Almond Extract © Denzil Green Almond Extract is a concentrated liquid that provides almond flavour to foods. Most almond extracts are made from almond oil blended with the flavourless alcohol, ethyl. Bitter-almond oil is generally used rather than oil from sweet almonds as it has more of an almond flavour. Artificial almond extract is made…
Flavourings
Ambergris
Ambergris is a substance that forms in the large intestines of sperm whales, but it comes out of the front end of whales, not the back — they vomit it up. When the whale first excretes it, it is pale white and very soft. It does indeed have an excrement smell to it like it…
Anchovy Extract
Anchovy extract is a thick, oily sauce about the consistency of ketchup pressed from anchovies. Some brands, such are “Burgess Genuine Anchovy Essence”, are pinkish; others are nut brown. Sometimes additional seasoning is added. The extract has a very strong anchovy taste, as is to be expected; use it sparingly to add a savoury tang…
Apricot Oil
Apricot kernels contain an oil which is extracted and often sold either as Apricot Oil or Peach Kernel oil. With further processing, the oil becomes chemically identical to bitter Almond Oil (because of common compounds they both contain), and so can be used for cooking as an inexpensive substitute for Almond Oil — some manufacturers…
Baker’s Caramel
Baker’s caramel is burnt sugar — specifically sugar that has been slowly simmered until it looks like the bottom of a coffee pot left on the heat too long. It is used to colour spirits, wines, baked goods such as Dark Rye, Pumpernickel Bread, gravies, etc. For commercial use, baker’s caramel is sold in large…
Bisto Gravy Thickener
Bisto Granules © Denzil Green Bisto is a powder for making gravy with. It comes in flavours such as beef, vegetable, chicken, curry, onion flavoured, cheese, and white and parsley sauces (launched 1984.) It can be added into casseroles, stews and soups to thicken and add flavour. It has been sold in granule form as…
Bisto Instant Gravy Granules
Bisto Granules © Denzil Green Bisto Instant Gravy Granules are a granulated powder for making gravy from. You just add boiling water to them to make the gravy; the granules add both the flavouring and the thickening. The granules come in different flavours such as “favourite” (regular, sort of beef flavoured), chicken, turkey, curry sauce,…
Bovril
Bovril © Denzil Green Bovril is a beef flavouring agent. It is a thin paste, that is extremely salty tasting when eaten as is. It also comes in dry cubes. It used to be made from 40% beef stock, but as of November 2004, it has actually been made all from yeast. This was both…
Brandy Extract
Brandy extract is meant to give a brandy flavour without the cook having to use alcohol to get it. It gives a concentrated brandy flavour, which would otherwise require a much higher quantity of brandy when that amount of liquid wouldn’t be appropriate in a recipe. Most brandy extracts actually do contain, however, a very…
Extracts
Extracts are flavourings used for cooking. The flavour is extracted from an item, such as a vanilla pod or a nut, by soaking the item in alcohol and then distilling the alcohol. Some extracts can also be made by evaporation.Extracts can also now be made artificially. Foodies love to poo-poo these, but ignore them. Use…
Flavourings
A flavouring is something not usually consumed as a food in and of itself. It doesn’t usually have any nutritive or medicinal value, and adds no volume or significant moisture to a dish. It will add, though, both taste and aroma.
Kitchen Bouquet
Kitchen Bouquet is a bottled condiment sauce used as an ingredient in cooking, rather than as a table condiment. It is mostly used for its ability to add a dark brown colour. It’s generically referred to as a “browning agent.” Some people think it has no flavour; some people think the flavour is an important…
Lemon Extract
To make Lemon Extract, lemon peel is soaked in neutral tasting alcohol to infuse the alcohol with the essential oils from the peel. The alcohol is then distilled to end up a light yellow liquid which is about 77% alcohol. Lemon extract is not the same as lemon juice; it is far more concentrated. The…
Lemon Oil
There are two types of Lemon Oil used for food. The first is not actually a Lemon Oil; it is instead Olive Oil infused with Lemon. See entry on Colonna Oils for one example of this. The second is a very strong essence of Lemon, stronger than Lemon Extract, which is cold pressed from lemon…
Liquid Smoke
Liquid Smoke © Denzil Green Liquid Smoke is a seasoning liquid that adds a smoky flavour to food. Wood chips or sawdust, often from hickory, is burnt to produce smoke; the smoke is captured in water. Other woods used include apple, mesquite, and pecan. Some of the better brands contain just water and smoke concentrate….
Liquorice
Liquorice © Denzil Green Most people either love liquorice or hate it. Fewer are the people who are neutral about the taste. Liquorice is the root of a perennial shrub that above ground grows up to 3 feet tall (1 metre.) The leaves are feathery, and it produces light violet-blue flowers. The tap root grows…
MSG (Monosodium Glutamate)
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) is a fine, white powder that is a type of salt. It’s not an artificial chemical; it actually occurs naturally in beets, kelp, mushrooms, tomatoes, wheat and soy beans. It used to be extracted in small quantities from seaweed. Now, it is made commercially on a large scale from wheat or from…
Neroli
Neroli is a flavouring that can be obtained from blossoms of bitter or sweet oranges through water distillation. Bitter orange blossoms are considered the best to use, and this is true Neroli. Neroli from sweet oranges is “Neroli petalae”, cheaper, and not considered as good. It is mostly used in perfumes. It is used only…
Orange Extract
Orange Extract is made with oil from orange rind, water and alcohol. the Club House brand contains the following ingredients: Alcohol (75%-85%), Water, and Natural Orange Oil. About 5% of the solution will be orange oil. The extract has a much stronger orange taste than orange juice, and gives a fresh, clean, fruity citrus taste….
Orange Flower Water
Orange Flower Water is a flavouring made from blossoms from bitter-orange trees. It actually has more fragrance than flavour; what taste there is is slightly bitter. To make it, orange blossoms are distilled. The result of the distillation then separates into two liquids: one, an oil called “neroli”, and the other, called “Orange Flower Water.”…
Osmanthus
Osmanthus is an evergreen shrub that grows in Asia with glossy dark green leaves that can grow up to 20 feet (6 metres) tall, 8 feet (2 ⅓ metres) wide. Usually, though, it is found 10 to 12 feet (3 to 3 ½ metres) tall by 8 feet (2 ⅓ metres) wide, and sometimes it…
OXO
OXO © Randal Oulton OXO is a cooking ingredient condiment used as a flavour boost to gravies, stocks and stews. It is available in chicken and beef flavours, as well as vegetable and lamb, Beef is the most well known. It has been sold for most of its product lifespan in small cubes wrapped in…
Quassia Wood
Quassia Wood is a flavouring that can be sold as a fluid or powdered extract. It has no smell, but it has a bitter taste. The main compound which gives the bitter taste is called “quassin.” It can be used medicially to kill intestinal worms in the body. It can also be used to stimulate…
Rose Water
Rose Water © Denzil Green You can make rose water by simmering rose petals in distilled water until just half the water is left. Commercially, it is made by distillation. It is used in cosmetics and in cooking. Indian food, for instance, will use rose water in some recipes. Rose water was widely used to…