DictionaryscaldHeating nearly to boiling
verb

scald

To heat a liquid almost to boiling.

She scalded the milk before adding it to the mixture.

Etymology

The French verb concerns applying heat or hot liquid. The culinary sense specifies heating a liquid close to boiling.

More examples

  • The recipe says to scald the cream without boiling it.
  • He watched the pan while the milk was scalding.
  • The warm liquid had been scalded for the custard.

Forms

scald · scalds · scalded · scalding

Similar words

heat
Heat is general; scald in cooking brings liquid close to boiling.
boil
Boil reaches active bubbling; scald usually stops just short of boiling.