Garum Ibericum was a version of garum made by the Romans on the Iberian Peninsula — Portugal and Spain. It was made of fish pieces, herbs and salt allowed to ferment to a thick paste. At Quinta do Marim in Portugal, some portions of the Roman garum factories that produced garum ibericum still stand.
Condiments
Gastrique
A Gastrique is a subtle, syrupy, French sweet and sour sauce. It can be used on its own as a drizzle, particularly with meats such as pork, game, or strongly-flavoured fowl, or added to sauces, as it is in classic versions of Duck à l’orange. A simple version is made by melting white sugar until…
Genovese Sauce
Genovese Sauce is a red sauce based on simmered onions and beef, served with pasta. But, the red in it is not supposed to come from tomato: purists say that absolutely no tomato is allowed, in any form. Instead, the reddish colour comes from the long, slow cooking of the onion with the beef. The…
Gentleman’s Relish
Gentleman’s Relish is a good, old fashioned relish with a very strong distinctive taste. It is made from anchovies, butter, herbs and spices. If you don’t like anchovies, you won’t like this relish. It comes in small, crockery containers and is quite expensive, but a little goes a long way. You can spread it on…
Gravy
Gravy is a thickened savoury sauce made from the juices (“drippings”) of cooked meat. It may be dark or light in colour, and is served hot as a pouring sauce. Gravy, in theory, gets its colour and flavour from the meat drippings. In practice, many people like to use a gravy browning liquid or powder…
Gravy Browning
Gravy Browning is not the same as gravy powder. Browning just adds colour, and (most claim) some flavour. Gravy Powder will thicken the gravy as well. There are many different Gravy Browning products made, including such brands as such as Kitchen Bouquet, Goodall’s, and Crosse and Blackwell. Strict Gravy Browning products — ones that have…
Green Goddess Dressing
Green Goddess Dressing is a creamy herbed salad dressing. The main ingredients are anchovy, garlic, mayonnaise and vinegar, along with parsley, tarragon and chives for colour, and other seasonings. some versions will combine the tarragon and vinegar by calling for tarragon vinegar; some versions will swap in green onion for the chives; some versions call…
Green Sauce
A green sauce can be any sauce that is coloured green, cooked or fresh, thin or thick. Many cuisines have had their own ideas of what exactly a green sauce is. Oftentimes, a cuisine has even competing ideas about what a green sauce is. For centuries in Europe, a green sauce in many instances was…
Halford Sauce
Halford Sauce is a dead product that was made in Leicester, England. The American headquarters was in Boston. It was as common in many American households as ketchup now is. Recipes called for tablespoons of it here and there the way they now call for Worcestershire sauce. In fact, Halford Sauce appears to have lost…
Hard Sauce
Hard sauce is a thick condiment made of sweetened, flavoured butter, and served with desserts, typically warm ones.
Harissa
Harissa is a thick, smooth red chile paste about the consistency of mayonnaise. It has a hot, spicy taste that isn’t apparent at first but which builds in the mouth. It is made from dried, hot red chiles, garlic, paprika, caraway, coriander seed, cumin seed, and fennel seed. Some versions have rose petals in them…
Hellmann’s Mayonnaise
Hellmann’s Mayonnaise © Denzil Green Hellmann’s Mayonnaise is a commercial brand of bottled, shelf-stable mayonnaise. It is sold in many countries of the world. There are many variations now on offer. In America, Hellmann’s is called and sold as the “Best Foods” mayonnaise brand west of the Rockies, but the manufacturers say it is the…
Henry John Heinz
Henry John Heinz founded a empire of commercially-prepared foods. One of his big innovations was gaining consumers’ trust by selling his food products in clear glass bottles, so you could see what you were getting.
Herbed Vinegars
Herbed Vinegars are vinegars that flavoured with herbs, and sometimes spices as well. They are usually based on white wine vinegar, but can also be made with any other type of vinegar as the base. Usual herbs include basil, chives, dill, elderflower, fennel, garlic, juniper, lavender, mint, nasturtiun flowers, rosemary, sage, tarragon or thyme; sometimes…
Hoisin Sauce
Hoisin Sauce is a thick, reddish-brown or mahogany coloured fermented sauce. It gives foods a sweet and sour taste and a reddish hue. It is made of chiles, garlic, sesame seeds, spices, sugar, vinegar, and either mashed soybeans and / or wheat flour. Some commercial brands even list sweet potatoes and cornstarch as ingredients as…
Hollandaise Sauce
Hollandaise Sauce is an egg-based sauce flavoured with an acid such as lemon or vinegar. There are many different recipes and just as many opinions. The basic sauce starts as an emulsion of egg and water, to which butter is added, then something acidic to add flavour. Emulsion has to happen: if you just took…
Hon Gaeshi
Hon Gaeshi is a sauce used in Japanese cooking as a base for sauces and broths, such as Mentsuyu. It is a simple sauce, made from dark soy sauce, white cooking sugar (“san-on-to”) and mirin. People in the Kansai area of Japan add a bit more sugar to make it a bit sweeter. Cooking Tips…
Horseradish Mayonnaise
Horseradish Mayonnaise © Denzil Green Horseradish Mayonnaise is mayonnaise with a little prepared horseradish, creamed horseradish or horseradish powder stirred in. You can make it yourself, or buy it commercially prepared. Cooking Tips Per 1/2 cup (4 oz / 125ml) of mayonnaise, use 2 to 3 teaspoons of prepared horseradish. Add a teaspoon at a…
Horseradish Sauce Types
There are two types of Horseradish Sauce, Creamed and Pickled (aka “Prepared Horseradish”.) The pickled / prepared version is more popular in North America and is what people tend to mean by horseradish sauce; the creamed version is more popular in Britain and tends to be what people there mean by horseradish sauce. Hardcore fans…
Horseradish Vinegar
Horseradish Vinegar is vinegar flavoured with horseradish and a few additional seasonings. You started with freshly grated horseradish from a horseradish root. For this reason, most recipes advise that it be made in the late fall, when horseradish roots are at their peak. Some people, like Mrs Beeton, called for the addition of minced shallot…
Hot Dog Relish
Hot Dog Relish is a pickled condiment used to dress hot dogs with in North America. It is usually a combination of Sweet Pickle Relish made from cucumbers, and yellow American hot dog mustard. It provides a bit of a two-in-one shortcut for two typical hot dog condiments. When you mention Hot Dog Relish, however,…
Hummus
Hummus © Denzil Green The version of hummus that we are most familiar with is made from cooked, ground chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice, and tahini (sesame seeds ground into a paste.) The ingredients are made into a thick, pasty purée that can be used as a dip for pita bread and fresh vegetables or as…
Instant Flour
Instant flour is mainly used for thickening savoury sauces. It is designed to dissolve instantly in liquids, whether hot or cold. Very low-protein wheat flour is used in making it (about 2% protein), along with a small amount of malted barley flour. To manufacture it, the flour is first extrusion-cooked by mechanically treating it with…
Japanese Fish Sauce
In Japan alone, there are three different types of fish sauce made: shottsuru (from Akita Prefecture), ishiru (from Ishikawa Prefecture) and ikanago-jōyu (from Kagawa Prefecture.) All are made from fish and shellfish. Japanese versions of fish sauces are milder than those in other countries because Japanese consumers don’t like the strong fish smell of many…