by Tom Stobart
In the Orient, lentils and other dried seeds bought in the bazaars are often very dirty and cooks become expert at removing stones and rogue seeds by tossing them in baskets or mats. Whole lentils take ¾-1½ hours to cook, depending on age and variety. They should be watched, as they absorb a surprising amount of water. The water in which lentils are cooked makes good stock, so save the remaining water. In a pressure cooker, all except the toughest lentils can be cooked in 15-20 minutes.
Lentils are mainly a winter dish, popular in Germany as Linsensuppe (lentil soup) or saures Linsengemüse (savoury lentil purée) which is served with Rotwurst (red sausage from Thuringia), Schweinerippchen (pork ribs) and Blutwurst. In northern Italy, lenticchie in umido (boiled) are eaten with *zampone or *cotechino; zuppa di lenticchie (lentil soup), may be flavoured with sage or mixed with chestnuts and flavoured with thyme, basil and marjoram as in the Abruzzi. In France, there are also substantial lentil dishes, lentilles au lard, à Ia Dijonnaise or à Ia Picarde, but also more refined treats such as:
Lentilles du Puy à Ia crème
Put 300 g (11 oz) lentilles du Puy (washed but not soaked) in 1½ It (2¾ pt) cold water on the lowest possible flame. They should take at least 45 minutes to come to the boil, during which time they soak and swell. When they come to the boil, turn up the heat slightly and cook until they are tender – another 45 minutes. Add a little salt just before the water is all absorbed (as it should be).When the lentils are ready, add a large knob of butter and plenty of cream (keeping them hot but not letting them boil). Season with freshly-ground black pepper and celery salt.
In Spain, both whole, unpeeled lentils (which remain whole when cooked) and peeled lentils (lentejas peladas), which cook to a purée, are used. Dishes include lentejas with potato, raw ham and smoked bacon, flavoured with tomato, bay, thyme and parsley and lentejas con arroz (lentils with rice) flavoured with onion, garlic, bay, parsley, pimentón and vinegar. In this connection, it is interesting to note that masoor dal is the correct pulse to use in a kichri, the Indian dish which gave rise to kedgeree, because the lentils retain their shape and do not go to a purée. If they did, lentil and rice dishes would be very stodgy indeed.
[Lentil – French: lentille German: Linse Italian: lenticchia Spanish: lenteja]
LENTISK. See mastic.
LETTUCE (Lactuca sativa) has been cultivated from Europe to China for so long that its wild origin is uncertain, although there are a number of wild relatives. The pale yellow flowers of plants that have bolted show that they are composites – members of the daisy family. The smell of lettuce is rather like that of opium because of certain alkaloids. Indeed, the milky latex from another species of lettuce (L. virosa) is dried like opium and used as a raw material in drug manufacture, and all the species of lettuce are narcotic to a greater or lesser extent. Even the stems of bolted garden lettuces, if eaten in quantity, have been known to make people drowsy, even unconscious. In normal amounts, lettuce is only calming and sedative. A concoction made with lettuce is a country way of relieving coughs and soothing painful skin.
Garden lettuces are grown by the million in almost every country. Cabbage lettuces (var. capitata) range from the thin-leaved types to the thick, solid ones such as Webb’s Wonderful; they may be green or tinged with red or bronze. As lettuces are rather sensitive to soil type and climate, the varieties grown anywhere are likely to be determined by their success in the particular place. Different varieties come into season at different times of the year. Selecting lettuce for salad requires attention to variety as well as to freshness. Very thin-leafed types, for example, need a light dressing as they easily collapse when mixed with a heavy one or crowded with other vegetables in mixed salads. On the other hand, many of the thick, juicy lettuce types have a strong ‘opium’ flavour which may go well with a stronger dressing, and is good just with salt in a sandwich. In the hot countries, the Cos or Romaine type of lettuce (var. crispa) is the most common. Cos lettuce, with its large elongated leaves, can be very tough. In Egypt, people commonly tear off the leaf part and eat only the sweet, juicy mid-rib. Living in Spain, I find it necessary to tear the leaf part into pieces, and then chop the mid-rib. Mixed together again, they give in effect two vegetables in one salad. (Cooks should in general be alert to texture in salads – then perhaps we would get fewer of those mixtures of lettuce and ill-considered chunks of tomato, or claggy mixtures stained red with beetroot.) Lettuce can be kept briefly in the refrigerator, but optimistic restaurants, especially in America, keep it until it goes transparent. No amount of ‘crisping’ in the refrigerator will revive a tired lettuce. Because lettuces have at best a minimal food value and are mainly there because they are nice, there seems little point in serving an old one; even its vitamins are defunct. And, of course, lettuce for salads must be bone dry. Only the outer of the inner leaves need washing. Each leaf needs drying with a clean cloth for a perfect salad.
