, though some people prefer the completely soft noodle that British and American cooking favored for a long time.

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"Moppin' and soppin' " refer to techniques in what cooking style?
Barbecue
Braising
Frying
Pastry baking
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In barbecue, you'll often have a "moppin'" sauce and a "soppin'" sauce. The first is applied to the meat while it's still over the fire. The second is applied after the meat is removed from the grill, or even put on the plate for dipping.

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What's the difference between barbecuing and grilling?
Barbecue is only done over seasoned wood.
Grilling is done with propane gas.
Barbecue takes longer.
There's no agreement on this.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Grilling and barbecue are closely related -- both mean cooking food over an open flame. Usually, the food in question is meat. But where "grilling" crosses the line to "barbecue" is not something that's easily defined.

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Which of these techniques keeps meat from drying out while cooking?
Basting
Clarifying
Julienning
Deglazing
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Basting means to spoon liquids over meat during the cooking process. Sometimes the liquid is the pan juice from directly underneath; other times, it's a sauce made on the side. Basting can be done with a special applicator with a squeeze bulb at the end to draw pan drippings into it. Fancy!

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Stirring something so energetically that air is introduced into the substance is called _____.
Arcing
Frosting
Rendering
Whipping
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The most common liquid to get this treatment is heavy cream. When you add powdered sugar to cream and whip it vigorously, it becomes whipped cream. No, really -- it didn't always come out of a spray can!

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Which of these instruments makes whipping cream much easier?
A teaspoon
A ladle
A slotted spoon
A wire whisk
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

You can whip liquids with a fork. But the bulbous shape and thin threads of a wire whisk get a maximum amount of air into the cream, which is what gives it its lift and fluffiness.

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Which of these would a "ricer" make?
Rice, of course
Chocolate chunks
Pureed potatoes
Minced garlic
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A ricer is a press that's used to puree or nearly liquefy foods that have been boiled until they are very soft. Potatoes are a common choice.

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Before baking, cakes start out as what?
Batter
Fond
Crust
Roux
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Batter is a liquid (or at least, a fluid) but with enough flour in it that it will eventually become a solid. Other pastries start as a solid raw material, called dough.

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Which of these processes, often done to eggs, is a step down from whipping?
Beating
Folding
Caramelizing
Braising
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

You're probably familiar with the kitchen tool called an "eggbeater." When an electric eggbeater is on its highest speeds, it's no longer beating, but whipping.

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When a food has been dunked in boiling water and removed quickly, it has been _____.
Blanched
Deglazed
Fondued
Julienned
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

When people "blanch," it means their faces go a bit pale with shock or disgust. When vegetables (it's almost always vegetables) are blanched, they can lose a bit of color, hence the name.

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Broiling can be viewed as the opposite of which technique?
Boiling
Grilling
Deglazing
Parboiling
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In broiling, you put meat under, not over, a high heat source. In this case, the heat source is in the oven, though. Like grilling, broiling will cook the food through, given enough time, but can burn the surface if you're not careful.

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True or false: Searing locks the juices of a meat inside.
True
False
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

This is a common myth about the cooking of meat. Searing might make a pleasantly crisp exterior, but it won't keep all the juices in. If you look closely, you can see that some moisture is still escaping.

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Caramelizing acts on what component of a food?
The internal water
The lipids
The proteins
The sugars
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The sugar doesn't have to be refined or added sugar. For example, onions caramelize beautifully. The natural sugars inside turn gradually brown and sweet with low-heat cooking.

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Which of these would get "boned"?
A cake
A garlic clove
A salmon
A zucchini
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

To "bone" something is actually to "de-bone" it. With salmon, the tiny pinbones can easily be removed with the same kind of tweezers you'd use to pluck your eyebrows. Just be sure they're dedicated for kitchen use, not doing double duty.

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Which of these might get "clarified"?
Apples
Butter
Flour
Pork
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Clarifying is the process of heating a semi-fluid until its solids separate from the liquids. The solids are then skimmed off and the liquid allowed to cool. In butter, this leaves a clear, pure product Indians call "ghee."

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To ____ a meat is to preserve it by drying and salting.
Cure
Degrease
Marinate
Mill
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Cured meats are the kind that can be sold and stored at room temperature, like salami. However, some of the preservatives now used in curing don't get high marks from health advocates, who say they should be eaten sparingly.

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Which of these is the least exact measurement?
An ounce
A millileter
A pinch
A teaspoon
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Fun fact: It was Julia Child who was credited with popularizing exact measurements in recipes. Before the 20th century, many recipes called for "a pinch" or "a dash" of something, and even terms like "a cup" weren't agreed on in terms of volume. That's changed now, but the "pinch" survives, being a relatively agreed-on amount.

