French Cooking Terms: Mirepoix, Roux, Confit and Bain-Marie

The French words every cook eventually learns. Mirepoix is diced onion, carrot and celery, the base of countless sauces; a roux of butter and flour thickens them; a liaison of egg yolk and cream enriches them. Duxelles is finely chopped mushrooms cooked down; confit is food slowly cooked in fat; a paupiette is a thin slice of meat rolled around a filling.

Bain is the start of bain-marie, a hot water bath for delicate custards and sauces. Brunoise, julienne and chiffonade are knife cuts, and sauté and flambé are cooking methods. Roux is the only diagonal word.

French Culinary Terms Vocabulary: 12 Words to Find

Words run across, up and down, and diagonally; 6 of the 12 read backwards. The longest word is Chiffonade, with 10 letters.

Bain: As in bain-marie, a hot water bath for gently cooking custards or melting chocolate.
Brunoise: A tiny dice, about 3 mm, cut from julienne strips.
Chiffonade: Leafy herbs or greens stacked, rolled and sliced into thin ribbons.
Confit: Food, usually duck, cooked slowly in its own fat and stored in it.
Duxelles: Finely chopped mushrooms and shallots cooked in butter until dry.
Flambe: Flambé: to pour spirit over food and set it alight for a burst of flavor and show.
Julienne: Thin matchstick strips about 3 mm thick.
Liaison: A mixture of egg yolk and cream used to thicken and enrich a sauce or soup.
Mirepoix: Diced onion, carrot and celery cooked as the base of sauces, soups and stews.
Paupiette: A thin slice of meat or fish rolled around a filling and cooked.
Roux: Equal parts butter and flour cooked together to thicken sauces.
Saute: Sauté, from the French "sauter", to jump, because the food is tossed in the pan.

How to Solve the French Culinary Terms Word Search

"Roux" is the only diagonal word. "Mirepoix", "duxelles" and "roux" all have an X, so check every X you find. "Chiffonade" is the longest word, with a double F, and reads backwards; "paupiette" has a double T and runs down; "julienne" has the only J.

French Cooking Lesson Ideas

Make a roux and use it to thicken a simple sauce.
Dice a mirepoix and talk about why it starts so many dishes.
Ask students to sort the terms into knife cuts, cooking methods and preparations.