Cooked lettuce is not greatly popular and tends to go slimy, but there are many recipes for lettuce boiled, stewed, braised, puréed, stuffed or cooked with peas, and wrappings of lettuce are used in cuisine minceur. Large outer leaves of Cos are useful to lay over fish in the oven and are better than foil to prevent over-browning. The stems of bolted lettuce are sometimes preserved in a ginger-flavoured syrup, and some people even eat lettuce with sugar.
[Lettuce – French: laitue German: Lattich, Gartensalat, Kopfsalat Italian: lattuga Spanish: Iechuga]
LETTUCE LAVER. See seaweed.
LEUQKUAS. See galangal.
LEVULOSE. See fructose.
LIEBIG. The great German chemist, Baron Justus von Liebig (1803-1873), turned his attention from pure chemistry to apply it to the relief of human suffering when he was about 40.That was the time of the Tiny Tims that Dickens wrote about in his Christmas Carol, a time when malnutrition was rife. In addition to his work on chemical fertilizers, Liebig is remembered for his development of meat extract.
Before there were refrigerator ships, it was impossible for South American beef to be brought to Europe in the way that it is today. Liebig ground raw beef with cold water and, when the soluble elements in the meat had had time to dissolve, filtered and squeezed out the liquid, which contained 15-25% of the meat in solution. This liquid was then boiled to coagulate the albuminous substances, leaving a clear soup which could be evaporated over gentle heat until it left a brown extract that smelled like roast beef: Liebig’s Beef Extract. A factory was set up in 1847 at Fray Bentos in Uruguay. Real Liebig’s Meat Extract is now very expensive, as lean meat is rendered down to only about one-thirtieth of its weight of extract. Variations on the method can usefully be applied in making stock, and, in an emergency, it can be made for very ill people.
LIGHTS are lungs. They go into various meat preparations such as some pâtés and into traditional *faggots. Larousse Gastronomique offers half a dozen recipes for dealing with pig’s lights. Most cooks, however, are likely to buy lights only for feeding the dog – if the dog will eat them.
LIMA BEAN. See butter bean.
LIME. When limestone, chalk or marble (calcium carbonate) is strongly heated, quicklime (calcium oxide) is formed, a caustic and potentially dangerous substance. When water is added, the quicklime gets very hot and turns into a crumbly mass of slaked lime – calcium hydroxide. If quicklime is exposed to the air, natural humidity will produce the same result in a few days. Slaked lime is dissolved rather sparingly in water to give *limewater. Very fine lime (chuna) is a natural part of the mixture used to make *pan. Slaked lime can be bought from chemists.
[Lime – French: chaux German: Kalk Italian: calce Spanish: cal]
LIME (Citrus aurantifolia) is a small, sour, citrus fruit which has much in common with the lemon. Limes are used in the same way and for similar purposes. Like lemons, they can stand no frost; in fact, they are even fussier about climate. Like lemon trees, lime trees are also very prickly, but are typically smaller and bushier. Limes probably originated somewhere in South East Asia, and were
brought west, eventually reaching southern Spain with the Arabs. Columbus took them to America on his second voyage, in 1493. In Europe, limes are little known – they have a foothold in places like southern Italy and Sicily – and lemons are dominant. However, in very hot and tropical countries lemons do not do so well (they have a tender skin) and limes take over.
There are a number of types. The common lime in India and southern Asia, for instance, is more yellow than green, rounded, oval and rarely with a nipple. lt is also quite small. The maximum diameter is about 5 cm (2 in) and the average is not much bigger than a table tennis ball. The skin is thin, and the flesh very sour and juicy. The flavour is characteristic, with nothing of the citron taste of lime cordial.
