Often just called a “malt”, a malted milkshake is a milkshake with malted powder in it. A good one should be very thick; you drink it slowly as it melts. Classically, the flavour is chocolate, but there is nothing preventing it from being vanilla, strawberry, etc. See also: Milkshakes Cooking Tips Classic Proportions for Chocolate…
American Food
Maple Butter
Maple Spread © Denzil Green Genuine Maple Butter does not contain any butter; rather, it is a spread made from 100% maple syrup. The syrup used to be cooked down to a spread consistency. It would be formed into blocks of very thick Maple Butter wrapped in waxed paper. Keeping it spreadable, though, was always…
Maple Syrup
Maple syrup is a viscous liquid sweetener produced from the sap of maple trees. It has a pronounced taste that is also complex and nuanced.
Marcella Hazan
Marcella Hazan’s goal was to teach Americans about authentic Italian food. Her ingredients were simple, but she was exacting when it came to technique. Despite her reputation for being a stickler when it came to cooking, two of her favourite foods were Jack Daniel’s — and potato chips.
Maria Parloa
Maria Parloa lived from 25 September 1843 – 21 August 1909. Born in Massachusetts, she reputedly grew up as an orphan. Recent research, though, has cast doubt on that and speculates that she was in fact an Irish immigrant covering her origin owing to vehement anti-Irish sentiment at the time. [1]Wild, Patrick Tierney. The Mysterious…
Mars Family
The Mars Family story and business empire starts with Franklin Clarence Mars ( 24 September 1883 – 1934.) The company was later taken over by his son, Forrest Edward Mars. Franklin Clarence Mars Franklin was born in Newport, Minnesota. Owing to a case of polio when he was young, he couldn’t be active like other…
Marshmallow Cream Spread
Marshmallow Cream Spread © Denzil Green Marshmallow Cream Spread is made from essentially the same ingredients as marshmallows are (corn syrup, sugar syrup, vanilla flavour, and egg white), but in different proportions and without the gelatin so that it won’t set. The Marshmallow Cream Spread with the brand name “Fluff” is the original, made by…
Marshmallows
Marshmallows are a light, spongy candy made of gelatin, sugar, egg white, corn syrup, vanilla flavouring. They used to just be white and vanilla-flavoured, but now come in many colours and flavours. To make them, liquid, whipped marshmallow is extruded from tubes in long pipe shapes, and allowed to set. The long shapes are then…
Mary Ann Pans
A Mary Ann pan is a cake pan with a raised flat centre area. Its purpose is to create a light cake shell. A cake baked in one, when turned out, has a raised edge all around it. The pan will usually be 20 cm wide by 10 cm tall (8 inches by 4 inches)….
Mary Ellis Ames
Mary Ellis Ames Life and Times Mary Ellis Ames (born c. 1887; died 27 February 1968 [1]) was Pillsbury’s answer to their competitor’s fictional woman, Betty Crocker. A real woman, Ames was the Director of Pillsbury’s Cooking Service. She worked for Pillsbury from at least 1925 onwards. In the 1925 “Missouri Farm Women’s Cookbook”, there…
Mary Randolph
Mary Randolph was the author of “The Virginia Housewife”, the first regional cookbook in the United States, published in 1824. It is still being reprinted in facsimile. She was also the first person to be buried at what is now called Arlington National Cemetery in the U.S.. See also: American Food, Mary Randolph’s Birthday One…
Maui Sweet Onions
These are big onions with round, flattened tops. They are juicy with a mild, sweet taste. The skin is generally white, but can have yellowish or greenish hues to it. They are grown in Hawaii in volcanic soil. After harvesting, they are left in the fields for a short while to cure, then bagged and…
Maypop Fruit
Maypop Fruit grows on a vine. The pulp inside the fruit is greyish, and sweet. The fruit is ripe for picking when the skin turns from green to yellow and the skin starts to shrivel a bit. The seeds inside are inedible. The vine will grow 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 metres) long,…
Meatloaf
Meatloaf © Denzil Green Poor Meatloaves — who ever thinks to take pictures of them? When was the last time you saw one featured in a four-page food magazine spread-out? Meatloaf is ground meat, with a binder such as egg and a starch such as bread or cracker crumbs, along with chopped vegetable and seasonings,…
Memorial Day
Memorial Day in the United States is a day to honour military people who have died in the course of duty. The day also marks the symbolic start of summer, and that means the start of summer foods.
Milton S. Hershey
Milton S. Hershey c. 1905 Hershey Community Archives Life and Times Milton Snavely Hershey lived from 13 September 1857 to 13 October 1945. Famed now for both his candy products and his enlightened business practices, many of his ideas actually came from Cadbury’s in England. Hershey’s first success with candy — caramel — didn’t come…
Minneolas
Minneola Tangelos © Denzil Green Minneolas are large tangelos with a thin, pockmarked, reddish orange skin that peels easily. They have a stubby neck at the stem end. Inside, there are 12 segments that separate easily, and few seeds, just 7 to 12. They fruit is sweet and juicy, with just a hint of sourness….
Miracle Whip
Miracle Whip is a bottled, commercial salad dressing that looks like mayonnaise. Made by Kraft, it is sweeter, tangier, and somewhat less expensive than mayonnaise. It has been sold for over 70 years now, and has been used so widely that many people prefer it to the real thing. In the year 2000, it was…
Mission Olives
Mission Olives are currently (2004) still the most popular olive with producers in California. They are also grown in Texas. “Mission” is the name of the actual olive tree cultivar. The tree is cold-hardy. Its olives have a 22% oil content, and their flesh doesn’t cling to the pit. Most of them are dyed black…
Monkey Bread
Monkey Bread is balls of flavoured bread dough cooked together, usually in a tube pan or in a long, rectangular pan. You usually rip pieces off to eat it though you can also slice it. Monkey Bread can be savoury or sweet. Sweet versions can include pecans, cinnamon, or blueberries. Savoury ones can use cheese,…
Moonpies
A Moonpie is a biscuit topped with marshmallow, and then coated entirely with chocolate. It is 3 inches (7.5 cm) wide. The biscuit, which tastes a bit like a Graham wafer, is softer and less crunchy than that used in a Wagon Wheel. They now come in double-layer sizes called “double-deckers.” The original single-layer ones,…
Mulligan Stew
Mulligan Stew is made out of anything and everything — whatever you have on hand. That notwithstanding, some dauntless cookbook writers will still offer you recipes for Mulligan Stew. It’s not certain where the name came from. General theory has it originating in America, in the hobo and tramp camps that started in the early…
Murcott Tangors
Murcott Tangors (aka Murcott Tangerines) have a glossy, smooth, thin, light-orange coloured skin that is sometimes tinged with green. They peel easily. Inside, there are many seeds. The segments inside, an average of 12 per fruit, separate easily. The flesh may sometimes be reddish-orange. The tree tends to bear heavily in one year, poorly in…
Navel Oranges
Navel Oranges have a navel (belly-button) at one end (the “apex” end.) This is caused by a second fruit trying to develop at the end. These are very juicy and sweet oranges that grow about 3 to 4 inches wide (7.5 to 10 cm.) Despite having thick skin, they are very easy to peel. The…