Cook's Encyclopaedia

by Tom Stobart

  Trout of various species have been moved about and introduced from one country to another. For instance, the Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) is a native of cold East Coast streams in North America, but is now well established in Europe, after its introduction in 1882.The Rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri), a native of California, has gone all over the world, even (with other species) to the Southern Hemisphere, where there were no trout before. So trout now abound in streams from New Zealand to the Andes, and you may eat them from the Arctic Circle to the Equator (they are fished in the streams of Mount Kenya).

  The Rainbow trout is the species often cultivated in trout farms, as it will stand much more stagnant water than the Brown trout. It is inferior in flavour, but good enough, and is available all year, which the Common Brown trout is not.

  As trout are so delicious and Sea trout reckoned by some to be better than sole (and certainly better than salmon), there are hundreds of trout recipes. It is best to kill large trout by stunning them, or to insert a finger in the fish’s mouth and quickly snap its head back to break the neck if it is small. The fish may be gutted neatly through the gill opening or by a small ventral incision or (if for stuffing) by cutting down the back, removing the backbone and guts, but leaving the ventral skin intact. To be cooked au bleu, trout must be taken alive from the water and cooked within minutes of killing, as otherwise the blue colour will not develop.

  The chars are very similar to trout, belonging to the same genera, and for all practical purposes are the same. They tend to be marine but also to have populations in very chilly mountain streams and lakes. The Arctic char or omble chevailier (Salvelinus alpinus) is found in Arctic seas but also has landlocked populations, for example in Lake Windermere in England and Lac Leman in Switzerland. One of the finest fishes, it is best baked and eaten with butter as the only sauce.

  Smoked trout is a well-known delicacy, but potted char less so .The former may be made at home by lightly brining the fish and then hot smoking it in a home smoker. Potted char is easily made according to the following recipe.

  Potted Char

  Gut, behead and bone the char but do not wash it; merely wipe it clean. Rub it well with mixed spices. The proportions of spice will depend on the strength of the ingredients used, but start by grinding spices together in the proportion of 2 teaspoons pepper, 1 teaspoon allspice, 4 teaspoons mace, 1 teaspoon of cloves (or less) and 2 teaspoons of nutmeg – these quantities would be sufficient for 14 kg (31 lb) of fish and can be scaled down as required. Bake the fish, covered with butter, in a slow oven for 5 hours or until the bones have melted away Drain off the butter and press the fish firmly into pots, then cover it with some of the melted butter. This method for trout, eels, sprats, shrimps or prawns.

  [Trout – French: truite German: Forelle Italian: trota Spanish: trucha]

  [Char – French: omble chevalier German: Rotforelle, Siebling Italian: ombrina Spanish: umbra]

  TRUFFLES are very important in haute cuisine. They are fungi which most people know only as something expensive bought in a tin (even the peelings are canned, though canned truffles are not, on the whole, worth bothering with) or as the black specks in the pâté. There are a number of species of truffle which are something like underground puff balls, although they are not closely related. Some, like the terfezias of the Middle East and North Africa, are good, but not sensational. Two – the Black or Perigord truffle (Tuber melanosporum) and the White or Italian truffle (T magnatum) – are outstanding delicacies.

  Best known is the Black truffle, which is irrevocably associated with French cooking. The best are found locally in hilly country around the edge of the Massif Central. In the west, they go southwards from Périgord. In the East, they can be found on either side of the Rhône valley as far north as Burgundy. Their season is from November to March. As Black truffles are so expensive and so much in demand, inferior species which look something like them are often substituted. With peeled truffles, a microscopic examination is needed for the fraud to be detected. Truffle bargains must always be suspected. Black truffles are very black and are covered with warts which trap the earth between them and make them difficult to clean. They have a strong perfume and are usually eaten cooked or chopped up and put into dishes as a flavouring.

  The White truffle is found particularly in the foothills of the Appenines on the south side of the Lombardy plain in North Italy. It is smooth, irregularly shaped and of a creamy colour outside. It can be found in all sizes, occasionally almost as large as a football. White truffles are even more expensive than black truffles and have an even stronger smell. However, they have very little taste and are mostly eaten raw, sliced very fine over the food with a special cutter (which includes razor blades) to give a mouth-watering, though indescribable perfume. The centre for white truffles is the Italian gastronomic mecca of Alba, 64 kilometres (40 miles) south-east of Turin. The season is from October until snow stops play before Christmas. Truffles of both kinds grow only in association with certain plants and trees. As yet they cannot be cultivated like mushrooms, and several fortunes await anyone who can learn how to do it. Truffles of the kind we are talking about usually grow about 30 cm (1 ft) underground, and their presence is detected by dogs or by pigs (but they try to eat the truffles). Fresh truffles can be kept for some days in the refrigerator and can be sent by mail from centres like Alba.

