The production of a dish, including the preparation of the ingredients, the seasoning and the cooking process itself. What we might call the method in a recipe.
Accompaniment. A garnish or vegetable(s) served with a dish. You may also see 'accompagné(e) de..' on a menu to indicate the same thing.
A small piece of iron,usually a ring, placed on a hotplate or over a fire under a pot to tilt and lift it. This is really an ancient equivalent of a wok-ring.
Acra. A salt fish fritter from the French Caribbean made from yeast batter wrapped around a stuffing of meat, fish, fowl or vegetable, and shallow fried in dendê (palm oil), and looking a bit like a falafel. They may contain any of, grated black-eyed beans, yams, bananas, aubergines (US: eggplants), pumpkin, palm hearts, breadfruit and nuts with which the soaked salt fish is mashed. They may be served with a spicy sauce of chillis, onions and dried shrimp. They are based on a dish of West Africa, probably Nigerian origin and are similar to Brazilian acarajé.
A well-flavoured, perch-like fish found in rivers and lakes. Could you send details (and a picture) to queries@whatamieating.com if you know more?
Bitter, used to describe wines and green, underripe fruit. Amere more commonly describes bitterness in foods.
Acetomel. An archaic, rarely used term for a syrup of equal parts honey and vinegar used in sweet and sour preserved fruits such as pears, quinces, apricots, peaches and plums.
A pickle made with cabbage, carrots, cauliflower and chillis shredded or sliced with other seasonal vegetables, blanched in vinegar with spices including turmeric, which gives it its characteristic yellow colour, and then left to steep for a week. Alternatively, it may have any combination of diced melon, cucumber, grated green papaya, celery or bamboo with daikon radish, mango, red peppers and vinegar with spices including garlic, fenugreek, turmeric. Some versions in South East Asia may contain dried, fermented fish similar to anchovies. Other versions may contain just bamboo shoots in vinegar with spices.
