Reference
Glossary
Working definitions for the technical and culinary vocabulary used across the encyclopedia.
Chiffonade
A knife technique for cutting herb leaves into long, thin ribbons by stacking, rolling, and slicing perpendicular to the roll.
Essential oil
The volatile aromatic compounds extracted from a plant by steam distillation, cold-pressing, or solvent — the concentrated essence of the plant's smell.
Flush
A single growth cycle of leaves on a plant, typically used in tea cultivation to mark seasonal harvest periods (first flush, second flush, autumn flush).
Maceration
Soaking herbs, spices, or aromatics in a liquid (oil, alcohol, vinegar, water) to extract flavour and colour over time.
Terroir
The combined environmental factors — soil, altitude, climate, sun exposure, water — that shape a plant's flavour profile. Borrowed from French wine vocabulary.