  [Truffle – French: truffe German Trüffel Italian: tartufo Spanish: trufa, criadilla de tierra]

  TRUSSING is tying up meat into a tidy form for cooking. The term is usually applied to birds. There are many opinions as to the ‘correct’ way to truss this or that, but at best these ways are only traditions or means which have been found most practical or convenient. Trussing was more important when birds and joints were roasted on spits and turned before the fire. Trussing is also important to butchers and poulterers, who wish to make a bird look fatter (by pushing legs up under the skin of the breast) and a joint neater. In fact, it is a form of presentation.

  For trussing which looks professional, you can use a trussing needle to pass the string right through the body of the bird. Alternatively, you can stick a skewer through for anchorage. Both methods puncture the skin and let out some of the juices. The easiest method is to put a hitch in the middle of the trussing string and tie this round the parson’s nose, which gives the necessary anchorage. The ends of the legs can then be tied down to this, and the string passed forward to encircle the body around the wings, thus holding them in the position required. Soft, plain white cotton string is the best to use for trussing, being wholesome and tasteless. Sewing up after stuffing should be done with cotton button-hole thread.

  [Trussing – French: trousser, brider German: dressieren Italian: preparare un pollo Spanish: espétar]

  TUNA or tunny. There are a number of species, the best known being the Blue-fin tuna (T thynnus), the Yellow-fin tuna (T albacores) and the Long-fin tuna or albacore (T alalunga).They are related to mackerel and sometimes included in the same family. The classic tuna of the Mediterranean is the Blue-fin, which also occurs in the Black Sea, and off the Atlantic coasts of Europe and America. This fish is usually up to 2m (over 6ft) long and averages about 150 kg (330 lb), though it may be considerably larger. The Mediterranean tuna fisheries have been declining as the sea has become polluted, but it is there, and particularly in Italy; that the gastronomic treatment of tuna is centred. Tuna gather in shoals and migrate inshore to their breeding quarters, at which time they have always been caught in enormous numbers. The traditional method, still used in places, is the madrague, the Sicilian tuna trap, which consists of nets which conduct the tuna into a series of netted enclosures. The last one, called the camera della morte, has a net floor which can be raised by ropes to bring the fish to the surface and within reach of gaff and club; the killing is a wild and bloody ritual. Fresh tuna has been likened to veal and is perhaps the only fish to have had ‘cuts’ like cuts of meat. The glut of fish each year meant that it had to be pr
eserved. In early times, tuna was salted and preserved in oil in the local manner, but for a long time canning it has been an important industry, and canned tuna is used in important Mediterranean specialities such as salade niçoise and vitello tonnato.

  During the first run, which in Sicily is in May and June, the fish are in prime condition and ready for spawning, and *botargo is made from the female roes. Later in the summer, when the fish are spent, they return thin and empty. At that time – up to the end of September – the flesh is inferior and blackish in colour. Before canning, tuna are beheaded and hung from the tail to drain out the blood. The flesh is then washed and soaked to make it as white as possible. lt is then cooked in a herbed brine and finally canned under oil or water. Good canned tuna, which still retains its firm, meaty texture, is a relatively expensive item. The best part is the ventresca, the lower part and belly wall. A relation of the tunas, the Pacific *bonito or skipjack is canned as skipjack tuna.

  [Tunny – French: thon German: Thunfisch Italian tonno Spanish: atún]

  TUNA PEAR. See prickly pear

  TUNNY. See tuna.

  TUR. See pigeon pea.

  TURBO. See abalone.

  TURBOT. See flatfish.

  TURKEY (Meleagris gallopavo) is a bird that is indigenous to America. It had already to an extent been domesticated in Mexico by the Aztecs before the arrival of the Spanish. Turkeys were established in Spain by 1530 and in England by 1540.The Mexican stock was then taken back to America, to New England, by the colonists, and these turkeys are probably the ancestors of present-day domestic breeds.

