GLOSSARY OF FOOD/BEVERAGE TERMS
(Rum) Agricole - type of rum distilled directly from pressed cane sugar, rather than fermented juice or cane byproducts and known for its purity and terroir expression.
Agua Chile - a Mexican seafood dish, similar to ceviche, predominantly referring to the citrus/chile marinade that gives the dish it’s name “chili water”.
Allium - genus of plant including onion, garlic, leek, shallots, scallions, chives and other bulbous herbs of the amaryllis family. A common allergen outside of the “big 9”.
Aquavit - A traditionally Scandinavian or Northern European spirit, distilled from potato or grain, and flavored with herbs and spices. According to EU standards, it must include carraway or dill seed.
Bergamot - a fragrant citrus native to the Mediterranean.
Bitters - concentrated flavor extracts, often from herbs, spices, roots, and other botanicals, infused in high-proof neutral spirits, used to add depth and complexity to cocktails.
Black Garlic - garlic that has been fermented in a warm, moist, controlled environment until it turns black and develops a complex flavor profile—often with sweet and savory notes depending on the garlic used.
Bonito (katsuobushi) - simmered, smoked, and dried flakes of skipjack tuna. It is often fermented to enhance the rich umami flavors. Traditionally used in Japanese cuisine.
Boquerones - pickled white anchovies, traditionally from the Mediterranean.
Bottarga - salted and cured fish roe sac, typically from grey mullet or bluefin tuna.
Buckwheat - despite the name, it is NOT related to wheat, cereal grains, or grasses. Related to sorrel, knotweed, and rhubarb, its high starch content allows it to be cooked/consumed like a cereal.
Calabrian Chile - a spicy and smoky variety of chili pepper grown in the Italian region of Calabria.
Cantabrian Anchovy - widely considered the best anchovies available. Meaty fillets from the Bay of Biscay off the coast of Cantabria in Northern Spain.
Capsaicin - the active chemical compound of chili peppers and that produces the sensation of burning or “heat”.
Castelvetrano - a green, “fruity”, creamy, almost buttery-textured olive from the town of Castelvetrano in Sicily, Italy.
Chai - meaning “tea” in Hindi, a sweet and spicy beverage made with black tea, spices, and milk.
Chermoula - a traditional North African sauce/condiment of herbs and spices, commonly with a base of parsley and cilantro and typically served over fish. Similar to Latin American chimichurri.
Confit - a culinary technique traditionally consisting of slow-cooking meat in its own fat. The process allows for preservation, as it inhibits microbial growth, and derives from the French “confire” (to preserve).
Coppa - traditional Italian cured meat made from pork shoulder or neck. It is dry-cured, seasoned, and known for its distinctive flavor and tenderness.
Coulotte - a tender and flavorful cut of beef, from the top sirloin; derived from the French “culot”, which means “cap”, and refers to the thick fat cap found on one side. Also called top sirloin cap steak,
Crack - slang term for our house-made condiment of slow-cooked, crispy garlic and chiles.
Curd - term for coagulated milk solids, separated from the whey liquid, used to make cheese.
Dashi - Japanese soup stock, with many variations and used in a wide variety of applications as an umami-rich backbone of flavor. Common ingredients include kelp, bonito, anchovies, and mushrooms.
Diplomat Cream - used in pastry, it’s a cream of egg, milk, cream and a little cornstarch.
Eau de Vie - “water of life”; clear, colorless, fruit brandy; unaged and double-distilled from a fruit other than grapes; typically lighter in flavor, crisp, clean, and meant to exemplify the fruit from which it was made.
Escabeche - a method of cooking common throughout the Spanish-speaking world. In layman’s terms, the escabeche method means “cooked then pickled”. You’ll often see this applied to our menu with seafood like mussels. First we’d cook the mussels by steaming them in white wine and aromatics, then we’d pickle them afterward.
Espelette - a chile pepper from the Basque region of France and Spain known for it’s delicate, nuanced heat and flavor profile.
Farro Verde - an ancient grain, harvested early (“green”), then charred to remove the outer husk. Typically has a soft, chewy texture and a nutty flavor with hints of smokiness from the harvesting process.
Fumet - A traditional French sauce made from fish bones/trim, vegetables, herbs, and aromatics.
Glucose - the most common form of sugar, derived from a number of different sources and used as a sweetener.
Garum - a fermented sauce, traditionally made by salting and fermenting fish in clay vessels to extract the flavor enhancing glutamates.
Beef Garum - our beef garum is made by “holding” beef scraps, water, salt, and koji at 65 degrees for 60 days until the beef is broken down into umami-rich amino acids
Gelatin - commonly used in pastry as a stabilizer, gelatin is a flavorless ingredient derived from collagen taken from animal parts. Note* - because it is an animal byproduct it is not vegetarian/vegan friendly.
