truss
truhs
/trʌs/
To tie up the wings and legs of a fowl, or to bind a roast of meat with twine, to ensure even cooking and retain its shape.
Implies neatness, structural integrity, and preparation for roasting. It is a fundamental technique in classical French cooking.
The story behind the word. The word comes from the Old French 'trousser', meaning 'to pack or bundle'. It originally referred to packing baggage or bundling straw, but by the 14th century, English cooks adopted it to describe the neat bundling of poultry for the spit.
Word relationships
- tie: Tie is a general verb for securing anything with a knot, whereas truss is specifically used in culinary contexts for shaping meat or poultry.
- bind: Bind can mean to wrap tightly or hold together chemically, whereas truss specifically means securing limbs or meat into a compact shape for cooking.
- untie: To untie is to release the knots, which is done after cooking before carving.
Commonly confused with
- trust: Trust is a belief in reliability, whereas truss is the physical act of tying up meat.
Word family
- trussed (adjective/verb): Tied up securely for cooking.
- trussing (noun): The act or process of tying meat.
Collocations
- truss a chicken
- butcher's twine to truss
- trussed roast
Example sentences
- "If you truss the turkey before putting it in the oven, the breast meat will not dry out before the thighs are cooked." Roasting instructions
- "There was a great ham, and a cold joint of roast beef, and a pair of trussed fowls." Classic literature citation
Memory hook
When you 'truss' a bird, you make it compact like a 'bus' so it fits neatly on the roasting pan. Truss: Tie it tight for a perfect roast.
When not to use
Do not confuse with 'bind' in a chemical sense (like binding ingredients with egg). Trussing is strictly mechanical tying with string.
Fun facts
- In engineering, a 'truss' is a structural framework of beams, sharing the same root because it 'binds' elements together to create rigid support.
Take your vocabulary further with LangBlitz
Our English vocabulary app: FSRS spaced repetition, 5,000+ curated words across 119 topic groups, CEFR A1 to C2. Explore your mastery with the beautiful Vocabulary World feature.