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MACADAMIA NUT The fruit of an, Australian tree. Also\ known as Queensland nut, it has a thin green fleshly  husk; a very hard lightly- brown shell encloses the edibles white kernel, which has a mild, yet rich, flavour. Ther nuts are rounded in shape and slightly larger than chick peas in size. In asia the nut is used in curries and stews; in the United States it is a flavouring for ices and cakes and is also eaten as a sweetmeat, dipped in honey or chocolate.

          RECIPE

         

          Macaire potatoes

Cook 4 large floury unpeeled potatoes in the oven. Cut in half and remove the pulp. Mash the potatoes pulp with butter until smooth, allowing 100g (4 oz, ½ cup) butter per 1 kg ( 2 ¼ lb.) potato. Season with sa;lt and pepper. Heat some butter in a frying pan and add the mashed potato, spreading it out into a flat nrou nd cake. Cook until golden, then with the aid of a plate, turn the potato over and cook the other side.

MACARONI Tubes of pasta, 5-6 mm ( about ¼ in ) in diameter, which originated in Naples. Macaroni is cooked in a boiling water and may be served with the grated cheese, tomato sauce, butter cream or an gratin. It may also be put in a timbale mould ring mould and served with for examples, seafoods, vegetables or mushrooms. The world comes from the Italian maccberone, meaning fine paste'’ In Rome the popular method of serving macaroni is a alla ciociara, with sliced fried vegetables smoked ham and slices of sausage. In Naples is served all arrabbiata( with a spicy sauce of pimientos) or with Mozzarella cheese mushrooms, peas and giblets. Macaroni has been knopwn since 17th century and in Britain, in the 19th century when it was fashionable to give a British slant to Italian dishes, macaroni cheese became a traditional dish. It was alos served as dessert, showing Britain’s fondness for milk puddings.

            RECIPES

Macaroni a Pitalienne

Cook 250 g ( 9 0z) macaroni and drainb thoroughly. Mix in 75 g ( 3 0z, ¾ cup) grated cheese ( a mixture of Gruyere and parmesan) and 75 g ( 3 oz, 6 tablespoon) butter, cut into small pieces. Season with salt pepper and a pinch of grated nutmeg. Mix well together, pour into a serving dish and serve very hot.

Macaroni calabrese

Rinse 1 kg ( 2 ¼ lb. ) ripe tomatoes. Cut them in a half and press to remove tmhe juices Arrange the tomatoes in a gratin dish. Season with a salt and pepper and sprinkle with a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil. Cook in a preheated oven at 180ºC ( 350ºF, gas 4) until almost roasted but not completely cooked. Halfway trough the cooking process, add stoned ( pitted) black olives and capers. Cook 575 g (1 ¼ lb) macaroni in plenty of boiling water, drain and garnish with the tomatoes. Sprinkle a little basil on top, pour on a dash of olive oil and serve very hot.

Macaroni with cream

Boil macaroni until it is three parts cooked. Drain and put back in the saucepan over the heat. To evaporate all moisture. Moisten with 200 ml ( 7 fl oz, ¾ cup ) boiled double ( heavy) cream. Simmer slowly for 10 - 12 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt and a little grated nutmeg. Remove the pan from the heat aznd mix in 65 g ( 2 ½ oz, 5 tablespoons) butter, cut into small pieces.

Macaroni with mirepoix

Prepare a vegetable mirepoix with a equal weight to the cooked macaroni. Mix the mirepoix with the macaroni and put into a buttered grain dish. Srinkle with grated cheese. Pour melted butter over it and brown in thw oven.

Macaroni with seafood

Prepare a seafood ragout. Cook the macaroni in salted water and drain thoroughly. Place half the macaroni in a serving dish, cover with the ragout and pile the remaining macaroni on top. Sreve very hot.

Macaroon A small, round, biscuit (cookie) crunchy outside and sogt inside, made with ground almounds, sugar and egg whites. Macaroons are sometimes flavoured with coffee, chocolate, nuts or fruit and the joined togerthjer in pairs.

           The origin of this biscuit goes back a long way. The recipe originally came from Italy, particularly Venicem, during the Renaissance: the name is derived from the Italian maccherome and the Venetran macarone ( meaning fine paste) , from which macaroni is also derived some authorities clasim that the recipe for the macaroons of Cormery, in France, is the oldest. Macaroons have been made in the monastery there since 791 and legend has it that they used to be made in the shape of monk’s navels. The macaroons of many French towns are famous, including those of Montrorillion ( shaped like coronets and and sold on their cooking paper) Niort ( made with angelica) , Reins, Pau, Amiens and Melun. The Nancy macaroons are probably the best known. During the 17th century they were manufactured by the Carmelites, who followed Theresa of avila’s principles to the letter: Almonds are good for girls who do not eat meat. During thr French Revolution, two nuns, in holding with an inhabitant of the town, specilalized in mak9ng and selling macaroons. They became famous as the ‘Macaroons Sister’ and in 1952 the street in which they had operated was named after them; macaroons are still made there today.

           Ratafias are a similar biscuits, originally eaten with the liquer of the same ( see ratafia). They are the smaller, browner and now usually flavoured with ratafia essence. Araretti are Italian biscuitys which are much the same are flavoured with bitter almonds or apricot kernels.

           Recipes

Classic macaroons

Line a baking sheet with rice paper or buttered greeseproof( wax) paper. Mix 350 g ( 120 oz, 1 ½ cups) caster ( superfine) sugar with 250 g ( 9 oz, 2 ½ cups) ground almonds. Lightly whish 4 egg whites with a pinch of a salt and mix thouroughly with the sugar and almonds mixture. If liked, a little finely chopped candied orange peel or cocoa powder can be added to the mixture before cooking . Pipe or spoons small heaps of this mixture on to the top baking sheet, spacing them so that they do not run into one another during cooking.

            Cook in a preheated oven at 200ºC ( 400ºF , gas 6) for about 12 minutes. Lift the macaroons off the baking sheet with a spatula, transfer to the wire track and leave to cool completely. Macaroons can be stored in an airtight container for several days in rthe refrigerator, or for several months in the freezer.

Soft macaroons

Mix together 250 g ( 9 oz, 2 ½ cups) grounds almonds, 450- 500g ( 16- 18 0z, 3 1/3 - 3 2/3 cups) icing ( confectioners) sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar or afew drops of vanilla esence ( extract) in a bowl with 4 lightly whisk eggs whites. Whisk 4 additional egg whites into stiff peaks with a pinch of salt and fold very gently into the mixture. Place the mixture in a piping ( pastry) bag with a smooth nozzle 5mm ( ¼ in) in diameter. Pipe small amounts of the mixture on to a baking sheet lined with the rice paper or greesefroof ( wax) paper, spacing them so that they do not stick together cooking . Cook in a preheated oven at 180ºC( 350ºF, gas 4) for about 12 minutes. Finish as for classic macaroons. A little finely chopped angelica can be added to the almond mixture.

MACE A spice derived from the fibrous, lacy outer coating of the nutmeg seed. It is pressed, dried and used as it is or reduced to powder. The whole mace is known as a bl;ade. It is a golden brown when dried, with a distinct flavour similar to nutmeg, but stronger. Mace is widely used in a savoury and sweet cooking. It is a popular seasoning for saisage meats and foremeats, and it has an affinity with pork dishes. It can also be used to improve the flavour of sauces for meats and can be replace nutmeg in omelettes, bechamel sauce and potatoes puree.

MACEDOINE A mixture of vegetables or fruit cut into small dice. The name macedoine is derived from Macedonia, the ancient royal kingdom formed from the various balkan states united Phillip II, father of Alexander the Great.

           A vegetable macedoine is usually composed of carrots and turnips, which are peeled and cut into slices 3-4 mm ( (1/8) in) thick, then into sticks and finally 3-4 mm ( 1/8 in) cubes. French ( green) beans are cut into small pieces.The vegetables are cooked separately and then mixed together with some well drained peas and then mixed together with some well drained peas and possibly other vegetables. The macedoine is bound with butter and is served very hot as a garnish for meat anf poultry, Roat meat juices are often added, particularly veal, as are chopped herbs and cream frainche. It can also be served cold, in aspic or bound with mayonnaise and used to stuff tomatoes or to a accompany hard boiled ( hard cooked) eggs or ham cornets.

           A fruit macedoine consist of diced fruits soaked in fruit syrup which is served cold. Often sprinkled with kirsh or rum. It can be used to decorate grapefruit and many other dishes.

           Recipes

Vegetables macedoine with butter or cream

Peel and dice 250 g ( 9 oz) each of new carrots, turnips, French ( green) beans and potaties. Prepare 500 g ( 18 oz, 3 ½ cups) shelled peas. Add the carrots and turnips to a pan of boiling salted water. Bring back to the boil and add the beans, then the peas and finally the poatatoes. Keep on the bol but do not cover. When the vegetables are cooked, drain the pour into a serving dish and add buter or cream ( keep the cooking water for a soup base). Sprinkle with chopped herbs.

MACERATE To soak a raw, dried or preserved foods in liquid ( usually alcohol - liquer, wine or brandy - or sugar syrup) so that they absorb the flavour of the liquid. Macertae is the term usually appliued fruit, as oppsed to marinate, which is used for tyhe same proces in savoury cooking. Macerating imparts flavour to the fruit, softens it and draws out the fruikt juices. Dried fruits for winter compotes and other dishes are often treated in this way.

           To prepare some conserves and jams, the fruits may be macerated with the sugar in which it will later be cooked.

MACKEREL a common oceanic fish found in the waters of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, the North Sea and the North Atlantic, from Spain to Norway and Iceland and off the coast of labrador and New England on the Americans side. It can be fished thoughout the year, in the surface waters during the summer months. They migrates in large shoals to specific breeding grounds each years. Mackerel caught by line are always freshener and tastier than those caught by trawler.

           The markerel has a streamlined body, greenish blue with black and green bands on the back and a silvery iunderrside. When freshly caught, the flesh is firm and the eyes are bright. The chub markerel is common in the Mediterranean but also found off the Iberian and French Atlantic coasts and in New England waters. It is small, has less pronounced markings and larger syes. Chub markerel are sometimes known as Spanish markerel but the term can also refer to similar fish found in tropical and semi tropical waters around the world, particularly in South East Asia, notably off Thailand and the Philippines, and the Caribbean.

           Markerel is an oily fish with a distinctive flavour. It can be prepared in many ways - grilled(broiled); classically served with gooseberry sauce, to set off its richness; stuffee; prepared a la provencal;e’ or with white wine, made into a soup ( cotriade); or poached and served with mustard, horseradish, tomato or cream sauce. Markerel fillets can also be smoked, sometimes crusted with peppercorns, or preserved in oil or tomato sauce.

RECIPES

Markerel Fillets

Fillets of markerel a la dijonnaise

Filler 4 large mackerel. Season the fillets with salt and pepper and coat with white mustard seeds.

            Soften 2 chopped onions in 2 tablespoons oil in a saucepan. Add 1 tablespoon flour and mix well. Pour a glass of stocks or fish fumet into the saucepan, tiogether with a glass of dry white wine. Stir well, add a bouquet garni and cook for 8-10 minutes.

            Arrange the fillets in a butterd ovenproof dish and add the sauce. Place the dish in a preheated oven at 200ºC ( 400 ºF, gas 6) and cook for about 15 minutes. Drain the fisdh and arrange on a serving dish. Remove the bouquet garni from the sauce. Add a little, mustard, check the seasoning and pour the sauve over the fillets. Garnish with slices of lemon and sprigs of parsley.

Fillets of markerel a la Iyonnaise

Fillet and season 4 large mackerel. Soften 4 chopped onions in melted butter, then add 1 tablespoon vinegar. Place half the onions in a buttered ovenproof dish, lay the fillets on top and cover with the remaining onions. Moisten with 3 tablespoon dry white wines. Srinkle with breadcrumbs, dot with knobs of bujtter and cook in a preheated oven at 220ºC ( 425ºF, gas 7) for aboutr 10 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Fillets of markerel in white wine

Add 5 tablespoon white wine to a 500 ml ( 18 fl oz, 2 ¼ cups) fish stocks and boil down to reduce by half. Fillets and season 4 large mackerel. Arrange the fillets in a buttered ovenproof dish, add the stock and cook in a preheated oven at 220ºC ( 425ºF, gas 7)for abot 12 minutes. Drain the fish and keep warm on a serving dish. Strain the cooking juices and boil down to reduce by third. Add 200 ml ( 7 fl oz, ¾ cups) double ( heavy) crem and reduce by half. Coat the fish with the sauce and sprinkle who chopped parsley.

Mackerel in cider Pierre Traiteur

Trim and wash the mackerel and season them thoroughly. Place them on a base of onions and chopped apples in a pan. Cover with cider, add 3 tablespoons cider vinegar and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Allow the fish to cool int he pan. Remove the fillets and arrange them on a serving dish surrounded by pieces of apples that have been fried in butter. Boil down the cooking liquid in a pan and pour over the mackerel while still hot. Sprinkle with pepper and chopped chives.

Additional recipes See piemontaise.

Whole or Sliced Mackerel

Mackerel ala boulonnaise

Clean some mussels and cook them in a little vinegar over a brisk heat. Prepare a butter sauce using the strained cooking juices from the mussels. Gut ( clean)  the mackerel, cut it into thick slices, and poach for about 12 minutes in a court- bouillon with a generous quantity of vinegar. Drain the fish, skin and arrange on along serving dish; keep warm Shells the mussles, arrange them around the fish and coat the mackerel and the mussles with the butter sauce.

Mackerel a la nage

To a 750 ml ( 1 ¼ pints, 3 ¼ cups) red wine, add 2 garlic cloves, 2 chopped shaloots, a clove small piece of cinamon and a  bouquet garni. Boil down to reduce, then add 2 chopped carrots, a bulb of fently. Finally, add the white parts of 4 leeks ( cut into thick slices) and finally chopped green tops of te leeks. Season with salt and pepper and add a little sugar. Continue simmering until the vegetables are cooked but still firm.

            Clean and gut 8 small mackerel. Place in a ovenproof dish, partially cover with the vegetables mixture and add a few slices of lemon. Cover the dish with foil and cook in a preheated oven at 180ºC ( 350ºF, gas 4) for about 5-6 minutes. Serve a very hot.

Mackerel with noisette butter

Clean 6 medium mackerel and cut them into thick slices of a similar size. Poach for about 12 minutes in a court- bouillon made with vinegar. Drain, palce on a serving dish, and keep warm. Sprinkle with a little vinegar. Prepare 100 g ( 4 oz, ½ cup) noisette* butter and add 1 tablespoon capers and chopped parsley. Pour the butter over the mackerel and serve very got.

Mackerel with sorrel

Trim 6 mackerel, slit them along the back and dry them. Melt a large knob of butter in a frying pan. Place the fish  in the hot . butter  and cook  on the one side in a 5 minutes .Turn and cook  the  other  side . Remove the fish  from the pan . season  and keep  warm.

Pick  over  500 g  ( 18 oz) sorrel , wash it thoroughly  and add  it mixture , stirring constantly, Until  the sorrel is reduced  to  a puree ( do not  allow  it  to be try  out ) Check  the seasoning  then  bind the mackered on the a long  dish . garnished with sorrel puree

Mackerel with  two - mustard sauce

Was and gut ( lean ) 8 small mackerel (lisettes ) Place  them  in the  a overprove  dish, season  with salt and pepper , moister with a glass of try  white wine  and cook in a preheated oven  at 240ºc( 475ºF gas 9)  for 8 minutes . Mix I Tablespoon  mild mustard with I tablespoon  mild  mustard  in  a saucepan. When  the mackerel are cooked, add  their  cooking  juice  to the  mustrad  mixture Add 40.g (1 ½ oz ,3 tablespoon ) butter< bing  to the  boil and cook for 2 minutes. Coat the fish  with the sauce and serve with rice o lo creole

MACON the region  between the southern  end of  the  cote de beanie  and the  beanie and the Beaujolais .It the produce  red, white  and rose AOC wine  of the  white Pokily - Fusses and  St- veral  are  well known Character and quality of Cote d Or burgundies they can  be both  agreeble  in the United  States it is  no longer reasonably  priced.

MACONNAIS Unpasteurized goat milk cheese Form Burgundy ( 40- 45% fat concept ) with a fresh body and natural bluish  crusts Maconais  is  a small truncated cone 3-4 cm  ( 1 ¼ -1½ in ) Across  weighing  50-60 g ( 2-21/4 oz ) It  has a middy  gladly gouty, nutty flavor  and its is used  in making  forage from ( strong cheese ) in Burgundy and lyonnais .

MACONNAISE A LA  Describing dishes  cooked  with  Macon  wine, such as fish  cooked  in red  Macon , such as  fish cooked in the red Macon  iwne  with  herbs garnished  with  small brown  glzed onions freind mushroom croutons  and sharp 

MACROBIOTI Denoting  a system  of dies. inspired by the Zen Sect of sect of Japanese Buddhism , Based  on balancing  the opposing principles of Yin (Feninine  and  Yang  ( Masculine ) It was founded by SakurazawNyuiti. Known As Oshaa ( 1993- 1996). It comprises a dozen deits, adapted to the  individual physical and spiritual  requirement , based on  whole  grain  cereal and  dried vegetable , Some  diets  include some green vegetable  and a little fish, but  means  fruits and alcoholic  drink  are forbiddden. The  only  beverage  permitted is tea and  then  only  in small  quantities.

MACVIN an Aov  vin  de liquerur and  a religin  speciality  of the Jura, in  france , reputedly  dating  from  the late  9th  century . Essencially it is spiced  wine , sweet and fairly  high  in  strength due to the  addition of mare.

MADEIRED A fortifiad wine  from  the island  of the same name,  which  belong to purytogal . The vine  yard  are terraced and the vine  trained vertically  The  Wine  is produced by a process known as the estufa .  In which  the wine in the cask is very gradually  heated  and then allowed  to cool down.  The finest Maderais are left  to mature  naturally  in oakcask stroed  under the eaves  of the lodge  and are heated  only by the sun. Quality madeiras are named  after graped  that make  then: Sercial  is the dries verdilho  is nony Maderias  are named after  the grated  that  make them . Sercial  is the  dries  Verdelho is nutty  and  mellow .  bual  for Boal  and Malmsey  are sweet and Full-bodied .The  wine  from each Madeir establishment   has  its  own  distinctive  character and  there  are in education  a few  blend  sold  under  branmd names .    Such  as rainwater  madeira  is the regaining  its previous  populary  it  can  have  a very  long llife  in the  bottle  -  there  are  18th - century  maderas  still in  existence, But  these  are  exceptional  vintage  wines .Dry  Madeiras  are  good  drunk  as  aperitif  or with clear  soup ,  while  the  sweeter  wines   may be  drunk  at any  time  or with  dessert  and  nut

RECIPES

BRASED HAM WICH MADEIRA

Brais the  Ham  and  cut  it into  slices > remave  the  fat  from  the meat  juice  reduce them add  Madeira. Strain  and   then  thecken with  arroroot or  cornflour ( cornstarch ) Arrage  the slince  of ham  in  an ovenproof dish  and cover  with the Madeira flavoured stock . Cover and  heat  through  in the  oven without  boiling.

