Granex Onions are a cross between Grano and Bermuda. They are sweet onions with a flattened top. They were released in 1952. They are still grown on a small scale, but their greater claim to fame now is that they have been used to develop many subsequent sweet varieties.
American Food
Grano Onions
Grano onions are round, sweet onions. They are medium-sized, about 3-3 ½ inches (7 ½ to 8 ½ cm) wide. They are sometimes referred to as “Texas Early Grano.” Many subvarieties have been developed. History Notes Grano Onions were developed from seed originally imported from Spain to Texas in 1925. The seed was called Valencia…
Gumbo
Gumbo is a Cajun and Creole stew that came about as a way to use up leftovers — meat, seafood and vegetables. Some versions add rice as well. The gumbo is thickened slightly with roux, okra, or with filé. Some people say you can combine all three thickeners, others say you would never be allowed…
Half & Half Cream
Half and Half was generally considered the lightest of all the creams, at 12% butterfat (in many parts of Canada, 10% seems to be the norm), but now there are even lighter creams at 5%. Some people describe “Half and Half” as a mixture of half milk and half cream, but that’s not always true….
Harold McGee
Harold McGee is a food writer who has dedicated his life to write about and explaining the science that happens behind cooking.
Hawaiian Black Lava Salt
Hawaiian Black Lava Salt doesn’t occur naturally, but is rather a man-made blend. Salt water is evaporated in pools to leave sea salt behind. Crushed black lava and activated black charcoal are then added for colour. Hawaiian Black Lava Salt is a finishing salt, much in vogue with foodies these days (2004.) Cooking Tips Don’t…
Hawaiian Red Alae Salt
Hawaiian Red Alae Salt is from the island of Kauai in Hawaii. To harvest it, salt water is evaporated in rock pools whose rock contains iron oxide (FeO2), resulting in large crystals of salt that have a russet or burnt-siena colour to them. These days, to meet the demand, clay with iron oxide in it…
Hawkeye Delicious
Hawkeye Delicious was the original Red Delicious Apple variety. Many feel it still has a better flavour than Red Delicious. The skin is a smooth, shiny yellow with red patches and striping. Inside, the cream-coloured flesh is crisp, fine-textured and juicy. History Notes First grown about 1870 on the farm of Jesse Hiatt of Peru,…
Heavy Cream
Heavy cream is a North American generic term for creams that have at least 35-36% butterfat in them. They can be whipped and because of the higher-fat content, aren’t as likely to curdle in sauces as lower-fat creams. Heavy cream is a bit too heavy for coffee (though you can thin it with milk or…
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.
Henry John Heinz Birthday
The 11th of October is the birthday of Henry John Heinz, who founded the Heinz food empire.
Hominy
Hominy is made from the hard-kernel variety of corn called dent corn, white or yellow (the white is less starchy.) The corn is generally allowed to dry right on the cob. [ Lye Hominy The kernels are removed, and soaked in lye water which causes the skin (hull) of the kernels to separate and float…
Hoop Cheese
Hoop Cheese is a term that is used to refer to either an American Hard Cheese or an American Soft Cheese. Wheels of the hard type would live on specially-made cutters in country general stores.
Hot Dog Day
Hot Dog Day falls on the third Wednesday of July. In fact, all of July is Hot Dog Month. It’s just not summer without a hot dog. If you haven’t had one yet this summer, today’s a good day to grab one!
Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day
January 14th is Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day, celebrating hot pastrami on warmed bread, which should be rye: “Anytime a person goes into a delicatessen and orders a pastrami on white bread, somewhere a Jew dies.” — Milton Berle
Iceberg Lettuce
Iceberg Lettuce This is the Lettuce that foodies love to hate. It’s usually dismissed by all with a single, knowing sneer. Iceberg Lettuce has a firm, tight head of crisp, pale green leaves. The leaves have a great deal of cool moisture in them; some would say more moisture than flavour, in reference to its…
Ida Red Apples
Ida Red Apples © Denzil Green Ida Red Apples have shiny, bright skin that is nearly all red. The white, crisp flesh inside is fragrant and juicy with a pronounced flavour. The tree is a good annual fruit producer. Cooking Tips Ida Reds are a good cooking apple. They are also okay as a fresh-eating…
Instant Mashed Potato Flakes
Instant Mashed Potato Flakes © Denzil Green Many people hate Instant Mashed Potatoes. They seem to have built-in radar that enables them to spot Instant Mash before it even hits their plates. To be fair, even Instant Mashed Potato lovers will say they don’t taste the same as real mashed. But they will say that…
Instant Mashed Potato Granules
Instant Mashed Potato Granules © Denzil Green Instant Mashed Potato Granules are often made from potatoes that are too small to be graded, or that are otherwise rejected for other uses such as potato chips (aka crisps in the UK), but are still perfectly good. To make the granules, the potatoes have their skins steamed…
Instant Rice
Instant rice is white rice that has been precooked, and then dehydrated, and packaged. It takes only about five minutes at home to prepare it.
Irma Rombauer
Life and Times Irma Rombauer was the author of one of America’s most influential cookbooks to date, “The Joy of Cooking.” The story of the book, though, is the story of both her and her daughter, Marion. The “Joy of Cooking” is still one of the most loved American cookbooks. It provides all the basics…
James John Howard Gregory
James John Howard Gregory ran an important seed catalogue business which helped introduce vegetables now considered heirloom stock such as the Hubbard Squash and the Burbank potato. He also wrote several books.
Jean-Étienne de Boré
Life and Times Jean-Étienne de Boré lived from 27 December 1740 to 2 February 1820. [1] He was the man who first commercially produced granulated sugar. He was not, as some also say, the first sugar refiner in Louisiana — that was Valcour Aime. Jean-Étienne was born in Kaskaskia, Illinois [2]. His father was Louis…
Jelly Beans
Jelly Beans © Denzil Green Jelly Beans are a semi-soft, bean-shaped candy, with a firm shell and a soft centre. In all, it takes 6 to 10 days to make a Jelly Bean. The centre of a Jelly Bean is made from a mixture of sugar, corn syrup, lecithin, salt, flavours, and colour, which are…