goodcooking.com's Food & Cooking Dictionary

Paella: A Spanish dish that consists of rice, saffron, chicken, seafood, and chorizo.

Pain: French for bread.

Parboiling: The process of adding foods to boiling water, cooking until they are softened, then removing them before they are fully cooked, usually to partially cook an item that will then be cooked another way.

Parcooking: The process of not fully cooking food so that it can be finished or reheated later.

Pâté: A mixture of seasoned ground meat and fat minced into a spreadable paste, cooked in a form, and then served cold.

Paupiette: A thin, flattened piece of meat rolled with a stuffing of vegetables or fruits, then cooked before serving.

Pegao: In Puerto Rico, the browned crust on the bottom of a cooked rice pot.

Pera: Italian for pear.

Persillade: A sauce or seasoning mixture of parsley chopped with seasonings, often used as part of a sauté cook's mise en place.

Petite Syrah: A red wine grape grown in California that produces wines similar in aroma and taste to French Côtes du Rhône wines.

Pfifferling: German for chanterelle mushrooms.

Piselli: Italian for peas.

Poki: A Hawaiian dish made with seaweed, sweet onions, scallions, and raw fish.

Polenta: A mush or porridge made from yellow cornmeal that originated in Northern Italy.

Praline: A confection of nuts cooked in boiling sugar until brown and crisp.

Pud: A Russian weight of measure equal to 36.11 pounds.

Puerros: Spanish for leeks.