Madeirea Sauce ( old  recipe )

Add 3  tablespoon  madeire to 200 ml

º( 7fl  oz  ¼ cup ) reduced  meat juice  and warnm.

Madeira sauce ( modern Recipe) put i kg ( 2 ¼ )  crushed veal  bones  into  an oven  proof  dish  and place  in a preheated  oven  at 240ºc ( 475ºF gas 9 )  Turn  5the  bones  over  from  time  to  time  so that  they colur  evenly Meanwjhile  dice 2  carrots and large  onoin .     When  the  bones  are  golden  add  the vegestable and  cook until golden  then drin  the bones and  vegestable  and  place  in a  large  pan . Remave the  from  any  juice  in the  cooking  dish  and  add  I litre ( (1¾  pint 4 1/3  cup s)

Stock  or water  > Scater  the  side  of the  dish  well  and  still residue  into  liquid .

Quickly bring  to the  boil  skil and  add 2 finely  chopped  celebrety  stick  200 g ( 7 oz ) peed and  sewd tomatoes  I peede crushed  garlic  clove a  garni  and puree  Bring  to the  boil  cover  and  simmer  genty  for  2 hour .  starting  and  then  add  some  tarragon  and  100g ( 4 oz 1 ½ cups ) finely  chopped  mushroom  Bring  to the  boil  Dissolve  I Tablespoon  cornflour  (  cornstarch)  in 200 ML (7 oz ¾  cup ) madeire  and  pour  in a stream into  the boiling  sauce  whising  it  in Strain  and reheat before  serving ,

MADELEINE  A small individual Rrench sponger  cake  shaped  like  a rounded  shell mad4e with  sugar  flour metled  butter and egg flavoured  with lemon  or orange - flower  water . The mixture  is cooked  in  ribbed oval mould which give the cvakes their  shell  like  apperence .

 The  origin of  this seashell cake so strictly pleated  outside  and  so  sensual  inside ( Marcel proust ) is  the  Subject   of much discussion  It has been  attributed  to  avice , chef  to talleyrand , the French Statesman , who  had  the idea  of baking a  pound -cake mixture in the  aspie mould . Other authorities however , believe   that the recipe  is much  older  and originated in the  French  town of Commecy which  was then  a duchy  under  the rule  of stanishen Leszezynski. It is said  that  during a visit  to the Castle  in 1755 the  duke was  very  5taken with  a cake made  by apeasant  girl named Madelineine > This Started The Fashion  for madeleinesa ( as they were named by the duke ) Which  were then  launched in Versailles by the bis  Daughter Marie Who was married  to Loouise XV. The attribution  of the cake To madeline Pouner . cordon-bleu cook  to a rich  burgher of Commercy ,seen doubtful

            The name madeline  is also given  to the small   individcual , English sponge  cake which is baked in na dariole mould could coated with jam and desccate4d desiccated coconut  and topped with a glance (candied ) cherry  and angelica.

Recipe

Classic madelinenes

            Melt 100g ( 4 oz ½ cup ) butter  without  allowing  it   to be  become hot  butter  a tray of tray madeliene mould  with  20 g ( ¼ oz , 11/2 Tablespoons ) butter put  the  juice  of half  a lemon  in  a bown  with a pinch  of salt  1258g(4 ½ oz, scant 2/3 cup ) caster (superfine ) sugar, 3 egg and an extra  egg yolk Mix  well together  with a wooden  spatula  and then  sprinkle  in 125g (4 ½ oz scant 1 ¼  cups ) silted reissuing  flour  and  mix  until smoked  finally add then melted  butter  spoon  the  mixture  into  the moulds  but  do not  fill more  than two  thrird  full , bake  in a preheated  oven  at  180ºC (350ºF, gas  4)  for  about  25 minutes  turn  out the mladeleine  and  cool  on a wire rack.

Commercy madelienes

Cream 150 g ( 5 oz 2/3 cup ) butterr  with  a wooden  spoon Add 200 g ( 7 oz , scant  I cup) caster (superfine ) sugar  and mix  well  add 6  egg one  at a  time  then 200g (7 oz  1 ¾  cups ) plain  (all  purpose )  flour  sifter with I teaspoon  baking  powder , and  finally  strir  I tablespoon orange- flower water , Butter and lighly  flour  some madeliene  mould  and  spoon  in the mixture .bake  in a preheated  oven  at  220ºc (425ºF gas 7)  for about  10 minutes. Turn  out  the  madelienes  on to a wire  rack  to cool

English Madeline

Cream (  Superfine ) sugar until pale  and Creamy. Stir in 2 egg and  little- self  flour

MAHON

Magnets with  green peppercorns

 Brown  the  duck  breasts  in the butter  or goose fat  in a  frying  pan.  Add  ½ glass  of  stock , salt  and some  green peppercorn  and cook , keeping  the meat rare. Remove   from the heat  and add  2 tablespoon  double  ( heavy ) cream keep warm.

Cook  some  rice  in the  Oriental way  ( light brown the  rice  in the butter  or goose  fat,  then  add  stock  and  cook  until  the  rice  is  tendeder  and  all the  stock has been adsorbed ) and   add an equal  quantity  of  chopped  mushrooms .Prepare  a think  béchamel  souse (half  the  volume   of the rice ). Add  the rice  and mushroom and  form into  flat cake. Brown  the cake  in a little  hot  oil .Serve  the  duck  breasts with  the  rice cake  and  coat  with  the sauce.

MAHON This  semi-hard pressed DOP cheese (40-45% fat content ) from  the  island  of major  is  made  by farmers from milk the  cheese  are  gathered  from the farmer  by  recogedore - afinadore  who ripen them in the underground  cellars for any thing from to months  to two  years  Produce in a regular  squares  with  round  corner , the  cheese  has  a tangy, nutty  flavour. in majorca  it  serve sliced  with  olive  oil, the fresh tarragon.

MAIDENHAIR FERM  Aspecies  of ferm with  aromatic and masilagiunos leaves  that are used to make infusion  and serops  eas bronchar  condition  maidenhair  ferm  syrop was ones used  to sweeten hot drinks, particularly Bavarian cream. Capile, a popular drink in Portugal, especially in Lisbon, is made of maidenhair fern syrup, lemonm zest and cold water.

MAID OF HONOUR Asmall English tart with an almond filling. Tradition has it that Boleyn dated the recipe while she was lady- in waiting to Catherine og Aragon and that an Enchanted Henry VIII named the cake of honour. The recipe was mostly closely guarded until a lady from the Court of Jorge give quit to agent Gentleman who opened a shop in Richmond to seldem. Originally small chest cake, with a court chees, almond and lemon filling there are various recipe. Almond custard or jum topped with almond sponge tipical filling

MAILLE  AN  18TH century Frech mastard and vinegar manufacturel  in 12769  suck secceded leconte as  vinegar diceteler  to the king  but his  reputatition  had  already  been  establish .  he had einvented the famous four thieves vinegar in 1720, the antiseptic quantities of which protected the doctors and nuns treating plague victims in the great epidemic in Marseilles.

            A hundred varieties of vinegar health or beauty and 53 varieties of flavourde table vinegars ( for examples nasturtium, caper, game, ravigote and distilled) were produced in his laboratories in Paris as well as mustards and fruits preserved  in vinegar. These products were exported to Hamburg and Moscow. The name Maille is still used on a range of mustards and vinegars, the recipes of which date back to the 18th century.

MAINTENON         The name given to a savoury dish made with mushrooms, onions and becha el sauce, sometimes contatining truffles, toungue and chicken breast. This style of preparation is usually applied to delicate meats ( such as lamb chiops, veal and sweetbreads). But stuffed omelettes poarched eggs and stuffed potatoes, can also be prepared in this way. Sweetbreads a la  Maintenon are braised arrnge on croutons, garnished with a slice of truffle and onion puree, and surrounded by a ring of supreme sauce.

            Dishes a la Maintenon were probably created by a chef int the service in the Noailles family, who owned the Chateau de Maintenon, but Madame de Maintenon was also interested in cooking she created lamb chops en papilotes for Louis XIV.

            REIPES

Lamb( or mutton) chops Maintenon

Quickly brown the chops in butter in one side only. Coat the cooked side of each  chop  with  Itablespoon Maintenom  mixture  shape  into a  done , and  coat  with  breadrumds Lavishly butter a  baking  dish and arrange  the  choose  on it . Sprinkle  with melted  and  cooking  in  a preheated  oven  at  240ºC ( 475ºF gas  9 )  until  golden  Serve with  Perigueuz sauce.

Maintenon mixture

 Clean and  slice 150 g (5 oz 2 ) mushroom  and sweat  in  15 g( 5 oz 2 cup ) mushroom and possibly truffle  and  cooked  tongue . bind  with  thick veloute sauce . prepare  and  cook a very  soft 8- egg omelettete  the  salpi con on the  half  the  omelette, rool up, and  slide  on the  an  ovenproof  plate .Coat  with  a  ligh  soubise  sauce  sprinkle with parmesan cheese  and melted  butter  and  brown quickly  in the  oven

Stffed potatoes a la Maitenon 

Bake some  floury medium unpeeled  potatoes  in the  oven . cut  in half and remove  the  pulp without  breaking  the  skin  prepare a  salpicon  with  chicken  cooked  tongue and  mushroom  bound  with  a ligh  Soubise  puree . Fill the potato  skins  with  this  mixture ,  forming  a done  shape , Sprinkle  the  top  with grated  cheese , breadcrumbs  and melted  a butter  Brown  in the  oven.

MAISON  This  French  term meaning  house  when  used  honestly, indicate  that  the  dish  concerned  has  been prepared  according  to an  original recipe  and is   served   only  in the  establishmen  which  claim it. it is more  commonly  used  today  to refer to a sopecially  of the  house or  to  a dish  that  is home - made  to the  chef own  recipe

MAITRE D’ HOTEL The  French  term for  the  person  in change  of the  dining  room  in the  hotel  or  restaurant . traditionally  a man  the  maitre  d hotel is the  assisted  by a team  of  senior  and assistance  waiters.

         In the royal noble household of France, the office of maitre was always held by the noble men of the highest rank, sometimes princes of the blood royal. Altough of the time the office was a sinecure, the maitre d’ hotels was at least nominally, in charge of all departments of the royal household. Including the kitchen and cellars, and all the functionries and servants. In la maison reglee (1692) Audiger sets out the maiter de hotels duties in a private house: he should supervise the accounts. Choose the cooks buy the bread wine and meat, and regulate and arrange the table settings of all the different service noble man might require.

            The maitre d’hotels function must has almost eased to exist in private hjouses as it is rare to require sometimes just to aarange tables and buy provisions, however in the large traditional restaurant it has lost none of its importance. He must be thoroughly familiar with the details of the special work of the dining rooms kitchen and cellars. He must also be able to advice his clients to guide them in their choice of dishes, the wines to go with them and the fruit follows.

MAITRE D HOTELS BUTTER A savoury  butter  containing chopped parsley lemon  juiecs  and  served  with grilled (broiled ) or  fried fish , grilled  meat or vegetable either in liquid form or solidified, in the  round  or slices.

Recipe

Maire d’ hotel butter

Work 200g (7 oz generous ¾ cup ) butter to a  smooth paste  with paste  with  a wooden spoon , add ½  tea spoon  fine  salt a pinch  of pepper , a squeese ( about  I  tablespoon ) of  juices  and I tablespoon  chopped  parsley. This  butter can be kept  in the  refrigerator for  2 or days.

Maitre   d’ hotel French beans

String  and  slice  the  beans  and place  in the  large  pan of boiling  water > Cook at a rolling  boil , uncovered and season  with salt halfway  through cooking  Drain Throughly  and mix  in  50 g ( 2 oz , ¼  cup  maitre d’hotel  butter per  450 g ( 1 lb ) cooked  beans .Serve with a little . chopped  parsley

Additional recipe  See potato

MAIZE (CORN) A  cereal with  white , yellow  or rust- coloured  grain , rich  in in starch  which  are  attached  to the cob protected  by the layer  of the fibrous leaves  with tasselled  topsd  also  Known  as  com ( in  the United  States ) and  Indian corn > it originated  in North  america  Being discovered  by  Chrirtophes

·        Grain  Main maize This ios hard  and  and yellow   with  a fairly  small cob , it  can be  ground  into flour , meal  or semolina and  used  to make  bread, pancaked fritter waffles polenta tortiller milk  pudding  biscuit  and  cake. Comflake are also made  with  maize  flour  cvornflour (cornstarch)  is widely  used  as a thickening  agent .This type  of the maize is also  used  to make  Bourbonwhiskey and certain  type of beer,  as well as corm oil.One  variety  of maize  has - black  grains rather  that yellows, and  is ground to produce blue cornmeal.

·        Sweetcorn Known  as corn  on the  cob, this  is  grown  as a vegetable . The  grains  are Ple  yellow and  the cob  is large  than  that of grain maize. It is harvested white still unripe  asnd  must  be eaten  quickly as the natural sugar  in the grains begins  to turn  to starch  after pickeng and  it loses  itsd sweet ness ,It should  be chosen  with plump milky grains  and covered with pale  green  leaves .It is sold  either  fresh ,canned  or fronned . the canned  of frozen . the  fresh  cobs  are cooked  in  boiluing water  or grilled ( broiled) They are served  with lemon  or  cream  Sweetcorn can be served  hot on  off the  cob, as an accompaniment  to meat dishes or  roast  poultry. The  grains can  also  be  used  in mixed salad baby sweetcom  is harvested  when  immature.Sold fresh  canned  and pickled  it is  eaten  who and  often used  in the oriental dishes

·        Porcorn  This  is  prepared  by heating  the  the  grains in the  oil  until  they  pop (puff up  and  burst ) forming  soft  white light masses which can be  sprinkled  with  salt, coated in melted butter or caramelized. Popcorn is  eaten as snack or sweetmeat.

Recipe

              Cornbread

Mix 500 g ( 18 ozoz, 3½ cups )  wheated  flour , 4 teaspoon sugar , 1 ½ tablespoon  baking  powder , 1 ½ teaspoon  sugar  andf 100g ( 4 oz ½ cup ) butrter  in  a bownl. Blend  in 4  egg yolk beated  with  500 ml (17 fl oz, 2 cup ) milk  and  6 tablespoons double (heavy) cream,stirring as  little as possible . fold  in  4 egg whittes  whisked  stiffly and pour  into  well buttered patty tins ( Muffinpans ) filling  them three - quarter full .Bake  in a  preheated  overn at 220ºC ( 425ºF, gas 7) for 25-30 minutes. In the united States this bread is served hot, straight from thwe oven, at breakfast.

Corn fritters

Make a smooth batter using 100g (4 oz, 1 cup) plain ( all purpose) flour, 2 eggs and 100 ml ( 4 fl oz, 7 tablespoon)  watyer.add 225 g ( 8 oz, 1 cup) thawed frozen or drained cannet sweetcorn. Sitr well adding seasoning taste and little nutmeg. Shallow fry spoonfuls to of the sweetcorn in batter in  a mixture of sunflower oil and butter until golden underneath and set. Turn and cook the second side until golden. Serve with deep fried bread crumb coated chicken and friwed bananas as American Maryland Chicken.

Fresh corn with bechamel sauce

Choose fresh cobs with tender grains. Leave only one layer of leaves on and cook in boiling salted water for about 15 minutes ( be careful to keep the water on a boil). Drain the cobs and remove the leaves. Detach the grains from the cobs and server with a light bechamel sauce.

MALAGA    A mainly fortified Spanish Do wine produce around the town of the same name in a Andalusia. It is made according to a type of solera system, in which the casts of maturing wine are repeatedly topped within younger wines to perpetuate the quality and character of the original. Sixteen types of wines are officially recognized, ranging from dry tio sweet with alcohol levels of 15 - 23%.

MALAKOFF     The name given to various classic cakes, often containing nuts. The most common type is made of two thick round dacquuoise ( nut meringue) cakes, each of each of which is coated in coffee mouse: the top is sprinkled with icing ( confectioners) sugar and the sides coated with chopped toasted almonds. Another versiobn of malakoff is composed of a choux paste crown paste on a puff pastry or spongue cake base, the centre filled with ice cream containing crystallized ( candied) fruits, Chantili cream, or any other cold frothy filling.

MALANGA     Also known as tannia, yautia or new cocoyam. A large firm starchy root vegetables with a brown skin and white flesh, which is use grated in the West Indies for the preparation of acras. The root vegetable is alos baked or boiled and leaves are use in cooking as well. Malanga belongs to the same family of plants as the taro, this being the arum lili family. Malanga should be cooked before eating as it may contain calcium oxalate crystals which are an irritate.

MALLARD  Migratory wild duck of the Anatidae family, which has become more and more sedentary and which is easily found, even in the big cities.  The adult male has multicoloured plumage the head and neck are dark green with blue glints and often a white ring at the base of the neck; the back is metallic blue, the throat is read and the stomach is greyish white; the wings are ash blue.  The female, a little smaller has a more or less dark beige plumage, like that of the young.  The mallard is prepared in the same way as duck.

MALLOW  A common plant that grows in field, hedgerows and on roadsides.  There are about 20 different species found all of the world.  Its leaves contain a mucilage used as an emollient and in infusions.  The leaves can also be eaten in salad or as a vegetable, like spinach.  The flowers are soothing to chest troubles and sore throats.

MALT  Barley that is prepared for brewing or distilling by being steeped, germinated, roasted and then crushed in a mill.  The extent to which the malt is roasted determines the colour of the beer.  The main constituent of malt is starch, which is conventered to sugar by fermentation when the crushed malt is soaked and heated.  This process,,ca lled saccharification results in the production of wort, which is processed further to produce beer or distilled to produce whisky.

           Malt extract - a concentrated infusion of germinated barley - is used as a sugar substitute.

MALTAISE, A LA  The term used to describe sweet or savoury preparations which are based on oranges particularly the Maltese blood orange.  Maltaise sauce is a hollandaise sauce flavoured with blood orange juicee and shredded rind, served with poached fish or boiled vegetables (such as asparagus, Swiss chard and cardoons).  The bombe glacee a la maltaise is coated in orange ice and filled with tangerine-flavoured chantilly cream.

RECIPES

banana croutes a la maltaise

Cut a large, day old bruiche into slices and then cut the slices into rectangles a little longer and wider than the bananas.  Arrange them on a baking sheet, sprinkle with sugar, and lightly glaze in a preheated overn 220  C (425  F, gas 7).  Meanwhile peel 6 bananas, cut them in half lengthway, and sprinkle ;ightly with lemon juice.  Place the bananas on a buttered baking sheet and cook in the oven for 5 minutes.  Arrange the bananas alternating with slices of  brioche, in a circle in an ovenproof dish.  Fill the centre with a confectioner's custard (pastry cream0 flavoured with orange zest.  Sprinkle the whole dish with finely crushed macaroons and melted butter and brown in the oven.  Before serving, decorate with candied orange peel.

maltaise sauce

Mix the juice of a blood orange with 200 ml (7 fl oz, 3/4  cup) hollandaise sauce. Add 1 tablespoons grated and blanched orange peel.

