baba (BAH-bah) – Baba is called babka in Poland and Babas Au Rhum in France. In French, the word baba meaning, "falling over or dizzy." These are small cakes made from yeast dough containing raisins or currants. They are baked in cylindrical molds and then soaked with sugar syrup usually flavored with rum (originally they were soaked in a sweet fortified wine). After these cakes were soaked in the wine sauce for a day, the dried fruits would fall out of them.

Baba Au Rhum - In the 18th century, French chef, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), created a cake that he served with a rum sauce that he called Baba Au Savarin. The dessert became very popular in France, but the people called it Baba Au Rhum and soon dropped the name Savarin.

History:  For a history of Baba and Baba Au Rhum, check out Linda Stradley's History of Cakes.
 

---

bacon - Bacon comes from the fatty parts of the pig, especially the sides. The most desirable bacon is cut from the breast of the hog. It is cured with either sugar or salt, which gives it a sweet or salty taste.

History - Bacon has played a prominent role in the history of superstition. It was considered a sacred food by the pagans and was regarded as a symbol of prosperity. It was frequently used as an offering to the Gods, and was believed to have curative properties. If a knife, which caused a wound, was stuck into bacon afterwards, it was supposed to prevent infection.
 

---

bagel (BAY-guhl) - Bagel derives from the Yiddish word beygl, which comes from the German word beugel meaning a "bracelet." Bagels are bread rolls in the shape of a doughnut or an old-fashioned curtain ring. The brown crust is obtained on the rolls by first boiling them in water and then baking them in an oven.

History - According to legend, the world's first bagel was produced in 1683 as a tribute to Jan Sobieski, King of Poland. The king, a renowned horseman, had just saved the people of Austria from an onslaught by Turkish invaders. In gratitude, a local baker shaped yeast dough into the shape of stirrup to honor him and called it the Austrian word for stirrup, "beugel." The roll soon became a hit throughout Eastern Europe.

Over time, its shape evolved into a circle with a hole in the center and its named was converted to its modern form, bagel. In the 1880s, hundreds of thousands of Eastern European Jews immigrated to America, bringing with them a love for bagels. In 1927, Polish baker Harry Lender opened the first bagel plant outside New York City in New Haven, Conn. The bagel's popularity began to spread in the United States.
 

bagna cauda (BAHN-yah KOW-dah) - An Italian term that means "hot Bath." It is like a Swiss fondue except that it has a much more boisterous flavor. The original recipe called for walnut oil, but olive oil is now used and is considered the key to a successful sauce. The sauce is made up of anchovy fillets, olive oil, garlic, cream, butter, and vinegar. It always includes one or more members of the cabbage family along with such other ingredients as steak, shrimp, and cheese.
 

baguette (bag-EHT) - Is French for a "rod," "wand," or "stick." Baguette is the name for anything long and skinny, including drumsticks, strips of wood, etc. The baguette is generally known as a French white bread due to its popularity in that country. Baguettes are formed into a long, narrow, cylindrical loaf. It usually has a thin, crisp brown crust and an open-holed, chewy interior.

History - The shape for which it is famous was developed by an Austrian baker and brought to France in the middle of the nineteenth century. At first French bread was all shaped round, but when bakers realized that their crusts were so tasty, they gave the bread more crust by making them long.
 

---

bain-marie (bahn mah-REE) - (1) A hot water bath that is used to keep food warm on the top of a stove. It is also to cook custards and baked eggs in the oven without curdling or cracking and also used to hold sauces and to clarify butter. (2) The term is also used for a cooking utensil, which is a fairly large pan (or tray) which is partly filled with water. The food to be cooked is placed in another container in order that the food is not cooked too quickly or harshly.

History: Most authorities think that it was named after Maria Prophetissa. Maria Prophetissa was also known as "Miriam," "Maria the Jewess" or simply "Maria" and lived during the first century A.D. She is called The Jewess because Zosimos, Egyptian alchemist and historian, called her a Sister of Moses. It is held that Mary Magdalene and the noted first century alchemical author known as Mary the Jewess was one and the same individual. Whoever she was, Mary the Jewess was an accomplished practical alchemist and the inventor of a series of technical devices still in use today, such as the hot ash box for steady heat, the dung box for prolonged heat and the double boiler, still called the "bain-marie" in French and Marienbad in German. Although no complete works by her have been found, enough fragments exist to establish her as a historical fact. Yet her personal information, even her birthplace, remains a mystery.

 

bake blind - It is the technique used for baking an unfilled pastry shell. The pastry shell is first pricked with a fork to prevent puffing, covered with aluminum foil or parchment paper, and then weighted with rice or beans. It is then baked for a short period of time, about 10 to 15 minutes.
 

Baked Alaska - A dessert that consists of a sponge cake that is covered with ice cream, then with a layer of stiffly beaten egg whites, and lastly put in a hot oven to be browned. Also known as omelette á la norvégienne, Norwegian omelette, omelette surprise, and glace au four.

History:  Check out History and Legends of Baked Alaska.
 

