Cook's Encyclopaedia

by Tom Stobart

  [Whey – French: petit lait German: molke Italian: siero di latta Spanish: suero (de Ia leche)]

  WHIFF. See flatfish (lemon sole).

  WHIPPING is also called whisking (which usually applies only to egg white) and beating (which may apply to many things and implies heavier work). It is a texture-producing operation and involves frothing up and the introduction of air bubbles into whatever is being whipped – nearly always either cream or egg white. Although it seems to be a very simple operation, there are a number of points to be considered. For instance, the size of the air bubbles. With a given amount of egg white, we can obviously get a greater bulk of beaten egg if the bubbles are large than if they are small, but the froth will not be so strong mechanically and will collapse more easily. This means that we are not only concerned with the length of time and degree of whipping (because the longer the whipping, the smaller are the bubbles), but also with the implements we use.

  Implements and utensils. Chefs use balloon whisks and copper bowls – one of the few places where unlined copper is normal – but such apparatus, though it is undoubtedly the best, is expensive. The smaller wire whisks and any glass or china bowl will do almost as good a job, and the wire coil whisks are as good or better for whisking egg white. With electric beaters, it is easy to overdo the whipping, as they are so quick that things can be spoiled in a moment. Hand-held electric whisks are better than the fixed models, as they can be used more flexibly. (The old hand-turned type of whisk is or should be – obsolete. lt needs two hands, is hard work and does not do as good a job as a simple, inexpensive coil whisk).

  Whipping cream. In some places, whipping *cream is sold. It is a grade in between single and double cream, or a mixture of the two. Double cream but not single cream can also be whipped. Canned cream and bottled cream will whip, and unsweetened evaporated milk can also be whipped if the unopened tin is boiled for 20 minutes and then cooled. It does not, however, taste like fresh cream. Sour cream very rapidly thickens but will not whip properly as it turns too easily to butter. Reconstituted cream will not whip. Cream should be whipped only to the point where it will hold a peak. If whipping is carried on after that, the cream will turn to butter.

  Whipping egg white. Egg white has a special capacity for holding air bubbles when it is beaten. The white contains several proteins, but the most important from the point of view of beating are the *albumins, particularly oval-bumin, which foams best in acid conditions. Acid also tenderizes protein and makes it stretch more easily. Therefore a pinch of cream of tartar is often added to egg white to be beaten (but for meringues is likely to make the result rather sticky). Salt also helps foaming, and sugar helps in two ways – it gives the foam stability and helps mechanically to get air into the mass. Fat, on the other hand, is the enemy of foaming- not even a speck of egg yolk must be allowed to get into the white when eggs are separated, and the bowl must be free from grease and from any traces of detergent.

  In practice, chefs add the acid and salt at the beginning and the sugar when the eggs are nearly whipped. However, fresh eggs at room temperature in a clean bowl should whisk up without difficulty.

  The degree to which egg white is beaten is very important in cooking. The more the eggs are beaten, the more the egg white is stretched, and it can be beaten (overbeaten) to the point where it can stretch no more. The bubbles cannot then be inflated further when the air inside expands in baking. The stages are as follows:

  1) Large bubbles. The white is still runny and it is little more than mixed well. It is used for blending with liquids, for coating and for clearing stock

  2) Smaller, but still fair sized bubbles. The peaks are rounded and will not stand up. Used for sponge cakes, soufflés and foamy omelettes.

  3) Small air bubbles. The stiff foam stands in peaks; it is smooth, with no fluidity. For meringues, cake icing and some cakes.

  4) Dry and brittle.lt can be cut or pulled into bits. The proteins will not stretch any more and so no good for most purposes.

  [Whipping – French: battre (eggs), fouetter (cream) German: schlagen Italian: sbattere Spanish: batidor]

  WHISKING. See whipping.

