Disclosed is a recording ink for ink-jet recording which contains a colorant, water, a humectant, a surfactant, and a wetting agent, wherein the recoding ink is applied to ink-jet recording apparatuses capable of recording on a second recording side of a recording medium following recording on a first recording side of the recording medium, and the infiltrating period of the recording ink into the first recording side of the recording medium is 5 seconds or less. Also, an ink cartridge, an ink-jet recording apparatus, an ink-jet recording process, and a recorded matter are disclosed that utilize the recording ink respectively.