Baked Apple a la Josephine - The soaked, pruned apples are boiled for 15 minutes. Boiled milk is mixed with rice, salt and sugar are added, and then it is cooled down and divided into four portions. The cores of the apples are removed and are covered with butter and sprinkled with sugar. They are placed in a pre-warmed oven and baked for 20 minutes. The apples are served in the middle of the rice pudding, sprinkled with sugar, and toppled with raspberry syrup.
 

---

bakers' ammonia (ammonium carbonate)  - It is also called hartshorn. It is an ammonia compound and not harmful after baking. However, don't eat the raw dough. Your kitchen will stink of ammonia while the cookies bake - but once baked, the cookies will not taste of it. Can be substituted for equal amount of baking powder in any cookies recipe.  It is an old-time leavening favored for cookies, such as German Springerle. It is said to give a "fluffiness" of texture baking powder can't. Its leavening is only activated by heat, not moisture (such as baking powder).
 

---

bake stone - A bake stone is a flat, round iron plate, usually with an attached semicircular iron loop, which allows it to be hung over a fire from a crane. It can also be set down directly on hot embers. Before baking ovens, and even after them, this was a common utensil for baking simple quick breads.

 

---

baker's dozen - The "baker's dozen" refers to providing 13 baked items for the price of 12.  This originated as a way to avoid shortchanging the customer. Bakers who shorted (cheated) customers could be punished severely-such as losing a hand to an axe! This allowed that one of the 13 could be lost, eaten, burnt, or ruined in some way, leaving the baker with the original legal dozen. The practice can be seen in the Baker Guild codes of the Worshipful Company of Bakers in London, 12th century.

 

baking powder – It is a leavener that consists of a combination of baking soda, cream of tartar, and a moisture absorber (like cornstarch). It has the action of yeast but it acts much more quickly. It's used in batters where there is no acid present. Baking powder acts immediately upon addition of water, therefore a filler (usually cornstarch) is added to absorb the moisture and prevent premature activity. Various baking powders were sold in the first half of the 19th century.

Check out the History of Baking Powder.
 

baking soda - Baking soda, which is the alkaline element bicarbonate of soda, is used solely as a chemical leavener in baking. Because it is not premixed with an acid, as is baking powder, it is used alone in baked goods where other ingredients, which also contain acid, are present (yogurt, buttermilk, lemon juice, or sour cream). When the baking soda and acid are combined, they neutralize each other, causing carbon dioxide gas bubbles to form. The bubbles make the dough or batter grow bigger, or rise. Baking soda is more volatile than baking powder because it begins to act the minute you moisten it with the wet ingredients. You must put whatever you are baking right in the oven once the baking soda has been activated. See also bicarbonate of soda.

History: Baking soda was previously known as saleratus, a combination of the Latin "sal" (salt) and "aeratus" (aerated.) John Dwight of Massachusetts and his brother-in-law, Dr. James A. Church of Connecticut, started the manufacture of bicarbonate of soda in this country in 1846. The first factory was in the kitchen of his home with baking soda put in paper bags by hand. A year later, in 1847, the firm of John Dwight and Company was formed, and subsequently Cow Brand was adopted as a trademark for Dwight’s Saleratus (aerated salt) as it was called. The standard package at that time weighed one pound. The cow was adopted as a trademark because of the use of sour milk with saleratus in baking.

In 1867, James A. Church began marketing sodium bicarbonate as baking soda under the Arm & Hammer label. He formed a partnership known as Church & Company, doing business under that firm name with his sons James A. Church and E. Dwight Church.
 

baking stone - Also referred to as a pizza stone. Unglazed ceramic, clay, or stone tiles that allows for high temperature and dry heat, which is necessary for crisp crusts when making breads and pizzas. A stone can be placed in the oven (and kept there when not in use) where it retains heat and makes an ideal surface for baking breads. A baking stone is invaluable for getting the "perfect" crust and it can also help your oven to run more efficiently because of its heat retaining properties. They should only be washed with clear, plain water, as these stones are actually molded sand, which is tightly compacted under high pressure. Like sand on the beach, they will suck in any liquid exposed to the surface.
 

---

baklava (BAHK-lah-vah) - A popular middle eastern (especially Greece and Turkey) pastry that is made with buttered layers of phyllo dough. How it is traditionally made depends on the region. In some areas, it is made with walnuts; in other areas, it is made with pistachios or almonds. Sometimes dried fruit is added between the layers. Baklava consists of 30 or more sheets of phyllo dough brushed with lots of butter, and layered with finely chopped nuts. After baking, a syrup of honey, rose water and lemon juice (sometimes spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, etc) is poured over the pastry and allowed to soak in. This dessert is known as baglawa in Syrian and Lebanese.

History: Most historians agree that the first people, the Assyrians, in the 8th century B.C. were the first to put together thin layers of bread dough, with chopped nuts in between those layers, added some honey and baked it in their primitive wood burning ovens. This earliest known version of baklava was baked only on special occasions. Baklava was considered a food for the rich until mid-19th century. In Turkey the sheets of pastry for baklava are rolled out so thinly that when held up the person standing behind can be seen as if through a net curtain. In Turkey, to this day one can hear a common expression often used by the poor, or even by the middle class, saying: "I am not rich enough to eat baklava and boerek every day".

