Did You Know?

Stuffing can moisten dry meats or soak up the juices from fatty meats. Since Roman times, it has also been used to introduce an element of surprise at dinner. The French approach to stuffing was noted as being ‘de trop’ in Kettner’s Book of the Table in 1877. Apparently, their cork-shaped stuffing balls tended towards [...]

Well Hung… or Did You Know?

First get your mind out of the gutter, I didn’t mean THAT well hung
A good-quality fresh turkey cannot be beaten on taste. However, when comparing fresh and frozen birds, a lot depends on the preparation. A well-hung turkey that has been frozen will be nicer than a fresh turkey that hasn’t been hung. [...]

Did You Know?

Beetroot derives from a wild seashore plant, the sea beet, native to southern Europe and North Africa. It’s thought to have been brought to Britain by the Romans. Beetroot should be boiled in their skins to prevent the purple juices from leaking out. The leaves of the plant are also edible.

Did You Know?

In France, due to the low cost of pumpkins, their flesh was originally used to bulk out the dough in pumpkin bread. Nowadays, with speciality breads in vogue, customers pay through the nose for the same dish, called pain de courge. It is eaten in the morning, with coffee, or as a mid-afternoon snack, like [...]

Did You Know?

Mushrooms are not universally adored. Some people are not keen on the taste or texture of funghi, while others suffer from an irrational fear of mushrooms, called mycophobia.
Perhaps the fear isn’t so irrational – although fatal poisoning from mushrooms is rare, some of the most poisonous and most delicious species belong to the same genus.

Did You Know?

The liquid inside a coconut is the coconut juice, not the milk. Coconut milk is produced by steeping grated coconut meat in boiling water, leaving the mixture to cool, then straining it. Coconut cream is produced by the same method but using less water.

Did You Know?

That most stereotypical of student staples, baked beans, are derived from a traditional dish from New England which dates back to the 19th century. Traditionally, Puritan families in and around Boston baked navy beans (also known as haricot beans) with spices and molasses in the oven; the resulting dish was crowned ‘Boston baked beans’. Boston is [...]

Did You Know?

French writer Alexandre Dumas included a recipe for Norfolk dumplings in his Grand Dictionnaire de Cuisine, declaring, wrongly, that they were named after the Duke of Norfolk because of his taste for them. It is thought that Dumas was purposefully misinformed by a prankster: early evidence of the good-natured rivalry between the countries.
Recipe for Norfolk [...]