Honey © Denzil GreenBees make honey by collecting flower nectar and returning it to the hives to be food for the hive. The colour and taste of the honey will vary depending on what flowers the bees took the nectar from. Generally, the lighter the colour, the milder the taste. The strongest honey flavours come…
Ancient Egypt
Kamut
Kamut © Denzil Green Kamut® is a trademarked name owned by Kamut International, Ltd used for a grain. To use that name, growers have to sign a licence agreement to grow the grain following certain standards (organic, etc), and pay royalties. A product can’t use the name Kamut® prominently unless the flour in it is…
Leeks
Leeks © Paula Trites Leeks look like green onions, except that they are far thicker and somewhat taller with a more pronounced onion flavour. The leaves are far more solid and robust than green onion leaves. In fact, while green onion tops can be eaten raw, mature Leek tops need to be cut up and…
Lentils
A lentil is a small, flat, round edible seed. It’s a member of the bean and pulse (legume) family, but is one of the quicker cooking members. Lentils come from an annual vine that produces pods, with two flat seeds inside to a pod. Lentils can’t be eaten raw; they need to be cooked. Lentil…
Lettuce
L to R: Butterhead type, Looseleaf type, Crisphead type. © Denzil Green Lettuces are related to Dandelions. Almost all Lettuces except Iceberg have both red and green varieties. Lettuce leaves vary from very tender (in the Butterhead group) to very crisp (Crisphead group.) There are at least four main types of Lettuce. Some Lettuces, such…
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…
Marjoram
Marjoram is a herb that grows as a small shrub, reaching up to 2 feet tall (60 cm.) It is part of the mint family. It is closely related to oregano, but the plant is less hardy than oregano bushes, and it has a milder flavour, tasting a bit more like a combination of thyme…
Melons
Melons are related to squash and cucumbers. All three are actually fruit, though Melons are the only ones that we think of as such.Anyone who’s ever tried to classify and sort out Melons has had his/her work cut out. Melons are very “promiscuous” and will breed easily with each other (many in fact believe that…
Olive Oil
Olive oil is a liquid fat produced by pressing whole olives to force the juice out of them. The juice contains a blend of water and oil; it is then filtered to separate the oil.
Olives
Olives © Denzil GreenMost Olive trees are man-made cultivars, rather than true botanical varieties, and won’t reproduce true to seed; they are propagated by grafting. Seeds are planted, though, being cracked before planting to help them germinate. When seedlings grow up from them, they are either used as rootstock to which cuttings from other trees…
Pancakes
Pancakes © Paula Trites Pancakes are a form of Quick Bread cooked on top of the stove, usually in a frying pan. French Pancakes are big, flat Pancakes made from a thin batter. They are called “crêpes.” North American Pancakes are big, but risen and fluffy inside. They are risen either with yeast or, more…
Pita
When we think of Pita varieties, our choices are usually white or whole wheat. Truth is, there’s a few more varieties than that of this Eastern Mediterranean flat bread which started becoming popular in West in the 1980s: there’s Greek, Turkish, Lebanese, Egyptian, Israeli, Syrian, Indian… and more. The Pita we that we associate with…
Radishes
Radishes © Paula Trites Radishes are a branch of the cabbage family that we are more interested in for their roots (as is also the case for turnip.) There are three main varieties of radish in North American and in UK stores. (If you are a home gardener, there are actually 150 varieties available to…
Silphium
Silphium is an herb that grew near Cyrene in what is now Libya on the north coast of Africa. It was highly prized for culinary and medicinal purposes. The herb is now presumed to be extinct.
Stone Ground Flour
Stone ground flour is considered by many people to be more nutritious and wholesom than other flours. In stone-grinding, the wheat is ground slowly between two stones. All other commercial flours, however, are ground with high-speed steel rollers. The heat generated by these steel rollers strips destroys many of the vitamins and enzymes in the…
Thyme
Thyme © Denzil Green Thyme is native to Southern Europe, and is very important in French “Provençal” cooking. If ever you come across the mixture “Herbes de Provence”, thyme will almost certainly be in there. Thyme bushes have green leaves that are purplish on the underside, growing on tough stems; you can just run the…
Tigernuts
Tigernuts are actually tubers, as peanuts are. Underground, the Tigernut plant grows rhizomes, off of which grow small roots and off of which, in turn, the “nuts” are formed. They are planted in the spring and ready to harvest 4 to 5 months later. The nuts can be round or long with brown, rough skin….
Vinaigrette
A Vinaigrette is a salad dressing made from oil and vinegar. Use two parts of oil to one part vinegar: any higher amount of oil and it won’t emulsify into the vinegar. The addition of mustard and of finely chopped ground herbs, onions or garlic will help to both blend everything together and stabilize it…
Walnut Oil
Walnut Oil © Denzil Green Walnut Oil is an oil made from walnuts. It has a very strong flavour. It is primarily valued in cooking for the depth of flavour that it can add; you usually use it in small quantities to enhance the flavours of salad dressings, etc. To make Walnut Oil, the walnuts…
Watermelons
Watermelon is technically a vegetable, though we treat it as a fruit owing to its sweetness. All parts of a watermelon are edible.
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented juice. Unless otherwise specified, the juice will be from grapes. Wine can also be used as an ingredient in cooking, and occasionally, in food preservation. See also: Drink Wine Day, Wine Day, Wine and Cheese Day Wine corks “Cork taint” is when the taste and smell of…