Food and Cooking
Glossary
L
Ladies' Fingers (Okra)
An alternative name (because of its appearance) for okra, an
ingredient that's widely used in Indian, Middle Eastern, Caribbean
and southern US cookery where it's an essential ingredient in
gumbo.
A long green pod with a slightly fuzzy skin, it's full of edible
creamy seeds. Okra exudes a glutinous juice in cooking which
thickens stews and braised dishes.
Lard
Rendered and clarified pork fat, lard is a fine white fat that's
less used these days because of its high animal-fat content.
It's used particularly for slow cooking, but also for deep-frying,
and it's said to make the best crisp, flaky pastry.
Lardons
Lardons are small, chunky cubes of bacon (smoked or unsmoked)
used to flavour dishes such as quiches. They can also be fried
and scattered in salads. They're often sweated with onions as
a base for soups or stews. They give a good salty depth of flavour
to robust dishes such as coq au vin.
Lasagne
Rectangular sheets of Italian pasta, about the size of a standard
envelope. The baked dish that incorporates them is also called
lasagne and is usually prepared with alternate layers of Bolognese
sauce, lasagne sheets and béchamel sauce, topped with
grated Parmesan cheese and baked in the oven until browned.
Lasagne can be made with many different fillings, such as roasted
vegetables, spinach, aubergine, fish or chicken. A simple tomato
sauce could be used in place of béchamel or different
cheeses can be grated on top.
Lassi
A traditional Indian drink that used to be made from buttermilk
poured into earthenware crocks, with salt added to help combat
dehydration in the hot climate. It's now made from thin yoghurt,
often sweetened with sugar or rosewater or sometimes spiced
with cumin. To make your own, dilute plain yogurt, with water
or milk, add salt or sugar to taste, then blend vigorously with
crushed ice.
Leek
The Leek (Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum (L.) J. Gay) is a
vegetable belonging, with onion and garlic, to the Alliaceae,
the onion family. Leeks are generally considered to have a finer
flavor than the common onion. They can also be used raw in salads,
doing especially well when they are the prime ingredient.
Lemon
Very sharp, acidic citrus fruit with a shiny yellow skin and
sour but zingy flavour. Lemons are rich in vitamin C but with
a low sugar content. They're available all year round and used
in both sweet and savoury dishes.
Lemonade
In the U.S. and Canada it refers to an uncarbonated soft drink
made of a mixture of lemon juice, sugar, and water. An approximate
recipe for U.S. and Canadian lemonade is to mix equal volumes
of lemon juice and sugar and add water to taste, approximately
four times as much water as lemon juice. About three quarters
the volume of sugar is likely to be better to the taste of most
people. It is traditionally served cold, preferably with ice.
In many upscale supermarkets, tall bottles of supposedly European
lemonade can be purchased. These are always carbonated or ?sparkling.?
Often, these are translucent yellow, more like North American
lemonade, though there are occasionally transparent and pink
varieties as well.
Lemongrass
A main ingredient in Thai and South-east Asian cuisines, lemongrass
is a pale green stalk that can be used fresh, dried or powdered
to impart its lemon flavour to sweet or savoury dishes. Fresh
stalks are sold in many supermarkets now.
Lentil
The lentil (Lens culinaris) is a bushy annual plant of the legume
family, grown for its lens-shaped seeds. The plant originated
in the Near East, and has been part of the human diet since
the aceramic Neolithic. With 25% protein it is the vegetable
with the highest level of protein other than soybeans, and because
of this it is a very important part of the diet in many countries,
and especially India which has a large vegetarian population.
A variety of lentils exist with colors that range from yellow
to red-orange to green, brown and black. The colours of the
seeds when removed from the pods also vary, and there are large
and small varieties. They are sold in many forms, with or without
the pods, whole or split.
Lettuce
Lettuce is a temperate annual or biennial plant most often grown
as a leaf vegetable. In Western countries, it is typically eaten
cold and raw, in salads, hamburgers, tacos, and several other
dishes. In some places, including China, lettuce is typically
eaten cooked and use of the stem is as important as use of the
leaf. There are 4 main types of lettuce whichh are Iceberg,
Butterhead, Romaine, and Looseleaf.
Liaison
The process of thickening a sauce, soup or stew. This includes
all rouxs, starch and water mixtures (slurries), beurre marni
and egg yolks with or without cream. Egg yolks must be tempered
with hot liquid before adding to the liquid in order to prevent
curdling.
Lima Bean
The lima bean is palatable and nutritious both immature as a
fresh vegetable and mature as a dry pulse. Immature lima beans
are one of the principal ingredients of succotash. Dry lima
beans require lengthy soaking of about twelve hours and thorough
cooking.
