Microscopic organisms. Some have beneficial properties; others can cause food-borne illnesses when foods contaminated with them are ingested.

A loaf of bread of French origin, made with 12 to 16 oz/340 to 454 g of dough, shaped into a long, skinny loaf that ranges from 2 to 3 in/5 to 8 cm in diameter and 18 to 24 in/46 to 61 cm in length. The dough, made of flour, water, salt, and yeast, yields a paper-thin crisp crust and a light, airy crumb.

The French term for a water bath used to cook foods gently by surrounding the cooking vessel with simmering water. Also, a set of cylindrical nesting inserts used to hold foods in a water bath or, with a single, long handle, used as a double boiler. Also, steam table inserts.

To cook food by surrounding it with dry heat in a closed environment, as in an oven.

To partially or completely bake an unfilled pastry crust by lining it with parchment and filling with weights that are removed during or after baking.

A chemical leavener made with an alkaline and an acidic ingredient, most commonly sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and cream of tartar. When exposed to liquid, it produces carbon dioxide gas, which leavens doughs and batters. Double-acting baking powder contains ingredients that produce two leavening reactions one upon exposure to liquid, the second when heated.

Sodium bicarbonate, a leavening agent that, when combined with an acidic ingredient and moisture, releases carbon dioxide gas and leavens baked goods.

To cook food by grilling it over a wood or charcoal fire. Often a marinade or sauce is brushed on the item during cooking. Also, meat cooked in this way.

To cover a naturally lean meat with slabs or strips of fat such as bacon or fatback that baste it during roasting or braising. The fat is usually tied on with butcher’s twine.

A boat-shaped tart or tartlet, which may have a sweet or savory filling.