Cook's Encyclopaedia

by Tom Stobart

  Ching Wo from Fukien province in China – has a rather pungent taste which is liked in some European countries, but is little used in Britain.

  Congou. The largest leafed of the China black teas, usually made with the third or fourth leaf on the plant.

  Darjeeling teas from the Himalayan foothills in northern India are noted for their fine flavour and are very expensive. They are grown up to 2100 m (7000 ft) and production is limited.T he best Darjeelings are usually blended with teas of similar character but lesser quality from the lower slopes in order to make them commercially attractive.

  Dragon’s Well. The alternative name for Lung Ching tea.

  Earl Grey is the name given to a blend originally formulated by the second Earl Grey. It was given to his grocer, who was a partner in the firm of Robert Jackson. The name was never registered, and the blend has been copied by other tea companies. Earl Grey has become a generic term for tea scented with oil of bergamot.

  Flowery Orange Pekoe. A large-leaf tea with a lot of tip; as the season progresses, however, there is less and less tip.

  Golden tips. The first young leaf of the tea bush.

  Green teas are much used in China and Japan, but little today in Britain, although in the 18th century, before Indian tea became predominant, Singlo, Turankay, Hyson and Gunpowder would have been known to most hostesses.

  Gunpowder is one of the Chinese green teas. In appearance it is grainy, rolled into balls, as suggested by its alternative names of pearl or pinhead tea. The liquor is pale, with a sharp, distinctive taste. This tea is popular in North Africa, especially in Morocco, where it is frequently flavoured with mint.

  Hyson. A Chinese green tea, as is Young Hyson. It is of very good quality, expensive and full of flavour.

  lchang. A China tea from Hupeh, grown high in the mountains. It is rare and costly, with an exquisite and mellow flavour.

  Jasmine. A China green tea that is mixed with jasmine flowers and then steam heated for 5 minutes before being dried in a spin dryer.

  Keemun. A black China tea from Keemun county in the beautiful Huangshan Mountains in southern Anhwei province, south of theYangtse. The best have a delicate flavour and scent.

  Kenyan teas have a quality of their own, between the thick heavy teas from North India and the light flavoury teas of Sri Lanka.

  Lapsang souchong. A large-leafed black China tea with a distinctive tarry taste and smell derived from the smoke of the fires over which it is dried. It comes from Fukien on the Chinese mainland and from Formosa. The tarry flavour is so strong that is has to be stored separately in tea warehouses to avoid the standard teas picking it up.

  Lung Ching or Dragon’s Well. An exotic China tea with a flat, green leaf and a distinctive taste.lt is produced only in small quantities.

  Oolong. The leaves are allowed to ferment, but fermentation is then stopped by heat. These teas are produced in China and Formosa. The best early crop tea has a peach-like flavour, with a large bold ragged leaf. The finest have a very good show of white tip.

  Orange pekoe is a large-leaf tea of orthodox manufacture. It is not now used extensively in Britain, but continues to be popular in Continental Europe.

  Panyong. Rather like Keemun, but with a slightly different flavour and usually of better quality, this tea is from Fukien province in China.

  Pekoe. A grade of whole-leaf tea of orthodox manufacture.

  Pekoe suchong. A rolled bally type of leaf.

  Russian tea comes from the wet strip along the foothills of the Caucasus mountains in Georgia. The Russians produce all sizes of tea, but they do not generally have the quality of the best China teas.

  Souchong (from the Chinese “sioo-chung”, meaning larger leaves).Very large leaf size from China; it is larger in size than Pekoe suchong.

  Twankey. A green tea, popular in the 18th century

  Yunan. Teas from this province of China have a distinctive flavour and are frequently used in blends.

