FOOD GLOSSARY - Posset to Pressed Meat

POSSET:  A once popular drink made of hot milk curdled with ale, wine, etc., sometimes spiced.

POT HERB:  A plant, the leaves or stems of which have culinary uses. This term is generally applied to herbs which are added to soups, stews, and various dishes to increase their nutritious qualities or to give them flavor, as parsley, etc.

POTAGE (French):  Soup.

POT-AU-FEU:  Literally French for "pot on the fire"; a classic meat and vegetable soup that may be considered a French national dish. The meat cooked with the soup may be served as a separate course.

POT LIKKER:  What's left in the pot after cooking greens with salt pork. A term peculiar to our South.

POTPIE:  A baked meat pie; also a meat stew with dumplings.

POTPOURRI:  Originally a stew of various meats and seasonings; also a mixture of dried flower petals and spices, kept in a jar for fragrance.

POT ROAST:  A term applied to cooking larger cuts of meat by braising. See Braise.

POULET, POULARDE, POUSSIN (French):  Chicken. The first refers to chicken in general; the second to a specially fattened hen; the third to a very young chicken or broiler.

POUNDING MEATS:  A method of making meat more tender. Pounding with a meat hammer, the edge of a heavy saucer, or a wooden potato masher breaks down the connective tissues. The cubing machine is used nowadays to replace much of this.

PRAIRIE OYSTER:  A non-alcoholic drink of raw egg, plus tomato juice, and seasonings, drunk the morning after over-indulgence. As the name implies, it may be regarded as an old-American tradition.

PRALINE:  A thin, flat patty-shaped candy made of brown, white, or maple sugar and nuts. Pecan pralines are the most popular.

PRAWN:  The prawn is a crustacean closely allied to the shrimp and sometimes also called shrimp. It is widely distributed in temperate and tropical regions in salt and fresh water. The common species of America and Europe range in length from 1 to 6 inches. Like the shrimp, only the body is eaten. They are prepared and served in the same way as shrimp.

PRECOOK:  To cook food partially in a liquid below the boiling point.

PREHEAT OVEN:  To turn oven regulator to indicated temperature, and then to turn on oven heat, and heat. This should be done far enough ahead of completing a dish so desired temperature is reached when food is ready to be "cooked."

PRESSED MEAT:  Gelatin-molded meat, often made of chopped, cooked meat mixed with concentrated, well-seasoned stock with a high gelatin content. This is poured into a mold and allowed to stand several hours. In the mold, it may be pressed by use of weights.