ratafia
(rætəˈfiːə)
Also 8 rattafia, -fee, ratifia, -fie, -fea, -fee, 9 ratafie.
[a. F. ratafia (17th c., Boileau), † ratafiat, of unknown origin (see Littré for conjectures).]
1. A cordial or liqueur flavoured with certain fruits or their kernels, usually almonds or peach-, apricot-, and cherry-kernels. Now applied esp. to a type of aperitif made from grape-juice and brandy.
| 1699 M. Lister Journ. to Paris 164 All sorts of Strong Waters, particularly Ratafia's, which is a sort of Cherry Brandy made with Peach and Apricock Stones. 1719 D'Urfey Pills I. 6 Farewel Cold Tea, And Rattafee. 1737 Drury Rival Milliners i. viii, If you refrain from Ratifea and Paint. 1810 Crabbe Borough xvi, She chose her comforts, ratafia and play; She loved the social game, the decent glass. 1852 Thackeray Esmond iii. viii, A half-dozen glasses of Ratafia made him forget all his woes and his losses. 1907 Yesterday's Shopping (1969) 18/1 Essences, for flavouring..ratafia. 1946 A. L. Simon Conc. Encycl. Gastron. VIII. 139/2 Ratafia, a generic name for a number of Cordials, usually home-made, always sweet and often of very highly alcoholic strength. Ratafia may be made with new wine or grape juice and sufficient spirit to stop its fermentation; being further flavoured with various fruits, herbs and spices; or else by the infusion of the same ingredients in brandy. 1959 W. James Word-bk. Wine 155 Ratafias were infusions of fruit or herbs in brandy, made by housewives in happier days when brandy was cheap... In the champagne country, ratafia is an aperitif, somewhat stronger than sherry or vermouth, made by mixing some unfermented champagne grape juice with brandy. 1964 Harper's Bazaar Nov. 146/2 Ratafia..bears no resemblance to our ratafia, which is a home-made liqueur, usually made with almonds. Ratafia is an aperitif made with local white wine and brandy. 1973 Daily Tel. 12 July 16, I was interested to learn..that Ratafia is an aperitif made in Champagne by mixing brandy with unfermented champagne grape juice. I have ‘essence of Ratafia’..which..is made from bitter almonds. |
| attrib. a 1711 E. Hamilton Mordaunts (1965) vi. 134 Rattefea biscakes, sugar puffs, chips. 1728 E. Smith Compl. Housewife (ed. 2) 100 A Ratafia Pudding..Cream..Naples-bisket..Butter, some Sack, Nutmeg, and Salt..Almonds ..Eggs..bake... Scrape Sugar on it. Ibid. 142 (heading) To make Ratafia Cream. 1755 H. Glasse Art of Cookery (ed. 5) xvi. 285 To make a Trifle. Cover the Bottom of your Dish..with..Ratafia Cakes. 1769 Mrs. Raffald Eng. Housekpr. (1778) 269 To make Ratafia Cakes. 1875 Encycl. Brit. I. 595/1 When bitter almonds are pounded in water a ratafia odour is produced. |
2. A kind of cake or biscuit having the flavour of ratafia, or made to be eaten along with it.
| 1845 Bregion & Miller Pract. Cook. 219 Put half a pound of ratafias in the mould. 1860 Geo. Eliot Mill on Fl. vi. i, Give him three ratafias soaked in a dessert-spoonful of cream. c 1870 Mirth i. 12 The soles were worn to the thinness and brittle sponginess of ratafias. |
3. A variety of cherry. (See
quot.)
| 1835 Trans. Hort. Soc. Ser. ii. I. 291 Ratafia..is so much allied to the Morello, that..it will be sufficient to state that its leaves are smaller and more tapering towards the base than those of the Morello. |