Lime
Small, green citrus fruit is used mainly for its juice. It can
be added to savoury dishes, as in Asian cuisine, curries in
particular. It has a stronger, more sour taste than lemon. Lime
juice and zest can be used in marinades and salsas or just squeezed
over finished dishes. It's used in ceviche to effectively 'cook'
the raw fish.
Limpet
A limpet, (Opihi in Hawaiian) is a one of a group of marine
Mollusks within the class Gastropoda. There are several varieties
of limpets known as 'Opihi in Hawaii. The variety with a green
border on the underside is known as makaiauli. The variety with
a yellow foot is known as alinalina, and the gray-footed variety
is ko'ele
Limu
Limu is also the Hawaiian word for algae. Limu played an important
part in the ancient Hawaiian diet. It was used to add flavor
to an otherwise particularly bland diet of kalo (taro), 'uala
(sweet potato), and 'ulu (breadfruit). Limu, together with sea
salt and mashed kukui nuts were the ingredients of 'inamona,
a seasoning mixture much enjoyed by early Hawaiians.
Lingonberry
Lingonberries are a dark red soft fruit similar to a cranberry,
traditionally used in Scandanavian cooking. They can be used
to make lingonberry juice which can be served hot or cold, and
lingonberry jam.
Linguine
A flattened spaghetti-like pasta. It's best served with a medium-thick
sauce which will cling to the thin strands well. Cream-based
sauces go well with linguine and it's often served with seafood.
Allow about 75g/21⁄2oz of pasta a person. Use spaghetti
if you can't find linguine, although it's available from most
supermarkets either fresh or dried.
Liqueur
A liqueur is a sweet alcoholic beverage, often flavoured with
fruits, herbs, spices, flowers, seeds, roots, plants, barks,
and sometimes cream. The word liqueur comes from the latin word
liquifacere which means "to dissolve." This refers
to the dissolving of the flavorings used to make the liqueur.
Liqueurs are not usually aged for long periods of time, but
may have resting periods during their production to allow the
flavors to marry.
Liquor
A distilled beverage is a liquid preparation meant for consumption
containing ethyl alcohol purified by distillation from a fermented
substance such as fruit, vegetables, or grain. The word spirits
generally refers to distilled beverages low in sugars and containing
at least 35% alcohol by volume. Gin, vodka, rum, whiskey, cognac,
and tequila are types of spirits. Beverages high in both alcohol
and sugar content such as Grand Marnier, Frangelico and schnapps
are generally referred to as liqueurs. The term liquor may mean
spirits, spirits and liqueurs, or all alcoholic beverages, including
wine, sake, beer, and mead.
Lobster
Although there many lobster varieties around the world, the
two main ones are the American (or Maine) lobster, which is
considered the biggest and best, and the European lobster, which
tends to be smaller. They can be used interchangeably in recipes.
Loganberry
A hybrid between a blackberry and raspberry, the loganberry
is a large soft dark-red berry, a little bigger than a raspberry.
It has a less subtle flavour than a raspberry and can be quite
tart, so needs plenty of sugar when used in desserts. Use it
as you would other summer berries - eaten fresh with sugar or
cream, in desserts, jams and coulis. In savoury cooking it goes
particularly well with game dishes.
Loin
A loin is a cut of meat that comes from the back of the animal.
It's sold as a roasting joint, with or without bones, as well
as chops and steaks which are good for grilling and barbecues.
You'll occasionally find the word loin describing some fish,
such as tuna loin or monkfish loin.
Lo Mein
Lo mein is a Chinese dish based on stir-fried wheat noodles.
It often contains vegetables and some type of meat or seafood,
usually beef, chicken, pork, or shrimp. The Chinese word "lo"
means stir or mix. It can either mean "stirred by the chef"
or "stirred by the eater". The name refers to totally
different dishes in different parts of Chin.
Lomi Lomi
To massage, knead or rub; lomi salmon is a popular lu'au dish.
Lovage
Also known as sea parsley, the leaves and stem of the lovage
plant add an intense celery-like flavour to soups, stews and
stocks or pork and poultry dishes. It can also be used to enhance
potato dishes.
Luau
A luau (Hawaiian lu'au) is a traditional Hawaiian feast that
normally features foods such as poi, kalua pig (pork prepared
in an imu, or earth oven), poke, and lomi salmon. Hawaii residents
often hold luaus to celebrate special occasions such as a child's
first birthday. Commercial operations in Hawaii also specialize
in luaus that cater to visitors to the Islands.
Lychee
A fruit that originated in China and is now grown in the Far
East and the West Indies. It's about the size of a small plum
and has a thin, hard, rough shell that comes off easily. The
white, juicy flesh has a similar texture to grapes but is more
chewy, with a delicate scent. There is a large dark brown stone
in the centre.
