Ricing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The technique involves using a tool to press food into fine, smooth strands or particles, commonly applied in cooking for potatoes and other ingredients
2. This culinary method refers to the act of transforming ingredients into a light, airy texture by passing them through a specific type of kitchen device
3. A culinary process where food is forced through a device to create fine, smooth pieces commonly used for vegetables like potatoes

Etymology: Ricing is a kitchen verb built on a homonym: the same spelling names the grain in one etymology and a twig in another. The culinary sense, pressing food through a perforated tool to make fine strands, comes from the Old English "hrīs", meaning a branch or twig, which in Middle English became "rys" and "ris". Its root is the Proto-Germanic "hrīsą", a bush or sprig, and that in turn traces to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning to turn, bend, or wind, an image of pliant, twisted shoots. The grain rice has a separate and much longer journey. It reached Middle English from Old French "ris", which came from Old Italian "riso", and behind that lies Medieval Greek "óruza". Its earliest source appears to be an Eastern Iranian language, and some scholars link it further back to Sanskrit "vrīhi", though those links remain uncertain. Because the two words converged in spelling and sound, English speakers now use one form for both the crop and the twiggy stems of a bush.

Synonyms: mashing, pureeing