Cook's Encyclopaedia

by Tom Stobart

  BURNET. Several plants are called burnet, but the one that is relevant to the kitchen is the salad burnet (Poterium songuisorbo).This plant, a member of the rose family, is a native of most of Europe, growing on limey soil, and is a common plant of downland in Britain. It was taken to North America by the early colonists. The plant grows 15-30 cm (6-12 in) high, and the insignificant flower head looks like a greenish bobble with a few purple wisps sticking out of it. The leaves, which are eaten, have small, round leaflets with regularly toothed edges. When crushed, they have a smell of cucumber, which gives a final identification, but salad burnet would not be easily confused with anything poisonous. It is grown in some herb gardens, and is collected together with shoots of wild chicory in many southern European countries as a winter or spring *salad. lt is an ingredient of ravigote and chivry sauces as well as of various butters.

  [Burnet – French: grande pimprenelle, pimprenelle commune des prés German: Pimpinelle, grosser Weisenkopf Italian: pimpinello Spanish: pimpinelo, solvostrello]

  BUSH BEAN. See kidney bean.

  BUTTER is an ancient invention of herdsmen, one of the original, simple ways of preserving milk. If butter is rendered to a form of pure fat, it will keep for many weeks. The milk of most mammals (except that of the *camel) can be made into butter by shaking it until the fat globules come together into more or less solid butter-fat. This would be done, for instance, in skins – the bedouins’ mirjahah and others like it are still seen among nomadic tribes in North Africa and the Middle East. An earthen pot with a whirling wooden paddle is a device that is still used in Indian villages. Because we are used to butter from cow’s milk, we must not forget that it is also made from buffalo milk, yak milk and, in arid regions, from ewe milk (e.g. the Syrian yellow butter).

  Home-made Butter

  Few people these days possess a wooden barrel churn or even one of those glass jars fitted with revolving paddles. Butter can, however, be made in a large screw-topped jar of any sort by anyone with the energy to shake it for long enough, or with willing children.

  First, the fat must be concentrated as cream, by letting the milk stand in a refrigerator and then skimming it off (homogenized milk is obviously no use for this) – or cream may be bought. For the most flavourful butter, a starter should be added and the cream should be ripened for 2-3 days; a temperature of 25°C (77°F) is the best. Bacterial action produces butter aroma (particularly a substance called diacetyl); butter made from unripened sweet cream is relatively tasteless, but keeps better. Churning is best done at 15-16°C (60°F). If the weather is very cold, churning can take longer.

  During churning, the cream first goes thick, like custard, but it soon becomes grainy with tiny flecks of butter. This is the time to add a cup of cold water, which helps the butter to separate. As churning proceeds, the flecks become larger, and finally coalesce into blobs of butter. Strain these out of the watery whey and beat them together into a lump with wooden paddles. Finally, wash the butter several times in cold water to remove the sour *buttermilk. When clean and well compacted, add salt or leave the butter unsalted, as wished. Salted butter keeps better.

  In addition to butter flavours produced by lactic bacteria in maturing cream, there are flavours derived from the milk itself. They come from the pastures on which the cows are fed. In modern farming practice, pastures are no longer natural and lack the flowers and herbs that give the finest butters their incomparable taste. However, you can still find good butters such as those from Normandy and, even better, from herds kept on meadows in the Alps.

  Clarified Butter

  For frying, clarified butter (that is, pure butter fat) is best; otherwise the small percentage of milk protein and sugars that ordinary butter contains will precipitate and burn. Traces of water also need to be removed from the fat. To clarify butter, heat it gently until the sediment comes down and frothing ceases, then strain it.

  Ghee

  Indian ghee is much the same as clarified butter, but has a much stronger taste. It starts with butter made perhaps from well soured buffalo milk (or cow’s milk) and is kept on a very low heat for up to ¾ hour. By this time, the sediment will have browned slightly, and the oily ghee will have acquired a very special taste, which some describe as ‘nutty’, and which makes the most delicious food.

