by Tom Stobart
Hermit crabs, although not strictly crabs, belong to the same group (Decapoda).They are often on sale in Mediterranean markets and are mainly used in soups, as they are too small for other purposes. They are boiled and cleaned like any other crustaceans – they are not hard to get out of the shells they inhabit once they have been cooked – but gastronomically are largely neglected. Perhaps they would be good as ‘softies’.
[Crab – French: crabe, cancre German: Krabbe, Krebs Italian: granchio Spanish: cangrejo.
Common crab – French: tourteau, dormeur German: Taschenkrebs Italian: granciporro Spanish: buey.
Shore Crab – French: crabe vert German: Strandkrabbe Italian: granchio commune Spanish: cangrejo de mar.
Eriphia verrucosa – French: ériphie Italian: favollo Spanish: cangrejo moruno.
Spider crab – French: araignée German: Troldkrabbe Italian: grancevola Spanish: centola.
Hermit crab – French: Bernard-l’ermite German: Einsledlerkrebs Italian: paguro Spanish: ermitaño]
CRACKER. Dry biscuit, usually unsweetened, sometimes also unsalted and sometimes made of wholemeal flour (Graham cracker). Crackers have considerable importance in American cookery in the form of cracker crumbs which can be made by crushing the biscuits or can be bought ready prepared in packets. Crackers are used as topping, to make ‘crumb’ pie shells (which are also made from other types of biscuit), for coating and many other purposes.
CRACKLING. The British name for the crisp, roasted skin of a pig. In Mediterranean countries, where roasted pork and sucking pig is popular, the skin is not usually scored before roasting, and it may even be removed for other uses. There are only a few rules for producing good crackling. First, score the skin with a sharp knife yourself – the butcher has not the time to do it carefully. Cut just through the skin in neat ½-1 cm (¼-½ in) wide strips. For this, you need a very sharp knife or a razor blade. Rub the cut surface with salt just before putting the meat into the oven. Make sure that the crackling never gets into the fat. Baste with water if basting is necessary; the Danes, for instance, brush the crackling with water just before it is ready; which makes the crackling bubble. The oven must be hot enough, but if in spite of all efforts the crackling refuses to crisp, then brush it with water and finish it under the grill (a small electric grill is ideal for this).
[Crackling – French: rissollé (porc) German: knusprige Kruste Italian: pelle di porco arrostito Spanish: chicharrón]
CRANBERRY and related berries are all members of the heather family (Ericaceae) which thrive in the acid soil of bogs, moorlands and mountains. The same family includes the rhododendrons, all of which, from the lovely AIpenrose to the huge crimson-flowered tree rhododendrons of the Himalayan gorges, are very poisonous – even honey from the flowers is toxic (which certainly sets them apart from the heathers). On the other hand, the 130 or so species of the genus Vaccinium, including cranberries, bilberries, blueberries and cowberries, all bear edible (though not necessarily appetizing) fruits, as do some related genera, notably Gaylussacia (huckleberries) and Arctostaphylos (bearberries), as well as the similar genus Empetrum (crowberries), which belongs to another family. Of these, a few, such as the American cranberry and the low-bush and high-bush blueberries, are cultivated, but most are gathered wild. They fruit in summer and autumn, and are particularly favourites in mountain country where the berries are plentiful. The hands and mouths of children in the Alps are stained black with bilberry juice from July until the season is over. The fruits of the heather family are of special importance in all sorts of traditional fruit dishes and pies both all over Europe and in America.
Bearberry (Arctostaphylus uva-ursi) grows on moors and mountains of Europe. Its red fruits are of little culinary interest.
Bilberry, blaeberry, or whortleberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) is the common blue berry of moors, mountains and open woodlands in Britain, Europe and northern Asia. The juicy blue-black fruits, about 8 mm (⅓ in) in diameter and with a cup-shaped depression in the top, are ripe from July to September. Although bilberries are rather neglected in most parts of Britain because of the bother of picking them, they are an excellent fruit and worthy of more attention. Their commercial possibilities are overshadowed by the American blueberries which are very similar but larger.
