Garum was a fermented fish sauce in classical times. It used fresh whole mackerel, sea salt, herbs, fermented in the sun for 20 days, then 40 more days after that with daily stirring.
Goat meat is classified as a “red meat.” It has a taste similar to muttonIt is the primary meat source in the Middle East, where it can be considered both kosher and halal, and in northern Africa. Indeed, it’s almost 70% of the red meat eaten globally. Farming land that can only support two cows…
A goose is a large bird that lives in both domesticated and wild forms. The birds are raised for their meat, eggs, fat and feathers. (They may sometimes also be kept as “guard geese”, as they can be quite belligerent at times.) Goose meat is dark and fatty, though not as fatty as duck. A…
Green Grapes © Denzil Green Grapes are grown on vines that produce clusters of small fruit. The vines are staked and trained, so that they don’t grow on the ground. Many fruit growers have to worry about how to get the flowers of their fruit plants or trees pollinated so that fruit will be produced….
Grey Mullet lives in oceans throughout the world down to New Zealand. It can live insalt or brackish water, and will also swim up fresh-water rivers. It returns to salt water to breed. It is a quick swimmer and can build up enough speed to jump out of the water. It has a greyish olive-green…
Gudgeon is a member of the carp family. They are fresh-water fish, living at the bottoms of rivers and ponds with a good flow of water. Gudgeons have a short, heavy head, short fins, and short little things (called barbules or cirri) hanging from each corner of their mouths. They have brownish-olive skin with black…
Guinea Fowl are small birds that taste somewhat gamey, like pheasant. Farmers raising them make sure that the bird houses for them are some distance away from houses, because the females tend to make noises all through the night. Cooking Tips For 4 people, allow 3 pounds (1.5 kg). Roast for 20 minutes at 400F…
Halibut are very large fish that prefer the cold waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic. Pacific halibut, which are slightly smaller than Atlantic halibut, are mostly found in the Gulf of Alaska.A member of the flounder family, halibut can grow up to six feet long (2 metres) and two to three hundred pounds…
Hazelnuts © Mystic Art Design / pixabay.com / 2014 / CC0 1.0 Hazelnut trees are related to birch trees. The tree is actually a shrub, that grows 3 to 4.5 metres (10 to 15 feet) tall. In cultivation, it is usually pruned to a single stalk, making it look more like a proper tree. It…
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 from…
Hydromel is a beverage. Some people interpret the name to mean “watered down” honey, but it isn’t at all, it just means that it’s made with water and honey. And it while it is a type of mead, it drier than other meads. It does not much honey flavour or aftertaste. You start with clear…
Kale © Denzil Green Though a member of the cabbage family, Kale is a “loose leaf” cabbage. Its leaves don’t curl inwards, they sprout upwards and outwards. Its close cousin, Cavolo Nero (aka Palm Cabbage), also grows like this. There are many varieties of Kale; the leaf colour will vary by variety. The leaves may…
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…
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 © 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…
Lovage © Denzil Green Lovage is a perennial herb that can grow 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 metres (5 to 6 feet tall) in a clump. It’s related to carrots, celery and parsley. It produces flowers that look like other members of the family, Queen Anne’s Lace and Cow Parsley, except its flowers are yellow…
Mackerel are found in both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.Mackerel have pale flesh which is nonetheless oily and strong-tasting. The body fat of a mackerel caught in the spring may be as low as 3% fat, whereas with a mackerel caught in the fall it can be up to 30% fat. Fresh mackerel is particularly…
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…
Mead © Denzil Green Mead is an alcoholic drink based on honey. Honey is mixed with water to form what is called a “must.” Flavourings such as hops, fruit or spices are added, along with yeast. The mixture is then allowed to ferment, and then is bottled. Most traditional recipes (i.e. medieval) call for the…
Medlar is a fruit related to quinces and apples, and part of the rose family. Medlar trees grow very slowly to 10 to 25 feet tall (3 to 7.5 metres), with a spread of 7 to 15 feet (2 to 4 1/2 metres.) They can be propagated by grafting, or seed. The wood of the…
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…
There are over 600 varieties of mint plants. If a recipe just calls for “mint”, what is likely meant is spearmint.The mint taste comes from menthol, an active oil in the leaves. Menthol activates the cold sensors in our tongue, making things with mint in them seem cooler than they are. Mint’s taste is at…
Life and Times Mithaecus lived around 400 BC. He is probably the first cookery writer in history, or more fairly, that we know of, though we have only one recipe from him (quoted in “Athenaeus.”) Mithaecus was a Greek living in the Greek colony of Sicily long before Italians or even Romans had padded onto…
Mulberries are a fruit, treated as a berry. A mulberry tree, depending on the variety, can grow up to around 20 metres (70 feet) tall. From seed, the tree needs about 10 years before it starts bearing fruit. The flowers are not very spectacular: the BBC’s “Plant Finder” database refers to them as “inconspicuous.” They…