  TEA SUBSTITUTES and TISANES. There are dozens of these, of which the most important is *maté. Some of the infusions, such as the Cape or Boer Bush tea (Cyclopia vogeli) of South Africa were serious tea substitutes, as also was New Jersey tea (Ceonothus americanus), a member of the heather family which, like orange tea, was used by the early American colonists as a protest at the time of the BostonTea Party

  Many of these teas have a medicinal purpose, although some, like *lime tea from the flowers of the linden, are very nice as a drink Strawberry tea from Germany is made from the dried young leaves of wild strawberry plants; Algerian tea or thé Arabe (Paronychia niveo) is used medicinally in France; Swiss tea is made with relatives of yarrow, such as Achillea mosdiata and A nobilis; Japanese tea (ama tsja, tea of heaven) is the leaves of species of Hydrangea such as H. serrata. Others are Mexican tea (Chenopodium ambrosioides), Reunion or Faham tea (Angrecum fragrans and other species), and a tea made from the garden bush, Chimonanthus fragrans, which is claimed to be so good that it may be cultivated for the purpose, *camomile tea (Matricaria recutita), Oswego tea, from Red bergamot (Monarda didyma), Malay tea (Eugenia variabilis), Long Life or Bencoolen tea (Glaphyria nitida), Mountain tea (Gaultheria procumbens), Barbary tea (Lycium barbarum), Steckel tea (Borbonia parvi ora), and even tea from the dried leaves of the *sloe – the list goes on for ever. In Europe, aromatic teas were also made of the flowers of rosemary and lavender. from gorse, dittany, ground ivy (Gill tea) and willow herb (Kaporie tea in Russia). Speedwell is said to have been an almost universal adulterant of tea in Europe. With a wide range of aromatic herbs also available to try, there are exciting possibilities for experiment here.

  [Tea – French: thé German: Tee Italian: tè Spanish: té]

  TEFF. See millet.

  TEMPERATURES are given in this book in *Celsius (Centigrade) and *Fahrenheit. For the kitchen, thermometers are much to be recommended as they take the guess-work out of many operations, such as frying, jam-making, sugar-boiling, yoghurt and cheese-making, and roasting. Perhaps, if you are doing something very frequently, perhaps professionally, you can learn to judge by eye and experience, but most of us are not in that position. Tests like the time taken for paper to go yellow or bread cubes to go brown in the oven are a nuisance. A thermometer gives certain and accurate results and materially helps towards better cooking. Thermometers reading 4-225°C (40-440°F) will handle all normal kitchen requirements. They are filled with mercury. For sub zero temperatures, thermometers are usually filled with coloured alcohol which, unlike mercury. will not freeze in any temperature the cook is likely to deal with, but cannot be used for hot things. When taking the temperature of a liquid, first stir it to make sure that it is evenly heated and, if possible, leave the bulb in the liquid while taking the reading.

  An oven thermometer may sometimes be necessary if you have an old fashioned stove, and a roasting thermometer – one that you push into the centre of the meat – can be exceedingly useful.

  Some temperatures

  Conversions in this list are approximate and are as accurate as the various circumstances demand.

  0°C 32°F Ice melts or water freezes, depending on whether heat is being added or taken away.

  49°C 120°F Add starter and put yoghurt to bed.

  60°C 140°F Internal temperature for rare beef.

  63°C 145 F Internal temperature of underdone beef and mutton.

  65°F 150°F Egg begins to thicken and coagulate.

  70°C 160°F Pasteurization temperature.

  71°C 160°F Internal temperature of medium roast beef.

  74°C 165°F Internal temperature of roast lamb.

  80°C 175°F Internal temperature of well-done beef. Proteins have curdled. Mutton is well done. The correct internal temperature for veal.

  85°C 185°F Internal temperature for roast pork.

  90°C 195°F Simmer.

  93°C 200°F Low oven. Temperature for meringues, baked custards, etc.

  102°C 215°F Thread stage for sugar.

  110°
C 230°F Blow stage for sugar. Gas oven (*Regula) ¼.

  116°C 240°F About right for fondant icing.

  120°C 250°F Hard ball for sugar. Gas oven ½.

  135°C 275°F Gas oven 1

  137°C 278°F Temperature for shallow frying in butter.

  143°C 289°F Hard crack stage for sugar.

  150°C 300°F Gas oven 2. Madeira and fruit cake.

  160°C 320°F Gas oven 3. Slow roast for most meats. Start of frying range for choux paste, etc.

  180°C 350°F Gas oven 4. Medium. Slow roast for pork. Middle of frying range and usual for doughnuts, fish, chips, meat etc. Caramelization sugar.

  190°C 375°F Gas oven 5. Usual roasting temperature for meats. Top of frying range for finishing.

  200°C 400°F Gas oven 6. Hot oven. Pastry, sponge, Swiss roll, muffins, browning meats.

  220°C 425°F Gas oven 7.

