Cook's Encyclopaedia

by Tom Stobart

  Maple Pecan Sauce

  Gently heat 250 ml (½ pt) of maple syrup in a heavy saucepan until it begins to thicken, within 10 minutes. Cool slightly and add 200 g (7 oz) chopped pecans (or to taste). Use this sauce warm on ice cream for a totally American flavour.

  PECTIN is the name of a class of jellying substances which occur naturally in many fruits, especially in cores, pips and skins, as well as in some vegetables such as split peas and lentils. The cell walls of unripe fruit contain pectose, an insoluble substance which changes to soluble pectin as the fruit ripens. However, when the fruit is fully ripe, the pectin in turn changes to pectic acid and methyl alcohol, which is why barely ripe fruit is generally the best for jelly. Pectins are chemically derived from carbohydrates, not, like gelatine, from protein, but likewise consist of the long-chain molecules, the typical structure for forming a jelly.

  For a pectin jelly, it is necessary to have not only enough pectin but also enough acid and sugar in roughly the correct proportion. The effectiveness of the acid is related to the *pH (the sourness) of the juice; of the common fruit acids, tartaric is more effective than malic, which is more effective than citric.

  The minimum acidity at which a pectin jelly will form at all is pH 3.46. A good quality home-made jelly forms at pH 3.3 (slightly more acid), and at 3.2 the jelly becomes stiffer. If the acidity is increased still further, to pH 3.1,the liquid begins to seep out of the jelly – it weeps. Boiling for long periods with acid tends to destroy pectin, as also does pressure cooking, and again the jelly becomes weak.

  The third element in the balance is sugar. In fruit jellies, the necessary level will usually be somewhere near saturation (69-72%). If the percentage of sugar is more than this, a syrup may be formed and the jelly may not set at all, but the sugar may crystallize on cooling. Although setting can sometimes take place with as little as 40% sugar, such low-sugar jelly is stiff and, unless sterile, will not keep. A useful fact to know is that high acid content makes the exact sugar balance less critical, so that with the sourer fruit a larger quantity of sugar can be used.

  Fruits that contain sufficient acid and pectin to set easily to jelly with the simple addition of sugar are: sour and crab apples, quinces, most plums but especially damsons, gooseberries, currants, cranberries, oranges, lemons and grapes. Blackberries, loganberries, raspberries and apricots are borderline cases. Sweet apples, pears, peaches, strawberries, cherries, huckleberries, guavas and figs – and non-fruit jam materials like vegetable marrows – lack either acid or pectin, or both. Recipes for making jams or jellies from these involve adding lemon juice, prepared pectin or other fruits rich in the missing components.

  Pectin may be bought either as a liquid or a powder. It is usually made either from apple pulp or from the white part of citrus fruit skins (the albedo) and is a by-product of the juice industry. The pectin is extracted from the albedo with water acidified usually with a mineral acid. It can also be made at home.

  Pectin Shred 450 g (1 lb) of the white part of the peel of oranges or lemons, and let it stand in about 2 It (3½ pt) of water with 125 ml (scant ¼ pt) of lemon juice, for 2-3 hours. Then add the same quantity of water again and bring the pan slowly to the boil. Boil 10 minutes with the lid on and stand it aside till next day. Then boil the mixture once more for some 15 minutes and bottle or use immediately.

  Because the amount of pectin in fruits is so variable, as is also its quality, a simple test is necessary to find out whether there is enough of it in a fruit juice to form a jelly. The acidity can usually be guessed at by tasting. To test the pectin content, take a teaspoon of the juice, cool it, and drop it into a little methylated spirit (about three teaspoons). Shake the mixture very gently and then let it stand for a minute. If a jelly-like mass has formed, there is plenty of pectin. If there are a few blobs, and not very firm ones, then the pectin is probably just adequate. If there are only a number of small bits, then there is not enough pectin to make a jelly.

  Jam is usually made with equal weights of sugar and fruit unless otherwise stated in a recipe. If there is plenty of pectin, then three-quarters the weight of the juice is a reasonable amount of sugar, but if the pectin is barely adequate this must be reduced to about 600 g (21 oz) of sugar per 1 It (1¾ pt).

