Salt:

Eliminate the water from certain vegetables (e.g., eggplant, zucchini, and cucumber) by sprinkling with salt.

Sauté:

Cook food in fat over high heat in heavy skillet or sauté pan.

Scale:

Remove the scales from fish.

Sear:

Begin cooking meat, poultry, or fish over intense heat in fat, boiling water, or very hot oil.

Season:

Flavour a dish by adding seasoning, during preparation or cooking, or when serving.

Seasoning:

Any ingredient that boosts the taste of a preparation, giving it flavour or an impression of heat. Condiments, spices, aromatics, and oils are seasonings.

Seed:

Remove the seeds (of a fruit or vegetable).

Set:

Become solid by exposure to cold, when speaking of fat or a preparation that contains a fatty ingredient.

Shake:

Agitate energetically, in all directions, especially ingredients in liquid.

Shape:

Give a regular shape to a vegetable by cutting it, or to a preparation by moulding it by hand.

Shell:

Remove outer casing from vegetables, nuts, or seafood; e.g., remove beans and peas from their pods or remove the shell from a crustacean or a mollusc to keep only the meat.

Shred:

Finely grate or pull apart into thin strands.

Sift:

Pass dry ingredients through a sifter to eliminate lumps.

Simmer:

Bring a liquid just below the boiling point (a simmer); used for poaching.

Simmer or Stew:

Cook or finish cooking ingredients slowly, usually in sauce, over low heat in a covered pan.

Skim:

Remove foam that forms at the surface of a liquid during boiling.

Sliver:

Cut almonds or other food lengthwise into very thin strips.

Smoke:

Preserve meat or fish with smoke by exposing it to a wood fire or by spraying it with concentrated smoke. Imparts a smoky taste to the food.

Snip:

Cut into very fine strips.

Soak:

Place a baked good in liquid (e.g., alcohol, syrup) to give flavour and make moister.

Spice (noun):

Ingredient of plant origin, often exotic, that imparts flavour or heat to a preparation. Examples: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, hot pepper, saffron, and ginger.

Spice (verb):

Give more taste to a preparation by adding a condiment or spice.

Spin:

Remove water from a washed leaf vegetable using a salad spinner.

Spoon over:

Cover food with a thick sauce or with cream or sauce.

Sprinkle:

Scatter an ingredient, such as flour, salt, sugar, grated cheese, or breadcrumbs, over food to improve the flavour and/or appearance. Lightly moisten the surface of a food with drops of liquid.

Steam:

Cook food by exposing to steam from boiling water or broth. The food is placed in a perforated container above the boiling liquid and covered to keep the steam from escaping.

Steam/Stew/Braise:

Slowly cook food in a little fat or liquid in an airtight container to prevent cooking liquid from evaporating.

Stem:

Remove the stem of a fruit.

Stir:

Move ingredients about in a solid or liquid preparation to blend them well.

Strain:

Pour or force a preparation through a fine sieve, strainer, or chinois to remove undesirable elements or to make it smoother.

Stud:

Insert ingredients cut in the shape of nails into food.

Stuff:

Fill a cavity or incisions (of meat, poultry, fish, pasta, vegetables, etc.) with a mixture or a stuffing that will flavour the food.

Sweat:

Cook vegetables in fat over lower heat in a closed container, without browning, to remove some of their moisture.

Tenderize:

to make meat tenderer:

• by flattening; by marinating; 
• by prolonged refrigeration; 
• by using an appropriate cooking method.

Thicken:

Make cooking juices or a sauce more consistent in texture.

Thread:

Place meat or other food onto a skewer.

Whip:

Beat cream, eggs, other liquids, or batter using a whisk, electric beaters, or a mixer to obtain a smooth texture or to incorporate air bubbles.

Wilt:

Reduce the volume of water-rich vegetables by heating them alone or in fat, without allowing them to brown.

Work:

Mix briskly until homogenous, using a spoon, whisk, spatula or small appliance. stir, knead or otherwise manipulate a batter or dough.