The Greek seamen and merchants traveling east to Mesopotamia soon discovered the delights of Baklava and brought the recipe to Athens. The Greeks' major contribution to the development of this pastry is the creation of a dough technique that made it possible to roll it as thin as a leaf, compared to the rough, bread-like texture of the Assyrian dough. Phyllo means "layer" or "leaf" in the Greek language.

The Armenians, located on ancient Spice and Silk Routes, integrated for the cinnamon and cloves into the baklava. The Arabs introduced the rose water and cardamom. The taste changed in subtle nuances as the recipe started crossing borders.
 

balsamic vinegar - Balsamic vinegar is an aged reduction of white sweet grapes (Trebbiano for red and Spergola for white sauvignon) that are boiled to syrup. The grapes are cooked very slowly in copper cauldrons over an open flame until the water content is reduced by over 50%. The resulting "grape must" is placed into wooden barrels where older balsamic vinegar is added to assist in the acetification. Each year the vinegar is transferred to different wood barrels so that the vinegar can obtain some of the flavors of the different woods. The only approved woods are oak, cherry, chestnut, mulberry, cacia, juniper, and ash. Balsamic vinegar can only be produced in the regions of Modena and Reggio in Italy.

History - The first historical reference to balsamic vinegar dates back to 1046, when a bottle of balsamic vinegar was reportedly given to Emperor Enrico III of Franconia as a gift. In the middle Ages, it was used as a disinfectant.

Check out Linda's article on Balsamic Vinegar.
 

balti - Balti is an Indian dish, which may have originated in Northwest Pakistan. It is a form of a meat curry, but one that's cooked quickly (like a stir-fry. The spice mix used to flavor the dish is a combination of seeds (coriander, cardamom, cumin, black mustard, fennel, wild onion, and fenugreek). It can be made as either a masala paste or used dry.

History - The name comes from the cast-iron pot "balti," in which it was originally both made and served. Now the term "balti" seems to refer to the food, and the pot is called a "karahi." In some parts of the world, the dish is also called karai, or karah.
 

bamboo shoot - Young shoots of the bamboo plant. The shoots grown from an underground stock, and they are cut soon after their appearance above the ground. The outer sheaths are removed and the shoots are prepared for the table much in the same manner as asparagus. They are used a lot in Chinese and Japanese cooking.
 

banana - Bananas aren't grown on trees. They're part of the lily family, a cousin of the orchid, and a member of the herb family. With stalks 25 feet high, they're the largest plant on earth without a woody stem. The banana is harvested green, even for local consumption. It is the one fruit, which if left to ripen on the plant, never develops its best flavor. After they are picked, the sugar content increases from 2% to 20%.

History - The banana was probably one of the first plants to be cultivated. The earliest historical reference to the fruit was 327 B.C., when Alexander the Great found them flourishing in India. Traders in the Indian Ocean carried the banana to the eastern coast of Africa, and Chinese traders introduced the banana to the Polynesians before the second century A.D. During Alexander the Great's life, bananas were called pala in Athens. North America got its first taste of the tropical fruit in 1876 at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. Each banana was wrapped in foil and sold for 10 cents.
 

---

Bananas Foster - A dish made of bananas and rum, flamed and served over vanilla ice cream.

The original Banana Foster was created in the New Orleans restaurant called Brennan's in the old French Quarter. In the 1950's, New Orleans was the major port of entry for bananas shipped from Central and South America. Owen Edward Brennan challenged his talented chef, Paul Blangé, to include bananas in a new culinary creation - Owen's way of promoting the imported fruit. Simultaneously, Holiday Magazine had asked Owen to provide a new recipe to appear in a feature article on Brennan's.

In 1951, Chef Paul created Bananas Foster. The scrumptious dessert was named for Richard Foster, who, as chairman, served with Owen on the New Orleans Crime Commission, a civic effort to clean up the French Quarter. Richard Foster, owner of the Foster Awning Company, was a frequent customer of Brennan's and a very good friend of Owen.
 

barbecue - There are several theories on where or how the word "barbecue" originated. (1) One is that it is a derivative of the West Indian term barbacoa, which denotes a method of slow-cooking meat over hot coals. (2) It is also thought that the word barbecue comes from the French phrase “barbe a queue,” meaning "from heat to tail." (3) Another theory is that the word comes from a 19th century advertisement for a combination whiskey bar, beer, hall, pool establishment and purveyor of roast pig, known as the "Bar-Beer-Cue-Pig.) (4) The final explanation is that the method of roasting meat over powdery coals was picked up from indigenous peoples in the colonial period, and the word barbacoa became barbecue in the lexicon of early settlers.

Barbecuing is a long, slow, indirect, low-heat method that uses smoldering logs, charcoal, or wood chunks to smoke-cook the food (usually some kind of meat). "Indirect" meant that the heat source is located away from the food to be cooked. "Barbecuing" and "grilling" are two different techniques.

History: The earliest example of barbecue is in 1661, when it is used as a verb meaning 'to cook on a barbecue'. Other early senses include 'the wooden framework for supporting food'; 'a whole animal, or a piece of an animal, roasted on a barbecue'; and 'a social gathering at which food is cooked on a barbecue'.

