L
Lactic Acid
- a colorless liquid produced as milk sugar ferments and milk
sours. It is used to curdle milk in cheese making.
Ladle
- to move portions of a food using a ladle. A utensil with a
cup-like bowl and a long hooked or pierced handle and available
in various sizes; used to pour sauces and liquids (ex. soups)
and to push sauces and other foods through a sieve.
Ladyfingers
- a small finger-shaped sponge cake, like a cookie.
Lager
- any light beer.
Lamb -
the meat of a sheep slaughtered when less than 1 year old; generally
tender with a mild flavor; also known as a yearling.
Lamb’s Fry
- the heart, liver, sweetbread and inside fat of the lamb.
Lamb’s Lettuce - a handy annual plant also known as corn salad.
A salad green.
Lamb’s Wool
- a fancy hot alcoholic drink made of hot sweetened ale, roasted
apples, and nutmeg or ginger.
Langouste
- see spiny lobster.
Lard -
tenderized hog fat used in pie crusts and for deep-frying. Also,
to insert strips of fat into meat to keep it moist and add flavor.
Larding needle
- a long needle with a large eye, used to insert strips of fat
into lean meats.
Lasagne
- 1. Wide, flat Italian pasta sheets with ruffled or smooth edges.
2. An Italian dish made with boiled lasagna layered with cheese
(usually ricotta and mozzarella) and meats and/or vegetables
and topped with a tomato, meat and/or béchamel sauce and
baked.
Layer Cake
- two, three or more layers of cake with a filling between.
Lazy Susan
- a revolving tray that sits in the middle of a dining table.
Usually round.
Laurel
- bay leaf.
Lean -
the FDA-approved food-labeling term used to describe meat, poultry,
game, fish or shellfish that contains less than 10 grams of fat,
less than 4 grams of saturated fat and less than 95 mg of cholesterol
per serving or per 100 grams.
Leaven
- to lighten and increase the volume of bakery products. Leavening
agents are yeast, baking powder, baking soda and eggs.
Leavening agent; Leavener - 1. A substance used to leaven a dough or batter;
may be natural (ex. air or steam), chemical (ex. baking powder
or baking soda) or biological (ex. yeast). 2. A type of food
additive used to produce or stimulate production of carbon dioxide
in baked goods to impart a light texture.
Leek -
a member of the lily family (Allium porrum); has a thick, cylindrical
white stalk with a slightly bulbous root end and many flat, dull
dark green leaves; the tender white stalk has a flavor that is
sweeter and stronger than a scallion but milder than an onion
and is used in salads and as a flavoring.
Lees -
the sediment of dregs left as wine or liquors ferments. Also,
the settling of a liquid.
Legumes
- a large group of plants that have double-seamed pods, containing
a single row of seeds; depending on the variety, the seeds, pod
and seeds together, or the dried seeds, are eaten.
Lemon
- a citrus fruit (Citrus limon) with a bright yellow skin, and
an ovoid shape with a bulge at the blossom end, juicy yellow
flesh and a very tart, distinctive flavor.
Lemon Sole
- a particularly delicate flounder taken in the waters of Georges
Bank, Cape Cod and Massachusetts.
Lentils
- the small flat seeds of a variety of legumes (Lens esculenta);
sold shelled, dried or cooked.
Lettuce
- any of a variety of plants of the genus Lactuca, probably native
to the Mediterranean and now grown worldwide; their leaves are
generally consumed fresh in salads or used as a garnish. There
are three principal types of lettuces: butterhead, crisp head
and leaf.
Liaison
- a thickening or binding agent for soups, sauces, stuffings
and so on. Examples are flour, beurre manié (see above),
cornstarch, eggs, arrowroot, etc.
Light
- the FDA-approved food-labeling term used to describe a nutritionally
altered food with at least 33% less calories, 50% less fat or
50% less sodium than the regular or reference (i.e. FDA standard)
food.
Lights
- the lungs of an animal.
Lime -
an ovoid citrus fruit (Citrus aurantifolia) with a thin, green
skin; smaller than a lemon, it has a juicy, pale green pulp and
a very tart flavor.
Linguine
- Italian for small tongue and used to describe long, narrow,
slightly flattened strands of pasta.
Linzer Torte
- a double hazelnut cookie filled with jam and made famous in
Vienna, Austria.
Liqueur
- a sweet alcoholic drink also known as a cordial and as a digestif,
to be drunk after meals and served in small glasses. Also used
to flavor desserts and in pastry making.
Littleneck Clams
- clams 1 1/2 inches long.
Lo Mein
- 1. Fresh Chinese egg noodles. 2. A Chinese-American dish of
poultry, shrimp and/or meat with vegetables such as bean sprouts,
mushrooms, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots and green onions served
over soft noodles.
Loquat
- a small citrus fruit that sweetens as it ripens. It is good
peeled, stewed with sugar, and served with cream or combined
with other fruits.
Lotus Root
- a water lily whose root is used as a vegetable. It is crisp
when fresh. Sold dried, cut into rounds in Oriental markets.
Lotus Seeds
- small and nutlike, these can be eaten raw or cooked into a
stuffing.
Luau -
a traditional Hawaiian freest featuring roast pig.
Lychee
- a small fruit native to South China. It has a sweet-sour flavor
and is considered as good canned as fresh.
Lyonnaise, à la - “in the style of Lyons”, literally,
and usually featuring shredded fried onions as a garnish. Lyons
is a city in central France famous for its cuisine.