  [Butter – French: beurre German: Butter Italian: burro Spanish: mantequilla]

  BUTTER BEAN, Lima bean (US) or

  Madagascar bean (Phaseolus limensus).A native of tropical America (opinions range from Guatemala to Brazil), whose wild ancestors have disappeared – the bean has been in cultivation for thousands of years (remains were found in prehistoric Peruvian graves). Some botanists regard the Sieva bean (P. lunatus) as a smaller variety of the same species.

  The beans require a warm, moist climate and will not grow in northern countries, where they are known only as the dried large and flat butter beans, rather than as the fresh Lima beans. However, in the US and other countries where they are grown, they are eaten fresh as shell beans – though not in the pod – and are also available frozen or canned.

  There are many varieties, some with large fat beans (known as potato types) and in a range of sizes and colours, usually white or pale green. Some types contain a significant amount of hydrocyanic acid and so are poisonous until they are cooked. Dried butter beans are usually covered with cold water and soaked until they are plump, the time depending on the age and variety of bean. The cooking time is roughly 45 minutes. Butter beans are one of the best-flavoured of all beans and are excellent cold as an hors d’oeuvre. In some places, wax-pod beans are known locally as butter beans.

  [Butter bean – French: haricot beurre German: Wachsbohne Italian: fagiolo asciabola, fagiolo di Lima Spanish: judia]

  BUTTERMILK is what is left over when milk is churned to butter – that is, milk with most of the fat and some of the other milk solids taken out. It differs from skimmed milk, though, in that it is sour. Churning used to take place only two or three times a week on the farm, and milk was kept and allowed to gather its cream long enough for it to sour naturally. The buttermilk which was effectively sour, skimmed milk was often fed to the pigs. It is a useful emulsifying agent and is now recognized as a health promoting product, which is sold in cartons in many supermarkets, often homogenized and doctored in the way the trade knows best. In cooking, it is used with bicarbonate of soda to leaven scones, cakes and soda breads. However, modern ‘buttermilk’ and ‘cultured buttermilk’ are respectively skim milk and soured skim milk.

  [Buttermilk – French: petit lait, babeurre German: Buttermilch Italian: siero di latte Spanish: leche de manteca]

  BUTTERNUT is the name commonly given to the American White *walnut (Juglans cinerea) and also to the Nara nut or butter pit (Acanthosicyos horrida) which is found growing wild in the deserts of southwest Africa. The latter looks like a large melon seed, and is in fact the oily seed of a gourd, the fruit of a spiny shrub.

  c

  CABBAGE. All types of cabbage – with the exception of the various forms of *Chinese cabbage – are probably derived from a wild species, Brassica oleracea, which still grows in a few places on the coasts of Britain, France, Spain and Italy. This plant takes the prize for having produced the most weirdly different varieties: it does not just come as open and ball cabbages – red and green at that – but is the forerunner of *kale, *Brussels sprouts, *cauliflower, broccoli and probably *kohlrabi. Cabbage has a certain taste similarity to other plants of the same family (Cruciferae), to turnips and their tops, to mustard greens, and even to cress and rocket. (Perhaps this is a reason why mustard goes well with cabbage.)

  Greens, collards and *kale (var. acephala – ‘without a head’).These are the nearest to the original wild cabbage. However, tender young greens may come from genuinely unhearting varieties or from hearting varieties taken very young, or they may even be young shoots from old cabbage plants, cauliflowers or sprouts. Kale is commonly grown as food for sheep in northern Britain, and i
n places as food; curly kale, with frizzy leaves, is most often eaten. While all cabbage greens must be young and tender to be nice, this particularly applies to kale, which can be very tough and bitter.

  Hearted cabbage (var. capitata – ‘with a head’). This, the common cabbage, is very old. It was introduced into Britain by the Romans and into America by the first settlers. There are many types, of which some form exceedingly dense hearts, others only loose ones. There are varieties which make hearts at different times of the year, so that fresh cabbage can be had at all seasons.

