cookcabulary - food words starting with a

á la (ah lah) A French expression meaning “in the manner of” used to designate a style of preparation—such as à la bourguignonne, meaning “as prepared in Burgundy.”

á la carte (ah lah KAHRT) A menu term signifying that each item is priced separately.

Açaí (ah-SAH-ee)
The berry of the açaí palm native to tropical South America, açaí has rocked the health-food world, shooting to the top of the charts of so-called “super-foods.”

The name is derived from the Tupi word iwasi, roughly translated as “fruit that cries water.” Natives have long prized the berry for food and medicinal purposes, saying it cures everything from infection to insomnia. More recently, juice bars popularized it with Brazilian surfers, anxious to ride out claims that it boosts energy and sex drive.

Scientists have confirmed its nutritional value. Açaí is a rich source of antioxidants, with up to 30 times the anthocyanins (known to promote heart-health) of red wine. It’s a great source of fiber, high in amino acids and rich in healthy fats. Findings suggest it defends against aging, improves memory, increases muscle function and prevents prostrate enlargement.

Since the berries lose their potency in 24 hours, processing is an expedited affair. Locals mix fresh pulp with tapioca or use it as a base for other dishes. In the United States, it’s available as frozen pulp, pure juice and in sweetened juice blends. It’s expensive: 4 ounces of straight juice (four daily doses) runs about 10 bucks. The pure stuff is pretty flavorless, but sweetened, it’s similar to blueberries. And whether or not it does wonders for your body, consuming it may be good for the planet: It’s a way to profit from preserving rainforests which are quickly being decimated to make way for livestock production.

Açaí can be found in a multitude of forms: concentrate (perfect for making smoothies), juice, sorbet and powder. Its intense berry flavor is best combined with other fruit flavors, such as bananas, blueberries and orange juice, as pictured in the smoothie here.

—Jo Marshall

Agave  (ah-GAH-vay)
Also called “century plant,” agave is a succulent grown primarily in Mexico. Its juice gained commercial value when 16th-century Spanish conquistadors learned to ferment it in making tequila, but today it’s generating a buzz in the food world as a sweetener.

Agave nectar (also called “agave syrup”) has a low Glycemic Index, meaning it’s slow to be absorbed by the body, so it’s gaining traction with diabetics and others who want to avoid a sugar rush. That’s because it’s 90 percent fructose, a form of natural sugar found in fruit, which does not impact blood glucose as dramatically as other sweeteners. And because it’s a plant product, vegans are embracing it as a substitute for honey. It’s also high in antioxidants.

Agave nectar comes in light and dark forms, has the viscosity of maple syrup, and has a subtle taste with mild molasses tones. By volume, it’s slightly more potent than sugar. To try it in recipes calling for sugar, substitute  3⁄4 cup nectar per one cup sugar, and reduce liquid by about one-third. One tablespoon of granulated sugar has about 75 calories; an equal amount of agave nectar has 60.

If you happen across an agave plant, fight the urge to crack it open for a sip—agave juice is poisonous when raw. Agave nectar is available online and at natural food stores.    —Jo Marshall

agnolotti (ah-nyoh-LAH-tee) Small, crescent-shaped stuffed ravioli-style pasta.

aïoli (ay-OH-lee) A strongly flavored garlic mayonnaise from the Provence region of southern France. It’s normally served with fish, meats and vegetables.

While Christopher Columbus was busy mistaking the Americas for the East Indies, he also confused the identity of what we now know as allspice. Allspice berries look something like peppercorns, and Columbus assumed he’d stumbled onto pepper. Hence, in some circles, allspice is known as pimento (Spanish for “pepper”) or Jamaican pepper.

Despite repeated efforts at cultivation, the allspice tree stubbornly refused to take up residency in the Old World. Today, allspice may be the only spice grown exclusively in the Western Hemisphere. Jamaica produces the lion’s share, and the crop is considered the finest in the world.

Given its name because it smells like a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, allspice is the pea-sized berry of an evergreen tree native to South America. Used in both sweet and savory cooking, allspice figures into Caribbean, Mexican, Indian, European and North American cuisine. It’s essential in jerk seasoning, can be found in curries and mole sauces, and is widely used in pickling, baking and sausage making. The French use it in terrines. The Swedes put it in meatballs. Whole allspice retains its flavor almost indefinitely, while the ground stuff is best used within six months. It should be stored in a cool, dark place.

On a less appetizing note, during the Napoleonic wars, Russian soldiers put allspice in their boots to keep their feet warm and discovered a dramatic decrease in foot odor. Suddenly there was a new market for allspice oil in men’s cosmetics—remember Old Spice?

—Jo Marshall

Chinese noodle making is so resourceful, the operating principle seems to be, "If you can turn it into flour, it can be a noodle." Chinese cooks recognize the noodle's value as a cheap, portable, non-perishable foodstuff, and large-scale commercial production was underway as early as 100 AD. Because of its long shape, it gained cultural status as the icon for longevity. To this day, noodles are requisite at birthday parties.

Chinese rice noodles are the precursor of the rice sticks or noodles (included in the recipe for Kway'teo on page 10) of Thai cuisine, and Chinese mung bean noodles gave birth to the cellophane noodles of Vietnam.

Japanese noodles also trace their origins to China. Udon, a thick Japanese noodle typically made from wheat, is served hot in soups or cold with a dipping sauce. Other notable Japanese noodles include the buckwheat noodle, Soba, and the thin wheat noodle called Somen. Oh, and a newsflash for college students who live on them: In a millennial survey of what Japanese people considered their most influential contribution to 20th-century life, Instant Ramen topped the list-ahead of karaoke, headphones, video games and compact discs.

Charming as it may be, the story that Marco Polo introduced noodles to Italy on his return from China is fiction. Numerous sources point to early noodle-like foods eaten outside of China, including a discussion in the 5th-century Jerusalem Talmud about whether boiled dough could be considered unleavened bread under Jewish dietary laws.

au jus (oh-ZHOO) A French phrase describing meat served with its own natural juices, commonly used with beef.