On the other hand, in Europe and America, the limes are mainly of the type of the Tahiti lime, which originated by chance, although it has been claimed to be a hybrid. lt is a markedly larger fruit than the Indian variety, green rather than yellow, and with a more citrony flavour. In Britain, both Indian and Caribbean limes turn up as imports; in the US, the Tahiti type is grown in Florida and California, as well as being imported. In Florida, the so-called Persian variety is much grown. It has large, oval fruits with a few seeds, and is very acid. Maximum production is in thirsty August – in that respect it beats the lemon, which gets scarcer as summer advances. California comes a little later than Florida, mainly with the Bearss variety, which is smaller and seedless. There is considerable difference in the flavour of the limes. A caveach of raw fish as made in Peru requires the juice of Persian limes to have the authentic flavour. It is very inferior when made with the juice of lemons, just as a lemon curd flavoured with lime peel would hardly pass as pukka in the vicarage garden. Indian lime pickle does not have the authentic taste when it is made with Caribbean limes, and is quite a different substance when it is made with lemons. In some parts of the Middle East, limes are dried and ground as a condiment. The acid powder is delicious sprinkled, for instance, on rice.
Sweet limes (Citrus limettioides) were once much planted in India because they are heavy bearers and hardy. The fruit looks like a greenish orange; the skin is thin, but the juice is very insipid. However, sweet limes arrive towards the end of the monsoon when other and better citruses are not available. Limes, like other citruses, hybridize easily to such creations as the limequat (lime X kumquat).The citrus lime should not be confused with lime, linden or basswood tree.
[Lime – French: lime, limette/citron vert German: süsse limone Italian: cedro, lima Spanish: lima]
LIME, linden, or basswood (US).The lime trees which are planted in so many European towns are usually a hybrid form (Tilia X europaea). Both it and its two ancestors, T. cordata and T. platyphyllos, have beautifully scented, yellowish flowers, which can be dried and used as a calming tisane or tea. They can also be used as a flavouring and go into home-made liqueurs. These trees are not related to the citrus limes.
[Lime – French: tilleul German: Linden Italian: tilo Spanish: tiglio]
LIMEWATER can be made by stirring 2-3 tablespoons of slaked *lime in hot water, leaving it to get cold and then filtering it (although for most purposes filtering is not really necessary). ln Belgium, Holland and Germany, dried fish (*stock fish) is soaked in it. Some people crisp watermelon rind by soaking it in limewater for 3 hours before pickling. Limewater is also the liquid in which maize is traditionally boiled to remove the horny yellow skin in making Mexican mixtamal, the first stage in producing *masa for tortillas, tamales, etc. The limewater softens the seed-coat to the point where it can be rubbed off. Limewater, being alkaline, will neutralize an acid. In emergency, I have also found limewater a soothing liquid to pour over minor burns.
[Limewater – French: eau de chaux German: Kalkwasser Italian: acqua di calce Spanish: agua de cal]
LIMPET (species of Patella) are the conical shells that stick to rocks between the tide marks. They are tough but tasty. A former director of the National Gallery in London used to scoop them out of their shells with his thumb and eat them raw on the beach. If you plan to do the same, be sure the area is not polluted. More usually, they are made into soup.
[Limpet – French: patelle German: Napfschnecke Italian: patella Spanish: lapa]
LINDEN. See lime.
LING. See cod.
LING. See chestnut.
LIQUEURS and CORDIALS – the distinction is blurred – are often made by infusing flavouring substances (which may be fruits, herbs, spices and other aromatics) in alcohol. Such straight infusions are called ratafias. In some cases, there is subsequent distillation, and for the sake of uniformity, there is a modern tendency to use essential oils and extracts. In cheaper liqueurs, synthetics provide the flavour. Ratafias and cordials differ from *fruit brandies (eaux-de-vie), which are distillations of fermented fruit mashes and may also be called liqueurs.
Nobody knows exactly what goes into most of the famous liqueurs or the methods by which they are made, because these are closely-guarded trade secrets. Indeed, there is such secrecy that, to take an extreme case like the making of Chartreuse, no one monk (it is made by the Carthusians) knows all the formula. It is entrusted only in parts to brothers who specialize in its manufacture.