MAMIROLLE  Uncooked pressed cheese made from pasteurized cow's milk (40% fat content) with a washed, smooth, reddish crust. Mamirrole is a rectangular loaf shaped cheese; 15 (6 in) long and 5-6 cm (2-2 1/2 in)) wide, weighing 500-600 g (18-21 oz,).  It is made in France, Comte, at the diary industry's famous national school which is established in Mamirolle, to the east of Besancon.

MANCELLE, A LA  The name given to dishes which originated in the French town of Le Mans and the surrounding area, notably poultry (roast capon, chicken fricassee), pork rillettes, wild rabbit, and an omellete in which the eggs are mixed with antichoke hearts and diced potatoes.

MANCHEGO  A DOP Spanish cheese made from ewe's milk (45-50% content), which originated in La Mancha.  It is cylindrical, 10 cm 94 in) deep and 25 cm (10 in) in diameter , and is sold either fresh(rare) or matured for two years (veijo).  The cheese is white and firm to the touch with an even distribution of small holes.  The flavour is fairly mild and nutty even when very mature.  The cheeses used to be pressed in malaited grass moulds which left a cross hatch patternon the rind; today plastic moulds are used.  In Spain Machego is served in characteristic triangular waters as part of a selection of tapas or with honey and fruit as a dessert.

MANCHETTE  A paper frill used to garnish the projecting bones of, for example, a leg of lamb a ham or chops).

MANCHON  The French term for muff, this is a small petit four made of almond paste.  It is shaped like a muff, into a small tube by rolling it around a wooden handle,  It is filled with Chiboust cream of praline butter cream and the ends are dipped if ground almonds or in chopped pistachio nuts.

MANDOLINE  A vegetable slicer consisting of two adjustable stainless steel blades, one plain, one grooved held in a wooden or metal to be tilted during slicing.  It is used particularly to slice cabbage, carrots, turnips and potatoes.

MANGE-TOUT  Also known as snow pea or sugar pea.  A type of pea with flat pods, which are eaten whole before the seeds are fully formed, hence its French name, mange-tout ('eat all').  The pods have no membrane  lining like common garden peas and are usually stringless, so they are crisp but tender.  They are brilliant green in colour and can be stored for a few days in the refrigerator.  Preparation entails topping and tailing, they taste best when used raw in salads or cooked only briefly - steamed, boiled or stir-fried.  They can be used either whole or sliced, for the same recipes  as fresh peas, and are widely used in Oriental cuisine.

MANGO  A large tropical fruit of which there are many varieties.  Mangoes are typically oblong and greenish, ripening to yellow, red or violet (particularly on the side of the fruit which has been exposed to the sun).  The skin should be slightly supple.  The orange juicy flesh clings to a large flattish stone (pit) it is aroumatic, soft and sweet with an acid aftertaste.  Certain varieties are fibrous, others have a flavour of lemon, banana or mint.

           The mango tree came originally from India and Malaysia and has been known in Asia for a long time.  It was introduced into Brazil and the West Indies in the 18th century and into Africa, Mexico, Florida and Hawaii in the 19th century.

           In Asia and the West Indies unripe mangoes, either raw or cooked are used as an hors d'oeuvre or as an accompaniment to fish or meat.   Mango chutneys are among the best known chutneys.  Ripe mangoes, which do not keep long can be used as a garnish for chicken, as an ingredient in mixed salads, and to make sorbets, jams, marn alades and jellies.  Fresh mangoes can be cut in two off the flat stone and eaten with a spoon; alternatively, the flesh can be removed and diced.

RECIPES

duck with mangoes

Choose mangoes that are not too ripe, peel them, and remove the stones (pits0 over a plate to collect the juice.  Put the fruit and juice in a saucepan with a little apricot or peach liqueur, cover and cook gently for a few minutes over a low heat.  Strain the fruit, reserving the juice and put to one side.

           Pluck, draw, singe and truss a duck.  Season with salt and pepper and coat lightly with fat.  Roast in a preheated oven at 220 C (425  F, gas 7) with chopped onions, carrots celery, a little thyme, a bay leaf and 2 tablespoons water.  After about 35 minutes for a 1.12 (2 1/2 kg 2  1/2  lb) duckling.  When the flesh is still pink, pour, off the cooking juices into a pan and add 5 tablespoons white wine or stock.  keep the duck warm.

mango dessert with passion fruit and rum

Remove the pulp from 500 g (18 oz) passion fruit and discard the seeds.  Whisk the pulp together with an equal quantity of sugar syrup and freeze to make a sorbet.

           Cutr some Genoese sponge cake into 4 rounds, 10 cm (4 in) in diameter and 1 cm (1/2  in) thick, and scoop out a slight hollow in each.  Cut the flesh of 4 well ripened mangoes into slices.  Fill the hollows in the sponge rounds with the passion fruit sorbet and arrange the slices of mango in the shape of a fan over the top.  Place in the coldest part of the refrigerator.

           Prepare a zabaglione with rum, whisk 4 egg yolks with 7 tablespoons rum in a bain marie.  When the mixture is light and fluffy, add 4 tablespoons whipped double (heavy) cream. Coat the slices of mango with the zabaglione, glaze for a short time under the grill (broiler) and decorate with Cape gooseberries.

MANGOSTEEN  A round ribbed fruit, the size of an orang, native to Malaysia. The thick, tough, dark red to brown skin covers a delicate juicy white flesh diivided into five or six segments.  The mangoesteen is eaten fresh, peeled and cut in half.  It is also used in jams, sorbets and exotic salads.  In Indonesia it is made into a vinegar and a concentrated oil is extracted from the seeds to make kokum butter.

MANIOC  The edible root of a tropical plant, also called cassava, tapioca or yuca.  This has white starchy flesh beneath thick brown peel.  It is used as a dried form of granular starch used to make puddings and in some baking.  Originally from Brazil, the plant is cultivated throughout South and Central America and has been introduced into Africa, where it is now a basic foodstuff (ground into semolina, salted or sugared in flat cakes, or boiled in foutou). It is also grown in Asia.

           There are two varieties of manioc; sweet and 1 litter.  The root of sweet manioc is peeled, washed, cut into pieces, cooked in salted water and used like potatoes to accompany meat or fish.  The root must be washed, peeled and cooked as it contains natural toxins.  A flour is also extracted to make cakes, soups, stews bread and biscuits.  The starchy leaves are prepared like spinach (West Indian bredes).  Bitter manioc is used in the food industry.  It contains larger amounts of the natural toxin, a poisonous juice which contains hydrocynic acid, but his is eliminated by washing and cooking, the fresh roots are then grated and left to ferment.  The sarch is extracted by centrifugation, cooked, crushed, dried and made into tapioca.

MANQUE  A type of sponge cake that is a speciality of Paris.  It is said to have been invented by a famous 19th century Parisian pastrycook called Felix, while preparing a Savoy sponge cake. When the egg whites would not whisk up, in order not to waste the mixture, he had the idea of adding melted butter and flaked (silvered) almonds, and covering the cake with praline when it was cooked.  The customer who bought it thought it was so good that she ordered another and wanted to know the name of the mystery cake.  The baker said it was a manque (failure), but it became such a success that a special mould was invented.

           The moule a manque, is a round deep sided mould which is also used for other cakes.  The original manque mixture has been considerably modified since Felix first made it. It is now often flavoured with flaked hazelnuts, raisins, crystallized (candied) fruit, anuseed, liqueur and alcohol.  It can be decorated with cream, jam, crystallinzed fruit or coated with fondant icing (frosting).

RECIPES

gateau manque

Melt 100 g (4 oz, l/2 cup) butter without allowing it to brown.  Separate 6 eggs.  Put the yolks into a bowl with 200 g (7 oz, scant 1 cup) caster (superfine) sugar and 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar.  Whisk until the mixture becomes light and frothy. Then in 150 g (5 oz, 1  1/4 cups) plain (all purpose) flour, the melted butter and half a liquer glass of rum, mixing until evenly blended.  Whisk the egg whites together with a pinch of salt into firm peaks and gently fold them into the manque mixture.

          

lemon manque

Remove the peel from a lemon and blanch for 2 minutes in boiling water.  Refresh in cold water, dry and shred very finely. Finely dice 100 g (4 oz, 1/2 cup) candied citron peel.  Prepare the manque mixture and add the shredded lemon peel and diced citron before incorporating the egg whites.  Bake the cake, remove from the tin (pan) while still warm, and cool completely.

           Lightly whisk 2 egg whites and mix in 1 tablespoon lemon juice, then some icing (confectioner's) sugar, until the mixture has a spreading consistency.  Coat the cake with the icing (frosting) and decorate with small pieces of candied citron peel.

MANZANILLA  A type of sherry produced from around Sanlucar de Barrameda, in Andalucia.  It is crisp and dry and should be served chilled.  It is a very good accompaniment to shellfish.

MAPLE  One of about 200 species of rtree or shrub which grow in temperate climates.  The North American sugar maple has orange sap, which is collected from the trunk in the spring and yields a clear golden syrup.  Rich in sugar, with an aromatic flavour, maple syrup is very popular in the United States and Canada. It is spread on roasts and ham, served with pancakes and puddings, and used to glaze carrots and caramelize sweet potatoes. Maple syrup tart is another favourite.

           Centrifugation of maple syrup produces a butter an essence used as a flavouring in patisserie and confectionery is obtained by distillation. Concentrated maple sap can be used to make a cider like drink (especially in Louisiana) which after fermentation, yields an aromatic vinegar.

RECIPE

maple syrup tart

Boil 7 tablespoons maple syrup with a little water for 5 minutes. Blend in 3 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch) mixed with cold water, then 50 g (2 oz, 1/4 cup) butter, line a tart plate (pie pan) with shortcrust pastry (basic pie dough) and spread the lukewarm syrup mixture over it. Decorate with chopped almonds. Cover with a fairy thin pastry lid, pinch round the edge, prick with a fork , and bake in a preheated oven at 220 C(425 F , gas 7) for about 20 minutes.

MAQUEE  Uncooked soft cream cheesefrom the wallon area of Belgium made from cows milk and rannet, left in muslin (cheesecloth)to strain.After draining, it is lightly whipped and becomes creamy.Maquee is eaten spread on a slice of bread or salted and accompanied with red radishes , or sweetened and sprinkled with soft brown sugar.

MARAICHERE, A LA  Describing preparationsthat icorporate a selection of fresh vegetables. The termis applied particularly to large roast or braised cuts of meat that are garnished with glazed shaped carrots, small glazed onions , braised stuffed cucumber and quarter of artichoke heart cooked gently in butter. Another maraaichere garnish consist of Brussels sprous in butter, salsify and chateau potatoes. The accompaninmg sauce consist of the deglazed and thickened meat juice or the strained skimmed braising liquid.

MARASCHINO  Acolourless liqueur made from the distillate of fermented Maraschino cherries.It originated in Dalmatia and is much used in flavouring sweet dishes.

MARBLE  Marble working surfaces are used by professional pastry- cooked and confectioners when working with chocolate, sugar and pastries  that need to be kept cool. A marble surface always remain clean and cool as it does not absorb fat or atmostpheric moisture. However, the surface should not be exposed to acid substances , which will cause pitting.When  making toffee at home , a small marble slab brushed with oil can be used.

MARBRADE  A charcuterie speciality from southwestern France, similar to brawn (head cheese).  It ismade with pieces of pig's head loosely packed in aspic and served in a mould

MARC  A spirit distilled from the debris (skins and pips)  left after the final pressings of grapes for wine.  In Italy it is known as grappe. It can be used as brandy in cookey, although marc that has not been matured can be a fiery spirits and should be actually cooked or set alight, and not used neat.   The marcs of several French regions are famous, notably the marc de Bourgogne.  In Alsace there is one made from Gewurztraminer grape pressings.

MARCELIN  A French cake consisting of pastry base covered with strawberryjam, coated with a mixture of eggs and ground almonds and sprinkled with icing (confectioner's) sugar.

MARCHAND DE VIN  The name for certain prepartions that are made with red wine and shallots, especially a flavoured butter served with grilled (broiled) meat(usually entrecote steak or kidneys). Whiting or sole a la marchand de vin are poacched in red wine with chopped shallots, then coated with the cooking liquid, reduced and whisked with butter and sometimes glazed in the oven.

RECIPES

entrecote marchand de vin

Grill (broil) an entrecote steak under a high heat. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with rounds of marchand de vin butter.

marchand de vin butter

Add 25 g (1 oz,  1/4 cup) finely chopped shallots to 300 ml (1/2 pint, 1  1/4 cups) red wine and boil down to reduce by half.  Add 300 ml (1/2 pint, 1 1/4 cups) beef consomme, and reduce further until almost dry.  Cream 150 g (5 oz, 2/3 cup) butter and mix it with the reduced wine mixture. Add 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley and a little lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Chill well.

MARECHALE, A LA  in classic cuisine describing small cuts of meat (such as lamb chops or noisettes, veal escalopes (scallops) or cutlets, calves sweetbreads or poultry supremes) that are coated with breadcrumbs and sauteed.  They are garnished with bundles of asparagus tips and a slice of  truffle on each item and served in a ring of thickened chateaubriand sauce or veal gravy.  They may also be served with maitre d' hotel butter.  Fish a la marechale are poached in white wine and fish fumet, with mushrooms and tomatoes.  The sauce is made from the reduced cooking liquid mixed with meat glaze and butter.

RECIPE

lamb cutlets a la marechale

Braise some asparagus tips in butter.  Cut a truffle into thin strips and braise in butter for 2 minutes.  Prepare a liquid maitre d'hotel butter. Season thecutlets with salt and pepper, coat them with breadcrumbs, and saute them in clarified butter. Arrange the cutlets in a crown, garnish each one with a strip of truffle, and place the asparagus tips between the cutlets.  Serve with the maitre d'hotel butter in a sauceboat. Very finely chopped truffle parings may be added to the breadcrumbs coating.

MAREDSOUS  Pressed uncooked cow's milk cheese (45% fat content) with a washed crust, weigh 0.5-2.5 kg (1 1/8-5 1/2 lb).  It has a supple, dense texture and a sweetish taste.

MAREE  A French collective name for all sea fish, shellfish and a seafood that are sold in a fish market.

MARENGO  A dish of chicken or veal sauteed with white wine, tomato and garlic.

           Chicken Marengo is named after the Battle of Marengo (14 June 1800), at which Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the Austrians; it was created on the battlefield itself by Dunand, Napoleon's chef.

           Bonaparte, who on battle days are nothing until the fight was over, had gone forward with his  general staff and was a long way from his supply wagons.  Seeing his enemis put to fight, he aksed Dunand to prepare dinner for him.  The master chef at once sent men fo the quartermaster's staff and ordinance corps in search of provisions.  All they could find were three eggs, four tomatoes, six crayfish, a small hen, a little garlic some oil and a saucepan.  Using his bread nation, Dunand first made a panada with oil and water, and then having drawn and joined the chicken, browned it in oil and fried the eggs in the same oil with a few garlic cloves and the tomatoes.  He poured over his mixture some water laced with brandy borrowed from the general's flask and put the crayfish on top to cook in the steam.

           The dish was served on a tin plate, the chicken surrounded by the fried eggs and crayfish with the sauce poured over it.  Bonaparte, having feasted upon it, said to Dunand.  'You must feed me like this after every battle.'

           The originally of this improvised dish lay in the garnish, for chicken a la provencale, sauteed in oil with garlic and tomatoes, dates from well before the Battle of Marengo.  In the course of time the traditional garnish was replaced by mushrooms and small glazed onions and the preparation was also used for veal.

           Some authorities believe that the dish was created in the town of Marengo (now Hadjuout) in Algeria.

RECIPE

Sauteed  veal Marengo

Cut 1 kg (2¼ lb) shoulder of veal into large even  sized cubes and saute in 25 g (1 oz, 2 tablespoons) butter and 2 tablespoons oil in flameproof casserole until lightly browned.  Add 2  chopped opions and brown them, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon flour and cook until golden brown.  Add 1 glass of white wine, scraping the bottom of the casserole to incorporate all the residue, then 500 g *18 oz) seeded chopped tomatoes a bouquet garni, a crushed garlic clove, and salt and pepper.  Add enough hot water to just cover the ingredients, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 1 hour.

           Meanwhile, glaze 24 small (pearl) onions in 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 25 g (1 oz, 2 tablespoons) butter, salt and pepper.  Keep hot.  Saute 150 g (5 oz, 1½ cups) finely sliced mushrooms in 20  g (¾, oz, 3 tablespoons) butter.  Cut 2 slices of bread into croutons and fry in 3 tablespoons oil until golden brown.  Five minutes before the meat is cooked, add the mushrooms and complete the cooking.

           Pour the sauteed veal into a deep warmed dish, sprinkle with chopped parsley and garnish with the glazed onions and the croutons.

MARGARINES and spread  Since the 1860s, margarine has played an important part in the diet of industriiialized countries.  The product was conceived by French research chemist Hippolyte Mege-Mouries to meet a pressing need for a longer lasting and economical alternative to butter to suit the population that had moved from the country and into the cities.  Noticing its pearly sheen, he named his invention margarine, taken from the Greek word margariles meaning pearl.  The Dutch company, Jurgens, initiated commercial production in the 1870s.  The popularity of margarine soon grew on a worldwide scale, as it became recognized as a valuable and economical food product.

           Margarine has a minimum fat content of 8o% but less than 90%.  Spread, although similar to margarine in that they are made from vegetable oil, have varying fat levels.

           Margarines and spreads can be made from a wide variety of vegetable oils, and those most commonly used include rapeseed (canola), sunflower, soya, palm and palm kernel.  The oils are refiend to purity and blended.  Essential vitamins A, D and sometimes E, flavouring, salt and milk and/or they are added and the final mixture is emulsified, pasteurized and chilled.

           Over the years, a variety of technological innovations have taken place, resulting in products suitable for a number of uses.  Examples include margarines and spreads sold in tubs which can be spread easily even when chilled.  Some spreads are based on particular types of fat, others offer a ‘buttery taste’

           Around a third of all British produced margarine and related spread products are essential ingredients for catering, baking and commercial food processors  they are used in taking instead of butter or lard (shortening), for example to provide tender, short or soft textures and flavours to incorporate air in cakes and creams and to produce.  Layers in puff pastry. For pastry, biscuits and bread baking margarine or high fat spreads produce good texture.  Margarines and other high fat spreads are also suitable for  frying.

MARGUERY, NICOLAS  French chef (born 1834;died1910).He  began his career as a dish washer at the Restaurant Champeuax in Paris during which period became an apprentice chef and eventually, in 1887, he opened a restaurant of his own.  The Marguery became an elegant opulent rendezbous for gourmets and was famous for its marvellouscellar and especially, for its fillets of sole Margeury  (cooked in white wine).  Margeury invented a number of other dishes, particularly tournedos Marguery (served on artichoke hearts).

RECIPE

Fillets of sole Marguery

Fillet 2 sole.  Using the bones and trimmings, make a white wine fumet, adding a little chopped onion, a sprig of thyme, a quarter of a bay leaf and a sprig of parsley.  Season with salt and pepper and boil for l5 minutes.  Add to the fumet the cooking liquid from 1 litre (1quarts) mussels cooked in white wine. Season the sole fillets with salt and pepper and lay them in a greased dish.  Pour over a few spoonsfuls of the fumet and cover with a sheet of buttered greaseproof (wax) paper.  Poach, gently, then drain the fillets and arrange them in a oval dish; surround with a double row of cooked shelled mussels and peeled prawns (shelled shrimp). Cover and keep warm while the sauce is being made.

