Cooking glossary

1. A long, fine tool which is used to pierce foods such as meat or cakes to test to see if they are cooked or to pierce small pieces of meat, vegetables or fruit to form kebabs. A skewer can also be used to hold meat, poultry or fish in shape during cooking. Skewers can be made from metal or wood. Wooden skewers are most commonly used to serve kebabs and should be soaked in cold water for 30 minutes before use to prevent them from scorching under the grill or on the barbecue.

2. To place pieces of food on a long, fine metal or wooden tool, eg skewer alternate pieces of meat and pepper to form a kebab.

Skewer test

A test used to see if a large cake, such as a fruit or sponge cake, is cooked. Eg insert a fine metal skewer into the centre of the cake. If the cake is ready the skewer will be completely clean when removed, if any mixture sticks to the skewer the cake is not baked sufficiently.