Cooking Dictionary Results

R

Ravioli - Italian for little wraps; used to describe small squares or rounds of pasta stuffed with meat, cheese or vegetables.

Recipe - a set of written instructions for producing a specific food or beverage; also known as a formula (especially with regards to baked goods).

Reduce - to rapidly boil or simmer a liquid until the volume is decreased through evaporation. This process thickens the liquid and intensifies the flavor.

Refresh - to immerse hot vegetables in ice water to set the color and flavor. The food is then drained and reheated in butter or sauce.

Relish - a cooked or pickled sauce usually made with vegetables or fruits and often used as a condiment; can be smooth or chunky, sweet or savory and hot or mild.

Remoulade - a rich mayonnaise-based sauce containing anchovy paste, capers, herbs, and mustard.

Render - to melt fat away from surrounding meat.

Rennet - a substance used to coagulate milk for cheese-making, or to set certain puddings, such as junket.

Rhubarb - A member of the buckwheat family, its thick, celerylike stalks of can reach up to 2 feet long, which are the only edible portion of the plant — the leaves contain oxalic acid and can therefore be toxic. Though rhubarb is generally eaten as a fruit, it's botanically a vegetable. There are many varieties of this plant, most of which fall into two basic types, hothouse and field grown. Hothouse rhubarb is distinguished by its pink to pale red stalks and yellow-green leaves, whereas field or garden-grown plants (which are more pronounced in flavor) have cherry red stalks and green leaves. Because of its intense tartness, rhubarb is usually combined with a considerable amount of sugar. It makes delicious sauces, jams and desserts and in some regions is also known as pieplant because of its popularity for that purpose. In America, a traditional flavor combination is rhubarb and strawberries; in Britain, rhubarb and ginger. Rhubarb contains a fair amount of vitamin A.