Food and Cooking
Glossary
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Agar-agar
A vegetarian alternative to gelatine, agar-agar is the jelly
that results from boiling several kinds of seaweed together.
It's dried and sold in powder form, flakes or bars and is also
used as a stabiliser or thickener in many food products. It's
available from the larger branches of most supermarkets as well
as Asian grocers (it's frequently used in Asian cuisines). Useful
if you want to make a jelly using pineapple, kiwi fruit or papaya,
because these fruits break down the protein found in gelatine,
preventing the jelly from setting.
Allspice
An aromatic spice that looks like a large, smooth peppercorn
(about the size of a pea), allspice is the dried berry of the
West Indian allspice tree. It's also called Jamaican pepper
or pimento and is so called because its taste is said to resemble
a combination of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and black pepper.
Allspice can be bought whole or ground and is used in both sweet
and savoury dishes including mulled drinks, Christmas pudding,
pickles and marinades, and Jamaican jerk chicken.
Amaranth
Also known as Chinese spinach or callaloo in Caribbean cooking,
amaranth is a tall plant with broad leaves that produces thousands
of tiny seeds. Both leaves and seeds are edible. The green leaves
are sturdy and have a good, slightly sweet flavour. They can
be cooked or eaten raw in salads.
Anchovy
Anchovies vary in size and can be bought either fresh or cured.
Fresh anchovies look and taste similar to sardines. They’re
not easy to find in the UK because there isn’t a great
demand for them, but try Italian or Spanish delis.
Anchovy Essence
A natural juice concentrate from anchovies, this is the British
equivalent of Asian fish sauce and is a good substitute for
it. Used sparingly it can add an extra kick to soups, stews
and sauces.
Annatto
A paste produced from achiote seeds, which are ground and used
as a spice in parts of Latin America. Annatto is more important
as a colouring agent than as a spice. It's used to make a bright
orange-yellow dye that's produced commercially and used to colour
butter, margarine, cheese (such as Cheshire and Lancashire)
and smoked fish such as mackerel and kippers.
Argan Oil
Believed to be one of the rarest oils in the world, argan oil
comes from the nuts of the argan tree which is indigenous to
Morocco. Argan trees used to cover much of North Africa but
they're now greatly reduced in numbers, hence the high price
of argan oil. It's related to the olive but has a distinct flavour
of its own.
Arrowroot
A starch extract of the root of a tropical plant native to the
Americas called maranta. Arrowroot is used for thickening sauces,
juices and syrups; when heated the starch turns to jelly and
so thickens the liquid. Its great advantage over cornflour is
that it's completely tasteless (whereas cornflour can need cooking
to get rid of its 'raw' taste) and gives a clear finish when
used to thicken certain soups, fruit syrups or sauces.
Asafoetida
An extremely pungent spice extracted from a plant of the giant
fennel family, asafoetida is frequently used in Indian and Middle
Eastern cooking. In fact, asafoetida's strong, garlicky, dung-like
smell is quite off-putting. But if you can overcome the stink,
which disappears in the cooking process, the smallest amount
of it transforms vegetable dishes, meat stews and fish. Buy
it in powdered form rather than chunks, which are hard to break
down.
Avocado
Sometimes called an avocado pear, the avocado is the fruit of
the Persea Americana tree, which is native to the subtropical
regions of the American continent. It has green, buttery flesh
and a large central stone. It's very high in both protein and
oil.