  Wild turkeys can still be found from Pennsylvania to Florida and westwards to Colorado and Arizona, as well as in Mexico. They are smaller birds than the huge modern table breeds which are scarcely capable of getting off the ground, and they are lean, not fat. Even so, a big tom can weight up to 9 kg (20 lb). although they are more usually 6 kg (over 13 Ib), with the females up to 4112 kg (I 0 Ib) and less. As the birds have been shot, their meat will be dark; they need a lot of basting or they will be dry; but they are very meaty.

  The many attempts to naturalize turkeys as game birds in Britain and elsewhere in Europe have been unsuccessful. There are now a great number of breeds in assorted colours and offering a range of sizes at maturity; they have also been bred for commercial considerations such as hardiness, disease resistance and efficient utilization of foodstuffs. In Britain, the favoured commercial breeds are the Broad-breasted Bronze turkey and the Beltsville Small White, which give birds of top weight. The breeding of huge breasted, ungainly turkeys can be managed only by artificial insemination. In a year, hen turkeys will lay 70-80 eggs, which are very large and have an excellent flavour and a nice speckled brown colour, but the low rate of production is not interesting to egg producers. The eggs hatch in 28 days. It takes about 9 months to produce top-weight birds, but they may be killed at anything over 4 months; old turkeys are tough and useless. Modern turkey production is highly organized – turkeys are no longer generally driven into town in flocks for Christmas, as they once were (and still are in some towns in Europe). They were even equipped with boots to keep their feet in condition. Although mainly eaten at Christmas – and in the US also for Thanksgiving – turkeys are now becoming a popular year-round food, thanks to small breeds and deep freezing.

  When buying fresh turkeys, look for the maximum amount of breast and small legs. Hens are reckoned a better buy than toms; although the tom may be bigger, his bones weigh heavier, and hens are generally more tender. However, with modern commercially-raised birds, there is not all that difference. After killing, turkeys are normally hung for 5-7 days, depending on the weather. An old method was to hang the bird suspended by a cord tied round four large fail feathers. As soon as the bird dropped (on to a cloth hung below to receive it), it was ready to be cooked immediately. (This probably works only with an average-sized turkey.)

  Turkeys are stuffed in various ways and, being so large, can accommodate two stuffings, one mild and the other stronger. Commonly used are sausage meat, veal forcemeat, chestnut, celery, celery and dried apricot, apple and prune, and oyster stuffings. A practical one (where veal is not available) is made from minced cooked chicken mixed with breadcrumbs and butter, flavoured with lemon rind and juice, or mixed with smoky ham. lt is better to serve sausages with the bird than to use sausage meat as stuffing.

  When buying turkey, allow at least 450 g (1 lb) per person and preferably more to allow for eating cold later. Cordon Bleu today advises about a 6 kg (13-14 lb) bird, weighed, plucked but not dressed, for 8-10 people, but in my grandmother’s family it was ten aunts to an 11 kg (25 lb) turkey at Christmas, which allowed for friends, cold turkey and the kitchen. If calculating for a frozen bird (which has lost head, neck and feet), you can drop the weight requirement by about a quarter – and do not forget that the bird takes 2 days to thaw out. With slow roasting at 160°C (325°F), 22 minutes per pound (total weight including stuffing) is about right. A turkey that is ready early can rest for half an hour outside the oven; if it is late, you will have to go on drinking. In recent years, turkey has replaced chicken in many preparations of fine quality, such as in the classic stuffing for tortellini, into which it goes with raw ham and parmesan cheese.

  [Turkey – French: dinde, dindon German: Puter, Truthahn Italian: tacchino Spanish: pavo, pava]

  TURMERIC (Curcuma Iongo) is a spice of the same family as ginger, but without any of ginger’s hot flavour. It is the rhizome of a plant indigenous to humid, hilly districts of South and South East Asia. The spice is prepared by boiling the rhizomes, peeling them and drying them in the hot sun for several weeks. As whole pieces of turmeric are very hard, it is one of the few spices it is better to buy ground, as it will certainly break the blades of an ordinary coffee grinder. The taste is slightly bitter and musty. The colour is bright yellow; alcoholic extracts of turmeric are used as a food colouring. Turmeric is the spice that colours curry yellow, and it is used in quantity in piccalilli and to give colour to mustards – it is usually detectable as a taste in American mustards. It has been known to be mistranslated as ‘saffron’ in Indian cookery books.