Originally, liqueurs were medicines. Even today many are looked on as digestives. They are still often made to family formulae in countries, such as Spain and Italy, where spirits can be generally afforded. These liqueurs are ratafias, made by simple infusion. As with commercial liqueurs, the alcoholic base can be a highly-rectified spirit of any origin or a brandy, rum or whisky. Some are mixtures. There is nothing particularly difficult about making your own liqueurs, which can, for instance, contain both rum and brandy (or *gin – as in the case of sloe gin).
Liqueurs are very useful flavourings in the kitchen, and a range of miniatures can be kept for the purpose. Modern cookery books and magazines abound with recipes, and practically every liqueur ever heard of is favoured by someone. No liqueur represents the pure taste of the main flavouring ingredient. Cointreau, Grand Marnier and Curacao all taste more or less of orange, but are different. Other liqueurs, such as Van der Hum and Unicum, have an orangey ingredient, which is masked with spices. Cooks feel that they are safe putting like with like – say an orange liqueur with oranges, a cherry liqueur with cherries and so on – expecting there to be a natural unity. Fair enough, but from there the adventurous can depart to try complementary flavours, like the tradition-hallowed pineapple and kirsch. And liqueurs do not have to be used singly; they can be combined and mixed like cocktails. In addition to the flavourings listed below, there are fruit cordials made from blackberries, raspberries and strawberries, with some unusual ones from northern Europe. These include the Polish Jarziebiak from rowan berries and the Finnish Karpi from cranberries and Suomuurian from cloudberries.
Apricot flavours Apry and other apricot brandies. These are sweet liqueurs, tasting of apricots, but often also of bitter almonds (from the apricot stones). Hungarian barackpálinka, however, has a totally different flavour and is dealt with under fruit brandies.
Banana is the predominant flavour of crème de banane and other such liqueurs. Most are very sweet and have a ripe banana flavour.
Bitter almond. A number of ratafias, made from Prunus fruit kernels (apricot, peach, plum, etc.), as well as from bitter almonds, are on the market and the name for such preparations is noyau. They are more kindly than the synthetic almond essence of commerce, and I regularly make my own from apricot stones.
Black currant. There is black currant rum, but the best known is crème de cassis, with only 18% alcohol – just enough to preserve it. It has a strong, clear flavour of black currants and is an excellent flavouring for creams or topping for ices.
Cherry. Grant’s Morello Cherry Brandy has a bite from the morello cherry, while other cherry brandies, such as Kirseboer or Cherry Heering, are sweeter. There are cherry whiskys such as Chesky, and Cerasella is an Italian cherry liqueur with herbs from the Abruzzi mountains. Maraschino is impo
rtant in cooking, a sweet white fruit brandy made from maraschino cherries and their crushed kernels. Traditionally in a square, straw-covered bottle, it has been made for several centuries.
Chocolate. Chocolate-flavoured liqueurs are very sweet, with a taste of vanilla. Crème de cacao is one.
Coffee. Tia Maria is the best known and is based on rum, as is Kahlua.
Flowers. Crème de rose and the Bulgarian rose liqueur taste something like roses smell, but are very sweet. There are violet-flavoured liqueurs, and Parfait Amour is supposed to taste of violets and vanilla. Mille Fiore is equally meant to taste of a thousand Alpine flowers; the bottles contain a sprig of a bush covered with sugar crystals. All these liqueurs are sweet and scented.
Herbs. A combination of herbs goes into many of the classic liqueurs; single-herb liqueurs are rare. Mint or peppermint is one of these though, with most liqueur houses producing some form of crème de menthe, as well as mixtures like Royal Mint Chocolate Liqueur. There is also an angelica liqueur.
Herb seeds. As a flavouring, caraway is well represented in Kummel, Akavit and Goldwasser. Very often, it is combined with anise. The flavour of the latter can be clear, sweet and strong, as in Anis del Mono of Spain, and the Anisette, Anisetta and Stellata of Italy. It may also be introduced into cooking through the dry pastio drinks, such as Ricard and Pernod, which can be used, for instance, with fish. The flavour of liquorice is often confused with anise; the Italian Sambuca is made with liquorice and elder.