Cooking glossary

utenils-647x160-3col

Cook's string

A type of yarn made from tightly woven cotton, which means very few threads are shed when it is used for culinary purposes. Cook's string may be used to truss (tie into a neat shape) poultry or game birds or to help secure the filling in chicken breasts, chops or rolled fish fillets. The string should be removed before serving.

Cook's string can also be used to secure a parchment paper collar in place on a soufflé dish (the cooked soufflé rises above the height of the dish and is held in place by the baking parchment which is removed before serving to reveal an impressive well-risen effect). Store string used for cooking in a plastic bag with cooking equipment to avoid it getting dirty.