  A few special cabbages should be noted by the cook. The very tight white cabbages, which are grown particularly in Holland and widely exported, keep for many weeks (which other types of cabbage do not), are easily shredded and good for salads and for *sauerkraut, but are not very nice when cooked. For that, the best is undoubtedly the Savoy, a winter variety with wrinkled leaves, which was developed in Savoy during the Middle Ages and brought to Britain during the 17th century. A Savoy compares with an ordinary cabbage as a sole with a whiting. On one occasion, a fussy Italian arrived at my home just as I was sitting down to a very frugal dinner – a Savoy – and had nothing more to offer. Crazy English and their cabbage! I could see it on his face. Yet, when he saw it, a lovely green on the dish, he wanted to try some. He ate two helpings.

  Boiled Savoy

  Take a sparkling fresh Savoy, remove the outer leaves and wash only if necessary. Cut out the thick stalks of the core without disturbing the shape. Plunge it into a large amount of water which is boiling fast over a high flame and has been carefully salted by tasting. Put on a well-fitting lid with a weight on top (this will raise the temperature slightly, a sort of primitive pressure cooker).Watch, test, and remove the cabbage the moment it is tender enough, but slightly crisp. It is better to undercook than overcook it. Drain very thoroughly, bottom downwards, so that the water can run out, helping with light pressure. Serve immediately with good salt, freshly-ground pepper and, if possible, a fine Alpine or Normandy butter.

  Red cabbage is traditionally pickled in Britain, but is very decorative raw in salads. Also, in a sweet-sour form – sometimes with apple and caraway seeds – it is one of the best-loved vegetables in Germany, Denmark and Holland.

  Røkaal

  Shred the raw cabbage. Put it in a heavy pan (not iron) with a very little water and, for each 1 kg (2 lb) of cabbage, a tablespoon of sugar, 2 of butter, and a little vinegar. Stew gently for 2-3 hours; when it is nearly cooked, add ½ cup (roughly) of the juice squeezed from red currants, and more vinegar and sugar to taste. This red cabbage is better made the day before and reheated.

  Jersey cabbage. A tall type of kale from the Channel Islands; in its second year it grows up to 3 m (10 ft) high, and the stalks make good walking sticks. This cabbage was much prized by my grandmother for making soup, but is not commonly met with.

  Portugal cabbage, couve tronchuda, or Braganza cabbage. A distinct variety of cabbage with long, coarse stems. The white midribs of the leaves are sometimes cooked and eaten like *sea kale. The leaf can also be cooked as ordinary cabbage, and there is a frizzy type. This very hardy cabbage was introduced into Britain in the 19th century, but has not become popular, although, like the Jersey cabbage, it has a good flavour and is excellent in soups.

  Portuguese Caldo Verde

  A green soup, popular in Portugal. Brown a chopped onion in oil with a handful of lentils. Boil 2 potatoes, then purée them in 1 It (1¾ pt) of milk. Add to the fried onion and lentils and simmer until cooked (about 30 minutes). Five minutes before serving, add 3 cups of the finely-shredded heart of Portugal cabbage.

  [Cabbage – French: chou German: Kohl Italian: cavolo Spanish: col]

  CABBAGE PALM. See palm cabbage.

  CACAO. See chocolate.

  CACTUS PEAR. See prickly pear.

  CAFFEINE. The principal *alkaloid found in tea, coffee, cocoa and cola. Its effects are to stimulate the nervous system, to stop feelings of sleepiness and to clear the brain. It also increases the flow of urine. The amount necessary to have an effect varies between 100 and 300 mg. A cup of tea has 50 to 100 mg, coffee 100 to 150 mg and cocoa 50 mg. Cola drinks contain 35 to 55 mg per bottle.

  [Caffeine – French: caféine German: Kaffeestoff Italian: caffeina Spanish: cafeína]

  CALABRESE. See cauliflower.

  CALALOO. See callaloo.

  CALAMARE. See squid.

  CALAMONDIN. See orange.

  CALAMUS or sweet flag. A common marsh plant of the Northern hemisphere, native in the US and Asia but introduced to Europe. The plant (Acorus calamus),which grows wild in shallow water, is aromatic and the roots were at one time candied. Calamus is a flavouring used in liqueurs, but rarely in other contexts.

