Methods of Glazing Vegetables

Glacer

Appears in
The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Cuisine

By French Culinary Institute

Published 2021

  • About

Glazing (glacer) is similar to cooking à l’étuvé, but a small amount of sugar is added and the cooking liquid is reduced so that the butter and sugar form a shiny, slightly sweet coating on the cooking vegetables.

In this section, two different methods of cooking vegetables are introduced, glacer à blanc and glacer à brun. The technique is the same in both, but the degree to which the vegetable is cooked differs. The sugar is allowed to caramelize slightly in the glacer à brun method to achieve a darker, richer glaze on the vegetable. Since cooked vegetables are a component of most plated entrées, it is extremely important to master these methods early in the learning process.