Course:FNH341/Glossary

Students are expected to use these terms in both assignments and class discussions. Please review these terms prior to each class.

Acrid: Sharp and harsh odour, pungent
Aftertaste: The experience that may follow after removal of a taste stimulus; it may be continuous with the primary taste experience or may follow as a different quality, affected by swallowing, saliva, dilution, and other influences
Age: To let food get older under controlled conditions in order to improve flavour or texture or both (e.g. meat, cheese, wine)†
Alkaline: A taste sensation usually attributed to a combination of sourness and bitterness. In cooking the most common alkali used is baking soda (to neutralize acid, as a leavened)†
Al dente: Term used to describe pasta or other food that is cooked only until it offers a slight resistance when bitten into, not soft or overdone†
Aromatic: Possessing a fragrant, slightly pungent, aroma, usually pleasant (e.g. any of various plants, herbs, and spices that impart a lively fragrance and flavour to the food and drink)†
Astringent: Quality perceived through the complex of sensations caused by shrinking, drawing or puckering of the skin surfaces of the oral cavity; dry feeling in the mouth
Bland: Having no distinctive taste or odour property
Biting: A physical sensation perceived on the tongue, independent of temperature, taste, and odour; can be caused by substances such as pepper and ginger. Distinct from burning, that is of greater intensity and/or longer duration
Body: A word used with food and drink to describe a full, rich flavour and texture (e.g. for beverages such as coffee have a complex, well-rounded flavour that lingers in the mouth)†
Brittle: Textural property characterized by breaking easily and leaving sharp edges
Chewy: Tending to remain in the mouth without readily breaking up or dissolving; requiring mastication
Cloudy: Having turbidity; not clear
Cloying: A taste sensation that stimulates beyond the point of satiation. Frequently used to describe overly sweet products. Can also be an overpowering smell (e.g. very ripe cantaloupe)
Coarse: Composed of large particles, as opposed to fine. Also used to denote a harsh, unpleasant flavour in wines
Coating: Forming a thin film on the tongue and/or teeth, sometimes caused by a combination of tannins in a food with proteins in saliva, or by homogenized milk and cream
Consistency: (1) An oral tactile sensation, a degree of firmness, density, or viscosity. (2) Agreement of harmony of parts; congruity; uniformity
Cooked: Refers to food heated at a specific temperature for a specified time period, until it has reached an appropriate degree of doneness and it is at a temperature in accordance with HACCP specifications. Having the characteristic flavour for the food time in its cooked form
Cooling: A physical sensation in the mouth resulting from a cold liquid or solid; also a result of chemical action sensed by the skin, such as that produced by menthol
Creamy: (1) Textural property of liquids and soft semisolids resembling the smooth, oily consistency of an emulsion of fat or cream. (2) Creamy flavours refer to apparent fat content or richness
Crisp: Textural property characterized by a brittle, friable nature
Crumbly: Textural property characterized by ease with which a substance can be separated into smaller particles
Crunchy: Textural property that produces a characteristic grinding or crushing sound during mastication of a substance
Crusty: Having a dry, hard, or coarse surface, with a softer inside
Crystalline: Textural property resembling the surface conformation of a crystal; clear, transparent
Doughy: Textural property resembling an unbaked water and flour mixture; pastry, soft and heavy (not pourable)
Effervescent: Containing gas bubbles induced by fermentation or carbonation, as champagne, beer, or soda water
Elastic: Textural property reflecting rate of recovery of a material from deformation, such as measured or perceived by tongue and teeth. In yeast dough, refers to the extent of gluten formation
Fibrous: Stringy textural property
Firm: Solid, compact textural property
Flaky: Term describing a food, such as a pie crust, with a dry texture that easily breaks off into flat, flakelike pieces†
Fluffy: Soft and downy textural property; light and airy
Foamy: Textural property consisting of a mass of bubbles formed on liquids, or in the mouth by agitation or fermentation; frothy
Friable: Easily crumbled, breaking into small granules (e.g. overbeaten egg whites; shortbread)
Fragrant: A pleasing olfactory quality; odours which are distinctly pleasing smelling
Gelatinous: A thick, jellylike consistency
Grainy: Granular texture (e.g. white sugar or salt)
Greasy: Textural property suggesting a covering of oil or fat
Gristly: Having cartilaginous like properties, chewy
Hardness: A textural property; force necessary to attain deformation. Can also refer to mineral content in water
Mealy: Having a dry or powdery texture that resembles meal. A term describing texture of a baked potato as slight dry and almost crumbly†
Metallic: Flavour defect suggesting iron or copper contamination. In fat-containing foods, related to oxidative changes
Mouthfeel: The feel of a food item on the tongue. Not a reference to flavour, but rather to texture and consistency
Mouldy: An odour or flavour suggestive of mould. Visual appearance of mould growth
Mushy: A soft, thick, pulpy consistency, may be in relation to a food that is normally firm
Musty: Flavour similar to the odour of a damp, poorly ventilated cellar, dusty
Nippy: Sharp, biting oral sensation
Pasty: Textural property characterized by flour-water paste; starch taste
Piquant: Agreeably stimulating to the palate; pleasantly tart, sharp, or biting; pungent
Plastic: A property of texture; capable of being deformed continuously and permanently in any direction without rupture (e.g. butter, margarine)
Pungent: A sharp, stinging, or painful sensation of a flavour or odour
Rancid: Having a rank odour or taste, as that of old fats and oil or nuts
Rubbery: (1) Odour of natural or synthetic rubber. (2) Resilient, rubber like texture. Similar to gummy or chewy
Sandy: A textural property resembling small, loose, dry, granular particles; gritty
Savoury: A term describing food that is not sweet but rather piquant and full-flavoured†
Sharp: Characterizing an intense or painful, well-localized reaction to a substance being eaten or smelled (e.g. various acids and alcohols; strong flavour associated with well-aged cheese), nippy, tangy
Short: Culinary term used to describe non-yeast pastry or cookie dough that contains a high proportion of fat to flour. These doughs are tender, rich, crumbly and crisp†
Smoky: Emitting smoke; having a grey, cloudy appearance; having a burnt like odour or flavour
Smooth: Having an even surface or consistency; devoid of lumps or pieces
Soupy: Usually refers to undesirable dilution of a semisolid or a suspension
Spicy: Flavoured with, containing, or characteristic of a spice or spice complex; aromatic; piquant; pungent
Spongy: Having the consistency of a sponge; open, loose, pliable texture; elastic, porous, springy
Starchy: Containing a high amount of carbohydrate, with the flavour or mouth feel of uncooked starch
Stale: Not fresh; dull or tasteless from age, such as stale bread or non-fat milk powder
Sour: Acidic in taste (e.g. lemon juice)
Tangy: Having a sharp, tart taste (sharp, nippy)
Tart: Sharp, acidic or sour†
Tender: Easily broken, cut, or masticated. Opposite of tough or hard
Texture: Properties of a foodstuff apprehended both by the eyes and by the skin and muscle senses in the mouth, including roughness, smoothness, graininess, etc.
Tough: Having flexibility without brittleness; yielding to force without breaking; tenacious, such as the ligaments in meat
Viscous: Thick; resistant to flow

† Definitions taken from: Herbst, Sharon Tyler, The New Food Lover's Companion, 2nd Ed, Barron's Educational Series, NY, 1995.