  Once sugar has been added to juice with adequate pectin and acidity, boiling for no more than 10 minutes will produce a jelly that will set properly on cooling. The temperature of boiling is the most reliable test: it should be 104.5°C (220°F), but may have to reach 105.5°C (222°F).The usual tests for setting are:

  1) The flake test. Dip the spoon into the hot jelly. Take it out and twirl it until the jelly on it has cooled a little. Let some of the cooled jelly drop off the edge of the spoon. If it forms a sheet and drops off cleanly as a flake, then the jelly will set when cold.

  2) The cold plate test. Put a small blob of the juice on a cold plate and let it cool. Push the blob sideways with a fingernail. If it wrinkles, it will set when cold. A very few exotic fruits will not form a jelly, even though they have plenty of pectin, because they contain gummy substances which prevent setting.

  [Pectin – French: pectine German: Pektin Italian: pectina Spanish: pectina]

  PELARGONIUM. See geranium.

  PEMMICAN. Originally hard rations for North American Indians when they were hunting, travelling or at war, it was made of dried meat – buffalo or deer – pounded with rendered fat, pressed into cakes and preserved in skins. Cranberries were also mixed in, and perhaps dried blueberries. The purpose of pemmican was to be sustaining rather than nice. Under 1 kg (2¼ lb) a day would suffice to keep a man doing hard manual work. This chewy food was adopted by explorers for rations on sledging trips. Sir John Richardson, an Arctic explorer in the 1820s, used a pemmican of lean meat dried in a malting kiln, ground in the malt mill and mixed with an equal quantity of melted suet, plus currants and sugar to taste. This was sealed in canisters instead of skins. Later versions of pemmican were more gourmet-orientated. The pemmican brought back from the 1922 Spitzbergen expedition was good (at least, I thought so as a child), and later versions even better. With modern freeze-dried meat and vegetables, vitamins and a better understanding of nutrition, there is no longer need for such heroic foods. If it is kept properly, pemmican will last indefinitely.

  PENNYROYAL (Mentha pulegium) is a small creeping relative of mint with a strong and rather peculiar minty aroma. In Britain, dried pennyroyal is responsible for the special flavour of North Country black puddings.

  [Pennyroyal – French: pouliot German: Flohkraut, Poleiminze Italian: puleggio Spanish: poleo]

  PEPINELLO. See chayote.

  PEPPER originally meant vine pepper from a plant of the genus Piper. The *chilli peppers and *sweet peppers, which came in later from tropical America, stole the same name because they are more or less pungent.

  Black pepper and white pepper both come from the same plant, Piper nigrum, a climbing vine native to the tropical forests of monsoon Asia. The vine produces hanging strings of dark green berries, which turn bright red when ripe. lf the green berries are picked and dried, they darken to form black pepper. Ripe berries are made into white pepper by the removal of the red skin and pulp. The ripe berries are stacked in piles to promote fermentation, which softens the outside. When this is washed off, the white inner seeds are left and are dried in the sun. Although there is some difference in the flavour between the black and white pepper, it is better experienced than described. White pepper is more expensive and less aromatic; it is used in white sauces or in any dish where black pepper would give a speckled appearance. Pepper should always be freshly ground in a mill, partly because its flavour is volatile and lost very quickly, and partly because you can then be sure that it has not been adulterated. Mignonette pepper (also called shot pepper), which is used in French cookery, is coarsely-ground pepper made by roughly grinding and sifting peppercorns. A coarsely-set pepper mill produces an approximate equivalent.

  Green peppercorns are the berries
of P. nigrum which have been canned rather than dried. Their flavour is fresh and pungent, without being excessively hot; it particularly suits meats, poultry and fish. Once the can has been opened, green peppercorns will keep for up to six weeks in a well stoppered glass or stoneware jar in the coldest part of the refrigerator.

  Long pepper – P. longum from India and P. retrofractum from Java – is occasionally called for in Oriental recipes. Their flavour is rather similar to that of black pepper but slightly sweeter, and black pepper will usually do as a substitute. *Betel leaves come from a species of pepper (P. betel). Other plants which are popularly known as pepper are listed below.

  Cubeb pepper (Piper cubeb) is an aromatic, pungent and acrid spice. Originally from the East Indian ‘Spice Islands’, it is now also grown in the West Indies and Ceylon. A collector’s piece today, used mostly as a source of medicinal Cubeb camphor, cubeb pepper was important in the past and was one of the spices used in preparing the spiced aperitif wine called hippocras.