  230°C 450°F Gas oven 9. For puff pastry. soufflés, baked Alaska, some bread, croissants.

  240°C 475°F Gas oven 9.Very hot. Bread batons.

  260°C 500°F Gas oven 10 – Maximum heat – too hot for baking at home, but used by bakers for bread rolls.

  [Temperature – French: température German: Temperatur Italian: temperatura Spanish: temperature]

  TENDERIZING. Simple, old-fashioned methods of tenderizing are mechanical – heating or pounding to break up the fibres. The Greeks batter an octopus on the rocks at least 40 times to make it tender, Italians beat stock-fish and some optimists beat tough steaks in the hope it will improve them. Another simple method of tenderizing is hanging and aging. We do that to game as a matter of course, but often forget that meat also needs hanging, which only the best butchers do properly.

  In hanging, the tenderizing process is done by enzymes in the meat which break down the protein. If hanging is done in the right cold conditions, it will not be accompanied by bacterial putrefaction. Tenderizing is also achieved by heat, if it is properly applied over the correct period, but equally heat can toughen. The first reaction of protein to heat is to coagulate – as is well illustrated by the white of a boiled egg. Over-cook the white and it goes like rubber, taking an hour or more of boiling to become soft again, a lesson anyone cooking meat should remember. On the other hand, if an egg is lightly poached or coddled at below boiling point, the white is very tender. Sugar on meat is a tenderizer because it encourages the enzyme processes. Acids, such as vinegar and lemon juice, in marinades slowly tenderize by hydrolyzing proteins to amino acids, although their immediate action is to coagulate and harden, especially if heated. Commercial tenderizers rely on *papain, an enzyme which digests protein. Usual food grade tenderizer will digest about 35 times its weight of protein, but will of course tenderize only the tissues with which it comes in contact, which is why treating meat (except minced meat) with tenderizer is a poor substitute for proper hanging. Papain is deactivated by the heat of cooking. A few people are allergic to it.

  TEPARY BEAN (Phaseolus acutifolius), is a drought resistant species grown in arid country such as that of Arizona and Mexico, but is only of local significance.

  TERRAPIN. See turtle.

  TEXTURED VEGETABLE PROTEIN. See TVP.

  THERMOMETER. See temperature.

  THIAMINE. See vitamin B1.

  THICKENING is closely related to *binding. Liquids may be thickened naturally, without addition, by reduction by boiling, but it is usually necessary to add something, and whatever is added has to be right for the dish, not only in flavour and texture, but also in colour. Satisfying all these demands makes it difficult to substitute one thickener for another. Dishes do not retain the same character. If a coq au vin is thickened with beurre manié, it will not have the same dark, rich colour of one thickened in the traditional way with the bird’s blood. Equally, if you do as French chefs often do in India and thicken a curry with cream, then you completely alter the character of the dish (although it will still be delicious).

  Some of the thickeners used by food manufacturers, such as alginates and carob-bean gum, are not generally available in the shops. Others, such as the gums, are little used except for specialized purposes, partly because they are not much known in these days, although some, like *gum Arabic, were much used in the past. Thickeners are also often stabilizers, helping to prevent emulsions from breaking, suspensions from settling and mixtures from separating into layers.

  Starchy thickeners. Flour is the most commonly used of all thickeners, and is easily incorporated into liquids in the form of beurre manié, flour worked to an intimate paste with an equal weight of butter, which prevents the formation of lumps. Beurre manié is especially convenient because it can be added bit by bit until the required thickness is reached. Starchy thickeners depend on the capacity of starch grains to burst and form a soluble starch jelly when heated to around 75°C (167°F).Another is *cornflour, which forms a more glassy jelly It can also be mixed with butter or made into a cream with cold water before being stirred into the hot dish to be thickened. *Arrowroot is even purer starch and gives an almost transparent jelly. Tapioca flour and potato flour are among other forms of *starch that can be used. Starchy thickeners must in most cases be properly cooked or they may retain a starchy taste.

  Egg yolk is an excellent thickener, as it gives a rich, smooth texture. lt should be added when the sauce is cool enough for you to dip a finger in without screaming, and the yolks are best smoothed with a very little water as a preliminary. After they have been stirred in, the sauce should be heated over water in a bain-marie or double boiler – not on a direct flame unless you have a fine, thick copper pan and some skill. If the egg gets too hot anywhere on the bottom of the pan, it will form lumps of scrambled egg. Stirring with a wooden spoon should be continuous until the sauce thickens correctly, and then it must not be allowed to get any hotter. A sauce thickened with egg will curdle if it becomes too hot and must never be boiled.

