Download Barkeeper Gastronomique

Food Glossary
‘N-O’
Item
Description
Nachi or Asian pear
Nam pla
Napoleons
Nasturtium
An exotic fruit that has the texture of a pear but the flavour of an apple, and is excellent in fruit salads.
This fish sauce is fundamental to Thai food. It is made with the liquid that comes from fermented anchovies and is very pungent.
A French pastry made my separating the layers of pastry with a cream filling and topping with an icing
An annual flowering plant whose leaves and yellow/orange flowers are sometimes used as an ingredient or garnish in salads. The
leaves have a good peppery bite. The flower buds and seeds, picked when soft and pickled in vinegar, can be used as a
substitute for capers.
French stew of lamb or mutton with potatoes and/or other vegetables, especially young spring lamb and new vegetables.
Skinned almonds cut into pieces about 2mm square and the length of the nut, shaped like nibs.
French word for Black
Has three meanings: A. small round steak, usually of lamb or mutton, cut from the rib or loin. Noisettes are very tender and can
be fried in butter and served with a variety of garnishes. The name is also given to small round cuts of beef or veal. B. as in
beurre noisette: butter heated until it turns nut brown; used as a finishing touch for many dishes, especially fish. C. French for
hazelnut. So, pommes noisettes are hazelnut-sized balls of potato, cut with a melon baller, lightly fried and browned in butter.
Used as a garnish.
A type of pasta made with flour and water and sometimes egg, cut into thin flat strips. Italian noodles are tagliatelle and
fettuccine. Noodles are used extensively in Oriental cuisine to accompany soups, sauces and stir-fried dishes.
Nori is an edible seaweed, dark green in colour and used in Japanese cooking for, among other things, wrapping sushi.
Used to describe various dishes based on the cooking of Normandy or made using typical products from that region of France:
butter, cream, seafood, apples, cider and Calvados.
A sweet substance made from sugar, almonds or other nuts and honey. Can be chewy or brittle.
Generally diced potato with green peppers and pimientos
French word meaning Egg
The internal organs and innards of an animal or fish, including brain, tongue, liver, kidney, tripe, and heart.
A vegetable that is widely used in Indian, Caribbean and southern US cookery where it is an essential ingredient of gumbo; also
called ‘ladies’ fingers’ because of its appearance. A long green pod, full of seeds, the okra exudes a sticky juice in cooking which
thickens stews and braised dishes.
Small oval fruit of the olive tree, widely cultivated in Mediterranean regions. Olives are harvested and preserved in oil or brine at
various stages of development. The early olives are green, while the later, more mature olives are black. They taste very
different, and black olives tend to have a more intense flavour. The fleshy pulp of the fruit is the source of olive oil. The whole
fruit is available in a variety of guises: flavoured, stuffed, stoned or with stones, in oil or in brine, sliced or whole. It is used in
cookery as a flavouring or garnish, an ingredient or as a hors d'oeuvre.
Pressed from olives, a rich fruity oil used for frying (but not deep-frying), marinades, dressings and baking. The oil from the first
pressing is pure, pale greenish-yellow in colour and is much prized. The pulp is then pressed again to yield more, darker, oil.
Extra virgin indicates the first press of the olives and is not suitable for cooking, though oil from subsequent pressings is. Olive oil
Navarin
Nibbed almonds
Noir
Noisette
Noodles
Nori
Normande (à la)
Nougat
O'Brien
Oeuf
Offal
Okra
Olive
Olive oil
Food Glossary
‘N-O’
Item
Description
Omelette
Ouzo
Oyster
Oyster mushrooms
has many health-promoting properties.
Beaten eggs, seasoned, fried with butter or grease in a pan until it starts to puff then folded over or rolled
Greek spirit flavoured with aniseed. Like French pastis, it turns cloudy when water is added and should be served with iced water.
A saltwater shellfish, invariably sold fresh. Can be steamed, grilled, poached or eaten raw.
An ear-like grey or greyish-brown bracket fungus that grows in clumps or clusters. Oyster mushrooms have a subtle flavour and
are often used in Oriental cookery.