cooking a liquid such as a sauce until its quantity decreases through evaporation. To reduce by one-half means that one-half of the original amount remains. To reduce by three-fourths means that only one-fourth of the original amount remains. To reduce au sec means that the liquid is cooked until nearly dry.
LABENSKY, SARAH R.; HAUSE, ALAN M.; LABENSKY, STEVEN R.; MARTEL, PRICILLA, ON COOKING: A TEXTBOOK OF CULINARY FUNDAMENTALS, 4th Edition, ©2007. Electronically reproduced by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