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If you are "dicing" a vegetable, what will it look like when you're done?
cubes of small size
long, thin strips
long spirals
wide chunks
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

To dice properly, use a large chop knife and rest the flat of your hand on the upper, blunt side. Then use brisk back-and-forth motions, followed by sideways motions, to get the desired effect.

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To coat a food in flour is called what?
Braising
Dredging
Skim
Steep
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Fun fact: Fiction writers have had some fun using this term metaphorically. In "Red Dragon," Thomas Harris describes Francis Dolarhyde's old-fashioned grandmother as "dredged in face powder," an indelible visual.

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Which of these meats would get "trussed"?
A trout
A goose
A turkey
Both #2 and #3
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Trussing" or "lacing" is a technique done when meats are stuffed. This most commonly happens to poultry -- think of a Thanksgiving turkey -- but can be done with other meats, on occasion.

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How does stewing differ from soup-making?
It's slower.
It almost always involves meat.
It results in a creamy end product.
Both #1 and #2
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Most often, meats are stewed, meaning that they're simmered for a long time, to make them tender. Nowadays, you'll see vegetarian stews in cookbooks, but this has more to do with the heartiness of the end product. They don't usually require lengthy simmering.

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True or false: A curry doesn't always require coconut milk.
True
False
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Curries are common to the Eastern equatorial countries like India and North Africa. But there's a tradition of "jungle curry," which has the seasonings of a curry, but in a thinner broth.

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What does the "Maillard reaction" cause?
Browning
Blanching
Degreasing
Calorie reduction
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Meats turn brown via the Maillard reaction, which changes the amino acids inside, as caramelization does with sugars. The 212-degree heat of boiling water isn't adequate to cause this, which is why boiled or steamed foods stay pale.

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Cutting shallow, thin grooves in a food is called _______.
Deglazing
Skimming
Scoring
Searing
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

There are several reasons a cook might do this. It can allow marinade to enter a meat, release juices, or simply add to a dish's attractiveness.

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Which of these might have a "lattice"?
A brownie
A roast chicken
A pie crust
Braised carrots
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A lattice crust is one in which strips of crust go across the pie, at right angles to each other. It's pretty, and also allows for plenty of ventilation.

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What is the difference between frying and sauteing?
Frying is only for meat.
Sauteing uses less oil or butter.
Sauteed foods aren't flipped in the pan.
Fried foods are always breaded.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Sauteing (or "sauteeing") is a French word for frying with minimal oil. It tends to be healthier, for that reason. Nowadays, many people will only call the foods they fry "sauteed," no matter how much oil or butter they used. It sounds better!

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Which of these gets "rendered"?
Fats
Proteins
Salt
Sugars
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Many fats are a solid at room temperature, The application of heat makes them slowly liquefy, and then they can be either drained off or used in a sauce.

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What are fruits and vegetables pickled in?
Alcohol
Milk
Plain water
Saltwater
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

This is more commonly called "brine." It can have other flavoring ingredients, but the important one is salt, which has a preservative quality.

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What would you use a paring knife on?
Fish
Fruits and vegetables
Pastry
Roasts
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

To pare something is to remove its outer layer -- peeling, essentially. Paring knives can be used for other small cutting jobs, but that's what the name means, at least.

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A "dry marinade" is usually called what?
A briner
A garnish
A mince
A rub
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A rub is a mixture of salt and seasoning that is rubbed (hence the name) over the surface of meat. The flavor then sinks in, just as it does with a liquid marinade.

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To cut vegetables into long, thin strips is to ______ them.
Chop
Julienne
Fricassee
Mark
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The most common vegetable to be julienned is the potato. Of course, we don't call this "julienned fried potatoes." We just call them "French fries."

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Which of these dishes gets flambeed?
Bananas Foster
Blueberry slump
Chocolate lava cake
Tiramisu
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

To flambe something is to drench it in alcohol and set it alight. It's very impressive done at tableside, as if often the case with desserts like Bananas Foster.

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Which of these is a synonym for "braise"?
Deglaze
Fricassee
Parboil
Steam
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Both cooking methods refer to cooking meat slowly in a closed contained in an oven. "Braise" is more common nowadays, but the latter term survives in the name "Chicken Fricassee."

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Which of these is NOT commonly thought of as a cooking term?
Deglaze
Parboil
Steep
Frost
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Steeping is immersing a substance in hot water, to draw out its flavor and (sometimes) psychoactive subtances. It's done with coffee and tea, but not food. The similar process in food is called "infusing."

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What is "carryover cooking"?
Cooking something in a double boiler
Letting a prepared meal warm in a recently-used oven
A recipe that travels well after preparation
The tendency of large cuts of meat to continue cooking on the inside after removal from heat
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

When you're learning to roast large cuts of meat, you have to learn to account for this. A pork loin cooked entirely through in the oven might be overcooked by the time it's sliced, because of carryover.

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