            Strain the fumet and the cooking liquid from the sole, reduce by two-thirds, remove from the heat and when slightly cooled, mix in 6 egg yolks.  Whisk the sauce over a gentle heat, like a hollandaise sauce, incorporating 350 g (12 oz, 1½ cups) softened butter. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and strain it; pour over the fillets and their mussel and prawn garnish.  Glaze quickly in a preheated oven at 230ºC (450º F, gas 8) and garnish with pastry motifs pointing outwards.

MARIE-LOUISE   A garnish dedicated to the second wife of Napoleon l and served mainly with cuts of lamb or mutton.  It consists of either noisette potatoes and artichoke hearts

stuffed with a mushroom duxelles and onion

puree, the sauce being made by deglazing the panwith demi-glace ; or small tarts filled with peas and tiny balls of carrot and turnip.

Tournedos marigny

MARIGNAN  A savarin cake spread with sieved apricot jam and covered with Italian meringue; it is traditionally decorated with a ribbon of angelica fashioned like the handle of a basket.

RECIPE

Marignan

Soak 75 g (3 oz, ½ cup) raisins in warm water until plump. Weigh out 250 g (9 oz, 2¼ cups) strong plain (bread) flour.  Dissolve 15 g (½ oz) fresh yeast (1 cake compressed yeast) in a very small amount of water, stir in a little of the flour, then cover the mixture with the rest of the flour and leave to rise.  When cracks appear in the flour (after about 15 minutes), transfer the yeast and flour to a mixing bowl and add 25 g (1 oz, 2 tablespoons) caster (superfine) sugar, a pinch of salt and 3 very lightly whisked eggs; knead the dough.  Let it stand for 30 minutes.

            Melt 75 g (3 oz, 6 tablespoons) butter and add this to the dough, together with the drained and dried raisins.  Turn the dough into a buttered and floured manque mould or deep sided cake tin (pan), 19 cm (7½ in) in diameter, and leave it to rise.  When the dough has doubled in volume, bake in a preheated over at 190º C(375º F, gas 5) for about 40 minutes.

            Prepare a syrup with 100 g (4 oz,½ cup) sugar, 250 ml (8 fl oz, 1 cup) water, and 6 tablespoons rum.  Pour this over the warm cake.  Spread the cake with warmed and sieved apricot jam (about half a jar is required). Prepare an Italian meringue mixture with 400 g (14 oz, 1¾ cups) caster sugar, 4 egg whites and 1 liqueur glass of rum.  Completely cover the sides and top of the cake with this mixture.  Bend a long strip of angelica over the cake to resemble the handle of a basket and fix it to the cake at each end.

MARIGNY  A garnish for small sauteed cuts of meat consisting either of fondant potatoes, peas and French (green) beans cut into  sticks (buttered and arrange in tartlet cases) or artichoke hearts stuffed with sweetcorn in cream and small noisette potatoes.  The sauce is made by deglazing the pan with white wine (or Madiera) and thickened veal stock.  Marigny soup has peas and French beans as its basis.

RECIPES

Marigny soup

Mix 1.5 litres (2¾ pints, 6½ cups) Germiny soup (thinned with a little consomme) with 2 tablespoons sorrel chiffonnade gently cooked in butter and 1 table spoon each of boiled peas and diced French beans.  Garnish with 1 tablespoon chopped chervil.

Tournedos marigny

Gently cook some artichoke hearts in butter.  Prepare some buttered sweetcorn and some noisette potatoes.  Saute the steaks in butter and keep them warm.  Deglaze the pan with a little white wine and reduce, complete the sauce by adding some thickened veal stock.  Surround the steaks with the artichoke hearts stuffed with sweetcorn and noisette potatoes.  Serve with the sauce.

MARIGOLD  A garden plant with yellow flowers, the petals of which were once used to heighten the colour of butter.  Traditionally they were used to enrich such dishes as Jersey conger soup (with cabbage, leeks and peas)., to garnish green salads and to season vinegar.  Alexander Dumas proposed, a herb soup a la dauphine, which included marigold flowers.  Special care must be taken not to boil the slightly bitter petals.

MARINADE  A flavoured liquid, cooked or uncooked, in which savoury ingredients, such as meat, offal (organ meats), game, fish or vegertables, are steeped for varying lengths of time. The process of soaking is known as marinating.  Its principal purpose is to flavour the food, but it also makes certain meats more tender by softening the fibres and adding moisture.  It is one of the oldest culinary procedures, wine, vinegar, salted water, herbs and spices not only counteract the strong taste of game, for example, but also increase the length of time that the meat can be preserved.  The word is ultimatelyderived from the Latin marinus    (marine), referring to the sea water or brine that was used for preserving foods in ancient times.  Nowadays, foods are usually marinated to improve their flavour rather than to preserve them.

            In Mediterranean countries, it is traditional to marinate vegetables and fish (for example, sardines, tuna, peppers, onions and mushrooms). In Sweden, goose is salted and marinated; other foods marinated in Scandinavia include pickled tongue, ham, damson and mackerel (in white wine).  In India many ingredients are marinated in spiced curdled milk, in Peru, raw fish is marinated in lemon juice.

            The length of time that foodstuffs should be left in a marinade depends on the nature and size of the food and this can vary from 30 minutes to several days.  When the marinade is used for its preserving effect, the food should be completely submerged and not removed until required.

            An essential distinction is drawn between cooked, uncooked, and quick marinades.  The two former marinades (based on carrots, shallots, onions, pepper, salt, bouquet, garni, parsley, vinegar, garlic and red or white wine) are used for meat and game.  A cooked marinade must be cooled before use, whereas uncooked and quick marinades can be used immediately as they require no heating.  Quick marinades are used to impart flavour and not generally for tenderizing as this requires a long marinating time.  They are used for fish (lemon, oil, thyme and bay leaf), for the ingredients of fritters or fritot (lemon, oil,  parsley, salt and pepper), and for the ingredients of terrines pates and galantines (brandy, Madiera or port, salt, pepper and shallots).

            In general, the food that is being marinated is turned over with the slotted spoon from time to time.  Because of their high acid content, uncooked marinades are used in glass, porcelain or glazed earthenware dishes.

            The food should be removed from its marinade just before cooking and drained well; in the case of grilled (broiled), fried or roasted items, the marinade may be used to baste the food during cooking, to deglaze the pan after cooking or to make the accompanying sauce.

RECIPES

Cooked Marinades

Marinade for meat and venison

Take the same vegetables and herbs as listed for the uncooked marinade for large cuts of meat and game and brown them lightly in oil.  Moisten with a mixture of 750  ml (1¼ pints, 3¼ cups) wine(red or white according to the recipe) and 6 tablespoons vinegar, then simmer gently for 30 minutes.  Season the meat with salt and pepper and put it in a bowl; when the marinade is completely cold pour it over the top.  Cover and chill for 2-6 days.

Uncooked Marinades

Marinade for ingredients of pates and terrines

Season the ingredients with salt, pepper and mixed spice.  Add a little crushed thyme and a finely chopped bay leaf.  Moisten with brandy – about 150 ml (¼ pint,  2/3 cup) brandy for the ingredients of a duck terrine – and marinate for 24 hours in a  cool place.

Marinade for large cuts of meat and game

Season the meat with salt, pepper and mixed spice.  Place in a pan just large enough to hold it.  Add 1 large chopped onion, 2 chopped shallots. 1 chopped carrot, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 2-3 sprigs of parsley, a sprig of thyme, half a bay leaf (coarsely chopped) and a clove.  (For a daube add a piece of dried orange peel).  Cover completely with red or white wine (according  to the recipe) fortified with 1iqueur glass of brandy.  Cover and marinate for 6 hours to 2 days in a cool place, turning the meat 2 or 3 times so it is thoroughly impregnated with the marinade.  The marinade can be used in the cooking if the meat is to be braised.

Quick marinade for grilled fish

Season all the pieces to be marinated with salt and pepper.  Add a few slices of peeled lemon and sprinkle with some thyme and ground bay leaves.  Allow to rest for about 10 minutes.

MARINATE  To sleep ingredients in a seasoning mixture.  The term refers to the preparation of savoury ingredients.  Macerate is the term used for soaking sweetitems.

MARINIERE, A LA  A method of preparing shellfish or other seafood, especially mussels, by cooking them in white wine, usually  with onions or shallots.  The term is also applied to certain fish dishes which are cooked in white wine and garnished with mussels.  Mariniere sauce is similar to a Bercy sauce made with mussel cooking juices and the mariniere garnish always include  mussels and sometimes also prawns (shrimp) Langoustines, crayfish, frogs and various types of seafood used to garnish, for example, croutes, timbales and vol-au-vent are also cooked inthis way.

RECIPES

Crayfish or langoustines a la mariniere

Saute the shellfish in butter over a high heat.  When they are really red, season with salt, pepper, thyme, a little crushed bay leaf and add enough white wine to almost cover them.  Cook gently with the lid on for 10 minutes.  Drain the shellfish and keep warm in a deep dish.  Reduce the cooking liquid and thicken it with butter.  Pour the sauce over the shellfish and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Mariniere sauce

Prepare a Bercy sauce using the juices from moules marineire.  Add 2 egg yolks per150 ml (¼ pint, 2/3 cup) sauce and whisk continuously over a low heat until the sauce thickens.

Moules mariniere

Trim scrape and wash some mussels.  Peel and chop 1 large shallot per 1 kg (2¼ lb) mussels.  Put the chopped shallots in a buttered pan with 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, a small sprig of thyme, half a bay leaf, 200 ml (7 fl oz,¾ cup) dry white wine, 1 tablespoon wine vinegar and 2 tablespoons butter (cut into small pieces).  Add the mussels, cover the pan and cook over a high heat, shaking the pan several times, until all the mussels have opened.  Remove the pan from the heat and place the mussels in a large serving dish.  Discard any mussels that do not open.  Remove the thyme and bay leaf from the saucepan and add 2 tablespoons butter to the cooking liquid.  Whisk the sauce until it thickens and pour it over the mussels,  Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

MARJORAM  A herb of which there are various types , the most familiar being sweet marijoram, pot marjoram and wild marjoram.  Sweet marjoram is one of the most popular herbs in Mediterannean cookery; it has a strong aromatic scent but a fairly delicate flavour, which is good in salads and combines well with meat, game, poultry, pulses and some vegetables particularly carrots, salsify and cucumber.  To avoid losing its mild flavour, which is easily done in cooking, it is best added towards the end of the cooking period.

Pot marjoram can be used in the same way as sweet marjoram but, because it is not so sweet in flavour, it goes well with more strongly flavoured dishes such as those with onion, garlic and wine,.  It too is a Mediterraanean herb and grows wild in Greece where it is one of the plants they call rigani. There are many wild species of regani in Greece it is used frequently with lamb.

MARMALADE An orange jam invented by a manufacturer from Dundee in Scotland, in about 1790. In domestic cookery marmalades can, in principle, be made with any fruit, but in 1981 the EEC issued a directive that limited the term to those items prepared with citrus fruit (sweet or bitter oranges lemons and grapefruit).  Originally marmalades were made with quinces, the word is derived from the Portuguese marmelada, quinces, cooked with sugar or honey.

MARMELADE    A thick sweet puree prepared from fruit that is stewed for a long time with sugar.  The fruit, whole or cut into pieces, is first macerated on a sugar syrup –made with 450 g (1 lb) sugar per 150 g ( lb) fruit – for about 24 hours.  In a marmelade, unlike jam, the fruit is no longer identifiable.

MARMITE  A French metal or earthenware covered pot with two handles with or without feet depending on whether it is used for cooking in a hearth or on the stove.  Its large capacity makes it suitable for boiling large quantities of food such as soups large cuts of beef, stews, pates, shellfish and various types of seafood. Catering establishments use even larger marmites that are fitted with a tap at the bottom for emptying.  The tallest kind in France are called pot-au-feu, and the smallest, fait-toul.  The buguenote is an earthhenware marmite with short legs.

            The word marmite’is derived from an Old French word meaning ‘hypocrite’ which was applied to the vessel because its contents were concealed.  In France it was formerly known as oille ouille. Or oule.  From the 14^th centuryonwards, the marmite was made of cast iron with a handle and three feet.  It was suspended from the trammel of the chimney and used for boiling water and washing laundry, as well as for preparing the soup.  In the 17^th century the marmite was reserved ffor making soups.   Special silver marmites, decorated with coats of arms, medals and inscriptions, were manufactured to serve the soup at table.

            Marmite is also the name of product first made in England in 1902.  It is a concentrated yeastextract, made from brewer’s yeast with salt and spices, and is used as a spread or savoury flavouring.

MARMITE DIEPPOISE  A fissh soup from the Normandy coast of France made of sole, turbot and annglefish cooked in white wine with vegetables (celery, leeks, onions, fennel), garnished with mussels, prawns (shrimp) and scallops and blended with cream.

MARMITE NORVEGIENNE  The French name for a double cooking pot in  which food is cooked very slowly and economically over a low heat.  The inner container is an ordinary aluminum or stainless steel casserole,  When its contents have been brought to the boil, it is taken off the heat and immediately placed inside the second container, which has double walls filled with an insulating material.  The temperature of the food in the casserole falls very slowly - 30ºC (86ºF) in 6 hours – thus the food can continue to cook without using any more fuel.

MARMITE  PERPETUELLE  An establishment that was situated in the Rue des Grands-Auugustins in Paris, near thhe old poultry market.  It was very famous at the end of the 18^th century, especially for  eapons and beefs boiled in consomme, which couldeither be taken away or eaten on the premises.  It is said that the fire under the marmite never went out, and that more than 300,000 chickens were cooked successively in the same stock, which the proprietor, Deharme, simply watered down every day.

MAROCAINE, A LA  The name given to sauteed noisettes of mutton or lamb arranged on mounds of pilaf rice (lightly) seasoned with saffron) and coated with a sauce made by deglazing the pan juices with tomato puree (paste). They are served with sauteed diced courgettes (zucchini) and sometimes braised green ppppeppers stuffed with chicken forcemeat.

MAROILLES,  A French cow’s milk cheese (containing 45-50% fat) with a soft yellow paste and a smooth shiny reddish-brown rind, Named after the Abbey of Maroilles, where it was first made around 960, it is a semi hard, full-flavoured cheese with a strong smell.  Its nickname is vieux paunt or old stinker. Philippe Auguste, Louis XI, Francois I and Fenelon, in particular, greatly appreciated Maroilles cheese.  It is manufactured in the towns of Vervins, Avenes-sur-Helpe and Cambrai.  Maroilles is excellllllent insummer, autumn and winter and is matured for 4 months in a damp cellar. It is sold in  13 cm (5 in) squares, 6cm (2½in) deep and weighing 800 g (1¾ lb). Sorbais, Mignon and Quart de Maroilles are related cheeses that benefit from the same DOP . Allof them are good to eat at the end of a meal, espeically withbeer.  They are also used in various regional recipes.

MARQUISE  Any various delicate desserts, Chocolate marquise is atglazed dessert halfway between a mousse and a parfait. It is based on chocolate, butter, eggs and sugar, chilled in a mould,. And served with vanilla-flavoured custard cream or Chantilly cream.  Another typpe of marquise is a granite (usually flavoured with strawberry, pineapple or kirsch), to which very thick Chantity cream is added just before serving.

            The name is also used  for a chocolate dacquoise and for a Genoese sponge or almond cake filled with chocolate flavoured confectioner’s custard (pastry cream) and covered with chocolate  fondant icing (frosting).

RECIPES

Chocolate marquise

Break 250 g(9oz, 9 squares) plain (dark) chocolate into small pieces and melt it gently in a coveredbain marie. Separate the yolks and whites of 5 eggs.  Add 100 g (4 oz, ½ cup) granulated sugar to the yolks, beating the mixture until it becomes light and fluffy.  Then add the melted chocolate and 175 g (6 oz, ¾ cup) melted butter and mix well.  Whisk the egg whites with a little salt until very stiff, and carefully fold them into the chocolate mixture.  Cool a deep sandwich tin (layer cake pan) or charlotte mould under running water and pour the mixture into it, smoothing it down well.

            Chill for 12 hours in the refrigerator before removing from themould.

Marquise (the drink)

Dissolve 500 g (18 oz, 2 ¼ cups) sugar in a little water, then add a bottle of dry white wine and 1 litre (1¾ pints, 4 1/3 cups ) sparkling mineral water. Cut 2 lemons into thin slices, remove the pips (seeds) and add them to the drink. Store in the refrigerator and serve with ice cubes.

MARRONS GLACES  Chesnuts that have been poarched in syrup and then glazed; they are packaged as sweetmeats and are also used in patisserie.  Marronsglacezwere created during the reign of Louis XIV and were formerly sold in the syrup inwhich they were prepared.

RECIPE

Chocolate gateau with chestnuts

Cut a chocolate sponge cake horizontally into three equal layers. Bring to the boil 200 ml (7 fl oz, 1 cup) water with 150 g (5oz, 2/3 cup) sugar and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add 1 tablespoon rum. Soak the three layers of the chocolate sponge with this syrup after it has cooled down.

            Bring 3½ tablespoons milk to the boil. Add 250 g (9oz, 9 squares) grated plain (dark) chocolate and stir until the mixture is smooth.  Add 25 g (1 oz, 2 tablespoons) butter, then cool before adding 250 ml (8 fl oz, 1 cup) whipped Chantilly cream. Coat the first layer of chocolate sponge withthiss chocolate mousse.  Mix 200 g (7 oz, ¾ cup) chestnut puree with 50 g (2 oz, ¼cup) soft butter.  Beatvigorously and incorporate 1 tablespoon flamed rum, the 300 ml (½ pint, 1¼ cups) whipped Chantilly cream.  Using a wide spatula, spread this chestnut mousse on the next chocolate sponge layer, arrange 75 g (3 oz,½ cup) crumbledmarrons glaces on the mousse and cover with the third layer. Put the cake in the refrigerator for 1 hour.  Bring 200 ml (7 fl oz, ¾ cup).

MARSH MALLOW  A Medical plant  related  to  the  common , with   slasting  roots  used  to make  cough  lozenges  and  syrup . the  mucilage  from  the  roots was fomerly used   to make  the  spong   sweets known marshmallow Now, How  ever , Marshmallow  are  prepared with  sugar   flavouring   colouring  then  ei ther   starch  and  gelatine  or gun arabic and egg  white.

  Shallow Marshallow are commonly eaten as sweet but  are  also  used as an ingredient  in cooking  to make cake , icing ( frosting ) and  sauce . This  was  a par  ticularly  popular  fashion  in the  United State in the  middle of  the  20^th century

       Marzipan A product  of almond  paste , made with  ground  almond  and German  Mrzipans  have the  ingredients cooked  together ( see almond paste, made  from ground almonds, sugar and egg is sometimes  called  marzipan. Marzipan  is used in making  cakekes and pastries,  especially aas a base  for   the  icing (frosting ) on a Christmas or wedding cake, and  it  can be coloured  and  flavoured and used  in confectionery to make  patits four, usually coated with sugar or praline  other  marzipan  sweetmeat are formed into shape  such as fruits and vegetables.

