Sunday Roast — Chicken © Leclaire & Schenk Sunday Roast is traditional in the UK and in Ireland. It is always served in the early afternoon. Many North Americans make the mistake of thinking they will hit a pub and get a roast dinner at 5 or 6 in the afternoon, which is when North…
British Food
Sweet Curd Cottage Cheese
Sweet curd cottage cheese is similar to regular cottage cheese, but has larger curds and less tang. It can be used as an ingredient in cooking, but is often used as is on salad plates, etc.
Swiss Roll
Swiss Roll is a rolled sponge cake with a filling, usually jam. You slice it sideways across the end; each slice reveals a spiral pattern. Swiss Roll tends to be the term used for this in the UK and in Canada; in America, the term used is “Jelly Roll” (though in Canada both terms are…
Tate & Lyle
Life and Times Tate & Lyle were a major international sugar company. They were the original makers of Lyle’s Golden Syrup, and were owners of what was Redpath Sugar in Canada. In 2010, they sold their sugars business, which included all their consumer brands of sweeteners and syrups, to the American Sugar Refining company. The…
Tattie Scones
Tattie scones are a Scottish creation that is about halfway between a scone and a potato pancake. A batter is made from mashed potatoes, salt and flour, formed into a circle about 6 inches wide (15 cm), then fried in oil. The top and the bottom brown, the edges get crispy, and the insides stay…
The Tradescants
John Tradescant was an English horticulturist who introduced many new food plants to England. His curio collection formed the basis of what is now known as the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.
Thomas Laxton: Fruit and Vegetable Breeder
Thomas Laxton Life and Times Thomas Laxton was a plant breeder who introduced many new varieties of strawberries, and worked with Charles Darwin in experiments on peas. The nursery that he founded, carried on by his descendants for many generations, became famous for the apple varieties that it introduced. Thomas was born 1830 in Tinwell,…
Tonic Water
Tonic water is carbonated water with sugar, quinine and fruit flavourings. The sugar is added to offset some of the bitterness of the quinine. It contains as much sugar as other soft drinks such as ginger ale, though you can buy sugar-free Tonic Waters now. The fruit extract used for flavouring is from citrus fruits,…
Tornegus Cheese
Tornegus cheese is a cheese that results from a particular aging process applied to raw-milk Caerphilly cheese. The Caerphilly is washed with a solution of brine and then sprinkled with lemon verbena, and mint.
Tregothnan Tea
Tregothnan Tea is an English tea, actually grown in England. It is grown at Tregothnan estate owned by the Boscawen family near Truro, Cornwall. The estate has a plantation of about 8,000 tea bushes (as of 2006) of the Camellia sinensis variety of tea. Harvesting of the leaves starts when the bushes are about 3…
Trifle
The word “trifle” means something of little consequence, insubstantial. In actual food terms, it’s anything but. It’s custard and / or cream layered with fruit over cake that has been doused with alcohol, usually Sherry, and usually served at the end of a very heavy meal when you look at it and groan. Trifles always…
True Service Fruit
True Service Fruit is a very old fruit which is almost forgotten now. It would be a very problematic fruit to flog at your local grocery store because it isn’t any good to eat until it has started to rot. When the fruit is ripe and at its peak of perfection, it isn’t any good…
Twelfth Night Cake
In Britain, the Twelfth Night Cake was like what we now call Christmas cake, a luxurious special cake laden with fruit and spices. There would also be a dried bean and a dried pea in the cake. The man who found the bean would be the King of Twelfth Night festivities; the woman who found…
Two Fat Ladies
Two Fat Ladies was a television cooking programme that ran on BBC2 from 1996 to 1999 inclusive. The co-stars were Clarissa Dickson-Wright and Jennifer Paterson.
Ulster Roll
Ulster Roll is bacon made in a slab with the rind on. It is dry-cured in salt. It is often served with cabbage and root vegetables to give interest to the dishes. Cooking Tips It is quite salty, so taste a dish with Ulster Roll in it before adding further salt.
Vendace
Vendace is a small, freshwater whitefish related to salmon. They live throughout northern Europe and feed on plankton. They are silver on their sides, with a white belly, and a greenish-brown or blue back. They have rich tasting, delicate, lean flesh. In France, they live in Alpine lakes, and grow up to 8 inches (20…
Wagon Wheels
Wagon Wheels © Denzil Green Wagon Wheels are a chocolate-coated cookie and marshmallow sandwich sold with packaging that has a Wild West theme. Some have compared them to Smore’s. There is a top and bottom biscuit layer, with mallow in the middle holding them together, then the whole thing is coated in chocolate. The soft…
Walnut Whips
Walnut Whips © Denzil Green A Walnut Whip is a candy. It consists of a tall mound of vanilla-flavoured, soft fondant cream on top of a flat base of chocolate. This mound is then covered with glossy milk chocolate in a whirling pattern. Half a walnut is placed on top of the chocolate mound before…
Water Biscuits
Water Biscuits are what North Americans would call a cracker. They are flat biscuits, either round or square, and creamy-white in colour with brown spots. Compared to most other biscuits or crackers, they are comparatively soft and flaky. They are commercially made from water, white wheat flour, salt, vegetable oil. They have same taste as…
Water Mint
Water Mint grows anywere from 6 to 36 inches (15 cm to 1 metre) tall. Its stems are often red. The leaves will be anywhere from ¾ inch to 2 inches (2 to 5cm) long, and green, tinted with purple, especially on the undersides. The edges are serrated. It grows along fresh water in damp…
Welsh Rabbit (Rarebit)
Welsh rabbit (rarebit) is a savoury dish of a cheese sauce on toast. It is toasted under high heat for a few minutes to bubble the cheese.
Wensleydale Sheep
Wensleydale Sheep are large, very shaggy sheep with a wooly coat that goes almost down to the ground. Only its ears and bluish face aren’t covered in wool. Most Wensleydale Sheep have white wool, though some have black wool. The wool is prized as being amongst the best wool from a sheep. Females weigh about…
Whitstable Oysters
Whitstable oysters are oysters harvested off the coast of the town of Whistable, Kent, England. These oysters have been prized for their culinary value since at least the 1400s.
William Cobbett: Social Reformer and Home Brewing Advocate
William Cobbett circa 1831 Life and Times William Cobbett lived from 9 March 1763 — 18 June 1835. He was a social reformer at the start of the Industrial Revolution; he was also a farmer and a pamphleteer (nowadays, we would call him an “activist”), and the founder of Hansard publications. Cobbett was a fan…