Larding: Inserting thin slices of fat directly into meat product to infuse moisture.
Lukewarm: Neither cool nor warm; approximately body temperature.
Labne: Strained yoghurt with the consistency of thick sour cream and a mildly acidic taste. Labne is available from some supermarkets and Middle Eastern food stores. To make your own, place thick Greek-style yoghurt in a muslin-lined sieve over a bowl and refrigerate overnight. Also labna.
Laksa: A spicy Chinese-Malay noodle soup common to many countries in Southeast Asia. The type of noodle used varies from country to country, as does the broth (laksa assam is piquant with tamarind, while laksa lemak is rich with coconut milk) and the ingredients (prawns, fish, chicken, tofu and combinations thereof).
Langue de chat: French for cat’s tongues; thin, delicate sweet biscuits.
Lap cheong: Dried Chinese pork sausages, usually smoked, seasoned and sweetened. They are available vacuum-packed from Asian food stores and do not require refrigeration until after opening.
Larb: A meat salad of Lao origins common to Thai cooking, made with minced raw or cooked pork, poultry or fish, and ground rice, flavoured with chilli, fish sauce and lime juice.
Lard: Rendered pork fat, used in cooking as a frying medium, a shortening in baking and as a preservative.
Lardo: Italian pork backfat cured with salt and spices and eaten raw with other salumi. Also white prosciutto.
Lassi: Indian yoghurt drink salted or sweetened with sugar and flavoured with spices such as cumin or mint.
Latte di mandorla: A sweetened almond-milk concentrate from Italy, available from specialty stores such as Simon Johnson.
Leavened bread: Bread made with yeast to help it rise.
Lebanese eggplant: A long, slender variety of baby eggplant (or aubergine), ranging from pale to dark-purple in colour.
Legume: Plants with two pods attached along one join (beans and peas). Usually the seed itself is used for eating and when dried they are known as pulses.
Lemongrass: Grown in tuft-like clusters, with long bladed leaves which contain a pale central stalk, the lower white part of which is either pounded, bruised or finely chopped in South East Asian cuisine. The leaves are dried and used to make tisanes. Available from Asian food stores and supermarkets.
Length: The amount of time the taste of a wine lingers on your palate after you’ve swallowed it. Unless it’s unbalanced or harsh, a good length (or finish) is generally taken to be a sign of a good wine. Also known as finish.
Ling: A large fish of the cod family.
Livarot: A pungent, reddish cow’s milk cheese from the French province of Normandy.
Lobster: Lobsters caught in Australian lobsters are spiny lobsters, sometimes called crayfish, but properly known as southern, western, eastern and tropical rock lobsters. They differ from Atlantic lobsters in the absence of claws, but are otherwise similar (if not superior) in the quality and characteristics of their flesh. Normally sold live, cooked or frozen, buying uncooked, chilled rock lobster is not advised, as it is hard to know how much time has passed since the lobster died.
Lyonnaise: In the style of Lyon, typically garnished with onions.
Lacto-ovo-vegetarian: Referring to a vegetarian diet that includes dairy products and eggs.
Lacto-vegetarian: Referring to a vegetarian diet that includes milk and other dairy products.
Lasagna: Broad, flat egg noodles, or a baked, layered casserole made with these noodles.
Leading Sauce: A basic sauce used in the production of other sauces. The five leading hot sauces are Béchamel, Velouté, Espagnole, Tomato, and Hollandaise. Mayonnaise and Vinaigrette are often considered leading cold sauces.
Leavening: The production or incorporation of gases in a baked product to increase volume and to produce shape and texture.
Liaison: A binding agent, usually made of cream and egg yolks, used to thicken sauces and soups.
Liter: The basic unit of volume in the metric system; equal to slightly more than a quart.
London Broil: Flank steak or other cut of beef broiled rare and cut i thin slices.
