A guide to cooking terms.

Size matters: chopped vs diced vs minced vs sliced

These distinctions matter because the will affect the cooking times of your ingredient.

Chopped – Cut your ingredient into large squares ½ - ¾ inch.

Diced – Cut your ingredient into small squares ¼ inch or smaller.

Minced – Cut your ingredient as small as you can go with a knife.

Sliced – The recipe with often clarify thick or thin slices, and if not choose your preference.

Once burned twice shy: broiling vs baking

These two techniques can be used together or separately.

Baking- You surround your food with a consistent temperature and cook it from all sides.

Broiling – You expose your food to direct hot heat from the top of your oven. It cooks or browns quickly.

The long and the short of it: shredded vs grated

This will determine desired texture of the ingredient.

Shredded – A term meaning long pieces of (usually) a vegetable and sometimes cheese. You go in one direction on the grater to create long pieces.

Grated – A term meaning small irregular pieces and is a term used often with cheese, but can also refer to vegetables. You can go back and forth on the grater to create the grate!

Potato pohtahdo: dash vs pinch

One is for dry ingredients and one is for wet.

Pinch – This is the measurement when you physically pinch the dry ingredient between your fingers. It is approximately 1/8 of a teaspoon.

Dash – This is a small drip of a wet ingredient. It is also approximately 1/8 of a teaspoon.