What does wax mean in restaurant prep?
March 18, 2015 12:07 PM Subscribe
I'm reading/skimming the new cookbook/notebook Prune by Gabrielle Hamilton, which is printed to mimic the binders full of recipes from her restaurant. As such, it contains lots of marginalia. Awesome! But I can't figure out what she means by "wax."
She uses the term in her handwritten marginalia routinely. It appears next to a recipe for braised chard: "DON'T throw away the stems. Run as wax of addition." In the recipe for Sardine Spines she says: "These are just a cooks treat and to be used as a special wax for family and friends."
There are other examples that I recall from skimming but that I can't find to quote now.
So: what does she mean by wax? How does it differ from "family" (she uses family as a verb throughout as well, to indicate food that is intended for the kitchen staff meals and not for customers)? And what is the origin of the term? Is it widely used in the restaurant industry, or is it a "Hamilton original"?
She uses the term in her handwritten marginalia routinely. It appears next to a recipe for braised chard: "DON'T throw away the stems. Run as wax of addition." In the recipe for Sardine Spines she says: "These are just a cooks treat and to be used as a special wax for family and friends."
There are other examples that I recall from skimming but that I can't find to quote now.
So: what does she mean by wax? How does it differ from "family" (she uses family as a verb throughout as well, to indicate food that is intended for the kitchen staff meals and not for customers)? And what is the origin of the term? Is it widely used in the restaurant industry, or is it a "Hamilton original"?
Best answer: KITCHEN SLANG 101:
posted by zamboni at 12:14 PM on March 18, 2015 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I recall from somewhere that this indicates a small dish that isn't put on the menu but is brought free of charge, as a special extra, to regulars and other favorite customers. Can be used to try out potential menu additions, etc.
posted by ostro at 12:16 PM on March 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by ostro at 12:16 PM on March 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: My husband's a chef, and his crew uses it as a synonym for lagniappe. A little freebie, sent out from the kitchen.
posted by Ideefixe at 12:28 PM on March 18, 2015
posted by Ideefixe at 12:28 PM on March 18, 2015
Response by poster: Awesome! I'd encountered the idea of waxing a table in my search before asking this question, but I couldn't make it jibe with her usage. Now it makes sense. Thanks!
posted by sockermom at 12:44 PM on March 18, 2015
posted by sockermom at 12:44 PM on March 18, 2015
When I read that, I looked everywhere in the book for an explanation of this, and found none. Bad editor! Thanks for finding it out.
posted by Riverine at 11:34 AM on March 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Riverine at 11:34 AM on March 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
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