Gelato - dessert made with milk, cream and sugar and is slowly stirred by a machine while freezing, result in very little air being whipped in. Differs from ice cream in that it is more milk-based instead of cream.
Granita - semi-frozen dessert often made from the frozen juice of fruit with a high water content. For instance, peach granita on our menu would most likely be made by juicing peaches (and maybe adding gelatin to stabilize, and/or sugar for sweetening) and then freezing. Once frozen it’s cut into pieces, blitzed through a Robot-Coupe, and then refrozen. Less creamy than ice cream and less dense than sorbet.
Green Garlic (spring garlic) - “young” garlic that hasn’t fully matured yet, with a milder more onion-like flavor.
Gyokuro - meaning “jade dew” in Japanese, a high-grade green tea that is shaded for several weeks prior to harvesting and known for its rich umami flavor and smooth, mellow character.
Ice Cream - made with milk, cream and sugar and is churned by a machine to incorporate significant amounts of air into the dessert, creating a more whipped texture.
il Tratturello - extra virgin olive oil from Gustiamo with a spicy profile that we use as our finishing OO.
Jacquard - a tenderizer designed for tough cuts of meat, using small blades to create small channels in the meat, breaking down connective tissue and allowing for better absorption of marinades.
Jus - a thin gravy or sauce made from cooked meat juices, common in French cuisine.
Karigane - a type of green tea made from the stems and stalks of the tea leaves, known for its fresh aroma and umami flavor.
(Albert) Katz - an olive oil/vinegar producer from Napa, California. We use many his vinegar’s, including; Late Harvest Zinfandel, Honey Viognier, Apple Cider, and Sauvignon Blanc.
Kewpie - Japanese-style mayo that uses egg yolks instead of whole eggs as in regular mayo. Typically richer, creamier, and sweeter than regular mayo.
Koji - a fungus or “mold” used to produce Sake, or to ferment soybeans for soy sauce and miso (and many, many other things). We use it often and for many different reasons, including but not limited to: fermenting, marinating, tenderizing, flavoring, etc. Koji can be applied to many different grains but we most commonly use barley koji.
Kombu - dried seaweed/kelp. We use it for many purposes, most importantly Kombu stock to produce a more umami layered stock.
Kosho - a spicy paste of yuzu zest and Japanese chili.
Lacto-Fermentation (2%) - a traditional fermentation method involving submerging vegetables in a brine solution of salt and water. At FOLK we often omit the water from our lacto-ferments, and instead ferment in a vacuum (cryo-vac) sealed bag. 2% salt by weight is added to the fermentable item, then vac-sealed to create an anaerobic environment. The oxygen-free envirnoment allows the food item to ferment without being exposed to harmful bacteria, resulting in a quick, clean fermentation.
Leoparding - a term we use to describe the charred spots on our pizzas.
Levain - preferment for bread, consisting of sourdough starter, water, and fresh flour. The entire mixture is mixed into the bread dough.
Low Moisture Mozzarella (LMM) - mozzarella cheese with lower moisture content than fresh mozzarella. See pizza primer in menu description for more details.
Madeira - a fortified Portuguese wine, often used for cooking.
Maldon Salt - eponymous term for the flaky sea salt we use to finish/season lots of our food with. Maldon is the most well-known version, known for its pyramid shape and produced in the town of Maldon, in Essex, England.
Mezcal - distilled spirit made from any variety of agave, often characterized by its smoky flavor; tequila is a mezcal specifically made from Weber blue agave.
Mignonette - traditionally an accompaniment for oysters, made of vinegar, cracked pepper and diced shallots.
Milanesa - on our menu Milanesa refers to a half-chicken, de-boned, pounded thin, breaded and fried. in Italy it’s Milanesa, in Germany it’s Schnitzel, if you grew up in the south you’ve probably had chicken-fried-steak…it’s all the same concept. One of our signature dishes.
Mirin - Japanese rice wine used for cooking with a sweet, tangy flavor profile.
Mop - used both as a noun and verb at FOLK.
Noun - a sauce or glaze consisting of fish sauce, black garlic, roasted garlic, soy, sherry vinegar and coriander, often used for proteins and vegetables cooked on the Japanese grill.
Verb - when the sauce itself is brushed, or “mopped” onto a food item.
Navy strength (rum/gin) - rum/gin bottled at 57% ABV, known for bolder, more intense flavors; originating from the British navy in the 18th century; thought to prevent spoiling at sea.