Marzipan  sweetmeat are said  to have  been  perfected  by an  order  of nuns in France . The word marzipan  is derived from  the Italian marzipane originally meaning a sweet box , and later its

Recipe

Marzipan (1)

Blacch 250 g (9 oz , 13/4 cups ) sweet almonds and  2 or 3 bitter almonds  and pound  then in a

MASA HARINA

       MORTAR (OR USED A FOOD  PROCESSSOR ). MOISTER  FROM TIME  TO TIME  WITH  A LITTLE  COLD WATER . When  the almonds  have  been  reduced  to fine  and  fairly firm  paste , put  them  in a  heavy – based pan  with 500g ( 18 oz, 21/4  cups ) caster (superfine )  sugar , a pinch  of powdered vanilla or vanilla extract, and a few drops a of  orange – power  water  dry out over a gentle heat , stirring with a wooden  spoon,

       Put  the  paste back  into  the mortar and grind  it  with the pestle , then or it  with the hand  on a  marble  slab until smooth , adding  small handful of  icing (confectioner’s ) sugar , sifted  through a fine  sieve . Use the paste as required.

·        Marzipan sweet (condies ) To make sweets , roll the paste out  to a chickness of 2cm (¾in ). Lay it  out on  sheet  of rice  paper , and cut  it out  into various shapes with a  cutter. Lay  the pieces on a baking  sheet lined with rice paper and dry out in a very  cool oven.

Marzipan (2)

Take 1.4 kg (3lb sweet almond , blanch and peel  them: drain and wipe  them in a marble  mortal , sprinkling then from time  to time  with a  little water, so that do not become  too oily (or  use a food processor ). When  they  are pounded  to a  smooth paste . cook 675g (1½ lb .3 cups ) sugar  to  the small thread stage , 101ºC  ( 214ºF ) . add  the  almond to sugar  and  mix together  with  a  spatula carefully scraping  the  bottom and side  to  prevent  sticking whioch  may occur  even  when  the  pan  is removed  from  the heat . The pasted  is ready  when  it does  not  stick  to the back of the  hand  when  touched palce  the  pasted  on  a board . Sprinkle with  caster ( superfine ) sugar on the  both  sides  and  leave  it  to cool.

·        Baked sweets Roll out  the paste  to  a  moderate thickness and cut  out  differencent  shape  with  cutter  pressing  them gently with  the fingertip on to   sheet  baking . cook  on  one  side only . then  ice (frost )  the  other  side  and  bake in  the same way.

MASA HARINA A Specially  processed couflour (constarch ) also  know  as  tamale Flour  , much  used  in maxican food .

MASCARPONE This Ilatian Specially is made  by  mixing  cream with  lemon  juice   or citric acid  Originally , the  cuddle mixture   was  hung  up  to  drain  in Muslim (cheeseclocth) : today   iit is made   in  factories  using  centrifugal  equipment .  It  has  a  smooth  creamy taste and texture .It is served on a  cheese  board  or used   to make  Italian  dessert such  as trims .

                MASCOTTE A Genoese  sponge cake  soaked  in krirsch  or  rum , Filled and  coated with praline  butter  cream  or coffee - favored butter  cream  and  Toast shredded almond.

Recipe

Mascotte

Make a genoese mixture with 4 egg , 125 g (4 ½oz,  generous 1 cup  ) palain ( all-purpose ) flour. Bake  in buttered round  cake  tin (pan ) 23 cm (9 in ) diameter.

       Prepare  a syrupo with  100g ( 4oz, ½  cup ) granu lated sugar and  6 tablespoons water.When it has  cooled , blend  in 6 tablespoon run . Make  a coffee  flovoured  butter cream (see cream0  with  4 table  spoons  instant coffee powder . 250g ( 9oz  generous 1 cup )   sugar  6 egg  yolks 300g (11 oz  scant 1½cup ) softened butter and 3 tablespoons rum. Divide into 2 equal  portion  and add 2 tablespoon toasted crushed almonds to one  half

            Cut  the cake  horizontally into  2 halve and  soak  them in the  rum-flavoured syrup. Sandwich  together with  the butter cream  without  almonds and coat  the  top  and  side   of the  cake with the  remaining  butter cream.

MASCOTTE, A LA A garnish for small sauteed  cut of meat  and poultry of olive – shaped  pieces  of potato  and  sliced artichoke hearts sauteed in the butter with a few  slice  of truffle  and sometimes some small stewed  whole  tomatoes. The  sauce  is  made by deglazing  the meat  juices in the  sauce  pan  with  white wine  and thickened veal stock.Dishes a la mascotte were name after an operetta by  Audra,1880.They  are usually served in an ovenproof casserole or an earthenware dish.

MASK To coat food with a sweet or savoury substance, usually just before but sometimes  during preparation of, for example , aspic or a  chaud – froid The masking substance  can be a sauce  a cream, a salpicon bound with a sauce a puree fondant icing (frosting )or aspic

MASKINONGE Americano  indiabn name  for  largest species of pike , which is found  in Canadian  lakes Particularly in the province of quebec Ontario  and manitoba . varied in colour , maskinonge always has several light stripes, It is a very aggress sive fish, a choice catch for anglers who keep it to eat themselves.

MASSENA A method of p[reparing sauteed tournedos steaks or lamb noisettein which  the pan  is deglazed with Perigueux, in which the pan is deglazed sauce and the garnish  is artichoke hearts and slices of poached beef marrow bone. Sofl- boiled (sfl – cooked ) egg Massena  are served with artichoke hearts and bearmaise sauce  and topped with slices of bone marrow

Recipe

Tournedos massena

Gently cook some medium artichoke hearts in  butter and poach  some  silences of bone marrow(2-3 per steak) in a court – bouillon. Preparing  a  thin Pegueux sauce,.Sauce the Steaks in the butter and  arrange  them on a dish  with  the artichoke hearts Garnish each of the steaks with 2-3 slices of bonemarrow and pour a little of the perigueux sauce  over the artichoke hearts. Serve  the remasining  sauce separately.

MASSENET A garnish  for large  and small cuts of meat dedited tothe  French composerJules Massenet>it consists of Ann potatoes baked in individual mould , small arthichoke heart filled with a salpiconof bone marrow and French (green ) beans in butter , the sauce is made  from the meat  juices or from a demiglace sauce flavoured with Madeire. Massent also gave  his name to variiious egg dishes garnished wished witth asparagus tips and artichoke hearts.

Recipe

Scrambled egg Massenet

Cook some asparagus tip in butter.Boil or steam some artichoke hearts. Dice them and sauce them in the butter ..Prtepare some scrabled egg.mix  them whith the diced artichokre hearts and garnish  them with  the asparagus  tips

          Soft –boiled or poached egg massent Prepare some individual croustades with Ann potatoes Fill them with a salpicon  of French(green ) beans Bbdressed with butter and keep hot  Cook the eggs and place one  in each croustade. Coat with bone marrow sauce and sprinkle with  chopped parsley.

Alternastively, place  an artichoke heart in the bottom  of each  crouustade and garnish  the dish with  very small asparagus tips

            MASSIALOT FRANCOIS  French  chef  (born 1660:died 1733) he was chef de cuisine  tio various illustiouus personage , including  thwe brother  of luise XIV the  dukes of Charttres , Orleans andd Aumont  Cardinal D’ Estrees and  the Marquis de louvois in  1691 he published  anonymously Le Cuisinier royal  et Bougeois His name did notr appear  on  the title page  until  the work was republished in 1712. He also wrote an Instruction nouvelle pour les confidure , les liqueurs et les fruit , published in 1692.These  two  work were relatively unknown  to the genertal public but her were held  in great esteem by the professional cooks of the 18^th century  and certainly had an influence on the development  of French cuisne . Mas sialot recipes include Chicken with green olives and herbs raguut fof salmon’s head with white  wine verjuices , capers  and mushroom and also  benoiles (souffles fritter flavoure with  orange- flower water and served very hot sprinked with sugar )

METAFAN Also known as matefain s large  thick nourishing pancake made in different region of  Franch. The  dish was first named matafan in Franche-Comte when province was occucied by The Spanish in the 15^th century ,The word  is derived from  the Spanish  mata bambre (kills hunger) which in french became mate  le fain, hence thefrequent  spelling  matefain  in the  environs of lyon and kin  the mountains matafans are savoury and cointain  spinach, potatoes pieces of bacon, or even  lean  pork . in burgundy and Bresses , they are serveved as  sweet dessert dried fruit  replacing the savoury ingredients.

Recipes

Bsancon matafans

Blend 5 tablespoons  plain ( all – propose ) flour , i egg, 2 egg yolks a little caster ( superfine  ) sugar , a  pinch  of salt and I teaspoon oil with a little  milk Flovour the batter with kirsch and let stand at room temperature  for 1 hour. Melt  a little  butter  in a frying  pan : when it starts to smoke, pour   in some batter  tilting thie pan so that  the batter spread out  to cover  the base . When the first side is cooked turn the pancake over and brown  the other side

Savoy matefain

Make a better with 125 g (4½oz generous I cup) plain (all – purpose ) flour ,1200 ml (7 fl oz, ¾ cupmilk . egg salt and pepper and a little grated nut meg .Then  blend in I tablespoon melted butter Melt 20g (¾oz,4½ teaspoons ) butter in a havy based frying pan and pour  in the batter , tilting the pan so that  the batter spread out  to cover the base. Cook gently until the pancake is set . turn it out on to a butter

flameproof plate, sprinkle generously with grated Gruyere cheese and  brown under a grill(briler

MATE A beverage prepared from the leaves of a  south  American holy  shrub Both  the shrub and the beverage are also I known as yerba and Paraguay tea . The leaves – Dried roasted and

Matelote

Powdere – are infused to  produce a topic drink rich in caffein, which is popular in Argentine. Brazil and  other  South  American  countries  It can be flavoured with lemon , milk or brandy , originally  the south American Indians chewed the fresh leaves  without any previous preparation.

MATELOTE  A French fish stew made with red or white wine and aromatic flavourings.  The term is generally applied to stews made with freshwater fish: eel in particular, but also carp, small pike, trout, shad and barbel.  Matelote is a standard recipe in the regions of the Loire and the Rhone and in Languedoc; there are also several variations.  In Normandy a matelote is made with sea fish such as turbot, mard, conger eel and brill. It is flamed with Calvados, cooked in cider, bound with butter and enriched with srhimp and mussels or oysters.  All matelotes are usually of bacon and sometimes with crayfish cooked in court-boullon and fried croutons.

RECIPE

Cel matelote

Skin 1 kg (2¼ lb) eels and cut them into thick slices.  Cook them in 65 g 2 (½ oz, 5 tablespoons) butter until firm, then flame them in 1 liqueur glass of marc or brandy.  Add 2 onions, 1 celery stick and 1 carrot, all thinly sliced.  Cover with 1 litre (1¾ pints, 4 1/3 cups) red wine and add salt, a bouquet garni, a crushed garlic clove, a clove and 4-5 peppercorns. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 20 minutes.

MATIGNON  A vegetable mixture that is prepared au gras (with bacon) or au matigre (without bacon).  It is used as a complementary ingredient in various braised or fried dishes.  Matignon is also the name of garnish for various cuts of meat, consisting of artichoke hearts stuffed with vegetable fondue, springkled with breadcrumbs and browne, accompanied by braised lettuce and sometime Madiera or port sauce.

RECIPES

Matignon mixture

For the au maigre (meatless) version, cook 125 g (4½ oz, 1¼ cup) sliced onions chopped celery, and 25 g (1 oz,¼ cup) sliced onions gently in butter. Add salt, a sprig of thyme, half a bay leaf and a pinch of sugar.  When the vegetables are very soft, add 6 tablespoons Madiera and boil to reduce until nearly all the liquid has evaporated.

Fillet of beef a la matignon

Stud a fillet of beef with strips of pickled ox (beef) tongue and truffle (optional).  Cover with a matignon mixiture and wrap in very thin slices of bacon. Secure with string. Put into a braising pan and add enough Madiera to cover one-third of it.  Cover and braise in a preheated oven at 160ºC (325ºF, gas 3) until the meat is tender.  Drain the fillet and remove the bacon and matignon.  Skim the fat from the cooking liquid, strain it, pour a few tablespoons over the filler and put it into the oven to glaze.  Serve surrounded with a matignon garnish and a little of the sauce.  Serve the remainder of the sauce separately.

MATURATION  The process of maturing of food or wine under controlled conditions in order to produced the required texture, colour, flavour, aroma and overall quality.

-  Chesse  The final stage in the manufacture of French cheese.  In this stage the curds have set and been turned out of their moulds, the rind forms and the cheese acquires its texture, aroma and flavour.  The maturing takes place in a cellar, vault or similar place at a particular temperature – 10-18ºC (50-64ºF) – and a specific degree of humidity, sometimes in the presence of bacterial flora.  The lower the temperature and the bacterial flora.  The lower the temperature and the larger  the cheese, the longer is the maturing and the larger cheese, the longer is the maturing process.

Sausages.  Many varieties of continental sauusages, being similarly fermented products, also go through the maturing process.  They are subjected to a ripenting and drying period which ensures their stability taste and aroma.

Wine.  Most wines produced today are designed to bedrunk young and would not benefits from ageing.  Fine wine, vintage, single quinta and crusted ports and some sparkling wines, however, can develop more complex flavours and aromas by ‘laying down’.  A great number of factors need to be taken into account when assessing when best to drink a wine, the grape variety, area of production, wine making method and whether the wines were fermented and aged in oak barrels.  Full maturity is a mellow marriage of flavours and aromas before the wine starts to deteriorate.

MATZO  A Jewish unleavened bread which resembles a very thin, large, dry biscuit.  The biscuits are crushed to make matzo meal, used in Jewish cooking as a thickener, to make dumplings and as an ingredients in puddings.

MAYONNAISE  A cold emulsified sauce consisting of egg yolks and oil blended together and flavoured with vinegar, salt, pepper and mustard.

            There are four possible etymologies of its name, whose spelling has also changed several times.  Some sources attribute the name of the Duke of Richelieu, who captured Port Mahon on the island of Minorca on 28 June 176.  Either the duke himself or his chef created the sauce during the period and named it mahonnaise.  Others believe that the sauce was orginally a specialty of the town of Bayonne, known as bayonnaise sauce which has since become modified to mayonnase.

            The incorporation of complementary ingredients into plain mayonnaise allows  a very wide range of derivative sauces to be obtained andalouse, italianne, tartare verte, cambridge, indienne, dijonnaise, gribiche, maltaise, remoulade, russe or Vincent, depending on whether herbs, curry powder, tomato puree (paste) chopped watercress, caviar, anchovy essence, garlic, capers, gherkins, chervil or chopped truffle, respectively are added.

            Mayonnaise is served as an accompaniment to cold dishes such as hors d’oeuvre, eggs, fish and meat.  It can also be used for garnishing (piped through a bag) or as a seasoning, for example in russian salad, macedoines of fish, shellfish, poultry or vegetables.  These dishes are by extension known as mayonnaise.

RECIPES

Classic mayonnaise

Half an hour before making mayonnaise, ensure that all the ingredients are at room temperature.  Put 2 egg yolks, a little salt and white pper, and a little vinegar (tarragon,m if available) or lemon juice in a medium bowl.  1 teaspoon white mustard can also be added.  Stir quickly with a wooden spoon or whisk and as soon as the mixture is smooth use a tablespoon to blend in about 300 ml (½ pint,1¼ cups) olive oil.  Add the oil drop by drop, with a few drops of vinegar, taking care to beat the sauce against the sides of the bowl.  The whiteness of the sauce depends on this continued beating.  As it increases in volumme, larger quantities of oil can be added in a thin trickle and also more vinegar or lemon juice.  It is essential to add the ingredients slowly and sparingly to avoid curdling.

Anchovy mayonnaise

Add 1 teaspoon anchovy essence (paste) or 4 pureed anchovy fillets to 300 ml (½ pint, 1¼ cups0 mayonnaise.  Mix well.

Aspic mayonnaise

Pound 8 tablespoons meat aspic.  When cooled but before it sets, add 300 ml (½ pint, 1¼ cups) mayonnaise and whisk thoroughly.  The sauce must be used promptly because it will set very rapidly.  It can be flavoured in the same way as classic mayonnaise.

Watercress mayonnaise

Add 2 tablespoons very finely chopped watercress to 250 ml (8 fl oz, 1 cup) very thick classic mayonnaise. Mix well.

MAYTAG  First made in 1941, this American blue cheese is produced in Iowa.  The cheese comes in foil-wrapped wheels of various sizes.  The paste is very white in colour with a thick, soft, crumbly texture and bright green veining.  The flavour is smooth and nutty with a final lemon like kick.

MAZAGRAN  An earthenware goblet in which coffee and certain  iced desserts are served (the name is also given to the dessert itself).  Originally, iced coffee laced with brandy on rum was served in mazagran and drunk through a straw.  The name is derived from the twon of Mazagran, in Algeria, where the French garrison withstood a memorable siege in February 1840.  According to tradition, the Zonaves held their ground thanks to this drink.  The goblet was created in their honour.

            In classic cuisine, mazagran is the name of a case made with duchess potato mixture and filled with chopped or diced savoury ingredients, the filling is covered with duchess potatoes, piped on with a fluted nozzle.  Mazagrans are baked in a hot oven and served hot with a suitable sauce.  A single large mazagran can be prepared in a manque mould or deep-sided cake in (pan).

MAZARIN  A two layered cake made with daquoise mixture and filled with praline mousse.

            Formerly a mazarin was a very large Genoese cake with a cone-shaped hollow in the centre.  This was filled with crystallized fruit in syrup and topped with the cone-shaped pieces of cake that had been removed, inverted, replaced and iced (frosted) with fondant.  The cake was decorated with crystallized fruit.  A third type of cake named mazarin was made with raised (leavened) dough and filled with a butter cream cooked in butter.

MEAL  A relatively fixed occasion at which food is consumed each day.  The three principal meals of the are breakfast, eaten at the beginning of the day and literally meaning breaking a fast, lunch an abbreviation of luncheon eaten in the middle of the day and dinner, the main meal of the day.  A modest dinner is called supper.  Other meals, eaten at other times of the day, are brunch, which is a combination of breakfast and lunch, and afternoon tea and high tea, both British institutions.  At both occasions, tea, the beverage, is drunk and whereas afternoon tea is usually accompanied by a biscuit (cookie) or small cake, high tea is more substantial and would include  a savoury dish.  Religious feast, such as Christmas Easter or Ramadan, are commemorated by meals consisting of traditional dishes.

MEAT  The fresh of animals and birds used as food since ancient times.  In the Western world, it refers to the flesh of ox (and calf) pig, and sheep, known as beef (veal) pork and lamb or mutton.  Beef, lamb and mutton are generally classified as red meats and veal and pork are white meats.  The flesh from domesticated birds and wild animals, such as chicken, duck, turkey, rabbit and hare, is categorized as poultry or game.

