A Texas Sheet Cake is a big, low cake that is essentially a single-layer version of a German Chocolate Cake, with a simplified cake batter, and simplified presentation. It’s a cake you can make for a crowd in under an hour, from start to ready to go out the door. The cake is dense, fudgy,…
American Food
Texmati Rice
Texmati Rice is a brand name for a breed of rice grown in Texas. Aromatic like basmati, Texmati is a hybrid between basmati and regular long grain rice.
Thanksgiving (US)
American Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November. It is a very big “deal”, and people will travel great distances to be together with family for it.
Thompson Seedless Grapes
Thompson Grapes are green, sweet and firm, almost crisp. Though 95% of all raisins made in North America are from Thompson Grapes, they can also be used as a table grape. Thompson Grapes and raisins aren’t truly seedless. They have small, soft undeveloped seeds in them that go unnoticed. History Notes A Scottish immigrant to…
Thompson Seedless Raisins
Thompson grapes and raisins aren’t truly seedless. They have small, soft undeveloped seeds in them that go unnoticed. The raisins will either be the dark, seedless raisins, dried in the sun, or the golden raisins that have sulphur dioxide applied to them, to stop them from darkening, and that are dried with artificial heat so…
Thousand Island Dressing
This is a North American mayonnaise-based salad dressing that is flavoured with tomato purée, chopped boiled eggs, and other seasonings. It is mostly obtained commercially. Kraft is a major seller of the bottled dressing. As well, the Inn where it was invented sells 5,000 bottles a year. Oftentimes, the main different between Thousand Island Dressing…
Tiger Meat
Tiger Meat is a meat spread made from raw beef. Recipes vary. The ingredients can include raw egg, onion, and seasonings such as salt, pepper, etc. garlic powder, cayenne pepper, celery, Tabasco sauce, etc. Some stores in the state of North Dakota sell a dry seasoning mix for it. It is usually served on crackers…
Tokay Grapes
Tokay Grapes are bright, light red table grapes. They are round, and have seeds, with a sweet taste and crisp texture. They were very popular up until the development of Flame grapes, which are seedless and mature several weeks earlier. Tokay, though, remain sweeter than Flame grapes. History Notes The grape is possibly native to…
Transparent Pudding
Transparent pudding is actually a pie with a cloudy filling, like Pecan Pie filling, without the pecans. The filling is made from milk, butter, eggs, sugar, and flour, mixed and cooked in a pot until thickened, then poured into a puff-paste pie shell, and baked. Transparent Pudding can be served room temperature or warm. There…
Truffles
Truffles are funguses that grow underground near tree roots. They are found in Asia, North Africa, North America and of course, Europe. There are also false Truffles, some of which are poisonous, that resemble the edible ones. Truffles are round. They can be in size anywhere from a walnut to a lemon. They are the…
Tunnel of Fudge Cake
Tunnel of Fudge Cake is a cake with a fudge and nut centre baked in a Bundt® pan. Though it only won second prize in a 1966 baking contest, it went on to lasting, iconic fame. The recipe originally required Pillsbury “Double Dutch Fudge Frosting Mix”, which was later discontinued by Pillsbury. In response…
Turducken
Turducken Roll © Michelle Mattern A Turducken (aka Turducken Roll) consists of rolled-up meat from three deboned birds: a chicken, a duck and a turkey, in ascending order of size. The chicken is stuffed inside the duck, which in turn is stuffed inside the turkey. Turducken is considered a novelty or an extravagance still, and…
TV Dinners
TV Dinners © Denzil Green TV Dinners are a frozen meal in a tray. The meal generally consists of a meat, a potato and a veg, which arguably can be said to be a balanced meal. The tray has compartments, to keep each of the food items separate, which is part of the meal’s appeal….
Twelfth Night Cake
In Britain, the Twelfth Night Cake was like what we now call Christmas cake, a luxurious special cake laden with fruit and spices. There would also be a dried bean and a dried pea in the cake. The man who found the bean would be the King of Twelfth Night festivities; the woman who found…
Twinkies
Twinkies are small, gold-coloured sponge cakes filled with vanilla-flavoured “cream.” The cream filling is injected through 3 holes in the top. It’s packaged upside down, with the brown top on the bottom. Up till around the 1960s, Twinkies used actual dairy in the cream filling. Now, the filling is dairy-free. Since 2007, a banana-flavoured cream…
Umatilla Tangors
Umatillas are large, roundish fruit with smooth, glossy, medium-thick, reddish-orange skin.Inside the fruit is orange and very juicy, with about 10 segments on average. Though very occasionally the fruit will be seedless, generally there are 10 or more seeds. The Umatilla tree has thick, leathery leaves. The fruit can be simply left on the tree until…
Utah Scones
Utah Scones bear no resemblance to actual scones, aside from the use of wheat flour to make them. They are made from regular yeasted bread dough and deep-fried. There is no standard shape for them. They are sometimes made square or round, or rolled into small balls. They can be also shaped into individual rectangular…
V8 Juice
V8® Juice is a juice made by the Campbell Soup Company from vegetables. The vegetables used are beets, celery, carrots, lettuce, parsley, spinach, tomatoes and watercress. Tomato is the most dominant taste, along with that of seasonings that are added. The juice is bottled, then pasteurized to preserve it. The main plant in North America…
Vermont Cranberry Beans
Vermont Cranberry Beans are good as a shelled bean as well as a dried bean. They are 60 to 110 days from seed, depending on where you live, and at what stage you want to harvest. The pods are green with bright red mottling and grow on a bush that grows 12 inches (30 cm)…
Vichyssoise
A creamed potato and leek soup, served cold. Cream and onions are also used. Often serve topped with chopped chives. Cooking Tips Good as a refreshing summer soup. History Notes Vichyssoise is thought of as French food, but it’s actually an American creation. It was invented in New York City in 1917 by a chef…
Vidalia Onions
Vidalia Onions © Denzil Green Vidalia brand onions are sweet, juicy, with a high sugar content and just a bit of a bite. The onions are actually not a botanical variety of onion. The name Vidalia is more of a brand name used for sweet onions grown in Georgia. Legally, 24 different varieties of onions…
Virginia Ham
Virginia Ham is a country ham, made in the state of Virginia. There is no legal definition of the term. The pigs used to be fed acorns and peanuts; now they are fed ordinary pig fodder grain. A dry cure mix used at home, per 100 pounds (45 kg) of meat, tends to be about:…
Walla Walla Onions
To be called a Walla Walla Onion commercially, an onion must by law be grown from Walla Walla strain onion seed, and be grown in the Walla Walla Valley. The valley lays partly in Walla Walla County in the south-eastern part of Washington State, and partly in neighbouring Umatilla County in adjoining north-eastern Oregon. As…
Walter Tennyson Swingle
Walter Tennyson Swingle, 1941. Taken by Robert Taylor. Life and Times Dr Walter Tennyson Swingle (1871 — 1952) was an agricultural botanist who worked for the United States Department of Agriculture Citrus Breeding Programme. He was involved in the development of citrus fruits such as the Murcott Orange, the Orlando Tangelo, Tangelos and Kumquats. He…