Tag: condiments
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Balsamic vinegar
True Balsamic vinegar is an artisan product from Modena, in Italy. It’s made from grape juice, which is simmered to make a concentrate, and then fermented. Finally it’s matured in barrels for a minimum of 12 years. The barrels used are made from different woods to impart different flavours. The result is a rich, dark…
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Anchovy
These small (usually between 8-10cm), silver fish are found in various parts of the world which have warmish salt water, eg the Mediterranean. For export, they are almost always filleted, salt-cured and packed in salt or oil. Then they can be purchased in jars or tins from shops and supermarkets around the world. In…
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Umami
What is it? Umami (Japanese: from umai, ‘delicious’ and mi, ‘taste’) is one of the five basic tastes, along with sweet, salty, bitter and sour. In the early 20th century, Kikunae Ikeda, a Japanese chemistry professor, identified a particularly appealing taste common to certain foods. But this taste sensation didn’t fall into any of the recognised taste…
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Marmite
The original use of the word marmite was for a French two-handled earthenware or metal cooking pot, used for makings soups and stews.
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Cranberry
Cranberries are little red berries with a bitter flavour. They grow wild on shrubs throughout Northern Europe and North America, but their cultivation is a major commercial operation in some American states and Canadian provinces. They have a high nutritional content and are believed to be valuable for their health-giving properties. Because the berries are…
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Vinegar
Vinegar literally means ‘sour wine’ and it was originally produced by the acetic fermentation of wine. Whilst there is some evidence that it existed in Britain in pre-Roman times, it was the Romans who introduced it more fully. The Romans were very keen on it as a condiment, for cooking and even – well watered…
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Achaar
Aachar is the name for pickles of the Indian subcontinent. They are usually made by finely chopping fruit or vegetables and marinating them in brine or edible oil, and seasoning with spices. Some regions use the same technique for meat and fish. The most common pickles of this style are made from mango and lime,…