Food and Cooking
Glossary
S
Saffron
The most expensive spice in the world fortunately goes a long
way! It's derived from the stigmas of the saffron crocus (Crocus
sativa), which can only be picked by hand. It takes 250,000
stigmas to make just half a kilo of saffron.
Sage
Sage (Salvia officinalis) is native to the Mediterranean. The
colour of the downy leaves and the flavour varies but, in essence,
it's a very strong aromatic herb with a slight bitterness that
can withstand long cooking times and still retain flavour.
Sago
Sago is a starch from the pith of the sago palm. It's processed
into sago flour, slightly coarser sago meal or pearl sago -
small grains similar to tapioca. It's used in baking, to make
puddings or as a thickener for desserts.
Salamander
A salamander is a huge commercial grill that can be heated to
very high temperatures. It's used by professional cooks for
glazing, browning or caramelising savoury or sweet dishes.
Salami
Salami is the Italian name for a family of 'cut-and-keep' sausages
made from a mixture of raw meat, such as pork, beef or veal
and flavoured with spices and herbs. Innumerable varieties are
made around the world. Salami can be salted, smoked or air-dried.
Salami makes great sandwich fillers, pizza toppings or salad
ingredients, particularly in potato salads.
Salsa
A spicy relish or dip served cold and made from chopped tomatoes,
onions, chillies and peppers. 'Salsa' means 'sauce' in Spanish.
Salt
Crystals of sodium chloride (NaCl) used as a seasoning and preservative.
Salt is available as sea salt or rock salt. Sea salt is more
highly prized than rock salt, which is mined from underground
and needs to be further refined for cooking salt and table salt.
Samosa
A deep-fried Indian pastry stuffed with spiced vegetables or
meat, usually triangular in shape. Samosas can also be baked.
Savoury samosas are more common, but sweet fillings can also
be used.
Samphire
Marsh samphire (Salicornia europaea), also known as glasswort
or pickle-plant, is a fleshy-leaved green plant that grows on
seaside marshes. It has a sea-salty flavour and a crisp, interesting
texture.
Sangria
A Spanish punch drink made with red wine, sliced fruit and fruit
juices, sugar, soda water and sometimes a splash of brandy.
This popular blood-red drink (from which its name derives) is
served over ice and is great with tapas.
Sardine
Sardines are baby pilchards. They're an oil-rich fish, usually
sold whole, whether fresh, frozen or tinned. Bought fresh and
whole, sardines are ideal fish for grilling and barbecuing.
Sashimi
A Japanese dish of raw fresh fish and shellfish (without rice),
beautifully presented and served with dipping sauces, vegetables
and wasabi.
Sassafras
The sassafras tree is native to the eastern US. The dried, powdered
leaves are called filé, which is an important ingredient
in an authentic gumbo (a traditional Creole dish from Louisiana).
The root can be used to make sassafras tea and the bark of the
root is one of the ingredients used to flavour root beer.
Satay
This is a South-east Asian speciality eaten across much of Indonesia
(from where it originates), Thailand and Malaysia. Small pieces
of marinated meat or fish are skewered on small wooden sticks
and grilled or barbecued. Satay is usually served with spicy
peanut sauce. It's essentially a street food, but is good served
as a starter or main course with rice.
Savory
The herbs summer savory (Satureja hortensis) and winter savory
(S. montana) are both related to the mint family. Both are highly
aromatic and can be used to season a variety of meat, poultry,
egg dishes, soups or sauces. Both types of savory are particularly
useful in stuffings. Winter savory tends to be more strongly
flavoured.
Scallion
The common name scallion is associated with various members
of the genus Allium that lack a fully-developed bulb. They tend
to be milder tasting than other onions and are typically used
raw in salads in western cookery. Diced scallion are often used
in soup, noodle, seafood, sauce in eastern cookery. Scallions
are also known as green onions in the American English and spring
onions in the places where Commonwealth English is commonly
used, with the exception of Scotland, where scallions are commonly
referred to as 'Cibies', and Northern Ireland. Confusingly,
the term "green onion" or "spring onion"
can also be used.
Scallop
An expensive but delicious shellfish with a delicate taste,
available in a range of sizes.
Scone
A small round teacake made from a soft dough and cooked in a
hot oven. Scones can be sweet or savoury. Sugar, fruit and spices
are often added to sweet scones and they're often served with
clotted cream and jam.
Scrag
The scrag or scrag end is an inexpensive cut of lamb from the
neck. It contains a lot of bone and is best used in casseroles,
soups and stews.
Sea Bream
A firm-fleshed white fish. There are numerous species available,
known by a variety of names, which can be confusing. Sea bream
is sold whole or as fillets. It has succulent flesh that's ideal
for grilling, baking and frying. Red snapper or sea bass make
good substitutes.
Semolina
A coarse pale-yellow flour ground from hard durum wheat used
to make traditional pasta. Semolina can also be used to make
pizza, bread and gnocchi and is added to biscuits to give a
lovely texture. The term also refers to a British milk pudding
of the same name. The semolina is cooked slowly in milk and
sweetened with sugar. It can be served like porridge with a
spoonful of honey or jam stirred through or topped with fresh
or dried fruit.
Sesame Oil
Sesame oil is used for massage and health treatments of the
body, especially in the ancient Indian ayurvedic system with
the types of massage called abianga and shirodara. Ayurveda
views sesame oil as the most viscous of the plant oils and as
such good at passifying the health problem they call vata aggravation.
