Dictionary.net

The normalUnix character-input mode, with interrupts enabledand with erase, kill and other special-characterinterpretations performed directly by the tty driver.Opposite of raw mode. See also rare mode. Otheroperating systems often have similar mode distinctions, andthe raw/rare/cooked way of describing them has spread widelyalong with the C language and other Unix exports. Mostgenerally, "cooked mode" may refer to any mode of a systemthat does extensive preprocessing before presenting data to aprogram.