Mushrooms are not really vegetables because they’re not really plants. Most plants use sunlight to “photosynthesize” to create their own food (the sunlight provides the energy for plants to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose.) Mushrooms can’t do this; instead, they get their food from other plants, usually dead ones, but not always (some…
Ancient Greece
Mussels
Mussels are bivalve members of the mollusk family that live in both the Pacific and the Atlantic. Mussels begin spawning young when they are about 2 years old. During the summer months, a Mussel will produce about a million young Mussels, or “spats”, about the size of a pin head. These drift around on the…
Mustard
Mustard is a spreadable condiment whose taste can be anywhere from mild and subtle, to tart, to hot. After the Romans, Europe lost the habit of making prepared mustard. Mustard makers started to re-appear in the 1200s.
Nectarines
Nectarines (4378) © Denzil Green Nectarines are related to peaches, part of the rose family. In fact, they are very much like a hairless peach. They are not a cross between a peach and a plum, as some people think. In fact, some botanists now suspect that peaches may have been a cross between Nectarines…
Octopus
An Octopus is a boneless sea creature with tentacles and ink sacs that lives in warm water areas.All Octopuses have eight arms with tough, connective tissues between the muscles replacing the role of a skeleton. If one arm comes off, the animal will grow another. Most of the meat is in the arms. The creatues…
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…
Oregano
Dried Oregano and Fresh © Denzil Green Oregano is an herb that grows as a small shrub reaching up to 2 feet (60 cm) tall. It propagates through its roots. The bush will produce small white flowers in the fall. Quite hardy, it can survive below freezing temperatures for a short time, but in northern…
Orindes
Orindes was a bread made by the Ancient Greeks from rice flour. It was also sometimes made from a small Ethiopian grain, which some sources speculate might have been teff. Orindes was an expensive bread. Literature & Lore “And Sophocles makes mention of a loaf called orindes, in his Triptolemus, which has its name from…
Oysters
Oysters © Denzil Green Oysters are bivalves, which means they have two shells, like clams and mussels. They are found in both the Atlantic and the Pacific. Oysters are generally male in their first year of life, switching to female in their second year. After that, they may go back and forth between being male…
Parsley
Curly Parsley © Denzil Green Parsley is a member of the carrot, parsnip and celery family. It is often used fresh as a garnish because it looks great, and doesn’t really compete with the taste of anything — especially, perhaps, because it’s left untouched at the side of most dinner plates. Some describe its taste…
Partridge
Partridge are very small, mild-flavoured birds. As they are so small, you generally cook 1 per person. Some firms in the UK specialize in buying partridges that have been shot at game shoots, and readying them for supermarkets. Commercially-sold partridges are aged in a chiller, rather than at room temperature, so that they don’t develop…
Peaches
Peaches can be categorized in various ways: clingstone vs freestone, and yellow vs white. White peaches can perform differently in cooking, and are not reliably acidic enough for current home canning recommendations.
Pears
Pear trees are very promiscuous; they cross-pollinate very easily. That’s why there’s close to five thousand varieties being grown. But no panic: there’s no test on this tomorrow and besides, you’re lucky if there’s even ten that make it to your store shelves on a regular basis. While most people like the fragrance and taste…
Peas
Peas are grown to be used either “fresh” or dried. In fact, growing Peas for drying was the main reason for growing them up until recently, give or take a few hundred years. Even at the court of Louis XIV, it was still considered quite — shall we say revolutionary? — to eat fresh Peas….
Pecorino Siciliano Cheese
Pecorino Siciliano cheese is made from sheep’s milk. The raw milk is curdled with lamb’s rennet, moulded and salted. The cheese may be sold fresh, or aged.
Pennyroyal
Pennyroyal is variety of mint that grows 4 to 12 inches (10 to 30 cm) tall, with narrow, bright green leaves up to 1 inch (2 ½ cm) long.The stems will put out roots whenever they touch the soil. It has the scent of peppermint. Nutrition Pennyroyal used to be a good deal in cooking,…
Pepper
Pepper © Randal Oulton Pepper is a spice grows on a vine that grows anywhere from 12 to 20 feet (3.5 to 6 metres.) It has a woody stem, and produces white flowers which in turn produce peppercorns as fruit. Peppercorns start off green, and when ripe, turn red. Different colours of peppercorns and pepper…
Pheasant
Pheasant is a very lean meat. Still, people who like pheasant say the meat is more tasty than chicken. The hen (female) has more meat on the breast and a slightly subtler flavour than the cock (male), also called the rooster. Though males are normally easy to identify by their bright colours, younger males may…
Pine Nuts
Pine Nuts © Denzil Green Pine Nuts grow on several different varieties of pine trees largely in Italy and Spain. A tree takes 75 years before it is ready to be commercially harvested for its nuts. Gathering is very time consuming as first you have to gather the pine cones, then extract the nuts from…
Pistachio Nuts
Pistachios © Denzil Green Pistachio nuts grow on a tree called the “pistacia.” Pistacia trees need to be at least 7 years old to really start producing, but once they get going, trees have been known to last for at least two centuries. There are male and female pistacia trees. You need to have both…
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…
Plums
Plums © Denzil GreenPlums are the second most popular fruit in the world (apples are the most popular.) You can classify Plums in many ways. One is based on what you do with them — either eating them raw or cooking with them. Another divides them into 3 families: European, Damson, Japanese. Yet another is…
Pomegranates
Pomegranates © Denzil Green Pomegranate trees grow in tropical areas. The tree starts to flower after 1 year, producing red and white blooms, and then fruit. The fruit is round, anywhere from 3 to 5 inches (7.5 to 13 cm) wide, with a hard skin that is red and yellow-hued, turning a solid red as…