Blueberry. Blueberries are North American species of Vaccinium, and the many species range from above the Arctic circle to as far south as Florida. High-bush blueberries (V. atrococcum and V. corymbosum) grow usually to 3 m (10 ft) high, while dwarf forms of blueberry, such as V. pennsylvanicum, may be as small as 15 cm (6 in). Blueberries are also commonly confused with huckleberries, but since there are no poisonous kinds of either and they mix well, there is no problem, although some kinds do taste better than others. Good blueberries, whether the large cultivated sort or the smaller wild ones, are plump. If shrivelled, squashy or leaking purple juice through the box, they will be stale and tasteless. While they are the second most important berries, after strawberries, in the US, they are certainly the most versatile for cooking. Delicious raw, with just cream and sugar, they also make wonderful pies, cakes, puddings, muffins, pancakes, ice-cream and fruit soup. When stewed, they make a medium for cooking dumplings which are served with cream or ice cream and the hot berries and juice on top. They can be frozen just as they are, with no washing or other preparation needed.
Blueberry Muffins
Sift 250 g (9 oz) plain flour with 2 tablespoons sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and almost a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda. Wash a cup of blueberries, drain them and, when they are still slightly wet, shake them carefully into the flour mixture and turn it gently so they are coated. Now add 1 lightly beaten egg, 2 tablespoons of melted butter and 175 ml (6 fl oz) of buttermilk. Stir gently until just mixed, no more, and then half fill greased muffin tins with the thick mixture. Bake at 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6 for 18 minutes.
Cowberry or Mountain cranberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea). These grow wild in the mountains of the Northern hemisphere, over the whole of Europe except the Iberian Peninsula. The dark red, globular berries are about 1 cm (½ in) in diameter, so it might be confused with the bearberry, but not with the cranberry (which has very small leaves in relation to the size of fruit). It is popular in Scandinavian countries, and the taste is spicier than the cranberry’s.
Cranberry. There are two main sorts of cranberry; the European cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccus) which grows wild on moors all over northern Europe and Asia, as well as in North America, and the American or Large cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) which is naturalized locally in Europe, including parts of Britain. In America, it grows wild from Newfoundland, south to North Carolina and westwards to Saskatchewan. It is the American cranberry which is cultivated, because it has larger fruits, up to 2 cm (¾ in) in diameter compared to the 8 mm (⅓ in) of the European species. Cranberry growing is centred in Massachusetts, with Cape Cod producing 70% of the total. Two hundred years ago, there were laws in America against picking cranberries before September, and the season is from September to December, peaking in November. American cranberries used to be exported to Europe in the days of sailing ships. They were simply packed in barrels and covered with water, in which condition they would remain good for the long sea voyage. Even today, some people keep cranberries in jars covered with water, in this way, the berries remain good for months in the refrigerator. They can, of course, be frozen. (In view of the fantastic keeping qualities of cranberries, it is interesting to note that they naturally contain benzoic acid which is a preservative and is used in tomato sauce, for instance, in the form of sodium benzoate.) Cranberries can be preserved in jars by boiling them with a little water and sugar until they burst – about 10 minutes – and then bottling them in sterile jars. No heat treatment is necessary. Proportions for cranberry sauce are 2 cups of cranberries to 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar. Cranberries are known as ‘bouncing berries’ because good ones bounce. ln the old days, they were tipped down steps; the bad o
nes remained on the steps because they did not bounce. Modern grading machines use the same principle, each berry having seven chances to bounce over a 10 cm (4 in) barrier. Cranberries are fool-proof to buy and will keep up to 8 months in a refrigerator. They have a refreshing sourness, and recipes for other uses than cranberry sauce will be found in American cookery books.
Crowberry (Empetrum nigrum) grows on moors, bogs and mountains over most of Europe. It has very different leaves to the bilberry and black rather than blue-black fruits. While not of great culinary importance, crowberries are welcome to climbers.
Huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata) is North American. There are many other species, including the inferior Bear huckleberry or buckberry (Gaylussacia ursina), which should not be confused with the bearberry (see above). Huckleberries are so similar to blueberries that there is considerable popular confusion. American Indians depended greatly on both for food and dried them for use in winter. The different species give a long season, and they are found from the Arctic Circle to Florida, as are blueberries.
Strawberry tree or arbutus (Arbutus unedo). This is a Mediterranean bush of rather a dark-leaved, almost rhododendron-like appearance, which also grows in Ireland. It is found among the vegetation on the rough hillsides, often in the gullies where there is a little more water. It flowers one year and the berries form the next. Though very decorative, the fruits, which are dark red, rough and the size of a strawberry, are very disappointing to eat. The outside is covered with tiny, woody warts and the inside is soft and flavourless. The French make a liqueur out of the berries, but it is not commonly available.
[Cranberry – French: canneberge German: Moosebeere Italian: mortella di palude Spanish: arándano agrio.
Bilberry – French: airelle, myrtille German: Heidefbeere, Blaubeere Italian: mirtillo Spanish: arándano]
CRAQUELOT. See herring.
CRAWFISH. A confusing name that is perhaps better avoided. Particularly in the US, it is a synonym for the freshwater *crayfish, while in Britain it normally refers to a marine variety of lobster, which is perhaps best called by its unambiguous French name of *langouste.
CRAYFISH. Small, freshwater crustaceans, Astacus astacus (red-clawed) and Astacus pallipes (white-clawed), which are very like tiny lobsters in both appearance and habits. The red-clawed are larger. They are sometimes abundant in streams and lakes both in Europe and in North America, although disease and pollution have made them much less common than they used to be. Though not too well known in Britain, they are considered a great delicacy in France (which imports them from Czechoslovakia, Poland and Turkey).The Norwegians even have a late summer festival dedicated to eating kraftor.
Crayfish live in the holes in river banks and can be caught in traps like small lobster pots or fished with nets stretched in hoops. These are baited in the centre with meat and sunk flat on the bottom of the water. After lying there for an hour, the net is pulled up quickly, and the crayfish will usually be surprised before they can escape. They can be kept alive in a bucket with about 2.5 cm (1 in) of water or covered with wet grass or nettles. In winter, they will live for up to a week in a cool place. Crayfish must always be alive when prepared. There are several species, but all are to be treated the same. lt is likely that there are local differences, and local lore should be respected.
Crayfish can be eaten at any time between April and October, but are best during a short season at the end of summer. At other times they are edible but tasteless and soft. Females are reckoned to be better than males, and egg roe, when found, is made into crayfish butter. The thread-like gut of crayfish should be removed, as it tastes bitter, although some cooks starve the animals for two days instead. The classic method of removing the gut is to move the centre two blades of the tail to either side, which breaks the articulation, and then pull gently. The gut should come out as a fine string. Alternatively, the job can be done by finding the anal opening at the base of the tail, sticking a sharp knife point beneath it and pulling out the gut. The animals are then thrown straight into boiling court-bouillon or hot butter. This is cruel. They may be killed instantly by piercing through the top of the head, behind the beak, and on a level with the back of the eyes, where the cerebral ganglion, which does duty for a brain, is situated. Great emphasis is always placed on the necessity for crayfish to be alive when cooking begins, and they must be cooked quickly for 10 minutes, no more, in a very little liquid, 120 ml (4½ fl oz) for 24 crayfish (which is enough to serve 4).They should never be cooked in red wine, which turns them black. There are dozens of ways of preparing crayfish. I give one typical recipe from the Hôtel de Ia Poste, Chevillot, Beaune.
