Shabbos 37b. My ? Is what is the root and literal meaning of Mitztamek. See below:
Mitztamek v'Yafeh Lo
Mitztamek v'Yafeh Lo (fully cooked food that improves through further cooking, it dries out) Taken from your "Full Review" section.
Yet Artscroll defines it as "Improves as it condenses" Thanks,
Brad
brad pickard, Chicago
The root of Mitztamek are the three letters Tzadi-Mem-Kuf, like the root of Nitztaduk (Bereishis 44:16) is Tzadi-Dalet-Kuf. See Rashi there who explains this form of word at length.
This root appears in Tanach only once, in Hoshea 9:14, and the Targum there translates it is drying up.
The word for raisin is "Tzimuk" which describes shriveling, so both drying out and condensing are good translations. Here, further cooking will shrink the food's volume.
All the best,
Reuven Weiner