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Culinary Arts & Cooking vocabulary · Cooking Methods & Techniques

Simmer

Meaning in culinary arts & cooking, with examples

/ˈsɪmər/verbCore term

In culinary arts & cooking, simmer means: To cook food gently in liquid kept just below boiling point, so that only small bubbles rise slowly to the surface.

In Turkish: kısık ateşte pişirmek, hafif kaynatmak

How it is used

Used for stocks, soups, sauces and stews, which become cloudy or tough if they boil hard. Recipes say bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. As a noun: keep it at a gentle simmer.

Example sentences

  1. Let the stock simmer for four hours and skim it now and then.

  2. Turn the soup down; it should just be simmering, not boiling.

Common collocations

  • bring to a simmer
  • gentle simmer
  • simmer for
  • leave to simmer
  • simmer gently
  • boilTo heat a liquid until it bubbles strongly, or to cook food in such a liquid. Water boils at 100°C at sea level.
  • stockA flavoured liquid made by simmering bones, vegetables and aromatics in water for a long time, used as the base for soups, sauces and braises.
  • braiseTo brown food first and then cook it slowly in a covered pot with a small amount of liquid, so that tough cuts become tender.
  • reduceTo boil or simmer a liquid so that some of the water evaporates, making it thicker and its flavour stronger. The result is called a reduction.

More terms: Cooking Methods & Techniques

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