Cooking & Recipes Glossary: G

garbage disposal: An appliance housed under the kitchen sink drain; grinds up food that goes down the drain.

garbanzo bean: Round, golden bean with a mild, nutty flavor; also called a chickpea.

garfava: A commercial blend of gluten-free flours.

garlic press: A small gadget that squeezes a clove of garlic through tiny holes, mincing the garlic.

gazpacho: A typical Spanish-style cold tomato soup with vegetables.

gefilte fish: A Jewish dish consisting of ground fish shaped into patties or balls that include onion and seasonings; gefilte fish are poached and served cold.

gelatin: A colorless, odorless, and sugarless powder used in cake fillings and to stabilize whipped creams.

gelato: Italian ice cream that’s more intensely flavored than American ice cream.

gianduia: A blend of hazelnut and chocolate.

giblets: The neck, heart, gizzard, and liver of poultry. The giblets are usually packaged in the cavity of a whole bird.

glaze: 1. (verb) To coat the surface of a food with syrup, melted jelly, an egg wash, or other thin, liquid mixture to give it a glossy shine. 2. (noun) The substance used to form a shiny or glossy coating on foods.

gluten: A protein found in wheat, rye, and barley.

glycemic index: A way to measure how much effect a particular food will have on your blood sugar levels; the higher the glycemic index, the more quickly that food breaks down during the digestion process, and the more quickly blood glucose levels rise.

glyceride: Glycerol (a sugar alcohol) from animal fats or plants.

gnocchi: Little Italian dumplings usually made from potatoes.

grain: In meat, the direction in which muscle fibers run. Cut tough cuts of meat (such as flank or skirt steak) against, or across, the grain to make the meat more tender and to make chewing easier.

granita: An Italian ice consisting of water, sugar, and flavoring (usually fruit juice or coffee) that is scraped repeatedly during freezing to achieve a crystallized texture; also known as granité.

gratin pan: A shallow 10-inch pan without a lid. Often used to broil a dish.

griddle: A pan with a smooth surface and shallow sides.

grill: To cook food over a charcoal or gas grill, or to cook on an iron (or other) grill pan on the stovetop. Relatively high heat is used to sear food and add depth of flavor.

guava: A yellowish, round or pear-shaped tropical fruit often used for jelly and preserves.

gumbo: A soup that typically combines assorted shellfish, poultry, vegetables, a long-cooked brown roux of flour and oil, okra, and filé powder (a seasoning made from ground sassafras leaves). Gumbo is the African word for okra.