            The edible internal organs of all the above are known as offal.  In different countries of the world, the flesh of a wide variety of animals and birds is eaten, including camels, goats, horses, llama, reindeer (venison) and water buffalo.

            Meat is composed of small fibres, which are bound together in bundles to form muscles of the animal.  These may be surrounded by thick sheaths of tendon or connective tissue and the various cuts of meat are classified into categories according to the amount of this connective tissue present.  Cuts for roasting, grilling (broiling) and frying have almost none so are very tender and can be cooked quickly in dry heat.  Cuts for pot roasting and braising have a moderate amount and so need gentle, moist cooking to make the meat tender.  If there is a high proportion of connective tissue, or the tissues are thick because the animal is old or the muscle has had more active, use the cut needs long, moist cooking, such as stewing or boiling.

The qualities of Meat  Immediately after slaughter, the still warm meat is described as being pantelante (twitching) and not edible, the muscles are soft, the water in the meat is strongly bonded to the proteins and the glycogen in the muscles is breaking down into lactic acid.  After several hours rigor mortis sets in and the muscles become stiff.  At this stage the meat would be extremely tough after cooking; 24 hours after slaughter, the meat is hung to a mature, once it is ‘settled’ it becomes suitable for eating.

            There are five factors to consider when judging the quality of meat.

·        COLOUR this – the first sign that the consumer is aware of – depends on the level of myoglobin in the blood, the breed and age of the animal, and possibly its feed.  Beef is a vivid shiny dark red, with a fine network of yellow fat: veal is slightly pink with white fat; lamb is bright pink with white fat, mutton a little darker; pork is pale pink.

·        TENDERNESS.  This depends on the following;  the age and breed of the animal; its feed, the proportion of connective tissue around the muscle fibres; the treatment of the carcass (whether it was stored in a well-ventilated place at the correct temperature); the period of maturing; and correct butchery (cutting up) of the carcass into joints and cuts of meat.  In addition to all these factors, the cooking method is also very important, boiling and stewing increase the tenderness, even of very poor cuts of meat; indeed expensive first-category meat from a young animal, which is considered to be very tender, becomes tough in roasted for too long.

·        WATER RETENTION  This relies on the strength of the bond between water and proteins in the meat and is also an important factor, both when preserving meat and  when eating it fresh.ee

·        FLAVOUR.  This comes essentially from the fat and is therefore linked with the succulence, which itself is determined by the feed of the animal.  The flavour is more pronounced in an adult animal that has been well reared for the table, often with more highly coloured meat.

*     Cooking Meat.  The choice of cooking method depends on the type and cut of meat.  Quick dry method suit tender cuts, slow, moist methods tenderize tough cuts.

        Meat is most often eaten cooked and hot, but it is aloso served cold and there are examples of raw meat dishes, such as steak tartare.

·        Preserving meat.  Cooking the meat will only preserve it for a  limited time, and once cool, it has to be chilled.  Man discovered, very early on, various ways of preserving meat, quite apart from charturie.  One method is cooking in fat. To make confits of goose, duck and pork.  Coating cooked meats with aspic is another traditional way of preserving them, but only for a limited time.

Salting, practice since ancient times, is a method of preserving raw meat and examples include pickled pork, cured bacon, salt beef and pickled tongue.

     

            Drying of meat takes place in some regions for example, brest from Jura, Swiss Bundefleisch, South American charqui, pastirma in the East and South African biltong are all dried meats.  Drying was traditional method used by the American Indians to conserve the meat of the bison.  Freeze drying is a new method of preparing dried meat.

            Canning is also a successful method long-term preservation and there are many examples of processed meat product sold in cans.

            Freezing is the most suitable method for preserving meat.  A wide variety of commercially frozen cuts and meat products are readily available.  Meat can also be frozen successfully in the domestic freezer.

MECCA CAKE  A small sweet French bun, made with choux paste, glazed with egg and sprinkled with granulated sugar or shredded almonds.  Mecca cakes are served without fillings, usually with tea.

MEDALLION  An item of food cut into a round  or oval shape.  The word is synonymous with tournedos when applied to small cuts of beef.  Medallions of various thicknesses can be prepared from meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, and even from slices of foie gras.  Medallions of veal or poultry are sautted or fried and can be served hot or cold.

RECIPES

Chicken medallions Beauharnais

Remove the breast from a large chicken and cut each into 2 or 3 slices of equal thickness, flatten them slightly and trim them into round or oval medallions.  Season with salt and pepper and saute in butter.  Prepare an equal number of artichoke hearts and cook them in butter.

            Fry some round bread croutes, the same size of the medallions, in butter.  Arrange an artichoke heart on each crouton, cover with Beauharnais sauce, and top with a chicken medallion.  Serve any remaining sauce separately.

Chicken medallions Fedora

Prepare some medallions from the breast of a chicken.  Peel some cucumbers, cut them into uniform pieces, and cook them in butter.  Keep warm.  Cut some slices of bread to the same size and shape as the medallions and fry them in butter.  Cook the medallions gently in butter, and keep them warm.

            Deglaze the pan in which the chicken was cooked with a mixiture of wine and stock; boil until almost completely evaporated.  Add some cream and reduce again until the sause is smooth.  Place a medallion on top of each crouton and arrange them in a circle on the serving dish.  Coat with the sauce and place the pieces of cucumber in the cntre of the circle.

MEDIANOCHE  A Spanish word meaning midnight and used to denote a meal that was eaten in the middle of the night as soon as the fast of the previous day had finished.  By extension, the term was also used for an exquisite meal that was eaten very late, on such occasions as New Year’s Eve.

MEDICIS  A method of preparing sauteed noisettes of lamb or tournedos, which are either coated with bearnaise sauce or surrounded by a ring of sauce made by deglazing the meat juices with Madiera and a thickned stock.  The garnish consists of noisette potatoes, and artichoke hearts cooked in butter, with peas and tiny balls of carrots and turnips arranged alternately.

MEDLAR  A yellowish brown pear shaped fruit, 3-4 cm (about 1½ in) in diameter, with greyish  flesh enclosing five seeds (certain varieties are seedless).  It is native to central Asia and south-eastern Europe and was known in ancient times.  It sometimes grows wild in Britain and Wurope.  The medlar is edible only when overripe, after the first frosts if it is still on the tree, or after it has been left to ripen slowly on straw.  It has a mildly acidic and rather wine like flavour.  The fruit is usually made into compotes or jellies.

MEDOC  One of the most important regions of Bordeaux.  It runs from an area just north of the city of Bordeaux almost to the Pointe de Grave, the tip of a peninsula jutting into the atlantic.  The vineyard is divided into the Bas-Medoc in the north and the Haut-Medoc to the south, which includes some of the most famous of all the Bordeaux parishes (communes) Opauillac, St-Julien, St. Estephe, Margaux and certain others, such as Listrac and Loulis.  Within these districts some of the greatest red wines of the world are made.

            The great estates also produce second’ and sous marque wines, which may not be quite up to the quality of their finest wines.  It is up to the individual winemakers to decide whether they will declassify their wine – for example; in a very poor year, the chateau label may not be put in a wine  that does not attain its usual high standard, but which may be acceptable as a ‘second wine’ or sous marque.

MEGRIM  A large flat-fish of the Pleuronectidae family, also known as sail-fluke and whiff.  It is trawled in the North seas and around Ireland.

MELAGUETA PEPPER  Also known as ginny pepper.  Guinea pepper, alligator pepper, malagueta, malaguetta, manigueta or maniguetta.  Part of the same family plant as cardamom and ginger, the small red-brown irregular-shaped seeds are contained in small oval pods.  The seeds are used ground or whole and their flavour is reminiscent of a mixture of ginger and cardamom.  The seeds are also known as grains of paradise; however there are claims that the true grains are said to come from a related plant of the same species.

MELBA  The name of various dishes dedicated to Dame Nellie Melba, the famous 19t^h century Australian opera singer.  The best known is peach Melba created in 1892 by Escoffier when he was chef at the Savoy, in London at the time when Melba was starring in the opera Lobengrin.  It was first served at a dinner given by the Duke of Orleans to celebrate her triumph: Escoffier conjured up a dish of a swan of ice bearing peaches resting on a bed of vanilla ice cream and topped with spun sugar.

            Melba is also the name of garnish for small cuts of meat consisting of small tomatoes stuffed with a salpicon of chicken and mushrooms bound with veloute sauce.

RECIPES

Lamb noisettes Melba

Stuff 8 very small tomatoes with a salpicon of chicken and mushrooms bound with veloute sauce.  Brown them in the oven or under the grill (broiler) and then keep warm.  Fry 8 croutons cut the same size as the noisettes of lamb.  Saute the noisettes in butter and arrange them on the croutons on a serving dish.  Keep warm.

            Deglaze the saute pan with 35o ml (12 fl oz, 1½  cups) stock and boil down to reduce by three quarters.  Blend 1 tablespoon arrow with 175 ml (6 fl oz, ¾ cup) Madiera, pour the mixture into the saute pan and whisk until the sauce thickens.  Add 20 g (3/4 oz 4½ teaspoons) butter, cut into small pieces, and continue whisking.  Pour the sauce over the noisettes and arrange the stuffed tomatoes in a circle around them.

Peach Melba

Prepare 500ml (l7 fl oz, 2 cups) vanilla ice cream and 300 ml (½ pint, 1¼ cups) rasperry puree.  Plunge 8 peaches into boiling water for 30 seconds, then drain cool and peel them.  Make a syrup with 1 litre  1¾ cups) water, 500 g (18 fl oz, 2½ cups) sugar and 1 vanilla pod (bean)  Boil for 5 minutes, then add the peaches and poach them in the syrup for 7-8 minutes on each side.  Drain and cool completely

            Cut each peach in half and remove the stones (pits).  Either line a large fruit bowl with the vanilla ice cream, lay the peaches on top, and coat them with the  rasperry puree or spoon the ice cream into individual glasses,. Top with the peaches and M

elba sauce, and serve scattered with flaked almonds

MELBA TOAST  Fine crisp toast.  Made by lightly toasting medium thick slices of bread, then cutting off the crust and slicing each piece of toast horizontally into two thin layers.  The uncooked sides are lightly toasted, making the bread curl slightly.  Melba toast is served with light pates, such as fish pate, or fine, smooth meat pates, and as an accompaniment for soups or first courses.

MELOKHIA  A plant of the mallow family, with green slightly serrated leaves, several species of which are cultivated in Egypt and Israel as a green vegetable.  The leaves may be eaten raw in a salad or cooked like spinach.  Molokhia, a popular soup in Egypt, is made with fried onions, garlic and coriander, cooked in a very fatty beef stock with chopped melokhia leaves.  It can be served with lemon juice and is often thickened with rice.  Dried melokhia leaves are also available.

MELON  The roundish fruit of several types of climbing plants of which there are a very large number of different varieties.  They range in size, shape and colour but all melons have a hard rind, and a juicy sweet flesh, usually with a mass of seeds in the centre.  They are in Western countries, usually eaten fresh at the beginning of a meal, as an hors  d’oeuvre’ or the end, as a fruit.  In Asia, some types of melon are cooked and eaten as a vegetable.  Melon can also be used to make jams and pickles.  The rind of large melon can also be pickled.  Melon seeds are dried and eaten as a snack, or used in cooking in China, Greece and Central and South America.  Watermelon belong to a different family of plants.

            Larger melon are usually cut into wedgeshape slices for serving, but it is better to serve the smaller ones either whole with the top and the seeds removed or cut in half.  It is considered wrong to serve melon with a forotified wine poured over it.  However, a glass of port, served separately or drunk afterwards is a  pleasant accompaniment.

RECIPES

ICE MELON

Choose a large melon weighing about 2 kg (4½ lb) and cut a fairly large slice from the stalk.  Carefully remove the seeds and then scoop out the flesh without piercing the skin.,  Make a sorbet with the flesh.  Put the empty melon shell and the top into the freezer.  When the sorbet has set, but is still a little mushy, fill the empty case, pressing down well.  Replace the top of the melon and store in the freezer until ready to serve.  Serve the melon standing a dish of crushed ice.

Melon en’ surprise a la parisienne

Choose a good quality ripe firm melon weighing about 2 kg 94½ lb).  Remove a thick slice from the stalk end.  Carefully remove the seeds and then scoop out the flesh without piercing the rind.  Dice the flesh and place in the refrigerator.  Select some fruit in season, such as apricots, peaches and pears, and cut it into cubes.  Add some grapes, stoned (pitted) plums, strawberries, rasberries and pineapple cubes. Mix this fruit with the melon cubes, sprinkle with a little caster (superfine) sugar, and pour over some kirsch, Maraschino or other liqueur.

            Sprinkle the inside of the  rind with a little sugar, pour in a liqueur glass of the same liquueur, fill with the fruit, replace the top of the melon, and store in the refrigerator.  Serve the melon in a dish containing crushed ice.

            Alternatively, ripe small melon can be used.  Cut them in half and prepare each half as above to serve as individual portions.

Melon jam

Dice 1 kg (2¼ lb) melon flesh (net weight after peeling).  Put in a large dish containing crushed ice.

Alternatively. Ripe melon can be used . cut them in half and each half as above to serve as individual portions

Melon jam

Dice 12 kg (2¼lb ) melon flesh (net weigh after peeling ) put  in large dish in layers , sprinkled with 800g ( 1¾ cup) sugar. Leaves to macerate in  a cool place for 3-4 hours, then cook in a preserving pan until  the setting point is reached pot and seal in the usual way.

Melon with Parma ham

Arrange seeded and peeled, fine slice of melon on individual plate, allowing 3-4 per portion . add 3-4 fine slice Parma ham loosely folded to one side of  the one  side  of  the melon . the ham and melon are eaten together as a simmple starter .

Melt To heat a product , such as sugar , chocolate or fat until it liquefies. To prevent it from  burning a bain marie or a heat different is sometimes used , and  the substance is stirred with a wooded spoons.

MENAGERE A LA a French term meaning housewife style . the name is given to various dishes in plain domestic cookery  in which simple and relatively inexpensive ingredient are used , prepared according  to recipe  that are accessible to any good hosewife.

Recipe

Entrecote a la menagere

Gently cook 250g (oz) small  carrots 150 g (5 oz) zmalll onion and  150 g (5 oz, 1½cups) mushrooms butter. Season  the steak with salt and prepper and  bropwn  it in butter  in a frying pan  over a brisk heat add the vegetable and fry for a further 3-4 minutes. Arrange  the entrecote and  tyhe vegetable on a serving dish and keep hot. Make a sauce in the frying pan by adding  5 tablespoon white wine and  3 tablespoon  stock. Boil down to reduce and pour  it over  the entrecote.

MENDIANTS

Fried eghg a la menagere

Prepare enough  tomato  sauce to  provide I tablespoon per person . Drain some stockpot  vegetables,  slice them and  sauce them  in butterfry  ther egg in butter . Line a serving dish with  the  sauteed vegetable, arrange the eggs on top , surround wit6yh  aring  of tomato sauce and serve immediately.

Omelette a la menagrere

Cut some boiled beef into small dice and fry lightly in butter.  Fry an equal quantity of diced onions in butter.  Put the meat and onions in the same frying pan.  Beat some eggs, add some chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper.  Pour the beaten eggs into the frying pan and cook.

MENDIANTS  A dish consisting of four types of dried fruit and nuts almonds, figs hazelnuts and raisins, whose colours are those of the habits of the four Roman Catholic mendicant orders (Dominicans in white, Franciscans, in grey, Carmelites in brown and Augustinians in deep purple_.  Mendians was traditionally served at Christmas.

            Alsace, mendiant is the name of a type of moist fried bread (pain perdu) made with apples, crystallized (candied) fruit and cinnamon.  This is also a very popular dessert in Germany, where it is known as armer Ritter.

MENETOU-SALON  A wine from the Berry region, south-west of Sancerre.  The Sauvignon Blane grape makes pleasant dry white wines and there are also a few reds and roses made from the Pinot Noir grape.

MENTONNAISE, A LA  The name for various dishes inspired by the cuisine of the south of France.  For fish prepared a la mentonnaise, the main ingredients are tomatoes black (ripe) olives and garlic, while meat dishes are garnished with courgette (zucchini) halves stuffed with tomato flavoured rice, small braised artichoke and chateau potatoes.  Courgettes a la mentonnaise are stuffed with spinach.

RECIPE

Courgettes a la mentonnaise

Cut the courgettes (zucchini) in half lengthways.  Make an incision around pulp 1 cm (½ in) from the degree and several smaller incisions in the centre of the pulp. Season the courgettes with salt and put them upside down on paper towles to remove the excess moisture.  Dry, then saute gently in olive oil until they are golden brown.  Drain, remove the pulp from the centre without damaging the skin, and chop it.

            Blanch some spinach in boiling water, then drain, cool, chop and cook it in butter in a covered pan.  Mix the gourgette pulp with an equal amount of cooked spinach and fill the courgette halves with this mixture.  Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese and add a little garlic and some chopped parsley.  Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and olive oil and brown in the over.

MENU  A list specific order of the dishes to be served at a given meal.  In French restaurants, all the dishes that are available are listed on the carte; the menu lists the dishes for set meals, the composition of which is decided by the restaurant manager.  The word menu dates back to 1718, but the custom of making such a list is much older.  In former times, the bill of fare of ceremonial meals was displayed on the wall and enabled kitchen staff, in particular to follow the order in which dishes should be served.

MENU-DROIT  A strip cut from a poultry fillet, 2.5 cm (1 in) ide and 2.5 cm (1 in) thick.  Marinated in double (heavy) cream, menus droits are grilled (broiled) for 2 minutes on each side and served with lemon juice and noisette butter.  They can also be heated gently for a few minutes in a suitable sauce for poultry.  Formerly, menus-droit denoted a regofit made with the tongue, muffle and ears of a deer.

MERINGUER   A French verb meaning to top or decorate a dessert or item of patisserie with a meringue mixture.  It is usually placed in the oven to brown the surface.  In France, the part of the cake or dessert consisting of the cooked meringue mixture is called the meringage.

MERLAN  A French cut of beef from the thigh near the topside (beef round).  It is so called because its long flat shape resembles that of a whiting (the French name for whiting is merlan).  This cut of meat is very good for steaks.

MERVEILLE  A traditional French pastry made fromdough cut into different shapes and deep fried Merveilles are sometimes made with  a raised  dough, and the mixture contains a large quantity of flour.  The dough is rolled out and either cut into strips and formed into small plaits (braids) or cut with a pastry cutter into rounds, diamonds, heart or animal shapes.  Merveilles are sprinkled with sugar and served hot, warm or cold.  Closely related to rousettes and oreillettes, mervielles are made in several regions of southern France.  Traidionally, theywere made at Shrovetide.

RECIPE

Merveilles

Make a dough with 500 g (18 oz, 4½ cups) plain (all purpose) flour, a 4 l;ightly beaten eggs, 150 g (5 oz, 2/3 cup) softenened butter, a generous pinch of salt 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 liqueur glass of orange flower, rum or Cognac.  Roll the dough into a ball and leave it to stand for at least 2 hours, covered with a cloth.  Rool it out to a thickness of about 5 mm (¼ in) and cut it into various shapes with fluted pastry (cookie) cutters.  Deep-fry in oil (175ºC. 347º F) until golden brown.  Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with a mixture of icing (confectioner’s) sugar and vanilla flavoured sugar, and pile up on the serving dish.

