Saute Terms
By: Anonymous
Published: Saturday, February 13, 2010 - 1:27pm

Preparation

1 O Mise en place: A French term meaning everything in its place. It is extremely important with sauteing that everything is at your fingertips. 2 Sauteing requires high heat; if you have to cut up some garlic while your cooking, all may be burned. 3 O Caramelize: When food turns golden, it is caramelizing. This takes long, slow heat or, as with sauteing, quick, high heat. Caramelizing develops food's flavor by bringing out the natural sugars in food. 4 O Seasoning: This refers to salt and pepper. Use Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Seasoning fish, chicken or meat before sauteing also helps develop a crust and forms a protective barrier between food and pan. 5 O Deglazing: The high heat of sauteing tends to leave caramelized bits of food on the bottom of the pan. This is especially true when sauteing fish or meat. By adding wine or stock to the pan, all that stuck flavor is released and, by adding a little very cold butter to the reducing liquid, can be turned into a sauce. 6 O Brown butter: Letting butter brown before sauteing adds flavor to foods and helps develop color. Adding a little butter to very hot olive oil and letting it brown helps achieve a good crust on meat and fish.