Shaoxing Wine
Shaoxing wineAn essential ingredient in Chinese cooking and
other oriental cuisines. This sweet wine is made by fermenting
freshly steamed glutinous rice, yeast and spring water. It's
low in alcohol and as well as being drunk like wine, it's used
in cooking, marinades and glazes.
Shin
One of the cheapest cuts of beef, shin comes from the foreleg.
It needs long slow cooking but has a superb flavour. Use it
in casseroles and stews - it makes the most delicious gravy
because the connective tissue in it turns to gelatine, thickening
and flavouring the sauce.
Shuck
To 'shuck' means to open an oyster shell using a stubby, thick-bladed
knife. It's a skill that takes a little while to master but
is easy once you know how.
Sichuan Pepper
Sichuan pepper isn't actually pepper, but the dried red-brown
berries of a type of ash tree. The berries are dried and then
sold whole or crushed to a powder.
Try to buy the freshest berries you can find, because they quickly
lose their lemony, peppery pungency. Sichuan pepper has a characteristic
mouth-numbing quality that's typical of many Sichuan dishes.
Sichuan pepper is also one of the spices in Chinese five-spice
powder.
Silverside
A cheaper cut of beef from the rear of the animal. It's very
lean and contains no bone, making it a good cut for braising
or for using in stews and casseroles - or to make mince.
Sirloin
A prime cut of beef from the back, sold as roasting joints,
either on or off the bone, and as sirloin steaks.
Slake
To mix a thickening agent with liquid, such as cornflour or
arrowroot.
Smoothie
A non-alcoholic cold drink made up of a mixture of the juices
and pulp of fruit or vegetables mixed into a smooth drink using
a blender. Other ingredients such as milk, yoghurt or honey
can be added to thicken and flavour.
Soba Noodles
Thin grey-brown Japanese noodles made from buckwheat (which
is gluten-free). Available dried, they're long and straight
and look similar to spaghetti. They're used mostly in soups
and can be used in stir-fries, although you must stir them carefully
because they break apart easily.
Sorbet
A semi-frozen water ice, usually made with fruit, sugar syrup
or a liqueur, traditionally served as a palate cleanser between
courses but now eaten more commonly as a refreshing dessert.
Soy Sauce
Made from defatted soya beans fermented with salt, water and
crushed barley or wheat, soy sauce (or soya sauce) forms a basic
ingredient in Japanese, Chinese and other Asian cooking. It's
either added to dishes during cooking or used as a table condiment.
There are many varieties of soy sauce that vary in consistency
and in strength of flavour.
Sprue Asparagus
The 'thinnings' or first pickings of the asparagus bed. These
thin stems have a good flavour and should be cheaper than asparagus
proper.
Star Anise
The fruit of a shrub native to the Far East (Illicium verum),
star anise is shaped like an eight-pointed star and contains
shiny seeds with an aniseed flavour, which comes from the essential
oil, anethole. It's used widely in Chinese cooking and is one
of the five spices in Chinese five-spice powder.
Starfruit
Also known as carambola, this ridged yellow exotic fruit has
a waxy skin and becomes a five-pointed star when sliced widthways.
Starfruits have a quite sour taste so they are often used for
decoration or as a garnish.
Squid
A sea mollusc related to the cuttlefish and also known as calamari.
Squid can be grilled or fried. Larger squid can be added to
stews or stuffed or cooked in their own ink. Their shape makes
them very good for stuffing with vegetables or other kinds of
seafood. They're also very good deep-fried or stir fried.
Strudel
An Austrian dessert made from very thin layers of strudel pastry
- similar to filo pastry - wrapped around a filling of fresh
fruit, most famously apple, dried fruit and spices. Strudels
are usually sweet but savoury versions can be made too.
Sushi
In Japanese cuisine, sushi is a food made of vinegared rice
combined with a topping or filling of fish, seafood, vegetables,
or egg. The topping may be raw, cooked, or marinated; and may
be served scattered in a bowl of rice, rolled in nori, laid
onto hand-formed clumps of rice, or stuffed in a small tofu
pouch. In Japan the word sushi refers to a broad range of food
prepared with sumeshi or sushi meshi, which is vinegared rice.
Outside Japan, sushi is often taken to mean raw fish. It is
sometimes confused with sashimi, which is delicately sliced
seafood served with only a dipping sauce.
Sweat
A technique in which vegetables are cooked very slowly in a
covered pan using just a small amount of butter or oil, so that
they soften but don't brown. Sweating plays an important part
in tenderising vegetables, especially finely diced onions, before
other ingredients are added.
Sweet Potato
A root vegetable that resembles a potato, although it's quite
different in taste and texture (and isn't related to the potato).
It has a pinkish-orange skin and deep orange flesh.
Sweet potatoes can be cooked in a variety of ways. They have
a slightly sweet flavour and a lovely creamy flesh, much lighter
and fluffier than the potato. They can be cooked in similar
ways to the potato - baked, mashed, roasted or used in vegetable
soups and bakes, or added to risottos, pasta dishes and curries.o
Syllabub
A syllabub is a type of dessert that dates from the eighteenth
century at least. It is usually made from sweetened cream thickened
with gelatin and whipped together or curdled with fruit juices
or alcoholic beverages (nowadays Tequila is typically used).