  WHISKY or whiskey. The spelling is whisky for Scotch and Canadian, whiskey for Irish and American. The word is a corruption of the Gaelic uisage (water) beatha (life) – usquebaugh in Ireland – a translation of the Latin aqua vitae (water of life), as spirits were originally medicinal. The art of *distillation was brought over from the Continent by monks. Although the first known written reference to the drink is as late as 1494, whisky must have been made long before that. Distilling whisky soon became usual kitchen work on many Scottish farms. Since it was distilled only twice, there was no danger of explosion, and the work was well within the capability of even the humblest servant. In those halcyon days, there was no excise duty – Parliament borrowed that idea from the Dutch to raise money to fight Charles I and it has stayed ever since.

  Barley grown on the farm was wetted and sprouted, dried over a peat fire (which gave a smoky taste), ground to a grist, mixed with water, and stood in a warm place for the enzymes to work. The sugary result was mashed with yeast and left to ferment (very much as in *brewing).The alcoholic result was distilled, always in pot stills of much the same sort as are used to make malt whisky to this day. Blended Scotch, which we know best (the world now drinks over one hundred million gallons of it every year) was then unknown.

  By law, all whisky must be at least 3 years old before it may be sold for consumption in Britain, and similar laws apply in other countries, although the minimum time may be up to 5 years. In practice, however, whisky is usually matured for much longer than is required by law.

  The newly distilled spirit is placed for maturing in casks made of oak, which is permeable and allows the air to pass into the whisky and evaporation to occur. During this process, certain undesirable secondary constituents are removed, producing a mellow and mature whisky. The period of maturation is affected by the size of the casks, the strength at which the spirit is stored and the temperature and humidity of the warehouse. The lighter grain whiskies require less time to mature than the fuller, more mellow malt whiskies, which are often left in the casks for 15 years or more.

  Malt whisky is made from malted barley and is distilled in pot stills. There are 117 distilleries making malt whisky in Scotland. The whisky from each has its own characteristic aroma and flavour, just as wines from different vineyards have theirs. Exactly why this should be so is not fully understood, in spite of enormous efforts to find out. Some of the difference comes from the water and some from the peat used to dry the malt – the air and climate may even play a part. However, if peat and water, with Scottish distillers, are taken from Scotland to other parts of the world, the whisky never turns out as well as it does in Scotland.

  Even the lowliest malt whiskies are more expensive than the everyday brands of blended whisky, which contain grain spirit. Some are in limited supply and are mostly exported, while others are used mainly by the blenders. In addition to straight malts, from single distilleries, there are also blended ones in which malt whiskies only are mixed. If the age of blended whisky is specified, it must by law be the age of the youngest used in the mixture and not an average. Malts should be drunk neat or with a little good cool water. Ice and soda water both destroy the flavour.

  Grain whisky is made largely from unmalted grain. The starch in the grist is converted to sugars by mixing it with malt which has an excess enzyme capacity. The sugary liquid can now be fermented. Distillation is carried out in continuous patent stills, the first of which was the coffey still, introduced in 1831. Grain whisky is very light, with almost no taste of its own, and the only straight grain whisky on the market is Choice Old Cameron Brig, which is made by John Hay & Co. Most of the huge output from modern plants goes for blending with malts.

  Blended whisky has been made since about 1860. It uses the highly rectified spirit that is produced by the patent stills. Such spirit contains lit
tle of the congenerics which give malt whisky its taste, and incidentally its power to produce hangovers, but blending with tasty malts results in a light product with good flavour. It is also more consistent, a great commercial asset, as the expert blender could add varying quantities of different malts to the basic grain whisky and obtain an almost constant result. Colouring could be done with caramel. The ever growing popularity of blended Scotch as a drink, has led many people to try to make it elsewhere, notably in Japan, but it has never been reproduced exactly.

  Irish whiskey is made in much smaller quantity than Scotch. It is made only in pot stills – but in very large ones – and from a mixture of malt and unmalted grain, the excess diastase in the malt being able to convert the starch in the grain to sugars. Irish whiskey is distilled three times (not twice like Scotch) and thus is relatively tasteless to begin with. It acquires its flavour during maturation in casks. Casks are vital to Irish whiskey and one of the main skills in its making lies in deciding the proportions of whisky to be mixed from different sorts of cask. Sherry casks (for a full flavour), new casks, American casks, and sometimes rum and brandy casks are used.

