Daikon - A Japanese root vegetable, that looks like a white carrot that is used in salads or and a wide variety of cooked dishes, including stir-fry.

Dal - 1. The Hindi term for dried peas, beans, and lentils; legumes. 2. Dal is also the word for the spicy dish made with lentils, tomatoes, onions and various seasonings. It is often puréed and served with curry.

Dandelion - A plant with bright green jagged leaves and a slightly bitter taste. Dandelion leaves can be used in salads or cooked in the same way as spinach.

Dash - An approximate measure roughly equal to 1/16 teaspoon.

Date - The fruit of a palm tree grown in Mediterranean regions. Usually oval in shape, a very thin skin and exceptionally sweet flesh and a chewy texture. Dates are eaten fresh or dried.

Date Sugar - Ground dehydrated dates that are used as a sweetner.

Debone - To remove the bones from meat or poultry.

Deep-Fry - To submerge foods in hot oil or fat while cooking.

Defat - To remove the fat that congeals on the top of soups, broth, chili and sauces.

Deglaze - After meat or poultry is sautéed or fried, most of the fat and the meat are removed from the skillet. Liquid is added to the browned residue and heated, while stirring continuously. This mixture is used for a base in sauces and gravies.

Degrease - To remove the fat that congeals on the top of broths, jus and sauces.

Dehydrate - To remove most of the moisture from food by drying it slowly in the oven or commercial dehydrator.

Delicata Squash - A green striped winter squash with pale yellow skin. The flesh is yellow and has a taste between a sweet potato and butternut squash. Also known as sweet potato squash.

Demerara Sugar - A coarse, dry, raw sugar from the Demerara area of Guyana. Its flavor is similar, but not identical, to that of brown sugar.

Demi-glace, Demi-glaze - A term meaning "half glaze." This rich brown sauce begins with a basic espagnole sauce and beef stock, and is slowly cooked with Madeira or sherry until it has been reduced by half. The resulting thick glaze should be able to coat the back of a spoon and can be used as the base for many other sauces.

Demitasse - Literally means "half cup" in French; usually refers to a tiny coffee cup used to serve espresso.

Depouillage - To skim the surface of a cooking liquid, such as a stock or sauce. Depouillage is more easily done by placing the pot off-center on the burner and skimming the impurities as they collect at one side of the pot.

Devein - To remove the grainy, blackish vein under the rounded top of a shrimp by slitting the shrimp and pulling it out.

Devil - To mix a food with spicy seasonings and sauces. Devilled eggs are an example.

Dextrose - A sweetener produced from cornstarch that has been treated with heat and acids or enzymes. Dextrose produces a high-temperature browning effect in baked goods.

Dice - To cut into especially small pieces, roughly 1/8 to 1/16-inch.

Dietary Fiber - The part of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds that humans cannot digest; only found in plant foods.

Dijon - A prepared mustard originally from the Dijon region of France. It has a slightly hot, spicy flavor and is yellow-gray or brown in appearance.

Dijonnaise - Dishes that are prepared with mustard or are accompanied by a sauce that contains mustard.

Dill - An herb that is has feathery leaves that taste somewhat like parsley with overtones of anise and are used fresh or dried. The small oval, brown seeds have a faintly bitter taste and are used as a spice.

Dilute - To add liquid to make less concentrated.

Dip - A thick sauce served hot or cold to accompany raw vegetables, crackers or chips as an hors d'oeuvre. The base is usually made of yogurt, mayonnaise, sour cream or cream cheese base.

Direct Heat - The lack of a conductor between food and the heat source, such as grilling, broiling, and toasting.

Disjoint - To dismember a chicken before cooking by slicing the connective tissue and cartilage and twisting firmly until the pieces separate.

Dissolve - To merge with a liquid.

Ditali; Ditalini - Italian for thimbles; very short hollow tubes of pasta used in salads and soups. Ditalini is a smaller version of ditali with proportionally thicker pasta.

Dock - Any of several varieties of a hardy perennial herb belonging to the buckwheat family, all with some amount of acidity and sourness. The mildest variety is dock sorrel, also called spinach dock.