Écrevisses à Ia crème
Put the crayfish in a casserole in a little hot butter, salt and pepper, sauté and flame them with cognac. Add a mixture of chopped parsley and shallot, half a bottle of dry white wine, 2 dessertspoons of skinned, seeded and crushed tomato, and 4 dessertspoons of double cream. Cook for 10 minutes. Take out the crayfish and reduce the sauce. Bind it with a little beurre manié. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Add a pinch of finely-chopped tarragon, a few drops of cognac and several nuts of good butter. Cover the crayfish with the sauce and serve very hot.
[Crayfish – French: écrevisse German: Flusskrebs Italian: gamberi di flume Spanish: congrejo de rio]
CREAM is a concentration of the fatty part which collects on top when milk is stood. The amount depends on the breed and breeding of the cow, on when it calved and on its food; the colour depends mainly on the pastures on which the cow was fed and on the season. Cream consists of the larger fat globules which float because they are less dense than water. (Such large globules and clusters are broken up by homogenization, which makes them small and evenly dispersed.) In the old days, cream used to be obtained by letting milk stand for 8-10 hours, then skimming the cream off the top, leaving skimmed milk. Double cream came from standing the milk for 24 hours before skimming. The milk would be stood in a wide earthenware pan, covered with muslin in a cool larder at about 11°C (52°F) in winter and 15-16°C (60°F) in summer. However, since the beginning of this century, cream has been generally removed with a separator, which spins the milk and concentrates the cream by centrifugal force. Single or double cream can be obtained with this machine merely by an adjustment. Such cream, unless deliberately matured to allow favourable bacteria to multiply, lacks the flavour of naturally skimmed cream.
If it has not come straight from a farm, bought cream will always be pasteurized – which takes out some flavour-producing organisms. (The addition of preservatives is not permitted in Britain, but may be in some other countries.) Pasteurized cream will keep for some days in the refrigerator before going nasty – not sour, as souring organisms do not operate at low temperatures and other bacteria become predominant. They work on the fat and protein content to produce an unpleasant taste. However, when unpasteurized cream is held at room temperature, lactic bacilli become predominant and the cream develops a sour taste (see sour cream).
When using cream to enrich sauces, you should avoid boiling them after adding the cream, which would be likely to curdle. In using well-matured cream, always add the hot liquid to it, as cream poured into hot liquid (including coffee) is also liable to curdle.
British legal standards for cream specify the fat content as follows:
Half cream (homogenized) 12%
Single cream (homogenized) 18%
Canned or sterilized cream (homogenized) 23%
Whipping cream 35%
Whipped cream 35%
Double cream 48%
*Clotted cream 55%
As the fat content increases, the solids-not-fat content decreases.
Whipped cream. Cream whips best at about 5°C (40°F) but can be whipped at 10°C (50°F). It will not fluff so much if it is taken straight out of the refrigerator or if it is allowed to reach the temperature of a warm room – over 18°C (65°F). If beaten too hard and long, especially in summer, it is likely to start turning to butter, as s
oon as cream starts to stick to the whisk or beater, it is time to stop. Equal quantities of single and double cream form a mixture suitable for whipping.
Artificial cream. There are many versions of artificial cream on the market, as well as devices for making it by reconstituting cream from milk and unsalted butter. In the latter, milk and butter are warmed together until all the butter is melted to a yellow oil, and the two are then forced together through a small hole (a machine for the purpose can be bought).This breaks up the fat into tiny globules and forms an emulsion. At its best, reconstituted cream is very like real cream – it has the same constituents – but it is usually more oily. Imitation creams do not have the constituents of real cream but merely simulate it. They consist of an emulsified fat, which is not butter fat, with substances to improve texture and flavour. Imitation cream is usually sweetened. Skimmed milk, lard, and alginates (from seaweed) are the sort of things that commonly go into them, together with sugar, colour, perhaps, and flavourings.
Canned cream usually has a pleasant, slightly-cooked but detectable flavour. Evaporated milk – which differs from cream in that it contains the milk solids as well as the fat and is thickened by loss of water – can be used as cream, although it has a much stronger boiled-milk flavour and is often slightly salty. It can even be whipped if the unopened tin is boiled for 20 minutes and cooled beforehand.