MESCAL  A Mexican spirit made from a distillate of the agave plant. In Mexico it is often drunk by itself, but for export, market the more complex spirit tequila, also made from the agave, ismore familiar.

MESENTERY a membrane covering the intestines of animals.  In France calves mesentery is usually used cookery, although the mesentery of lambs and young goats can also be used.  The mesentery is washed and poached in boiling water before being sold and must be white and firm to the touch.  It may be cut into squares and eaten cold with a revigote sauce or prepared as a hot dish in the same way as tripe a la lyonnaise or tripe a la poulette.  It is also used as a filling for vol-au-vent.

METIEL  The French term of a mixed crop of wheat and rye, sown and harvested together.  The flour made from this crop is used for making various regional breads.

METHODE CHAMPENOISE  The method by which champagne is produced where secondary fermentation takes place within the bottle.  Sparkling wines produced in the same way, but outside the designated champagne region, may use the term method traditionalle (traditional method) or methode classique (classic method)).  The grapes are pressed with a maximum extraction rate of 100 litres of juice to 160 kg of grapes.  The first pressing  releases the cuvee which is acknowledged to be the best as it is highest in sugars and acidity and low in phenolics.  The juice from the second pressing is known as the premieres tailles.  The harsher third pressing (deuxieme tailles) has been abolished in a move to improve the quality of the base wines.

MEUNIERE, A LA  A method of cooking that can be used for all types of fish (, filleted or steaks).  The fish is always lightly floured (hence the name of the dish – meuniere means miller’s wife)  and fried in butter.  It is aranged on a long dish and sprinkled with lemon juice, then noisette butter and finally chopped parsley.  Frog’s legs, scallops brains and soft roes can also be prepared a la meuniere.

RECIPE

Sea bream (or bass) a la meuniere

Scale and gut (clean) the fish (each weighing less than 575 g, 1¼ lb) and make a few incisions along the back.  Season with salt and pepper and coat with flour (shake the fish lightly to get rid of the excess flour).  Heat some butter in a frying pan and brown the fish on both sides.  Drain them, arrange on a long dish, sprinkle with chopped parsley and lemon juice, and keep them hot.  Add some butter to the frying pan and cook until golden then pour the bubbling butter over the fish.

MEURETTE  Any of certain dishes cooked in a red wine sauce, such as a matelote of river fish (for example eel, carp and pike) or a stew of veal or chicken.  Apart from red wine, it is traditional to add strips of bacon and often a baby onions and mushrooms.  Meurette is usually served with fried croutons.  Meurette is usually served with fried croutons.  Eggs and brains en meurette are poached in this sauce.

RECIPE

Eggs en meurette

Prepare enough bourguignonne sauce to poach the eggs.  Fry some small croutons and small strips of smoked streaky (slabs) bacon in butter.  Break the eggs one by one and poach them in the sauce.  Arrange them in a dish, pour the sauce over the top and garnish with the strips of bacon and the croutons.

MEURSAULT  A village in Burgundy’s Cote de Beaune, containing some outstanding vineyards, the fist of which are Les Perrieres, Les Generieres and Les Charmes.  Most of the wine is white, made from the Chardonnay grape, but there are some reds, made from the Pinot Noir.  There is much variation in the styles of the white wines, many of them being outstanding in quality and capable of long lives in bottle.

MEYERBEER  A dish of shirred eggs dedicated to the German composer Giacomo Meyerbeer, whose operas were very successful in Paris during the Romantic era.

RECIPE

Shirred eggs Meyerbeer

Cut a lamb’s kidney in half without separating the halves completely.  Clean, season with pepper and grill (broil).  Sprinkle with salt.  Cook 2 shirred eggs, garnish them with the kidney and surround with a border of Perigueux sauce.

MEZE  Also spelt mezze.  An assortment of dishes consisting of (usually cold) simple snacks, served in Greece, Turkey, North Africa and the Middle East. Mezes almost take the place of a meal and diishes suitable for a meze table the numerous.  Examples include taramasalata, stuffed vine leaves, boreks, green and black (rioe) olives, cold meats, dips, marinated vegetables and fish salads, pulses and pitta bread.

MICHE  A French wheat bread that was originally made for well to do citizens and then gradually became the daily bread of the rural areas.  Originally a small loaf (the word comes from the latin micca, meaning morsel or crumb), it became larger when used as the standard family loaf and is now a large, round country-style loaf.

MICROWAVE OVEN  An electric cooking apparatus whose source of energy consists of high frequency ultra-short waves.  Ovenproof glassware and china are suitable for microwave cooking but all dishes with metallic trims should be avoided.  Specially manufactured plastics are ideal but some thin plastics melt in the microwave, so these materials must be carefully selected.  Metallic materials reflects the waves so dishes made of these materials should not be used as the energy will not pass through them.  The dish is placed on a turntable or on the base of the cooker.  The waves are absorbed by the food and produce heat by the agitation of the water molecules.  Microwave cooking is a moist cooking method because of the steam created by heating the water molecules.

            The lack of browning, or crips cooking, means that meat cannot be roasted as in a conventional oven and the speed of microwave cooking does not allow time for any tougher cuts of meat to tenderize.

            However, fish, tender poultry and vegetables all cook very successfully in the microwave oven.  Sauces, soups and fruit also cook well.  The microwave oven can also be used to thaw and reheat foods quickly.  Combination microwave ovens offer the facility  for simultaneously use of conventional heat and microwaves.

MIDDLE EASTERN COOKING  Middle Eastern cuisine is simple yet at the same time sophisticated.  For thousands of years, the culinary heritage of each country in the region has been enriched by the contribution of travellers and also by the successive waves of invaders. 

MIGNONETTE  Courseley ground pepper, particularly from the more flavour some white peppercorns, formerly, a mignonette was a small muslim  (cheesecloth) sachet filled with peppercorns and cloves, used to flavour soups and stews.

            The name is also used for elaborate preparations of, for example, noisettes of lamb, supremes of chicken and filet mignon.  Potatoes cut into thick matchsticks are also called mignonettes.

RECIPE        

Mignonettes of milk lamb

Season 8 noisettes of lamb with salt and pepper, sprinkle them with a little thyme and rosemary, and marinate them for 24 hours in grape seed oil.  Drain them and coat lightly with strong mustard.  Add 1 tablespoon chopped shallot to 5 tablespoons white wine vinegar mixed with 5 tablespoons white wine and an equal quantity of beef stock.  Boil down over a brisk heat until almost dry, add 575 ml (l9 fl oz, 2½ cups) double (heavy) cream, and season with salt and pepper.  Grill (broil)  the noisettes briskly for about 2 minutes on each side.  Put them in the sauce and cook, uncovered, until reduced.

MIGNOT  Parisian caterer of the 17^th century, satirized as a poisoner by the critic and poet Boileau.  Offended, he brought a legal action but it was rejected.  To revenge himself, the caterer had the idea of selling his customers biscuits (cookies) wrapped in fine paper on which was printed a biting epigram against Boileau, written by the Abbe Cottin.  The notion amused the Parisians and even Boileau himelf.  The biscuits made Mignot rich and famous.

MIGNOT  The name for various classic french dishes garnished or flavoured with ingredients that are reminiscent of Japanese cuisine.  Escalopes of veal or  chicken mikado are prepared by arranging the meat on croquettes of curried rice, coated with a curry sauce to which a little soy sauce has been added; the dish is served with tarlets filled with soya bean sprouts in cream.  Tournedos or noisettes mikado are arranged on grilled (broiled tomato halves, coated with a mixture of chopped tomatoes and a small quantity  of tomato sauce and garnished withJapanese artichokes cooked in butter in a covered pan.  Mikado sauce is made by adding the juice and shredded blanched peel of tangerines to a hollandiase sauce.

RECIPE

Mikado salad

Boil 800 (1¾ lb) unpeeled potatoes in salted water.  Allow them to cool, removed the skin and dice them.  Season 3 tablespoons mayonnaise with a little soy sauce.  Remove the seeds from green (bell) pepper and cut it into very fine strips.  Peel, seed and dice the flesh of 3 firm tomatoes.  Blanch 6-7 small chrysanthemum flowers for 2 minutes in boiling water, drain, dry and season lightly with vinaigrette.  Mix the diced potatoes with the mayonnaise and 150 g (5 oz, scant 1 cup) peeled prawns (shelled shrimp)  Arrange the mixture in a dome in a salad bowl and garnish the top of the salad with chrysanthemum petals.  Surround the salad with clusters of finely shredded green pepper and diced tomato.

MILANAISE  The French name for various cakes or biscuits (cookies)

            The small biscuits known as milanais are made with lemon or orange-flavoured almond paste cut into various shapes and decorated with almonds or crystallized (candied) fruit.  They can also be shaped by hand into rounds or plaits (braids), for example, and decorated with sliced almonds.

            Milanais are also small cakes made of sponge or Genoese mixture flavoured with rum and raisins or with aniseed, covered with apricot glaze and sometimes iced with fondant.

RECIPE

Milanais sables

Using the fingers, blend 250 g (9 oz 2¼ cups) plain (all purpose) flour with 15 g (4½ oz, 2/3 cup) softened butter.  Add 1 egg, 125 g (4½ oz, 2/3 cup) sugar and ½ teaspoon vanilla essence (extract or 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar.

            Sprinkle the pieces in which holes have been cut out with icing (confectioner’s) sugar (these will form the tops) and spread the others with a layer of redcurrant jelly.  Lightly press the tops and bottoms together.

MILK  A white slightly sweet, nutritious liquid secreted by the mammary glands.  Milking animals was originally a religious ritual among the early human societies that raised livestock.  Milk has always been a symbol of fertility and wealth: in the Bible the Promised Land is described as ‘flowing with milk and honey’ and Moses proclaimed that the mil of cows and ewes were gifts from God.  In Asia and India, zebus and water buffalo’s milk are sacred.  Like the Greeks, the Romans were partial to goat’s and ewe’s milk, but they also drank mare’s camel’s and asses’ milk.

            Fermentation preserves milk and alters its flavour, Apart from spontaneous coagulation, due to the action of the lactic microbes in the milk producing curds and curdling by means of rennet, there are many other types of fermented milk.

·        Different types of European milk

-          Untreated Milk.  This retains all its natural flavour.  It must come from bbrucellosis accredited herds, be bottled on the farm where it was produced, and sold under licence.  Untreated milk has to be labelled raw unpasteurized milk.  Some people advise boiling untreated milk for 5 minutes before drinkingit.  It is especially good inthe spring and will keep for 24 hours in the refrigerator.

-          Pateurized Mil.  This undergoes mild heat treatment, which destroys any harmful bacteria and improves the milk’s keeping qualities.  A small amount of the vitamin content is lost in pasteurization; otherwise there is little significant change.  It will kwwp for one to two days in a cool place; three to four in a refrigerator.  Domestic boiling changes the flavour of milk and also produces a skin in which some of the nutritious substances are often lost.

-          Sterilized Milk.  Homogenized milk heated to about 150ºC  (300ºF) for several seconds.  Sterilization destroys all germs and increases the shelf life of an unopened bottle, which can be kept a room temperature for several weeks.  Date stamped plastic bottles and cartons have a shelf life of several months.  After opening, it should be stored in the refrigerator.  Its flavour is like caramel.

-          Skimmed Milk Pasteurized milk from which nearly all the fat has been removed  The vitamin content is also reduced.

-          Evaporated Milk, a concentrated homogenized milk, which is sterilized in the can and which, unopened, will keep almost indefinitely.

-          Condensed Milk.  This is made from wholesemi skimmed or skimmed milk to which sugar is added.  Unopened, it will keep almost indefinitely.

-          Powdered or Dried Milk.  This is made from skimmed or semi-skimmed milk to which vegetable fat has been added.  Water is evaporated from the milk by heat to produce solids.  Powdered milk is packed in airtight containers, and can be kept for a long time if stored at a moderate temperature.  It dissolved eadily in water but once reconstituted should be treated as fresh milk.

-          Uses of Milk.  Milk is a very versatile food; it is the basic ingredient of butter, cheese, buttermilk and yogurt and it makes a delicious drink, either on its own or flavoured withfor example, fruit, vanilla or chocolate.  It is stirred into tea and coffee and forms the basis for many hot drinks, notably chocolate.  Milk shakes are popular and this versatile liquid can even be used in coctails.

MILK CAP  One name used for mushrooms of the genus Lactarius.  The name derives from the milky juice the mushrooms yield when cut.

MILL  A mechanical or electric implement used to reduce a solid foodstuff to a powder or paste.  The hand  worked  coffee mill has largely been replaced by the electric coffee grinder.

            The pepper mill and the coarse-salt mill are mechanical crushers, with a serrated roller or grinding wheel, operated by a handle or by a rotating movement of the lid.  Freshy ground pepper gives a more pronounced aroma and flavour.

            A vegetable mill with a handle and interchangeable plates is often preferable to an electric blender or processor, particularly for  preparing purees of starchy vegetables, which can easily be overworked in the electric appliance.

MILLAS  Also known as millasse or millias. In the languec region of France, a porridge made with either cornmeal or a mixture of whaten flour and cornmeal.  When cold, it is shaped into flat cakes and fried.  The cakes are eaten like bread either seasoned with salt or sweetened with sugar.  The word is derived from the Old French miller, meaning finegrained maize (corn)

RECIPES

Millas porridge

Heat 1 litre 1¾ pints, 4½ cups) water in a large saucepan.  When it boils, flavour it with orange flower water and a small piece of lemon zest and gradually add 300-350 g ( (11-12 oz, 2¾ cups) cornmeal.  Cook over a gentle heat, stirring with a wooden spatula.  When the porridge is thick, serve it on warm plates with caster (superfine) sugar.   Alternatively leave it to cool, cut into slices, and either fry in butter sprinkled with caster sugar or icing (confectioner’s) sugar, or fry in lard or goose fata dnserve with stews and casselores.

Millas with fruit

Cook the millas, flavouring it with kirsch or brandy.  Put a layer of millas about 1 cm (½ in) thick in a buttered pie dish.  Cover with drained cherries that have been cooked in a kirsch or brandy-flavoured syrup.  Then put a layer of millas on top of the cherries, smooth the surface carefully and decorate with a border of drained cherries.  Sprinkle lightly with crushed macaroons, pour on some melted butter and bake in a preheated oven at 220ºC (425ºF, gas 7) until golden.

            The cherries can be replaced by apricots, peaches, pears, apples, pineapple, plums or prunes, and rum can be used as a flavouring.

MILLET  Any of several varieties of cereal grain,  The main types of millet include the common millet, used for flour milling or as a poultry feed, pearl millet cultivated for food and for animal fodder in dry arid soils, Italian millet, cultivated for grain and animal fodder, and Japanese millet.

            Millet has been cultivated from the earliest times in ancient Rome a kind of milk porridge was made from the grains after removing the husks.  This method of preparation is still used by certain African tribes,  Millet continues to be important inthe diet of many African and Asiatic countries, but in Europe and North America it is cultivated mainly as a pasture grass and fodder crop.  Millet is sold in the form of grain, flakes and flour.  It is easy to prepare being cooked for 20 minutes in twice its volume of boiling water or milk.

RECIPE

Millet tarlets

Put 200 g (7 oz, 1¾ cups) millet flour, 400 g (14 oz, 1¾ cups) caster (superfine) sugar and 8 beaten eggs into a bowl.  Work the mixture well and add a generous pinch of salt and the finely chopped zest of 2 lemons.  Add 1.5 litres (2¾ pints 6½ cups) boiling milk and mix well.  Pour the mixiture into small plain round buttered moulds and cook in a preheated overn at 220ºC (425ºF, gas7) for 25-30 minutes.

MIMOSA  A plant whose yellow flowers can be made into fritters and used to garnish salads and prepared home made lieuers.

            The name is also given to certain egg dishes using sieved hard boiled egg yolk (which resembles mimosa flowers), particularly a cold hors d’oeuvre consisting of stuffed hard boiled eggs.  The yolks are sieved, mixed with mayonnaise and parsley and piped in flower shapes into the egg white cases. Mimosa salads are mixed salads sprinkled with sieved hard boiled egg yolk.

RECIPE

Mimosa salad

Boil some unpeeled potatoes, then peel them, cut into cubes and keep warm.  Poach some artichoke hearts in salted water and cut them into quarters.  Boil and chop some French (green beans.  Mix the ingredients and season them with a very spicy vinaigrette. Rub the yolks of some hard boiled (hard cooked) eggs through a coarse sieve and sprinkle over the salad.  Serve immediately.

MINCEMEAT         A spicy preserve in English cookery, consisting of a mixture o dried fruit, apple, beef suet, candied peel and spices, steeped in rum, brandy or Madiera.  It is the traditional filling for individual mince pies  served warm at Christmas.

            In the 17^th century, a mince pie was a huge covered tart filled with ox (beef) tongue, chicken, eggs, sugar, raisins, lemon zest and spices.  Gradually, the small tarlets replaced the single large tart and the filling was reduced to a mixture of beef suet, spices and dried fruit, steeped in brandy..

RECIPES

Mincemeat

Combine the following ingredients in a large mixing bowl: 450 g (1 lb. 3 cups) shredded suet, 450 g (1 lb, 3 cups) currants, (1 lb 3 cups) seedless white raisins, 450 g (l lb 4 cups) chopped apples, 450 g (1 lb, 2 cups) sugar, 450 g (l lb, 3 cups) sultanas (golden raisins) 100 g (4 oz, 2/3 cup) choppedmixed candied fruit peel, 3 tablespoons brandy or rum, the juice and zest of 1 lemon and 1 teaspoon each of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and mace.

            Pack closely in jars and cover tighltly.  This yields about 2 kg (4 ½ lb) mincemeat.

MINCHING  Also known as grinding  in the United States.  The process of cutting or chopping food into very small pieces.  This may be done manually with a knife, a manual or electric meat mincer, a blender or food processor.

MINERVOIS  Red, white or rose AOC  Languedoc wines.  The area has been under vines since Roman times and thanks to moderm vinification methods and considerable investment, the wines (especially the reds) are acknowledged as being good quality.

MINESTRONE  An Italian mixed vegetable soup containing pasta or rice.  Italian often start a meal either with minestra (  avegetable soup) minestrina ( a lighter soup) or minestrone, which – with its garnish of pasta – virtually constitutes  meal on its own.  Sometimes several types of pasta are used or it can be made with macaroni alone or with rice.  The latter is usually used in minestone in Milan.

            Minstone is characterized by the variety of vegetable it contains, which vary from region to region.  In Tuscany it is always made with white haricot beans, together with peas, celery, courgettes, leeks onions,m potatoes, tomatoes and carrots.  It is generally thought that minestone originated in Genoa, where it is made with pumpkin, cabbage, broad (fava) beans, courgettes, red (kidney) beans, celery and tomatoes and garnished with three sorts of pasta cannilicchi (small cubes filled with meat and herbs), small finger shaped ditalini and feather like penne,  It is mainly served with pesto, a thick sauce made with fresh basil olive oil, garlic and grated P{armesan cheese.  Elsewhere, minestone is classically flavoured with garlic grated cheese is served separately.

