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.