Barbecuing is primarily a New World phenomenon, originating in the Caribbean and then spreading to the United Sates (the American South in particular). In the Southern United States, barbecue is considered a cherished cultural icon. In other areas of America, the word barbecue is a verb (Northerners barbecue food on the backyard grill). In the South, barbecue is most definitely a noun (a barbecue is a gathering of food aficionados who appreciate the aroma of roasted meant that has been painstakingly smoked for several hours)

During the colonial period, the practice of holding a neighborhood barbecue was well established, but it was in the fifty years before the Civil War that the traditions associated with large barbecues became entrenched. Plantation owners regularly held large and festive barbecues, including "pig pickin's" for slaves. In the 19th century, barbecue was a feature at church picnic and political rallies as well as at private parties. A barbecue was a popular and relatively inexpensive way to lobby for votes, and the organizers of political rallies would provide barbecue, lemonade, and usually a bit of whiskey. Unlike most food preparation in the South, which is dominated by women, barbecue is a male preserve.

In 1951, George Stephen of Palatine, Illinois invented the kettle grill and revolutionized the art of outdoor cookery throughout the US.
 

bamboo shoot - Young shoots of the bamboo plant. The shoots grown from an underground stock, and they are cut soon after their appearance above the ground. The outer sheaths are removed and the shoots are prepared for the table much in the same manner as asparagus. They are used a lot in Chinese and Japanese cooking.
 

---

bard - Refers to the practice of surrounding or enveloping meat with pork fat. The fat keeps the meat moist while it cooks.
 

barley - Barley, as a food, is most commonly identified as pearl barley, which is traditionally used in soups and stews. In the last few years, we've become more creative with barley and have used it in summer salads, casseroles, and side dishes. Barley is also used as a commercial ingredient in prepared foods such as breakfast cereals, soups, pilaf mixes, breads, cookies, crackers, and snack bars. Today it is the world's fourth largest cereal crop.

History - Barley has held a prominent and long-standing place in the history of food, being the world's oldest grain, and has been cultivated for about 8,000 years. Babylonians brewed beer from barley around 2500 B.C. Both the ancient Greeks and Hebrews made use of barley in porridge and bread. Barley remained an important bread grain in Europe until the 1500s when wheat breads became popular.
 

Bartlett pear -

History - The Bartlett pear variety originated in Berkshire, England, in the 17th century, by a schoolmaster named John Stair. Stair sold some of his pear tree cuttings to a horticulturist named Williams, who further developed the variety and renamed it after himself. After pear seedlings crossed the Atlantic with the early colonists, the Williams pear found fame and fortune in 1812 under the tutelage of nurseryman, Enoch Bartlett, of Dorchester, Massachusetts. Bartlett, unaware of the pear's true name, distributed it under his own name. Ever since, the pear has been known as the Bartlett in the United States, but is still referred to as the Williams pear in other parts of the world. Bartlett pear trees eventually came out West in the covered wagons of the 49ers heading for the Great California Gold Rush.
 

bamboo shoot - Young shoots of the bamboo plant. The shoots grown from an underground stock, and they are cut soon after their appearance above the ground. The outer sheaths are removed and the shoots are prepared for the table much in the same manner as asparagus. They are used a lot in Chinese and Japanese cooking.
 

---

base - Base is a soup reduction paste similar to bouillon, but richer, more flavorful, and less salty. You can find it in the soup section of the super market. It comes in a jar and must be refrigerated after opening.
 

baste - To spoon, brush or pour drippings or liquid over a food before or during cooking in order to prevent drying, to add flavor, or to glaze it.
 

batter - The name of many semi-liquid, floury mixtures of flour, water or milk (or both) or some other liquid. It also usually includes sugar and eggs. Batters may be thin or thick (but even when thick, they must be fluid enough to drop from a spoon). When thin, they should pour out like creamy milk.

sponge - A batter to which yeast is added. This batter is so stiff that it does not drop from a spoon, but can be handled.
 

Basil – Basil - Learn about basil, how to store it, and preserve it.

History: The ancient Greeks believed that only the king should be allowed to cut the basil plants, and he must use a sickle made of pure gold.
 

Bavarian cream - It is a molded cream that is made from custard sauce or sweetened fruit puree that is bound with gelatin and lightened with whipped cream. Bavarian cream can be served on its own or used as a filling for cold charlottes or molded cakes.
 

Bavarois - It is a light mousse, usually made with chocolate, praline or fruit.
 

bean curd - Of all the vegetarian products, bean curd is the most versatile and important in the Chinese cuisine. Bean curds are made of soybean powder and come in square cakes measuring 2 1/2 or 3 inches to a side. They are white and have the consistency of firm custard. They are bland but absorbent, soft-textured but strong, and are conducive to all types of cooking. Because they are inexpensive, there is an eastern Chinese expression for taking advantage of a person that is "eating bean curd."
 

beans - Originally the name of the large, smooth, kidney-shaped, edible seeds within the uneatable long pods of the "broad bean."

