Decoct

WORD OF THE DAY

decoct / verb / dih-KAHKT

Definition

1: to extract the flavor of by boiling

2: boil down, concentrate

Examples

"Though the taste is a bonus, the real draw in this caffeine-free latte is the CBD, or cannabidiol, oil. The CBD served in the lattes is derived from Kentucky-grown hemp, decocted from the flowers and leaves with hot dairy or coconut milk." 

— Mackensy Lunsford, The Asheville (North Carolina) Citizen-Times, 2 Mar. 2018

"The cooking liquor he decocts from roasted red peppers … gives surprising oomph to roasted rice purée and royal red potato." 

— Lee Tran Lam, The Gourmet Traveller, 3 Jan. 2018

Did You Know?

Decoct boils down to a simple Latin origin: the word decoquere, from de-, meaning "down" or "away," and coquere, meaning "to cook" or "to ripen." 

Decoct itself is somewhat rare. Its related noun decoction, which refers to either an extract obtained by decocting or the act or process of decocting, is slightly more common but still much less recognizable than some other members of the coquere family, among gastronomical words like biscuit, biscotti, cook, and kitchen. 

Other coquere descendants include concoct ("to prepare by combining raw materials" or "to devise or fabricate"), concoction ("something concocted"), and precocious ("exceptionally early in development or occurrence" or "exhibiting mature qualities at an unusually early age").