Agen Prunes are prunes made in Agen, France, on the edge of what used to be the old Gascony area of France. They are dark purple with a hint of blue in them. They are the dried version of plums called “Ente” plums grown in the Lot-et-Garonne region. The Ente plum is a hybrid of…
Beurre Charentes-Poitou is a cream-coloured, 82% butterfat, easy-to-spread butter made from pasteurized cream. No additional substances, including colouring or preservatives, are allowed. It has to be made in the French départements of Charente, Deux-Sèvres, Vendée or Vienne (part of the old French province of Poitou.) In this catchment area, it is made by 12 different…
Beurre d’Isigny is a French butter that is used both as a spread and as an ingredient. It is sold in round paperboard tubs with replaceable lids (designed in Finland but made in Habsheim, France), in foil logs and in low, rectangular plastic tubs. There are sweet and semi-salted versions; both are 82% butterfat. The…
Bleu de Gex is a blue cheese made from the unpasteurized milk of Montbeliardes cows. The milk is heated to 80 F (27 C), Rennet is added, then the curds are cut to the size of small peas, and moulded. It is dry-salted over a period of 4 to 6 days. It can be ripened…
Bomba and Calasparra rice are types of paella rice. They are grown around the town of Calasparra, in Spain in the Murcia mountains neighbouring Valencia. The rice is grown along the Segura River, which brings cold water from the top of the mountains. The water passes through the paddies; its coldness slows the growth of…
Bonchester Cheese packaging design Bonchester Cheese is no longer in production as of 1998. Bonchester was a Camembert-style cheese made in Scotland. It came in small, thin rounds of two sizes, 100g and 280g. It had a soft white floury rind with some small freckled patches on it. Inside, it had a butter-yellow color, and…
Brebis au piment d’Espelette is a firm sheep’s milk cheese rubbed with pimento powder. The cheese is made from milk from Manech and Basco-Béarnaises sheep. The curd is cut, moulded and pressed, then salted, and brushed with crushed smoked Espelette Chile Pepper powder, then aged for at least 3 months. The cheese is about 10…
Buxton Blue is a russet-coloured blue cheese, with light blue veins made in Buxton, Derbyshire, England. It is cylinder shaped, with a tangy taste. The cheeses are made from cow’s milk that comes mostly from the areas of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire. The milk can come from Shropshire and Cheshire during shortages. To make the…
Caciocavallo Cheese is shaped like a small gourd, pear or flask, usually with a definite small ball on top, forming a defined neck between it and the larger body. The process of making it is similar to that for Mozzarella. To make it, unpasteurized cow’s milk is heated to 97 to 100 F (36 to…
Clotted Cream © Denzil Green While it would be a stretch to say Clotted Cream is practically butter (butter has 80% butterfat and up, while Clotted Cream is “only” 55% butterfat), it is a thick, spreadable cream with the consistency of soft butter and has a pale, buttery colour. Its taste lies somewhere in between…
Dorset Blue Vinney is a blue cheese made in Dorset, England. Most Blue Vinney is made from raw skim cow’s milk, though some versions are also made from pasteurized skim milk. Starter is added to the milk, then vegetarian Rennet and Penicillium roqueforti, which grows the mould in the cheese. The curd is cut into…
Gamonedo is a Spanish cheese from the Asturias region on the northern coast of Spain. It is made in two villages, Cangas de Onís and the nearby village of Onís. Both are on the edge of the mountain range called “Picos de Europa.” The cheese is lightly smoked, with a thin, dark reddish, inedible rind…
Gloucester Cheese has been made in Gloucestershire since the 1500s. There are two versions: Single Gloucester and Double Gloucester. Both cheeses are round. Double Gloucester was called “double” because, at 5 inches (13 cm) thick, it was double the width of the Single Gloucester. Both Single and Double Gloucester were originally made with tough rinds,…
Gorgonzola Cheese is a cylindrical blue cheese made from full-fat, pasteurized cow’s milk. The cheese is made in various sizes. The minimum height is 13 cm; the diameter will be between 20 and 32 cm. It has an inedible, rough pinkish-grey rind. Inside, the cheese is whitish or pale yellow with greenish-blue flecks and veins….
Grana Padano is a hard cheese used for grating. It is like Parmesan, but it is not aged as long, it has a milder flavour, and its texture is a little coarser. The cheese is made from raw, semi-skim cow’s milk. The milk is put in large pots made of copper. Whey from a previous…
Iberico Ham (“Jámon Iberico”) is made in the same fashion as is Serrano Ham, but from a different pig — the Iberian pig. The pigs are slaughtered when they weigh 350 pounds (160 kg.) They are put to sleep first so that they won’t be stressed at time of slaughter, which producers of the ham…
Jersey Royals are waxy boiling or salad potatoes with a creamy texture grown on the island of Jersey. Many of the fields are on slopes. The fields are first fertilized with seaweed, which the farmers call “vraic.” After being planted with seed potatoes, the fields are covered with huge sheets of plastic wrap in the…
Lardo di Arnad is pork lard prepared as a deli meat. It is served raw as an antipasto. It is made in Val d’Aosta, Italy using fat from the backs and shoulders of the pigs. The pigs must be at least 9 months old and weigh a minimum of 352 pounds (160 kg.) The pigs…
Morbier (full name Morbier du Livradois) is a mild-tasting cheese with a white pine ash layer in the middle of it. The cheese has a golden-brown rind. Inside, it is pale yellow, and semi-firm yet creamy and supple. It is made from unpasteurized cow’s milk. The milk is heated, then curdled. Traditionally, Morbier Cheese was…
A moist, pasteurized goat’s milk cheese made in the Murcia region of Spain, with a mild, tangy taste. While the rounds of cheese are maturing, they are immersed twice in red wine, which gives the rind a red colour. The rind is inedible (sadly, after soaking up all that wine.) In America, you may see…
Nyons Olive Oil is made from “Tanche” olives grown in the area of Nyons, Provence. The olives contain 20 to 25% oil. The olives are allowed to ripen till black and wrinkled, then harvested in December and January, and pressed. The olive oil is yellow in colour, and mild tasting. The olive oil received AOC…
Parmesan Cheese is made from raw skim milk. Calf Rennet is added to the milk, and the milk heated until it curdles. The curd is cut, heated to 125 F (51 C), stirred, then heated further up to 131 F (55 C.) The curd is packed into moulds lined with cheesecloth, then removed from the…
Piquillo Peppers are jarred red peppers from Spain. They are very mild and sweet, and have charred remnants of skin on them. They are grown around Lodosa in the Ebro River (“Ribera del Ebro”) Valley in Navarre, northern Spain. The eight villages in the production area are Andosilla, Ázagra, Cárcar, Lerín, Lodosa, Mendavia, San Adrián…
Traditionally, Plymouth Gin has been considered a gin category on its own, though to taste it you’d really think it another brand under the London Dry category. It is triple-distilled and very aromatic. It has an earthier flavour, owing to an increased amount of angelica and orris root in it to balance the floral elements…