‘Nduja (en-dooya) - a spicy, spreadable, Calabrian condiment made from pork and chiles with a high fat-to-lean ratio, usually 75%fat:25% lean. We sometimes combine ‘Ndjua in a 50:50 mixture with plugra butter to make ‘Nduja butter.
Nori - dried, edible seaweed, typically used in Japanese cuisine, known for its crisp texture and slightly salty taste. Often used for wrapping sushi.
Oolong - style of tea that is moderately oxidized (fermented), as compared to green tea which is lightly oxidized and black tea which is heavily oxidized.
Pamplemousse - a fruit closely related to grapefruit, but sweeter and less bitter.
Panko - breadcrumbs made from white bread, that is lighter and flakier than regular breadcrumbs. Traditionally Japanese, it literally means bread “pan” flour “ko”.
Pectin - a sugar acid derived from citrus and some other fruits, used as a gelling agent, most commonly in jams and jellies.
Pianogrillo - our workhorse extra virgin olive oil from Gustiamo that we use across the board in things like dressings, house-mayos, tonatto, etc.
Ponzu - citrus-based tart and tangy sauce, similar to a vinaigrette. Traditionally made with soy sauce, mirin, citrus, bonito, kombu, and rice vinegar.
Raclette - a Swiss, semi-hard, PASTEURIZED cow’s milk cheese
RCA - our abbreviation for the combination of raisins, capers, and anchovies, giving a flavor of what Brian calls, “Italian umami”.
Rice Bran Oil - the oil we use in our fryer.
Sake Lees - a paste of rice/koji/yeast sediment that is strained and separated after the Sake making process. We use it for flavoring, marinating and tenderizing.
Salamander - a kitchen applicance. Essentially a broiler.
Salsa Verde - green chili sauce, typically made with tomatillos or green chili peppers.
Shiso - a popular culinary herb in Japanese cuisine, from the mint family.
Shrub - aka drinking vinegar, used in various culinary applications, from jams/jellies, cocktails, salad dressings, etc. Often considered health tonics due to their high antioxidant levels.
Sofrito/soffritto - sauce made from aromatic ingredients cooked slowly in oil over low heat, typically used as a base for a variety of dishes. Common in Mediterranean and Latin American cuisine.
Sorbet - Water, sugar, flavor of some sort (fruit, chocolate, coconut, nuts, etc.)
Spalache - a Chef Krajeck coined term used to describe dollops of sauce and cheese on a pie rather than an even spread.
Speck - smoky, salt-cured pork made from the hind leg (ham) of the pig. Similar to old world wines, speck must adhere to strict processing guidelines, including how the pigs are raised, the (cold) smoking process, and minimum aging of 22 weeks. The word speck is derived from the German word for bacon, reflecting its cultural roots from the German-speaking regions of Italy.
Still strength (tequila) - undiluted tequila known for a thicker, viscous mouthfeel and brighter, more intense aromas and flavors.
Stone fruit - category of fruits defined by a single large seed encased in a hard pit, surrounded by a fleshy outer layer. Examples include peaches, plums, cherries, and apricots. Also a lesser-known allergen.
Taramasalata - a traditional Greek meze made from “tarama” – salted and cured trout roe mixed and aerated with olive oil and lemon.
Tartare - a traditionally French dish of raw, ground or minced beef, seasoned and often served alongside an egg yolk. Common variations include tuna, venison, and vegetarian iterations.
Tonnato - house-made “tuna mayo”
Turbo Dust - a seasoning blend of fennel pollen, chili flake, and oregano.
Vecchio - a hard, PASTEURIZED cow's milk cheese from the Veneto region of Italy. Aged for at least 12 months - similar to Parmigiano Reggiano.
Vitello - Italian for “veal”, most commonly known for the popular dish vitello tonnato.
VSOP - “Very Superior Old Pale”, a type of cognac that has been aged for a minimum of 4 years, known for richer and more complex flavor profiles.
Whey - the remaining liquid, after milk has been strained and curdled.
Wiscorino - a Chef Krajeck coined term for the hard, PASTEURIZED sheep’s milk “Pecorino” cheese from Wisconsin.
XO - a Chinese condiment hailing from the Honk Kongese cuisine of the 1980’s. The “XO” was meant to translate as a sort of “luxury” sauce à la French Cognac or Brandy. It was originally made of dried seafood (shrimp/scallop), pork, garlic, shallot, chile and oil. At FOLK we’ve made several different XO’s over the years ranging from traditional to modern vegetarian takes like Collard Green XO.
Yuzu - Asian citrus that combines the tartness of lemon, sweetness of mandarin, and bitterness of grapefruit, making it a versatile flavor component.