  [Calamus – French: roseau, jonc odorant, lis des marais German: gemeiner Kalmus Italian: calamo aromatico Spanish: cálamo]

  CALCIUM (Ca). A metallic element that makes up nearly 3.5% of the earth’s crust yet cannot exist as a metal in nature because it reacts instantly with water. It occurs mainly as a carbonate in limestone, chalk and marble, but also as a sulphate in gypsum and as a phosphate (apatite). Calcium chloride occurs in seawater. Calcium makes up 5% of the weight of the human body and is an element of extreme biological importance, because calcium phosphate is a main constituent of bones and is essential in smaller amounts for the health of nerves and muscles, and for the blood clotting mechanism. Adequate calcium in assimilable form is essential in the diet, and must be accompanied by vitamin D, which aids in its absorption. Whole or skimmed milk, yoghurt and cheese are outstandingly rich in calcium, but not those milk products, like cream, cream cheese and butter, in which the fat is concentrated. Cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage and other Brassica greens are good sources, as are other vegetables including beans, leeks, watercress and lettuce. Small fish, which you eat complete with bones, such as whitebait and sardines in oil, are another. It is thought that an adult needs to take in 500 mg of calcium a day (others say double that or over) to be really healthy. In practice, much calcium is thrown away with the vegetable water.

  [Calcium – French: calcium German: Kalzium Italian: calcia Spanish: calcia]

  CALCIUM CARBONATE. See chalk.

  CALF’S FOOT JELLY was once considered a wonderful restorative after sickness. I remember having it forced down my throat as a child after the 1918 influenza epidemic. Today it is treated with less enthusiasm.

  CALLALOO or calaloo (though there seem to be almost as many spellings as there are Caribbean islands) is a West Indian soup and also the green leaves that are the soup’s main ingredient. These are the young leaves of various *yams belonging to the arum family, notably those of dasheen and yautia. Also used as (and in) callaloo are local species of Amaranth *spinach; this is sold in cans in shops that sell Caribbean produce. According to Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz, who gives several callaloo recipes in her Caribbean Cooking (Deutsch), ordinary spinach or Swiss chard taste much the same and can be used as substitutes.

  CALORIES. The Calorie of biology, medicine and the diet sheets is the large calorie or kilocalorie and is usually spelled with a capital C. It is 1,000 times the basic calorie of the physics lab, which is too small to be of use as a measurement in matters of eating. The Calorie is the amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of 1 litre of water by 1 °C. It is necessary to think of it also as the way of expressing the quantity of heat produced when a substance is burned, i.e. as a measure of the energy a food contains. Since heat is a form of energy and energy is expended as work, we can also use calories to measure what we use up in being alive (metabolism) and what we need to do our chores, have fun and take exercise. This enables a balance to be struck between what we need and what we eat. If we eat more than we need, then either we must burn away the surplus food or store it as fat. Since there are many other considerations, such as whether the food is absorbed into the blood, the Calorie way of looking at diet gives us only a rather crude and basic sum, in particular, it takes no notice of
the types of food, the proteins, oils, vitamins and trace elements, necessary for health. But it does provide an indication and is something to base a weight-watching diet on. Calories are now being replaced by *joules.

  [Calories – French: calories German: Kalorien Italian: calorie Spanish: calorías]

  CALVADOS. See fruit brandy.

  CAMEL. There are two sorts of camel: the one-humped dromedary and the heavier, two-humped bactrian. Camels were first domesticated in deep south-eastern Arabia around 1300 BC. There are many recognized strains, some good for hauling loads, some for swift riding and yet others for giving milk. As they are precious animals and their meat is a bit coarse and beefy, the people of the deserts generally prefer to eat goat or sheep, the other livestock which survive in all but the most arid regions. However, young camels are at times killed for feast days, and camel meat is quite commonly eaten in some places during the winter, especially in November and December when the sheep are bags of bones from the shortage of grass. The camel’s hump is considered the best eating, and the meat is supposed to be ‘warming’.

  Camel milk is commonly drunk in desert regions and in towns with a desert hinterland. Together with dates, it is the main source of food for the poor, nomadic bedouin herdsmen. It is nourishing, but inclined to be purgative. Because the fat globules are in a finely-divided state (homogenized by nature, so to speak), no cream will rise, and it is profitless to try churning it to butter. It is, however, soured and churned to make Ieben (a kind of yoghurt), although more commonly it is drunk plain.