History: - In Europe, where it has been cultivated from a very early date, it was the only vegetable known by the name of bean until the 16th century. Since then, a number of other vegetables, mostly from South America and also from the East, are known as beans. The Spaniards and the Portuguese originally brought Beans to Europe from Central America in the 16th century. From archeological research, beans have been found to be used as early as 4000-5000 B.C.
 

bean sauce - After soy sauce is brewed, the soybean pulp is removed from the vats and made into several types of condiments. The first is bean sauce, sometimes called brown bean sauce or soybean condiment. Use this rich condiment to replace soy sauce where thicker gravy is desired. Especially good used as a marinade for roasted meats.
 

béarnaise sauce (bair-naz) - It is a variation of hollandaise sauce. White wine or vinegar, diced shallots, tarragon, and peppercorns are cooked together and reduced and sieved and then added to hollandaise sauce. The spice tarragon is what gives it a distinctive taste. The sauce is served with beef and some shellfish.

History: Chef Jules Colette at the Paris restaurant called Le Pavillon Henri IV in the 19th century invented Béarnaise sauce in Paris, France. It was named Béarnaise in Henry's honor as he was born in Bearn, France (a region in the Pyreness mountain range in southwest France). It is said that every chef at the restaurant tried to claim the recipe as his own.

Check out History of Sauces for more detailed history.
 

beaten biscuit – Southerners describe beaten biscuits as a cross between a soda cracker and a baking powder biscuit. To achieve the right texture and lightness, the dough had to be beaten hard (usually with a mallet) for at least half an hours. The purpose of the beating was to incorporate air into the mixture (this was a time in history before the invention of baking powder). They were a very heavy biscuit, not like our present day baking powder biscuits.

History: Beaten biscuits originated in Virginia and traveled across the mountains to Kentucky and then south to Maryland. Chuck wagon cooks also made them, recruiting a gullible new cowhand for help. They were considered the pride of the South, and in earlier days no Southern hostess would fail to offer these at any and all times of the day They are one of the delicious hot breads that have made Southern cooks famous They were basically considered an upper-class status symbol dish that depended on a lot of labor. Making the beaten biscuits was the daily duty of the plantation cook.
 

beau monde seasoning salt - Beau Monde is a seasoning salt containing ground dried onion and celery seed. It can be found in the spice section of your grocery store.

Check out the web page on Beau Monde Seasoning Salt.
 

---

Béchamel Sauce (bay-shah-mel) - In France, it is one of the four basic sauces called "meres" or "mother sauces" from which all other sauces derive. It is also know as "white sauce." It is a smooth, white sauce made from a roux made with flour, boiled milk, and butter. It is usually served with white meats, eggs, and vegetables. It forms the basis of many other sauces.

History:  Check out History of Sauces for more detailed history.
 

---

Beef On Weck Sandwich – Also called Beef On Wick, an alternative spelling usually used by older people from Buffalo and eastern suburbanites. It is a roast beef sandwich on a salty kummelweck roll. This sandwich is a unique staple of Buffalo, New York’s bars and taverns. Few, if any, restaurants outside of the Buffalo area serve this sandwich or even know what it is. The important ingredient to these sandwiches is the German roll, called kummelweck. These rolls are large, hard rolls with chunks of salt and caraway seeds on the top. Kummelweck is simply shortened to “weck.”

History: For a more detailed history on Beef On Weck Sandwiches, check out History of Sandwiches.
 

---

Beef Stroganoff (STROH-guh-noff) - A dish that consists of thin slices of tender beef (usually tenderloin or top loin), onions, and sliced mushrooms. The ingredients are quickly sautéed in butter and combined with a sour-cream sauce. It is usually accompanied by rice pilaf.

History: The recipe did not appear in English cookbooks until 1932, and it was not until the 1950s, after World War II, that beef stroganoff became popular for elegant dinner parties in America. There is more than one story on who first created this elegant dish:

Beef Stroganoff was created in the 1890s by chef Charles Briere for Count Paul Stroganoff, a 19th century Russian diplomat, who was in a friendly competition with the chefs of other families in St. Petersburg, the cultural center of Russian society.< The Stroganoff's chef won the prize with his recipe.

Another version is that Count Pavel Stroganov, a celebrity in turn-of-the-century St. Petersburg, was a noted gourmet as well as a friend of Alexander III. He is frequently credited with creating Beef Stroganoff or having a chef who did so.

The name of this dish comes from Russian Count Grigory Stroganove (1770-1857) who was one of the richest noblemen and held the highest diplomatic posts. Great gourmet, he loved delicious dishes and always had the best cooks. One of them invented an original dish from scraped meat and it was on the Count's taste. The dish took the name Stroganoff, but, as to the cook, his name was unfairly forgotten but some people told ("bitter tongues") that the dish was made especially for the Count when he, being old, lost all his teeth and couldn't chew a simple beef stake.
 

---

Beef Wellington - It is a choice fillet of beef (often flambéed in brandy) that is covered with liver pate and sliced mushrooms. The meat is then placed in a case of puff pastry and baked in a hot oven.

History: It was named in the mid 19th century in honor of Arthur Wellesley (1769-1852), British soldier and statesman. He is best known for his military victory over Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo in 1815. He was a national hero and was made the first Duke of Wellington to honor him. Because of his love of a dish of beef, truffles, mushrooms, Maderia wine, and pate cooked in pastry, this dish was name Beef Wellington in his honor. He was also Prime Minister of Britain and Ireland. According to Queen Victoria, the Duke was The pride of this country. He was the GREATEST man this country ever produced. To think that all of this is gone; and that this great and immortal man belongs now to History."
 

