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Paillard / [pahy-yahr]:
A scallop of meat pounded until thin; usually grilled or sautéed
Pan Broiling / [pan-broil-ing]:
A cooking method similar to dry sautéing that simulates broiling by cooking an item in a hot pan with little or no fat.
Pancetta / [pan-chet-uh]:
An Italian bacon that is cured with salt, pepper, and other spices. Unlike bacon in the USA, pancetta is not smoked. Shaped in a tight roll.
Panettone / [pan-i-toh-nee]:
An Italian cake made with a dough rich in egg yolks, traditionally served around Christmas time. The dough is studded with raisins, candied fruits and occasionally pistachios.
Paprika / [pa-pree-kuh] [Hungarian]: Translated to sweet red pepper. A spicy seasoning ground from a sweet variety of red pepper. It is used to season ragouts, stuffings, and sauces, and as a garnish.
Parcook / [pahr-kook]:
To partially cook an item before storing or finishing.
Parfait / [pahr-fey]:
French for "perfect." A dessert of ice cream and fruit (or syrup) in alternate layers, often topped with whipped cream and served in a tall, narrow, short-stemmed glass. Also frozen dessert in which fruit, nuts, etc., have been folded into whipped cream or egg custard. Originally the word referred to an ice sweet which was flavored with coffee.
Pasteurization / [pas-tuhr-i-zay-shuhn]:
A process in which milk products are heated to kill microorganisms that could contaminate the milk.
Pâté / [pah-tey]:
A rich chopped mixture of meat, game, poultry, seafood and/or vegetables, baked in pastry or in a mold or dish and served hot or cold.
Pâtissier / [pat-is-yay]:
Pastry chef station. This station is responsible for baked items, pastries, and desserts. This is often a separate area of the kitchen.
Pesto / [pes-toh]:
A thick, puréed mixture of an herb, traditionally basil and oil. Used as a sauce for pasta and other foods and as a garnish for soup. Pesto may also contain grated cheese, nuts or seeds, and other seasonings.
Phyllo/filo dough / [fee-loh doh]:
Pastry made with very thin sheets of flour and water dough layered with butter and/or bread or cake crumbs; similar to strudel.
Pilaf / [pi-lahf, pee-lahf]:
A technique for cooking grains in which the grain is briefly sautéed in butter, then simmered in water or stock with various seasonings until the liquid is absorbed.
Pith / [pith]:
The soft, white membrane that lies between the peel and the pulp of a citrus fruit. It has a bitter flavor.
Pizza / [peet-suh]:
A flat, open-faced baked pie of Italian origin, consisting of a thin layer of bread dough topped with spiced tomato sauce and cheese, and many other toppings. Pizza is the Italian word for "pie," therefore English-speaking peoples who call it a "pizza pie" are being redundant. The root word in Latin is "picea," which describes the blackening of the crust caused by the fire underneath.
Pizza Peel / [peet-suh-peel]:
A shovel-like tool used by bakers to slide pizzas into and out of an oven.
It is used to set and turn pizza, and the pots and pans to put in and out of a Pizza Oven. They can be either wood or steel, short- handled or long-handled.
Poach / [pohch]:
To cook gently in simmering liquid that is 160° to 185°F / 71° to 85°C
Polenta / [poh-len-tuh]:
Italian cornmeal pudding or mush, eaten hot or cold, usually with sauce and / or meats. It may be cooled and fried after cooking.
Prawn / [prawn]:
A crustacean that closely resembles shrimp;often used as a general term for large shrimp.
Proof / [proof]:
In short, swelling. Yeast proofs when it swells and becomes bubbly. And a dough proofs when it swells and rises to twice its original size.
Prosciutto / [proh-shoo-toh]: The Italian word for ham, usually referring to the raw cured hams of Parma. Though once impossible to obtain in the United States due to USDA regulations, fine prosciuttos from Italy and Switzerland are now being imported. These hams are called prosciutto crudo. Cooked hams are called prosciutto cotto. Prosciutto is best when sliced paper thin.
Purée / [pyoo-rey]:
To process food by mashing, straining, or chopping it very finely in order to make it a smooth paste. Also, a product produced using this technique.
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