  Blood is a good thickener and can even be simmered in certain conditions, although it is better not to try it. Otherwise, blood behaves rather like egg yolk. It is used particularly in thickening jugged hare and the classic Burgundian coq au vin, for which the bird’s blood is collected when it is killed and immediately stirred with a little vinegar and brandy just enough to prevent coagulation. Solid coagulated and cooked blood of various kinds is sold in my local market in Spain. I know of people who have tried blending this with water – a sort of reconstituted blood, but as the brew is merely watered down coagulated blood, it cannot be expected to coagulate again and work as a thickening.

  Creamy thickeners. Stirring thick or sour creams into juices at the last minute and off the fire is a delicious and simple way of giving body to many sauces. Creamy mixtures of nuts, coconut cream, *tahina, ground poppy seed and even peanut butter can also be used to give body in appropriate dishes. The important thing is always to avoid breaking the emulsion or to allow curdling. To lessen the shock on incorporating the mixtures, some of the liquid to be thickened should be stirred into the creamy thickener before it is added. A German chef, famous for his soups, advised me to think of adding mayonnaise to appropriate soups, and of course aioli is essential in the Provençal bourride and in several other French fish soups, where its function is also to add a strong flavour of garlic.

  Jelly-like substances. A thick consistency, something like bird’s-nest soup, can be obtained by thickening with gelatine, or, as would be preferred in some dishes, with a strong meat jelly or aspic. Another variation on the same theme comes from using *agar-agar (from which fake bird’s-nest soup is made in France) and even *seaweeds such as carrageen moss. In the food trade, *pectin is sometimes used; it sets when fruit acids and sugars are present.

  [Thickening – French: épaississant German: Eindickmittel Italian: sostanze usata per condensare Spanish: espesativo]

  THRUSH. See birds.

  THYME is one of the great herbs of the European kitchen and belongs to the family of the labiates, which contains so many of our best culinary herbs – n
otably mint, sage, oregano and basil. The species most often used in cooking is the Garden thyme (Thymus vulgaris); there are many other species of thyme, both garden and wild, mostly plants that like dry, stony limestone soil. Although they all have a basic taste pattern, in which thymol predominates, there are many variations, which may be better or worse from the culinary point of view. As I write I have before me a beautifully flowering wild thyme, which has a strongly acid smell and is quite unsuitable for cooking. Thyme needs to be chosen very carefully, though I have no doubt that the best thyme comes wild on the hillsides of Provence and Liguria; even there, you have to know from experience what to gather. (The worst to look at, as usual, tastes the best.)

  Thyme, bay and parsley are the brothers in the bouquet garni. A very small amount can make all the difference to a dish. There is no herb to equal it in dishes that involve long, slow cooking in a casserole. Most people must be content with dried thyme, which is as good as fresh thyme, but should be bought in small quantities and continually renewed. Thyme goes with beef (though rarely with veal), with lamb, pork. chicken especially, with all sorts of birds and game, but especially chicken, with fish, eggs – almost anything that can benefit from an aromatic flavouring.

  [Thyme – French: thym German: Thymian Italian: timo Spanish: tomillo]

  TIA MARIA. See liqueurs and cordials.

  TIGER NUT. See chufa nut.

  TIN (Sn) is a metallic element, which forms the coating of tin cans and copper pans. It is probably, but not certainly, a trace element needed by man, as it is for animals. Tin has been very much used since the middle of the 19th century for coating iron, primarily to stop it rusting in what we know as tin plate – or simply tin. In this form it is used to manufacture tin cans for food. With some cans, small quantities of tin dissolve into the contents and have a bleaching effect on fruit like pears, peaches and golden plums. In fact, a tin compound, stannous chloride, is an anti-oxidant, which is used in some countries for whitening canned asparagus. Lacquered cans are used for fruit such as strawberries in which the colour content is important. Tests so far made seem to indicate that tin has a low toxicity and in the amount that usually gets into food is quite safe. However, if food is kept in opened cans, the presence of the oxygen in the air means that the tin will be rapidly dissolved. That is why food should not be left in cans that have been opened.