---

beet – Scientific name is Beta vulgaris. Among its numerous varieties are the red, or garden, beet, the sugar beet, and Swiss chard. In the United States, sugar beets are grown extensively from Michigan to Idaho and in California, accounting for more than half of United States sugar production. Greens are used, as you would cook spinach

History - The beet has been cultivated since pre-Christian times. The beet comes from the Mediterranean area where the people in Babylonia, Egypt, and Greece grew them. Then as now were used not only to eat but for their red dye.
 

---

beignets (ben-YAYS) - Puffy squares of deep-fried dough dusted with powdered sugar. The word beignet comes from the early Celtic word "bigne" meaning "to raise." Beignet is also French for "fritter." It is a New Orleans specialty that is a fried, raised piece of yeast dough, usually about two inches in diameter or two inches square. After being fried, they are sprinkled with sugar or coated with various icings. It is like a sweet doughnut, which is square-shaped, and minus the hole. Traditional fare at New Orleans coffee houses, most notably Cafe du Monde in the French Quarter.

History:  Check out History of New Orleans Beignets with a recipe.
 

---

Belle-Helene - (1) A classic French dessert called "Poires Belle Helene" with cold poached pears, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate sauce. (2) This is also used in French cookery as a name for a garnish to grilled meat dishes.

History: Introduced around 1865 by Paris chefs from restaurants on the Grands Boulevard. This dessert was created in the 1870s and named in honor of the title character, Belle Helene, in an opera by Offenbach of the same name. Offenbach is perhaps best known in the United States for the popular melody associated with the French can-can.
 

---

Betty or Brown Betty - A Betty is a baked dessert dating back to Colonial America, It is a baked pudding made with layers of spiced sweetened fruit (usually apples) and buttered breadcrumbs.

History: Learn more about History and Legends of Cobbler, Crisps, Crumble, Brown Betty, Buckle, Grunts, Slumps, Bird's Nest Pudding, Sonker, & Pandowdy
 

---

beurre (burr) - This is the French word for "butter."

beurre manie (burr mahn-YAY) - This is a French term for a kneaded mixture of butter and flour.

beurre noir - French for sweet butter that has been cooked until it has just turned a light shad of brown. Wine vinegar, capers, and parsley are then added.
 

---

bialy (bee-AH-lee) - A bialy is similar to a bagel, in that it is a round, chewy roll. But it is unlike a bagel in two important ways: One, it does not have a hole in the middle, but a depression; and two, it never became popular outside of New York City. The indentation in the middle of the dough is can be filled with onion, garlic, or poppy seeds. As the bialy has a very short shelf life, about six hours, they do not lend to being shipped around the country. They can be modest in size, three to four inches, or the size of a small pizza.

History: Check out History of Bialys.
 

---

bias-slice - Slicing a food crosswise at a 45-degree angle.
 

---

bicarbonate of soda - Another common name for baking soda is bicarb which is short for bicarbonate of soda or sodium bicarbonate. Baking soda, is a naturally occurring substance that is present in all living things. It helps living things maintain the pH balance necessary for life. Baking Soda is made from soda ash, also known as sodium carbonate. It is found in all grocery stores in the baking section.
 

---

Bierock Sandwich – See Runza Sandwich.
 

---

Bird's Nest Pudding - A pudding containing apples whose cores have been replaced by sugar. The apples are nestled in a bowl created by the crust. Also called Crow's Nest Pudding.

History: Learn more about Legends of Cobbler, Crisps, Crumble, Brown Betty, Buckle, Grunts, Slumps, Bird's Nest Pudding, Sonker, & Pandowdy
 

---

Bird's Nest Soup - A classic Chinese soup, called yin waw, is made using the nests of the swiftlet (a sea swallow), a tiny bird found throughout Southeast Asia and especially high in the caves of Thailand's southern islands. These small birds live on high cliffs in the isolated islands of Indonesia and in parts of Western China bird. Instead of twigs and straw, it makes its nest from strands of gummy saliva, which harden when exposed to air. When dried, these nests are translucent and grayish in color and have the texture of soft plastic. They are about the size and shape of a human ear. Once the nests are harvested, they are cleaned and sold to restaurants, where they are served simmered in chicken broth.

Both the Indonesian and the Chinese governments have limited harvesting of swallow’s nests to twice a year, because of the fear of causing extinction to these cliff swallows. This is when the swallows have left their nest and migrated elsewhere (before the eggs are laid and after the swallows have left their nests).

The soup has the reputation of being an aphrodisiac. The soup is popular because it is believed to help growth, skin complexion and sex drive, prevent lung disease and stave off aging. All through the ages in China, swallow’s nest soup is fed to very old people and to sick people that could not eat anything in order to sustain themselves. It is also quite costly (a bowl of bird's nest soup at a good Hong Kong restaurant can go for as much as $60), many western restaurants serve a less expensive version consisting of soup with noodles shaped to resemble a bird's nest.

History: Chinese began eating the nests of edible-nest swiftlets in soup or in jelly mixed with spices or sweets about 1,500 years ago. It was during times of famine that the imaginative Chinese discovered that not only were sharks' fins and car's tongues edible, but that swallows' nests were as well. According to legends, Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty was able to keep her youthful looks because of her daily intake of swallow nests.
 

