ricing

1. 1
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of rice.

   The chef was ricing the steamed potatoes through a fine sieve.

   Ricing the egg yolks creates a delicate garnish for the salad.

   Note

   One spelling serves several quite different verbs. In the kitchen it takes an object: you are ricing potatoes when you press them through a ricer. Among harvesters of wild rice it stands alone, with no object. In computing it means customizing a desktop's interface, a use that comes from rice out. Rice drops its final e before -ing, which gives the same spelling as the soapmaker's word for grainy clumps.

2. 2
   noununcountable

   The formation of unwanted, hard white grain-like clumps in a batch of soap.

   Like curds forming in milk that has split: small solid bits where you wanted something smooth.

   Adding certain fragrance oils too quickly often triggers ricing in the soap batter.

   Experienced soapers watch for ricing the moment they blend in essential oils.

   Note

   A soapmaker's fault named for its look: the batter breaks into small, separate clumps like grains of rice. It usually turns up alongside seizure and acceleration, the other troubles that certain fragrance oils can cause, and it is easily confused with them. Anne-Marie Faiola's Pure Soapmaking (2016) sets it apart by those individual granules. The word is uncountable, so a batch shows ricing rather than "a ricing."

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