"Are you going to Scarborough Faire?
Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme".
Simon and Garfunkel
Sometimes you take a look at the menu and just ask yourself what the heck is that chef talking about? Other times you already know what something is but always wondered why it was called that. This is part 10 of a two year series of common culinary terms and this one pretty much takes us to Z. What's next? I suppose we will start all over again at the letter A and get all the ones we missed. If there is a term you would like better explained let me now and I will get to it in alphabetical order. So here goes.
Thyme; small aromatic herb, one of the most widely used in western cuisine. The Ancient world used it extensively for many purposes, in fact the name Thyme is derived from the Greek thumon which is a derivative if the Greek verb thein, which means "burn sacrificially" so that's reassuring. The Romans introduced it to the rest of Europe and from there it spread here to America. There are many varieties, but the most commonly found here is called Common or Garden Thyme.
Tiramisu; a sweet dessert made from coffee and brandy soaked cookies layered with sweet mascarpone. The name literally means "pick me up" in Italian which sounds like a great job for coffee, sugar and brandy. Anna leaves the Brandy out of ours so if you are staying away from alcohol you should be safe here.
Toddy; a warming beverage made from whiskey with sugar and hot water. This drink can be traced back at least to the eighteenth century in Scotland where it was almost certainly necessary for cold winter evenings. The first reference to the name comes from Robert Burns; Holy Fair (1786): 'The lads and lasses, blythely bent to mind baith saul an body sit round the table weel content, an' steer about the Toddy'. I have absolutely no idea what Mr. Burns is talking about either, but it does sound like he may have had a few hot Toddy's while writing this. Like I said, winters are cold in Scotland. I know that a hot toddy with lemon is the absolute best thing for a sore throat, runny nose, headache, boredom or any ailment between November and March.
Tofu; Bean curd made form Soybeans. This pale cheese like substance is a dietary staple in many east Asian cuisines. Tofu is a Japanese word derived from the Chinese doufu which literally means 'rotten beans' but I'm sure it sounds better than the translation. Tofu started showing up in Western cuisine in the 1970's and is an absolutely delicious substitution for meat when cooked right. What I really like about it is that while it has little flavor of it's own, it absorbs flavors from the foods it is cooked with and adds an interesting texture to anything.
Tomato; this fruit first appeared on the Western diet in the beginning of the seventeenth century as foodstuffs from the Americas entered Europe. The name is originally derived from the Nahuatl Tomatl but in the beginning the English just called them "Love Apples' as they were considered to be an aphrodisiac. I really wish this name had stuck, can you imagine ordering spaghetti with love applesauce? That's what I call a date. The Italians called it the Golden Apple which is where we get the name Pomodoro or Pomme d' Oro. For a long time in Europe Tomatoes (Love Apples) were treated with some suspicion. There were reputed to be poisonous or at least not very healthy and were always cooked. The apparent proof of the tomato's poisonous nature was based on a false assumption. While it was true that upper class Europeans did die after consuming tomatoes, the fault was not with the tomato but with the pewter dinnerware used. The high level of acidity in tomatoes leached lead from the pewter, and those wealthy enough to afford to dine on pewter dinnerware died from lead poisoning after consuming tomato-based dishes. I swear I am not making this up. Eating raw tomatoes did not really come into fashion until the beginning of the twentieth century although it does seem like something called a Love Apple could be eaten without much preparation. The remaining modern controversy is that you say Tomato while I say Tomato. Of course that makes sense because you say Potato while I say Potato. Let's call the whole thing off.
Tonic; In the early 17th century, Indigenous peoples of Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador discovered that the bark of the Andean fever tree contained a remedy for malaria-. Quinine, an alkaloid extracted from the bark, was the only effective treatment for malaria known to the West for 300 years or so. In the mid-19th century, the British Army in India mixed quinine with soda water and sugar to create tonic water to mask the bitter taste of quinine and make it more palatable. The gin and tonic originated in British colonial India, where soldiers were already given a gin ration. The bitter medicine was mixed with gin and other ingredients to make it more palatable.
Trifle; Dessert of sponge cake and custard, flavored and decorated in myriad ways-a great way to use leftover sponge cake really. Originally in Elizabethan times a Trifle was simply cream warmed through and flavored with sugar, ginger, or eggs, very similar to what we now call Creme Anglaise. Gradually the recipes evolved to being thickened with cakes, macaroons and quite a bit of booze and were very popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. In America, a trifle was also known as a "Tipsy Parson" because it was said to have "lured many a Sunday-visiting preacher off the wagon.