---

Birthday Cake -

History:  Check out History of Cakes.
 

---

biscotti (bee-SKAWT-tee) – In Italian, biscotti means, "twice cooked." The word biscotto is derived from bis (twice) and cotto (cooked). Biscotti is also the generic term for cookies in Italian. The dough is formed into logs and baked until golden brown. The logs are then sliced, and the individual biscotti are baked again to give them their characteristic dryness. The shelf life of biscotti are three to four months without preservatives or additives. Other countries have their version of this cookie - Dutch rusk, French biscotte, and the German zwieback.

History: Early Seaman’s biscuits, also known as hard tack, probably were the first version of biscotti. They were the perfect food for sailors who were at sea for months at a time on long ocean voyages. The biscuits were thoroughly baked to draw out the moisture, becoming a cracker-like food that that was resistant to mold. Biscotti were a favorite of Christopher Columbus who relied on them on his long sea voyage in the 15th century. Historians believe that the first Italian biscotti were first baked in 13th century Tuscany in the in a city called Prato.
 

---

biscuit (BISH-kiht) - In England, it is the equivalent of U.S. cookies (small, sweet cakes). In the U.S., a type of non-yeast bread made of flour, milk, and shortening, usually served with breakfast - small, and similar to what much of the world refers to as "scones."
 

---

bisque (bisk) - A bisque is a thick, rich, creamy sauce in the form of a puree. Bisque in French means a "shellfish soup." The word is a corruption of "biscuit," as the soup was cooked twice to thicken it. Bisques in the 18th century were made of poultry and game, not with shellfish as they usually are today.
 

---

bistro (BEES-troh) - (1) In France, a bistro used to be a bar that also sold wine. Sometimes, they would have one or two tables and the wife of the owner would have made a dish she would sell. Today a bistro is a small neighborhood restaurant with a comforting, predictable menu and reliable daily specials. It functions as a home away from home for many people, drawn by the familiar atmosphere, honest food and consistent prices. (2) Bistro also means a style of cooing (simple home cooking - it's similar to old-fashioned American food). It's a return to the era before fast food, before speed and convenience became more important than flavor and quality, but not quite to the complexity of old school French cooking.
 

---

Black pudding - Called "Marag" (Blood Pudding) in Gaelic (it also means a fat, shapeless person!), this is one of the famous blood dishes that Scottish people love. It usually accompanies other fried dishes, such as bacon and eggs. While it might seem shocking to eat blood, don't forget that all meat dishes contain blood and it's the basis, with fat, of gravy. Blood dishes are popular all over Europe, especially in Transylvania.
 

---

blackened - A cooking technique where meat or fish is usually seasoned with a Cajun spice mixture and then cooked in a cast-iron skillet that has been heated almost red-hot. This technique gives the food an extra crispy crust and sears in the juices. It is also guaranteed to set off your smoke detector--unless the battery is dead!

Blackened Redfish - A dish made by searing seasoned redfish fillets in a smoking hot skillet (usually a cast-iron skillet).

History: This cooking technique and popular fish dish was introduced by Louisiana chef Paul Prudhomme, causing a worldwide culinary phenomenon in the early to mid-1980s. As the dish's fame grew in the late 1980s, stiff limits had to be placed on redfish catches to prevent the disappearance of the species from Gulf Coast waters. Chef Paul Prudhomme's non-traditional "blackened redfish" dish sparked a worldwide Cajun food craze which inspired creative chefs to start "blackening" everything from chicken to veal in order to continue to cash in on the craze.
 

---

blanch, blanching - (1) To briefly plunge food into boiling water and then into cold water to stop cooking. (2) Blanching allows you to cook vegetables completely, then cool them quickly for use in dishes like salad, soup, stew, and pasta. Blanching is used to loosen skins of fruits and vegetables or to prepare them for more cooking by another method. (3) To scald shelled nuts until the thin outer skins are sufficiently loosened to remove easily.
 

---

blend - To mix ingredients together thoroughly (either by hand or mixer).
 

---

bleu cheese - Also called fromage bleu. It is the French name for a group of Roquefort-type (blue-veined) cheeses made in the Roquefort area in southeastern France. Roquefort-type cheeses made in the United States are called blue cheese.

Danish blue - After World War II, Danish cheese makers created a new blue cheese. By using Bleu d'Auvergen and Bleu des Causses as models, they began making a cheese that we know today as Danish Blue. It is made with large machinery and modern technology. It is a flawless blue cheese but it is considered uninteresting and with a predominant flavor of salt.

Bleu D'Ambert - The name comes from the mold or form traditionally used to shape the cheese in its tall, cylindrical shape. Originally, the cow's milk used for this ancient cheese came from the pastures around the town of Ambert in the heart of France. Fourme was made long before the English Stilton that it resembles visually and in terms of recipe and flavor, but is not as crumbly as Stilton. This liberally veined blue cheese has a pronounced but not evenly sharp flavor.

Bleu d'Auvergne (bluh-doe-VAIRN) - This is a pasteurized cheese. They are made in 6-pound wheels.