  American whiskey. Corn whiskeys, as made in the early days, were often pretty rough, as names like Old Tomahawk, Busthead and Red Eye attest. The tradition of fearsome home brews in the US continued when their evolution was temporarily slowed down by the Volstead Act. During prohibition, people drank what they could get. Apart from that lapse, a tradition of freedom exists in many states, where the citizens can, if they want, distil a certain generous quantity for their own home use. Commercial distillation is now carried out almost exclusively in huge continuous stills; the old pot stills have long since been replaced. Most famous American corn whiskey is bourbon, named after Bourbon County in Kentucky. It is said to have been discovered accidentally in 1789, when a Rev. Elijah Craig, who was a farmer as well as a preacher, put his whiskey (already good because of the local water) into charred barrels of white oak to mature. The resulting whiskey was exceptional, and to this day Kentucky bourbon is famous. The law, however, recognizes bourbon as whisky made with a particular technique, and so bourbons are produced in other States and even in Canada. They are still legally bourbons if they are distilled from a mash of at least 55% corn (maize) and matured for at least 2 years in new, charred white oak casks in unheated warehouses. Bourbon must also be not less than 80 US proof (40° spirit). Unblended bourbons are called ‘straight’ in the US, and those ‘bottled in bond’ have been stored under government supervision for 4-8 years as well as being’straight’ and 100 proof. The more ordinary blended bourbons are usually around 87 proof. They have less taste and less congenerics. Other corn whiskies abound and one of the great pleasures of a visit to the US is organizing a tasting session; this can be arranged in any bar with the help of the natives, who will be eager to co-operate. The term ‘sour mash’ – as opposed to ‘sweet mash’ – means that the wort (called beer in America) is fermented with sour residues, while sweet mash is fermented only with fresh yeast. There is a considerable difference in taste.

  Rye whiskey, as the name suggests, is made with a high proportion of rye (which is sometimes also used in other whiskies) as well as barley. The method of making rye is not much different, but it is matured in heated warehouses to achieve its individual flavour. Rice spirit is in essence a whisky.

  *Liqueurs based on whisky include Drambuie and Glayva. In recent years, following the world-wide upsurge of the popularity of whisky as a drink, it has also come to be used as an ingredient in cooking. Dishes such as fagiano (pheasant), al whisky, scampi of whisky and langouste au whisky now appear in Mediterranean restaurants, where whisky hardly penetrated before. In fact, whisky is a good spirit for flaming and, according to Elizabeth David in French Provincial Cooking (Grub Street), is the best substitute for Calvados in Norman cooking if the real thing is not to hand.

  [Whisky – French: whisky German: Whisky Italian: whisky Spanish: whisky]

  WHITEBAIT are small fish, no more than 5 cm (2 in) long, which are caught in quantity in shoals in the estuaries of some British rivers, notably the Thames. They used to be caught in summer and eaten locally, but today they are usually fished in late September and frozen immediately. Fresh whitebait is a rarity, but as the fish freeze well, the delicacy is now available all the year round. In Victorian times, whitebait were given a specific scientific name, Clupea alba, but they are now known to be the fry of sprats and herrings in Britain. In the 18th century, it was the custom for the Cabinet to hold a Whitebait Dinner in early June, towards the end of the parliamentary session, either at The Ship at Greenwich or the West India Dock Tavern. The function was considered too frivolous by Mr. Gladstone; he cancelled it, and the custom was never re-established. Now, whitebait is to be found on the menu of expensive restaurants.

  In other parts of the world, young fish of different species are highly regarded and are eaten in season. Even in Britain at one time, freshwater fish, such as stickleback and minnows, were netted and passed off as whitebait. (They were said to be excellent and, to most people, not easily distinguishable.) The French blanchaille is not quite identical to whitebait, and in most Mediterranean countries baby sardines, with a few anchovies among them, are eaten. These small fish are not gutted, but merely coated with flour and fried in hot oil. Flouring needs to be done with some care – if freshly rinsed, wet fish are dumped into a bag of flour, the result is heavy lumps of dough with fish tails sticking out of it. The fish must be almost dry before they are shaken in seasoned flour.