Docking - The act of piercing small holes or making cuts in dough or crust before baking to allow steam to escape, thus preventing the dough from rising as it bakes.

Dolcelatte Cheese - A soft, mild, blue-veined cheese that can be served as an appetizer or dessert. Also known as Gorgonzola dolce.

Dolci - Italian word for "sweets"; on a menu, the term means desserts.

Dollop - 1. A spoonful of soft and usually creamy food, such as sour cream of mayonnaise. 2. It may also mean a dash or "splash" of a liquid like a "splash of sparkling water".

Dolmades; Dolmas - Blanched grape leaves stuffed with a seasoned mixture of ground lamb and rice, braised in stock, oil and lemon juice. Other foods that can be used as casings include squash, eggplant, sweet peppers, cabbage leaves, quinces and apples.

Dot - To place random bits of food (like butter) on the surface of another food.

Double Acting Baking Powder - Releases leavening gases twice: Once when it comes in contact with moisture and again when exposed to heat from the oven.

Double Boiler - Like with a bain-marie, you cook in a double broiler without using direct heat. Two saucepans that fit together on on top of the other. The bottom pan contains boiling water is placed on the heat source and the top one contains the food to be cooked.

Dough - A mixture of oil or shortening, flour, liquid, and other ingredients that retains its shape when placed on a flat surface, although may change shape once baked like cookies and breads.

Drain - To remove liquid from, pour off, sometimes with the use of a strainer or colander.

Drawn Butter, Clarified Butter - Butter that has been melted and skimmed of milk solids.

Dredge - To coat with dry ingredients such flour, corn meal, or bread crumbs before cooking. Desserts are dredged with sugar after baking or frying.

Dress - 1. To prepare poultry for cooking. 2. To add dressing to a salad.

Dried Wood Ears - An edible mushroom that grows on the trunks of dead trees. It has a shallow oval cup and is somewhat crunchy in texture. Also known as tree ear, Jew's ear and cloud ear mushroom.

Drippings - The fat and liquid that result when meat is cooked.

Drizzle - To trickler a very fine stream of liquid like a glaze or melted butter over food.

Drum - A variety of fish so named because of the sounds that it makes during mating. The fish is usually quite lean and can weigh anywhere between 1 pound and 30 pounds.

Dry Aging - An aging process that adds flavor and tenderizes to beef through an enzyme action.

Dry Cure - A method of curing meat or fish by using a combination of salts and seasonings, usually before smoking.

Dry Milk - A product made from milk from which almost all the moisture has been removed, leaving the milk solids in a powdery form. Dry milk comes in three basic forms: whole milk, nonfat milk and buttermilk. Dry milk is less expensive and easier to store than fresh milk (though dry whole milk must be refrigerated because of its milk-fat content), and the taste is never quite the same as fresh milk.

Dry Sauté - To sauté food with very little or no fat; a nonstick pan is often used for this method.

Du Jour - French term meaning "of the day"; used to indicate a special menu item.

Duck - A variety of poultry refering to a domestic web footed bird. It's meat is dark and has a rich, deep flavor.

Dumpling - A batter or soft dough, which is formed into small mounds that are then steamed, poached, or simmered.

Dungeness Crab - A large crab found along the Pacific coast from Mexico to Alaska. Weighing from 1 pound to 4 pounds, this variety of crab has pink flesh that is succulent and sweet.

Durum Flour - High protein flour produced from durum wheat. Durum wheat is used to make semolina, which is combined with water to make pasta dough. It is also known for the high amounts of gluten it produces.

Dust - To sprinkle food lightly with spices, sugar, or flour.

Dutch Oven - A large pot or kettle, usually made of cast iron, with a tight-fitting lid so steam cannot readily escape. It's used for moist-cooking methods, such as braising and stewing. Dutch ovens are said to be of Pennsylvania Dutch heritage, dating back to the 1700s.

Duxelles - A reduction of finely chopped mushrooms, parsley, onions, pepper, shallots, salt and butter, used to flavor soups, stuffings and sauces.