Truffle; an underground fungus prized by chefs and gourmands for several millennia for its flavor and aroma. There are two major varieties, the French Truffle which is usually cooked and the Italian truffle which can be served raw over pasta, risotto or other dishes. These treasures are almost never cultivated but must be foraged for wild using either dogs or pigs to sniff them out. Truffles are very powerful in flavor and very expensive, which is why many chefs use Truffle oil which is olive oil that has soaked in truffles and preserves the flavor very well. The name is also used for a confection of chocolate and cocoa powder rolled to resemble these dark beauties but which are very different and prized in their own right.
Vanilla; the fruit of a tropical orchid originating in Central America. This was used by the Aztecs to flavor their chocolate, both ingredients that were happily taken by the Spanish in their conquest. Vanilla was soon cultivated in botanical gardens in France and England, but never offered up its glorious seeds. Growers couldn’t understand why until centuries later when, in 1836, Belgian horticulturist Charles Morren reported that vanilla’s natural pollinator was the Melipona bee, an insect that didn’t live in Europe and we all know how important bees are. Eventually it was discovered that the flowers could be carefully and painstakingly hand pollinated and this led not only to the worldwide proliferation of the vanilla bean but ensured it's expensive price tag. Artificial vanilla was discovered in the late nineteenth century and made the ingredient much more common and affordable. You really don't want to know what this is made from, don't look it up. It's presence in ice-cream has become so common that Vanilla Ice cream is considered to be lacking in flavor and the term Vanilla has become synonymous with plain or boring.
Veloute; a Veloute is a basic sauce made from veal, chicken or fish stock that is thickened with a roux. In French the word means 'velvety', and it is really not very different from what we call 'gravy', but think about it-a 'halibut and citrus veloute' sounds much more sophisticated than fish gravy doesn't it? a very similar sauce is a bechamel which is the same but with milk substituted for stock.
Venison; The meat of deer. Like the terms beef, mutton, and pork, venison was introduced to English by the descendants of Norman Conquerors after the Battle of Hastings. The gentry spoke French while the servants were all English, and so the French terms refer to menu items while the English terms refer to the actual animal (cow, sheep, pig, deer). This term however has not always meant deer but could be any animal killed in the hunt until at least the sixteenth century. The meat is lean and delicious, more flavorful than pork but milder than lamb. Try to order Venison no more than medium rare, as it can get tough very easily. All the Venison you eat at Vi is farmed, so no worries about buckshot in your steak.
Vinegar; literally 'sour wine'. The word was borrowed in the thirteenth century from Old French vyn egre. Vinegar is made by the acteic fermentation of wine and was very popular with the Romans which of course made it very popular with most of Europe and still is today. If you have only had supermarket vinegar you are missinga very big treat, as vinegar made from real wine and beer is a culinary delight, much less acidic with nuance of flavor aand aroma similar to what it was brewed from. Vinegar has traditionally had usees other than culinary ones, it is used for cleaning, reviving and even first aid. In Barnaby Ridge, Charles Dickens describes how Mrs. Varden's vapors were appeased by 'much damping of foreheads, vinegaring of temples, and hartshorning of noses, and so forth'. I have no idea what hartshorning means but it doesn't sound like fun.
Vodka; Prosaically enough, vodka simply means 'little water' in Russian. The drink itself is a colorless spirit from Northern Europe from a variety of materials including grain, potatoes and molasses, but today it is primarily made from grain. There is some disagreement between Russia and Poland as to who invented it but really there are some long cold winters in both countries and lots of time to argue. Vodka is extremely popular today, mostly because of it's lack of inherent flavor allowing other ingredient's like vermouth, olives or limes to show off well. If you think about it, Vodka is the Tofu of spirits. While the original Martini is made with Gin, most modern Americans consider Vodka to be the superior choice.
Zinfandel; a grape variety once considered to originate in California but which we now know comes from southern and eastern Europe. Zinfandel is one of the best wines to pair with any meat from Filet mignon to cheeseburgers and is very much tuned to American tastes. White Zinfandel was invented mostly by accident at Sutter Home winery in California and became the best selling wine in America in the 80's and 90's. While many of us would never admit to drinking the overly sweet pink wine today, Sutter Home still sells 4.5 million cases a year, so someone you know is probably buying it secretly and just wont admit it. Find out who they are.
Comments