  Jamaica pepper or myrtle pepper. Although the aromatic berries of the myrtle were used once as a substitute for pepper, myrtle pepper (Pimenta dioica) is not from myrtle but is *allspice, which is a member of the myrtle family.

  Kava pepper (Piper methysticum), although related to black pepper, is not a spice, but is the basis of kava or kava-kava, a drink from Samoa and other South Pacific islands. The women chew the fibre of the plant, mixing it well with their saliva and spitting the mush into a pot. The intoxicating nature of this drink is not due to alcohol, nor to the women’s spit, but to alkaloids released by the salivary enzymes.

  Pepper-grass describes various plants with pungent fruits that are sometimes used as spices and are gathered wild in rural areas. They belong to the cabbage family (Cruciferae) and are close relatives of garden *cress (Lepidium sativum).The Wild pepper grass (Lepidium virginicum) of North America is naturalized in Europe, and Roadside pepper-grass (Lepidium ruderale), a native of Europe, is naturalized in North America and Australia.

  Pepper-root. Pungent roots of Demaria.

  Pepper-tree. Name given to various trees, notably the common ornamental Schinus molle, oil from which is used commercially as a food flavouring.

  [Pepper – French: poivre German: Pfeffer Italian: pepe Spanish: pimienta]

  PEPPER DULSE. See seaweed.

  PEPSIN is an enzyme that digests protein. It is usually prepared from fresh pig’s stomachs and presented as a creamy-white, slightly acid powder. In contrast to *papain (which is often called vegetable pepsin), pepsin performs best in an acid mixture containing hydrochloric acid, which is not surprising as those are the conditions which exist in the animal’s stomach. It works best at 52°C (125°F), which is a bit hotter than it is asked to perform at in nature. In solution, it is destroyed by temperatures over 70°C (158°F).

  Pepsin works like *rennet in coagulating milk and is used in cheese-making.

  PERCEBE. See barnacle.

  PERI-PERI. See piri-piri.

  PERIWINKLE. See winkle.

  PERMANGANATE OF POTASH. See disinfectants.

  PERRIER. See water.

  PERSIMMON or kaki (Diospyros koki) is a tree of the same family as ebony; it is a native of China. It has been introduced all over the world and is grown in suitably warm parts of North America as well as in Mediterranean Europe. lt is easily noticed, as the fruit does not ripen until well into winter when the leaves have fallen and the orange or scarlet fruit stand out against the winter landscape like lights on the tree.

  There are many varieties, especially in China and Japan, some with yellow fruits. The persimmon is very astringent and full of tannin until thoroughly ripe – and in appearance over-ripe – yet the fruits have to be marketed early as they do not keep well. In China and Japan, the tannin is sometimes removed by soaking in *limewater, and they may be ripened with ethylene gas. Sometimes the Chinese allow them to freeze on the tree, and they are also dried. Persimmons, though usually eaten raw, can be puréed and made into ice-cream or used in cakes.

  The Mabolo or velvet apple (Diospyros discolor) is a tropical fruit of fair quality which is closely related to the persimmon. It is grown in the Philippines, Malaya and Ceylon.

  PE-TSAI. See Chinese cabbage.

  PEWTER is one part lead to four to six parts tin, although sometimes brass or copper replaces lead in the alloy. Pewter was known in ancient China and used by the Romans. Today it is not much made, as anything containing lead is out of fashion when it comes into contact with food and drink, but many people like drinking beer from pewter mugs. It should be kept clean by rubbing with fine sand.

  [Pewter – French: étain German: Hortzinn Italian: peltro Spanish: peltre]

  pH is a measure of acidity or alkalinity which was devised by the Norwegian biochemist Srensen in 1909.Its basis need not greatly concern us here; in fact, the pH is the logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration. What matters is that the pH scale provides a measure of the effective acidity or alkalinity of a solution which works irrespective of the actual acids or alkalis present and uncomplicated by the fact that weight for weight, some acids and alkalis are stronger than others. In short, a solution of sulphuric acid and a solution of citric acid of the same pH taste equally sour.

