Culinary Terms R
#Ragout : Well-flavoured thick, well-seasoned and rich stew.
#Raising agents:Substances which produce a gas. usually carbon di-oxide. when acted on by heat or other substances, and make flour mixtures rise, e.g. baking powder baking soda, yeast.
#Ramekins : Individual small baking dishes.
#Ravioli:A savoury meat mixture enclosed in dough and cooked in boiling water.
#Rechauffe: A re-heat.pri dish.
#REDUCE: To boil down to reduce the volume.
#REFRESH: To run cold water over food that has been parboiled, to stop the cooking process quickly.
#Relish:A highly-seasoned food used as an accompaniment.
#RENDER: To make solid fat into liquid by melting it slowly.
#Rissole:A fried cake or meat or fish in a pastry case.
#RISSULES: Small rolls.
#ROAST: To cook by dry heat in an oven.
#Roe: Eggs of fish.
#Roux: A thickening for soups or sauces made with flour and fat.
#Royal: The name of a kind of icing.
#Royale: A savoury egg custard cut into cubes and used as garnish for a soup.
#Rambutan – A small oval fruit encased in a thick red skin covered with soft spines. Its pale coloured translucent flesh has a similar taste to a grape. Peeled and stoned, the rambutan is added to fruit-salad, green salad or fish salad, and can also be served on a cheese board. The rambutan is related to the lychee and longan and is available canned (in syrup).
#Raspberry – The soft, fragrant, juicy fruit of a thorny plant related to the rose. Raspberries can be served fresh, with cream or ice-cream, added to fruit salad, pureed for use in desserts and sauces or cooked as a filling in tarts. The raspberry originated in the cold climate of northern Europe, Asia, and America. Raspberries are available fresh from mid summer to autumn, and can also be bought frozen.
#Red Currant – See Currant.
#Rhubarb – The pink, fleshy stalks of a leafy vegetable cooked, sweetened, and eaten as a dessert or breakfast dish. The trimmed stalks are cut into short lengths and stewed, poached or baked in a sugar syrup until tender; serve warm or cold or use as a filling for pies, tarts and crumbles. The leaves contain poisonous oxalic acid and must not be eaten. Rhubarb is sold fresh but is best in autumn and winter.
#Rice Flour – Also called rice powder, a flour ground from milled rice; used in Asia to make rice noodles and used commercially as a thickening agent in cakes and puddings.
#Rice Paper – A thin, almost transparent edible paper made from the straw of rice. It is used to wrap sweet and savoury foods; macaroons are often baked on rice paper, as it doesn’t need to be removed before the cakes are served.
#Rock cake – A small individual cake with firm texture and rough, rock like appearance containing dried fruit. Rock cakes are eaten warm or cold, buttered or plain.
#Rockmelon – See Melon
Rose Water – A liquid distilled from fragrant rose petals and used particularly in the cooking of India and the Middle East. It flavours Indian desserts such as gulab jamun (rich, fried dumplings soaked in rose water syrup) as well as creams, jellies and ices. Rose water essence is much stronger than rose water and should be used sparingly.
#RoughPuffPastry – A variation of puff pastry, faster to prepare, which has crisp layers of flaky pastry but does not rise as much as puff pastry. It is used for sausage rolls, pasties and meat pies.
#Roulade – A food rolled around a filling. It can be meat, poultry or fish rolled around vegetables or other stuffing, a lightly cooked savoury or sweet soufflé mixture baked, spread with a filling and rolled; or sponge cake wrapped around a sweet filling.
#Rum – A spirit distilled from sugarcane and used in cooking to flavour sweet foods such as rich fruit cakes, pancake batters, dessert creams and mousses. Rum combines well with vegetable such as sweet potato & plantain.
#RumBaba – See Baba au Rhum
#Rye – A cereal grain used to make bread cakes and crisp breads. Cracked rye is cooked with milk or water as a breakfast food.
#RyeBread – A dark-coloured, dense-textured bread with a slightly sour taste. It is commonly served with shellfish.