  [Turmeric – French: curcuma, safran d’lnde German: Gelbwurz, Turmerikwurzel Italian: curcuma Spanish: curcuma]

  TURNIP (Brassica rapa) has been cultivated and used as food in Europe since very early times. Turnips are grown for both their roots and their green tops. Some varieties are large and grown for animal feed on farms; others are small and grown in market gardens as human food. Both are good to eat. Turnips may be globular or long, and white, green or purplish according to type. They usually have white flesh. Varieties such as the Tokyo hybrid grow very fast and will produce succulent white turnips, a little bigger than a radish, in not much over a month from planting. Such small turnips have a delicate taste, but some stalwart fanciers prefer the stronger taste of a large farm turnip. Children usually like the taste of raw turnip and will eat a slice of one from a field, but often hate it when cooked. (Field turnips should not be confused with other root crops such as *swedes and mangolds – another variety of beet, which taste horrible, though they are harmless.) There are many delicate French ways of cooking small turnips, a vegetable more popular in France than elsewhere. Turnip plays a part as a flavouring vegetable in stews and soups. Grated raw turnip is an excellent salad flavouring ingredient and is often included in coleslaw.

  Turnip tops or turnip greens, which will sprout in March if turnips are left in the ground, are excellent and make a very nice, sweet-tasting green when boiled as cabbage or broccoli would be and served with butter.

  [Turnip – French: navet German: Rübe Italian: rapa Spanish: nabo]

  TURTLE and TERRAPIN. In common usage, a turtle is a tortoise that lives in water. Many are eaten (although not the Ganges turtles, which live on dead bodies), and in particular the huge marine Green turtle (Chelonia mydas), the species most used for turtle soup. Also famous are certain terrapins of North America, small turtles which
live in salt marshes, lakes and rivers, especially in the Gulf Stages and East coastal swamps of the US. Books from the 19th century are full of Chicken tortoises, Salt-water terrapins, Alligator terrapins and so on, as these were sold in thousands in the markets. Today the most usual is the Diamond-back (the best are claimed to come from Chesapeake Bay), which is also available canned.

  Terrapins are killed either by chopping off their heads or by plunging them alive into boiling water. After scalding for about 5 minutes, the outer skin can be removed by rubbing with a rough cloth. There are many ways of cooking them, but a usual one is to simmer the whole animal in salted water for 1-1½ hours, until the shell begins to crack and the feet to fall off. The shell can now be cut open around the under edge, the two halves separated and the stomach, gall bladder and large intestine removed. The small intestine is often left in (like the trail of a woodcock) and, with liver and eggs, is served with the rest of the meat. The claws are pulled out and discarded before serving. Terrapin is often seasoned with sherry or madeira, and an average terrapin serves two people. American cookery books have many recipes, but although live terrapins used to be imported occasionally into Britain, people in Europe, where there are no suitable small turtles, must usually be content with canned terrapin.

  Green turtles are taken sometimes in the Mediterranean and on the warmer Atlantic coasts of Europe, but they are becoming rare. Beaches are occupied by sunbathing humans, and too many eggs have been taken. The famous soup served at the banquets given by the Lord Mayor of London used to be made from Jamaican turtle which came over on sailing ships to the Port of London, alive and nailed to the decks. Turtles in those days were so plentiful that many ships captured them and carried them for fresh meat. Today, most of the turtles come over frozen. If ever faced with a live turtle, you would have to chop off its head and hang it up by the hind flippers overnight to drain off blood. Next day, the flippers would be cut off at the joints, and the two halves of the shell separated by cutting round about 5 cm (2 in) from the edge. (The upper shell is known as the calipash and the lower the calipee.) After any water had been drained out and the stomach and intestines and, above all, the gall bladder removed with care, the meat could be treated as veal (which it resembles), or the creature could be made into soup. For this, the flesh and green fat are reserved, and the two halves of the shell with the flippers put into boiling water. After a few minutes’ boiling, the flippers can be taken out and skinned, but the shells need somewhat longer cooking until the bones can be easily removed. A stock is made from the liver, heart, kidneys and bones; in it are then boiled the meat, flippers, and head. Also needed, though, are ham and veal plus thyme, marjoram and basil (the turtle-soup herbs), parsley, bay, cloves, mace, etc. Soup can also be made from dried turtle meat, which requires soaking for 3 days before cooking. (It is easier to buy a can.)