  The pH scale runs from 0 (the most acid) to 14 (the most alkaline), with a neutral point at pH 7.0. Examples measured on this scale are: lemon juice pH 2.3, orange juice pH 3.3, sour milk pH 4.4, fresh milk pH 6.6, distilled water pH 7.0, limewater pH 8.0, 1% bicarbonate of soda solution pH 8.0, 1% washing soda pH 11.0, 1% caustic soda solution pH 13.0.

  pH is easily measured with indicator papers which change colour according to the acidity or alkalinity of the liquid into which they are dipped. The litmus paper of school chemistry is a crude indicator. it goes red for acid and blue for alkali – but the distinction is not sharp. More sophisticated papers can be bought from the chemist and allow the pH to be read with certainty.

  PHEASANT (Phasianus colchicus). The most widespread of all gamebirds, the pheasant was introduced into Europe from further east many centuries ago and is now completely naturalized and resident over most of Europe. In North America, pheasants were introduced at various times during the 18th and 19th centuries, and are now acclimatized in many areas, though less so in the southern parts of the US, which are almost outside their favoured climate. Everywhere in their distribution, pheasants are shot for sport and also bred for the table. The season varies slightly from country to country; in Britain it is from October through the winter to February and in the US roughly from 1st November to 14th February; in some other countries, the season is more restricted. There are markets where pheasants, like other gamebirds, must carry an official tag, and it would be unwise to show an out-of-season bird even if it had been obtained lawfully from the freezer. Other species of pheasant come mostly from the Himalayas and south-west China; among them are some of the most beautiful of all birds. A few exotic species have become naturalized in parts of Europe.

  A brace of pheasants traditionally consists of a hen and a cock; the hen, which lacks the enormous tail and bright colours of the cock, is regarded as the better eating. In a young cock, the spurs are short and rounded, the beak more pliable than in older birds, and the feet are soft and smooth, while in old birds they are rough and scaly.

  The birds should never be plucked before being hung. How long pheasants should be hung must obviously depend in part on the weather, a bird badly holed with shot cannot be hung for as long as a well-shot bird or a bird reared specially for table.

  The recommended time can vary between four days in warm weather to three weeks in frosty weather. The degree of highness is a matter of taste, although there is general agreement that fresh pheasant is uninteresting. Pheasants can be said to be ready when they get a slightly ‘off’ smell. Pheasants are sometimes hung by the neck, but usually by the feet, in which case some blood beginning to drip from the beak is a sign that the birds are just about ready. The bird is also s
aid to be ready when the long tail feathers can be easily pulled out. As the meat is inclined to be dry, pheasants are best barded but never larded. In France, a couple of Petit Suisse cream cheeses are sometimes put inside pheasants before roasting to provide the necessary moistening.

  [Pheasant – French: faisan German: Fasan Italian: fagiano Spanish: faisán]

  PHOSPHORIC ACID (H3PO4) is colourless, syrupy and odourless. It is used by industry to provide acidity in soft drinks and is regarded as harmless in the very small concentrations used for this.

  [Phosphoric acid – French: acide phosphorique German: Phosphorsäure Italian: acido fosforico Spanish: ácido fosfórico]

  PHYSALIS FRUIT. The genus Physalis, with about one hundred species, belongs to the tomato family, and some half a dozen are cultivated, mainly in warm countries, as they are sensitive to frost.

  Chinese lantern plant or bladder cherry (P. alkengii) is the best known, and is grown for the decorative effect of its red papery calyx, the husk which looks, as the name suggests, rather like a papery lantern. This lantern surrounds a berry which is edible when ripe.

  The members of the genus that are cultivated for their fruit have the same general appearance, but the lantern is light brown and not decorative.

  Cape gooseberry (P. peruviana), in spite of its name, is a native of South America, but early in the last century had become an important crop in South Africa. The plant is also produced to some extent in southern Europe. The flavour is rather like a gooseberry, though with less character. They can be bought, canned, as Goldenberries. Cape gooseberries make good jam. Allow equal weights of sugar and fruit, and bottle the jam the moment it will set.

  Ground cherry, strawberry tomato, or dwarf Cape gooseberry (P. pruinosa) is native to parts of central and eastern North America, from New York to Florida and west to Iowa and Minnesota, but is local in occurrence. Used for jam and pies, the fruits may be stored for a month or more, during which time they become sweeter. Ground cherries are also a popular wild fruit in Hawaii, where they are called poha and are used particularly to make a syrupy preserve.