Bleu des Causses (dluh-duh-KOSE) - This is always unpasteurized. The texture is creamer than Bleu d'Auvergne though the recipe is the same. The difference is in the quality of the milk. They are made in 5 to 5 1/2 pound wheels. It is made by only a few small producers and is quite rare.
 

---

blini (blee-nee) - They are Russian pancakes made with yeast and buckwheat flour, and have been made in Russia for hundreds of years. They are used in place of puff pastry for canapés to serve caviar, smoked salmon, and a number of other savory foods.
 

---

blintz - This is the Yiddish word, derived from blini for a small pan-fried battercake that is rolled with meat, potato, cheese, or fruit filling.
 

---

blood orange - The blood orange generally is sweeter than its orange cousins, with a slight raspberry aftertaste. It can be enjoyed as any other orange, for its juice, or in fruit salads, or as a garnish for desserts, but its high price dictates that it should be reserved for special occasions. The blood orange is generally about the same size as a Florida juice orange (about the size of a tennis ball), though it has none of the green streaks common to juice oranges. Blood oranges are generally seedless, or close to it, and may outwardly range from bright orange to orange with red areas.
 

---

bloom - (1)  To soften gelatin in cool liquid before using in the dish you are making. Blooming gelatin is a step integral to ensuring the smooth texture of a finished product. It involves sprinkling the powdered gelatin into a liquid and letting it sit for 3 to 5 minutes. Then, when the mixture is heated, the gelatin will dissolve evenly. You can bloom gelatin in just about any liquid. Avoid the fresh juices of tropical fruits such as papaya, kiwi, mango, and pineapple as they contain an enzyme that will eat the gelatin. Pasteurizing kills the enzymes in these fruits, so canned or frozen juices are fine.

(2)  The term is also used when allowing the casing on smoked sausage to darken at room temperature after it has been smoked.
 

---

blueberry - The blueberry of the genus "Vaccinium," is a Native American species. One of only three berries native to North America; Wild Blueberries were well known to the earliest inhabitants. To settle the question about blueberries and huckleberries being the same berry, they are not. Huckleberries have ten large hard bony seeds, which do not disappear when the berries are baked, boiled, or eaten fresh. Wild blueberries have many tiny seeds that are so soft they literally melt in your mouth.

History: Low bush blueberries (often referred to as "wild blueberries") were the first to be cultivated commercially (the first attempts were made by the Indians who practiced burning as a pruning technique). When the explorers and settlers arrived on the North American Continent, they found the native Indians using berries as an integral part of their food supply. Early settlers cherished the fruit as a staple ingredient in foods and medicines. They incorporated the berries into their diets (eating them fresh off the bush and adding them to soups, stews, and many other foods). The North American harvest runs from mid-April through early October, with peak harvest in July. Efforts in the early 1900's by Elizabeth White and Dr. Frederick Coville to domesticate the wild high bush blueberry resulted in today's cultivated blueberry industry.
 

---

blue cheese - Blue, blue-mold, or blue-veined cheese is the name for cheese of the Roquefort type that is made in the United States and Canada. It was not until about 1918 that attempt to make Roquefort-type cheese in the United States met with success. See bleu cheese.
 

---

bocconcini - (1) Bocconcini means "a mouthful" and refers to small nuggets (about 1-inch in diameter) of fresh mozzarella. They are usually sold packed in whey or water. (2) It can also describe tempting Italian dishes.
 

---

boil - To cook submerged in a boiling liquid at or above the boiling point of water.

Check out my article on How To Boil Water - Boiling Points of Water.
 

---

boiled peanuts – These are green or raw peanuts that are boiled in salty water for hours over open flames. Green peanuts must be obtained at just the right time to ensure their high quality. One of the drawbacks of boiled peanuts is that they are a low-acid food and highly perishable. Because of this, they have a very short shelf life unless refrigerated or frozen. Boiled peanuts are considered a traditional southern snack in the states of South Carolina, Georgia, northern Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. They are an acquired taste, but according to Southerners, they are totally addictive. In the months of May through November, you will see roadside stands that can range from woodsheds to shiny trailers offering fresh boiled peanuts. A traditional way that old-timers like to eat boiled peanuts is to drop the shelled peanuts into a bottle of cold RC Cola and gulp the combo down.

History: The origin of who first boiled peanuts remains a mystery. It is known that boiled peanuts have been a southern institution since the Civil War (1861-1865) when General Sherman led his troops through Georgia. When troops of the Southern Confederacy were almost with food, peanuts suddenly became very important. Soldiers roasted the peanuts in a campfire and boiled them.

History:  Check out history of Boiled Peanuts.
 

---

bombe (bahm) - Bombe is French for a "bomb" which was used in a cannon. In France, they had at one time, a spherical mold for food shaped like a round bomb. Originally it was made of copper and had a tight lid so that it could be buried with its contents in salted ice to keep the contents frozen. It is a dessert made with two different ice cream mixtures. The first is a simple plain ice cream, which is used to line a mold. The second is a more elaborate ice cream mixture (usually with a strong flavoring), which, is used as a filling. The bombe is usually decorated when it is complete with crystallized fruit. It is then frozen and served cold as a dessert.
 

 

---

bon appetit (bon a-pet-tite) - A French phrase that literally means "good appetite" or "enjoy your meal."