  Notably in Liguria and in Mediterranean Spain, very tiny fry are also sold. They are so small that they look like a mass of jelly with thousands of pinpoint eyes in it. This mass, known as gianchetti or bianchetti in Italy (and poutine in France) is mixed with egg and made into omelettes or can form the basis for a fish soup. It is rather expensive and very nutritious. Any other such small fish can be treated in the same manner.

  Frittata di gianchetti

  For 450 g (1 lb) of tiny fish, beat up 6 eggs and mix in 3 dessertspoons of grated Parmesan cheese and a mixture of ½ oz of parsley, I clove of garlic and a few leaves of marjoram, finely chopped together. Add salt and pepper to taste and fry as omelettes.

  [Whitebait – French: blanchaille German: Sprotte Italian: pesciolini Spanish: chanquetes]

  WHITING. See cod.

  WHORTLEBERRY. See cranberry.

  WIENERWURST is the rival to the *frankfurter for the honour of having been the original hot dog sausage. lt contains pork plus beef or veal, lightly cured and chopped. The sausages are smoked, poached in water and hung up to dry. How far wienies differ from franks is another matter. In some cases, the meat may be less finely ground; in others, the only difference is in the name and hence the city to which their origin is ascribed.

  WILD MARJORAM. See oregano.

  WILD RICE, Indian rice or Tuscarora rice is a large, handsome grass (Zizonio aquatica) native to the eastern and central parts of North America; it also grows in Formosa, China and Japan. Wild rice, which is not in any way a variety of rice, grows in shallow lakes and ponds; at a distance, the plants look like any other reed-bed. The species has spread outside its original area and over much of the US, as it has been planted as food for waterfowl. Originally, it was an important wild food used by American Indians – Sioux and Chippewas often fought over it – and now the Indians are the only people allowed to harvest it for sale, although it can, of course, be gathered for home use by anyone who finds it. The ripe grain is harvested by shaking the plume-like heads of the grass directly over a boat. The grain, which is purplish-black, is spread out to dry, and must then be husked. This is done by first parching it (stirring it over a low fire for an hour in an iron or earthenware pot), then lightly pounding it to loosen the husks and finally rubbing it between the hands. The young Indian men trod it in a half-sunken tub, taking some of their weight on a pole, and wearing new mocassins. When the husk is loosened, the grain is tossed in a light breeze
to winnow off the chaff, and stored. Before being used, wild rice must be washed to take away the smoky taste. It can then be boiled, like rice, in lightly salted water. It takes about half an hour, maybe more, to cook, but should not become mushy. Then it should be drained and left to steam over boiling water for 10 minutes. Finally plenty of butter is added and mixed in before serving. Wild rice is nowadays an expensive delicacy, which is sold in packets ready to cook. It goes well with chicken and turkey, with pheasant and quail, and with any delicately flavoured food, such as oysters. Turkey stuffed with it is a traditional Thanksgiving dish in Minnesota. Wild rice can also be ground to a flour and mixed (25%) into ordinary flour to make batter for pancakes and muffins.

  WINDSOR BEAN. See broad bean.

  WINE. Wine is the natural partner of most great European cooking- only a few dishes call for beer or spirits. It is not chance that 80% of the world’s wine is produced in Europe and that most of the rest comes from places that have been colonized by Europeans and where food is cooked in the European tradition. In fact, so close is the partnership between wine and food that many dishes are considerably diminished without the wine to go with them.

  A small number of rich connoisseurs can buy wines so good that it becomes legitimate for them to choose the food to go with their wines and not vice versa. Anything which might spoil their delicate appreciation by an intrusive food flavour must be avoided. Vinegar or orange juice will drive them crazy – in spite of the tourists’ depraved love of Sangria, orange and wine do not go well together. Tons of garlic, handfuls of herbs, or Indian spicing will not be welcomed either, though they will not spoil the wine.