You’ve watched every episode of Master Chef, My Kitchen Rules, and Hell’s Kitchen so you’re a culinary expert? Let’s see. Let us at Sage offer you ten unusual cooking terms you may not have heard of.

Barding

You’ve probably used this technique without knowing the name for it. Barding is taking a thin slice of fat or bacon and securing to your meat. This is used particularly when the meat is lean to keep it moist and infuse it with flavour.

Coddle

You’ve no doubt heard this word, but not in relation to cooking. To coddle is to cook your ingredients, often an egg or fruit, slowly in liquid which is just below boiling point.

Fool

If you’re British, you may know this one. A fool is a dessert made with pureed fruit mixed with whipped cream. Whilst any fruit can be used, the most traditional recipe is made with gooseberries.

Grunt

Whilst the British might know what a Fool is, if you are from America you are likely to know what a Grunt is. It’s a combination of a pie and cobbler made of fruit and often berries, cooked underneath a crust of biscuit dough. By the way, a Grunt is also a type of fish.

Muddler

Whilst a muddler can be a type of fly used in trout fishing, it is also a tool used by bartenders. It is used like a pestle to crush or muddle herbs, spices and fruits in the bottom of a glass to release their flavour.

Plumping

Plumping is the process of letting food soak up liquid in order to restore moisture that has been removed by drying or dehydration. In baking you might plump raisins in hot water before adding them to a mix. In short, by soaking your food in liquid it will get larger in size.

Render

This is not covering your food in plaster, but the process of cooking meats to obtain the fatty juices.

Shuck

Seafood lovers should know this one. To shuck is to remove the outer shell of an oyster or clam. It can also be a term applied to removing the inedible outer shell of other food items as well. You might shuck a shell off a nut or the husk off corn.

Temper

Tempering is a technique normally associated with adding eggs to a hot or warm mixture in a way to prevent the eggs cooking. It is essentially the technique of mixing hot and cold ingredients so that they don’t get ruined as they come together.

Weep

Weeping is when clear juices or liquids run out of a solid food, such as jellies, custards, and meringues. Unfortunately, it can ruin the taste and appearance of some foods.

At Sage, let us worry about the techniques and terms, whilst you can relax and enjoy our delicious food.