RECIPE

Minestrone

Coo 300 g (11 oz 1¾ cups small white haricot (navy) beans is large amount of water, easoned with 1 garlic clove, 1 bunch sage and 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Puree half the haricot beans by crushing through a sieve.  Heat some olive oil in a large saucepan and fry in it 1 slice or chopped uncooked onion and 1 sprig thyme.  Add 2 sliced leeks and 2 courgrettes cut into cubes, 1 cabbage, cut into thin strips and 500 g (18 oz) spinach.  Then after 10 minutes, add tomato sauce.  When everything  has simmered, add all the haricot beans together with their cooking juices and the pureed haricot beans.

            Pour 1 glass olive oil into a small frying pan and add 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 sprig thyme and 2 sprigs rosemary.  Place over the heat and when the garlic starts to turn golden, pour this flavoured oil on to the minestrone through a sieve in order to prevent the herbs from getting into the minestrone.  Serve hot or cold.

MINNOW  A very small fish with a bluish back and pink belly, commonly found in streams and used mainly as a bait for trout.  Although not much used in cookery, it may be eaten fried; the heads are removed and the fish soaked in cold milk until they swell up.  If cooked in a court boulillon, they may be used to fill an omelette.

MINT  A very fragrant aromatic plant of the genus Mentba, used in infusions, to flavour liqueur, sweet and syrups and as a culinary herb.  There are about 25 species widely distributed in temperate and subtropical regions.  Garden mint or spearmint, is the most common.  It leaves are used  to flavour sauces (particularly mint sauce, the traditional accompaniment for roast lamb in England) and salads, in cooking vegetables (especially peas and potatoes), and to season roast lamb and other meat dishes.  Mint tea is made by infusing the leaves.  Fresh mint can be dried and is also suitable for freezing.

            Other species used in cookery are water mint and horsemint, both water loving mints.  The leaves of peppermint produce a very pungent oil used mainly in confectionery and to flavour spirits, liqueurs and jellies.   Japanese mint is the species from which menthol is extracted.  Creme de menthe is a pepper mint flavoured cordial made of mint syrup and used in cocktails.

RECIPES

Mint sauce

Pour 150 ml (¼ pint, 2/3 cup) vinegar over 50 g (2 oz, 1 cup) very finely chopped fresh mint leaves in a bowl.  Add 25 g (1 oz, 2 tablespoons) brown sugar or caster (superfine) sugar dissolved in 4 tablespoons boiling water, with a pinch of salt and a little pepper, and leave to marinate.

Mint tea

Pour boiling water on to a mix (superfine0 sugar, according to taste (the tea is usually drunk very sweet).  Infuse for 2-3 minutes, strain and serve very hot.

ture of equal quantities of Chinese green tea and finely chopped mint leaves, allowing 200 ml (7 fl oz, ¾ cup)  boiling water for each tablespoons of the mixture.  Immediately sweeten with caster (superfine) sugar, according to taste (the sea is usually drunk  very sweet).  Infuse for 2-3 minutes, strain and serve very hot.

            Mint tea can also be made by the above method by adding 2 teaspoons finely chopped mint to the boiling water.  Sweeten with sugar or honey and serve with a thin slice of lemon.

MIQUE  Adumping made in the countryside around Perigord, in France, since the Middle Ages.  Originally made with flour and fat, miques today are prepared with a mixture of cornmeal and wheat flour, or wheat flour only, and ither lard, goose fat or butter.  Yeast and milk are sometimes added, as well as eggs.  The dough can be used to make one large ball, which is cut into slices after being cooked, or several small balls.  They are poached in salted boiling water or in stock and accompany such dishes as pot-au-feu, pickled pork with cabbage, soup or civet of hare or rabbit.  They can be flattened before being poached and cooled and then fried and served as a dessert with jam or sugar.

            Miques are also eaten in Bearn and in the Basque country of France, especially black miques, made from maize (corn) and wheat, poached in the cooking water of black puddings (blood suasages) and, then grilled.

MIRABEAU  A dish of grilled (broiled) meat (especially beef), fillets of sole or shirred eggs, garnished with anchovy fillets, stoned (pitted) olives, tarragon leaves and anchovy butter.

RECIPE

Entrecotes mirabeau

Stone (pit) about 15 green olives and blanch them in boiling water.  Prepare 2 tabl

espoons anchovy butter.  Blanch a few tarragon leaves.  Grill (broil) 2 thin sirloin steaks.  Garnish with strips of anchovy fillets arranged in a criss-cross pattern, the tarragon leaves and olives and anchovy butter, which may be piped into shell shapes.

MIREPOIX  A culinary preparation created in the 18t^h century by the cook of the Due de Levis Minepoix a French field marshal and ambassador of Louis XV, It consists of a mixture of diced vegetables (carrots, onion, celery) raw ham or lean bacon is added when the preparation is with meat.

            A mirepoix is used to enhance the flavour of meat, game and fish in the preparation of sauces notably espagnole sauce) and as a garnish for such dishes as frog’s artichokes and macaroni.  When a mirepoix is used in braised or pot-roasted dishes, it should be simmered gently in a covered pan until all the vegetables are very tender and can impart their flavour to the dish.  Mirepoix without meat is mainly used in the preparation of shellfish, for braised vegetable dishes and in certain white sauces.

RECIPES

Mirepoix with meat

Peel and finely dice 150 g (5 oz) carrots and 100 g (2 oz) celery and 100 g (4 oz) raw ham (or  blanched streaky bacon) into fine strips.  Hear 15 g ( 1 oz, 2 tablespoons) butter in a saucepan and add the ham and vegetables, together with a sprig of thyme and half a bay leaf.  Stir the ingredients into the butter, cover and cook gently for about 20 minutes until the vegetables are very tender.

Vegetable mirepoix

This mirepoix is cooked in the same way as mirepoix with meat, but the ham or bacon is omitted and the vegetables are shredded into a brunoise.

MIROTON  A dish of sliced cooked meat  (usually boiled beef or leftovers) reheated in a sauce with sliced onions.

RECIPE

Beef miroton

Cook about 10 tablespoon finely sliced onions in 125 g (4½ oz generous ½ cup) butter in a covered pan.  Sprinkle with 1 tablespoons flour.  Brown slightly, stirring continuously, then add 2 tablespoons vinegar and an equal amount of stock or white wine.  Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat.  Pour half the sauce into a long ovenproof.  Pour the rest of the sauce over the top, sprinkle generously with breadcrumbs and pour on some melted butter (or dripping).  Brown in a preheated oven at 220ºC  (425ºF gas 7) without allowing the sauce to boil.  Sprinkle with chopped parsley and seerve piping hot.

MISCHBROT  Bread made from 70% rye flour  and 30% cornflour (cornstarch).  The leaven obtained with half (or more) or rye flour gives rye  bread a slightly acidic taste and a crumb with little aeration.  This bread is the kind most eaten in Germany, and it is sometimes flavoured with, for example, bacon or onions,  It is eaten several days after it is made.

MISO  A Japanese condiment consisting of a red or white paste of fermented soya, made from cooked soya beans mixed with rice, barley or wheat grains, salt.

MISTELLE  Grape juice to which spirits have been added in order to prevent fermentation from taking place, so that the natural sweetness of the fruit is retained.  Mistelle is used in making of various aperitifs and vermouths.

MIXED GRILL,  An assortment of various meats such as steak.  Lamb chops, sausages, bacon and kidney, barbecued or grilled 9broiled) and usually served with a garnish of watercress, grilled tomatoes and mushrooms.  It is a popular dish in English speaking countries.

MOCHA  A variety of Arabian coffee bean grown on the borders of the Red Sea, named after the Yemenite port  from which they were traditionally exported.  Mocha is a strong with a distinctive aroma but some people find it bitter with a musky flavour.   It is  normally seerved very strong and sweet in small cups.

            Mocha is used as a flavouring for cakes, biscuits (cookies), ice creams and confectionery and the word is used to describe various cakes with a coffee flavour, particularly a large Genoese sponge cake with layers of coffee or chocolate butter cream.

            Mocha is also  term used to describe a combined coffee and chocolate flavour.  For example, a cake or cream flavoured with both coffee and chocolate may be referred to as mocha.

RECIPE

Mocha cake

Melt 90 g (3½ oz, 7 tablespoons) butter, taking care not to let it get too hot.  Whisk 5 egg yolks with 159 g (5 oz, 2/3 cup) caster (superfine) sugar until the mixture has turned white and thick.  Mix in 150 g (5 oz, 4½ cups) plain (all purpose) fllur and 50g (2 oz, ½ cup) ground hazelnuts, then incorporate the melted butter and fold in 5 stiffy whisked egg whites.  Pour this mixture into a deep 22 cm (8½ in) buttered cake tin (pan) and bake in a preheated oven at 180ºC (350ºF gas 4) for about 35 minutes.  As soon as the cake is cooked, turn it out on to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.  Then cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

            Mocha cake can also be filled and coated with coffee cream, then decorated with toasted flaked (silvered) almonds and crystallized (candied)  violets and mimosa.  Mocha cake is best eaten the day after its preparation.

MODE, A LA  Frenc term describing a preparation of braised beef, to which diced leg to veal, sliced carrots and small onions are added when it is three quarters cooked.  Beef a la mode is eaten either hot or cold (in aspic)

            Literally meaning in the style of, the term is also used to describe dishes that are speciality of a particular town or region, such as tripe a la mode de caen.  In the United states, it is  used to describe a sweet pie served with ice.

MODERNE, A LA  A French term meaning ‘in the modern style’ used to describe a garnish of braised lettuce and cabbage (stuffed or plain) and other mixed vegetables, served with cuts of meat.

MOINA  A French dish consisting of poached fillets, of sole ganished with quartered artichokle braised in butter and morels a la creme.

MOISTEN  To add a liquid to a culinary preparation, either in order to cook it (for example, for stews or braised dishes or to make the sauce or gravy.  The liquid which may be water water, milk, broth stock or wine, usually just covers the items to be cooed but in a certain cases (for example, baked fish) the ingredients are only half covered.

MOLLASES.  The thick brown uncrystallized residue obtained from cane or beet sugar during refining.  This dense vicious syrup can be used for various purposes.  Only sugar cane molasses, known as ‘black tracle’,  is sold for domestic consumption.  It is used in desserts, such as treache tart, and in cakes and biscuits (cookies) and also for sweet and sour cooking.  It is also used in confectionery and for the manufacture of rum,  Sugar beet molasses is used mainly for the production of  industrial alcohol, baking  powders and animal feeds.

MOLLUSC A Soft bodies animal, usually with a shell.  The bivalves (or lamellibranchs), which have a shell consisting of two  valves hinged together, include  mussels, oysters, cookies and scallops.  The gastropods have a single spiral shell and include periwinkles, whelks, snails and limpets.  Bivalves and  gastropods are sold as shellfish.  The third group of mollusc - the cephalopods – do not have shells they include squid, octupuses and cuttlefish.

MONACO  A dish consisting of poached fillets of sole covered in a sauce made with white wine tomatoes and mixed herbs and garnish with pouched oysters and croutons in the shape of wolves teeth.  The name is also applied to a chicken comsomme thickened with egg yolks and garnished with slices of bread powdered with sugar.  The latter dish is similar to consomme.  Monte carlo (chicken comsomme thickened with arrowroot, sprinkled with small pieces of Genoese cake made with cheese and browned in the oven).

MONBAZILLAC An AOC white wine from south-west France produced on the left bank of the River Dordogne not far from Bergerac.  It is made from the same grapes and by the same methods as Sauternes.  Montbazillac is a mellow dessert wine with a delicate bouquet.

MONKFISH  An ugly looking sea fish with an enormous head, a very large mouth and a scaleless brownish body.  The head is unfamiliar to the consumer as usually only the tail is sold.  The flesh is firm, dense, white and lean and can be grilled (broiled), fried, poached or baked.  It is found in the Mediterranean and on both sides of the Atlantic.

RECIPES

Take 500 g (18 oz, ) thoroughly cleaned monkfish and cut into 8 small escalopes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Coat them with breadcrumbs, rool in 50 g (2 oz,½ cup) grated Parmesan cheese, then brown in butter.  Cut open 3 green (bell) peppers and remove the seeds.  Blanch for about 10 minutes in boiling water, then cut into pieces and puree in a blender or food processor.  Enrich the puree with  about 65-75 g (2½ - 3 oz, 5-6 tablespoons) butter.  Season with salt and pepper and add a dash of Worcesterhire sauce.  Place 2  escalopes of monkfish on each plate and surround them with a ribbon of the green pepper puree.

Fillets of monkfish braised in white wine

Lightly flatten 2 fillets and season with salt and pepper.  Arrange the fillets in a buttered  roasting dish just big enough to hold them and half cover them with reduced fish stock mixed with white wine.  Bake in a preheated oven at 220ºC (425ºF, gas 7) for 7-8 minutes, then cover with foil and bake for a further 5 minutes.  Place them on a serving dish and keep warm.  Add cream to the juices in the roasting dish and reduce until the sauce has thickened.  Adjust the seasoning if necessary.  Pour the sauce over the fish, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve very hot accompanied by braised spinach or pureed broccoli.

Monkfish a l’americaine

Trim wash and dry 1.5 kg (3¼ lb) monkfish and cut into even slices.  Wash and dry he heads and shells of some langoustines (the tails of which may have been used to prepare bronchettes, for example).  Chop 4 shallots and crush a large garlic clove.  Prepare a little chopped parsley and 2 tablespoons chopped tarragon leaves.  Skin 500 g  (18 oz, ) very ripe tomatoes, remove the seeds, then chop the flesh finely.  Heat 6 tablespoons olive oil in a flameproof casserole or large saucepan and add the langoustine heads and shells and the sliced monkfish.  As soon as the monkfish has started to brown, add the chopped shallots and cook until just golden.  Pour 1 liqueur glass of Cognac and set it alight.

            Add the crushed garlic, a strip of dried orange zest, the chopped tarragon, and parsley, the chopped tomatoes a small bouquets garni, 1 tablespoons tomato puree (paste) diluted with ¼ bottle of very white wine, salt, pepper and cayenne (this dish must nbe strongly seasoned)  Cover and leave to cook for about 15 minutes, the fish must remain slightly firm.

            Drain the fish and keep it warm on a serving dish.  Remove the bouquet garni, strain the sauce and pour over the fish.  Garnish with tarragon sprigs and serve with rice.

MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE.  A powder used as a seasoning in Far Eastern and some Westen cookery, developed in 1905 by a Japanese called Ikeda.  Chemically extracted from the gluten of cereals, it is an additives used to enhance the flavour of foodstuf

MONTER  A French method of preparing potatoes.  The potatoes are pureed and mixed with egg yolks (and often cream) and cheese.  The mixture is piled into a dome shape on a gratin dish, sprinkled again with grated ccheese and put in the oven to brown.

MONTGLAS    A salpicon dedicated to the Marquis de Montglas, an 18^th century French diplomat.  It  consist of shredded pickeled tongue, poached mushrooms, foie gras and truffles bound with thick Madiera sauce, and is used as a filling.

            Lamb chops Montglas are cooked on one side, covered with this salpicon and breadcrumbs, browned in the oven, and surrounded with a border of demi-glace sauce.  Lamb’s sweetbreads and chicken Montglas are braised and covered with their deglazed pan juices mixed with the salpicon.

MONTMARTRE  A tiny vineyard surviving in the heart, of Paris, where much wine was produced.  When the vintage (about 400 bottles annually) is sold, the proceed go to charity.  In 1961 vines from certain famous bordeaux estates were planted here.

MONTMORENCY. The name given to various savoury or sweet dishes that include the sour Montmorency cheries. Duck Montmorency, cooked with herbs in a frying pan, is garnished with stoned cherries poached in a Bordeaux wine, the sauce is made by deglazing the pan with cherry brandy and adding strained veal stock.The classic gateau called Montmorency is a Genoese sponge topped with cherries in syrup and covered with Italian meringue, the top is decorated with glace or crystallized cherries. The ice creams, bombes, iced mousses, croutes, tarts and tartlets caleld Montmorency all include cherries, which may be fresh, crystallized or macerated in brandy.

   There are however, other dishes in classic cookery dedicated to the Montmorency family, which do not include cherries. For example, the Montmorency garnish for cuts of meat consists of artichoke hearts stuffged with balls of glazed carrot and balls of noisettes potatoes.

RECIPES

Bombe glacee Montmorency

Coat a bombe mould with kirsch ice cream. Prepare a bombe mixture flavoured with cherry brandy and add cherries macerated in kirsch. Fill the mould with this.Finish the bombe in the usual way.

Gateau Montmorency

Separate the yolks from the whites of 3 eggs.  Whisk the 3 yolks with 50 g ( 2 oz. ½ cup) ground almonds and 125 g ( 4 ½ oz scant 2/3 ) caster (superfine) sugar. Drain 400 g ( 14 oz ) cherries in syrup, halve, stone (pit ) and roll them in flour. Incorporate 50 g (2 oz, ½ cup) plain (all-purpose)flour and the cherries into the almond mixture then carefully fold in the 3 eg whites stiffly whisked with a pinch of salt. Pour the mixture into a buttered cake  tin (pan) and bake in a preheated oven 200 ^oC(400 ^oF, gas 6) for about 30 minutes.Turn the cake out on to a wire rack and allow to cool.

   Melt 200 g (7 oz) fondant over a low heat, stirring all the time.Add a liqueur glass of kirsch and 2-3 drops of cochineal (red food colouring) Spread the fondant over the cake with a spatula and decorate with12 glace (candied) cherries and a few pieces of angelica.

   Alternatively, the cake may be cut into 2 layers, steeped in kirsch, and sandwiched together with butter cream moxied with cherries in brandy.

MONTPENSIER   The name given to various savoury or sweet dishes that may have been dedicated to the Ducheese de Montpensier but were more probably dedicate to the fifth son of Louis Philippe.Gateau Montpensier is a Genoese sponge enriched with ground almonds, raisins and crystallized fruit. By extension, cakes cooked in a tin (pan) lined with the ingredient which gives them their flavour are termed a la Monpensier.

RECIPES

Gateau Montpensier

Steep 50 g (2 oz, ½ cup) crystallized (candied) fruit and 50 g (2 oz. ½ cup) sultanas (golden raisins) in 6 tablespoons rum.With the fingertips, work 125 g (4 ½ oz generous 1 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour with 75g (3 oz, 6 tablespoons) butter cut into small pieces.Beat 7 egg yolks with 125 g (4 ½ oz, scant 2/3 cup) caster (superfine) sugar until the mxityure is white, then mix in 100 g (4 oz. 1 cup) ground almonds and finally 3 stiffly whisked egg whites. Drain the fruit and sultanas, then add them to the mxiture, together with the flour and butter mxiture.Work briskly with a wooden spoon for a  short time.

    Butter a 22 cm ( 8 ½ in) cake tin (pan) and sprinkle it with 50 g ( 2 oz, ½ cup) flaked (slivered) almonds. Pour the mixture into the tin and  bake in a preheated oven at 200 ^oC (400 ^oF, gas 60 for 30 minutes.Turn out the cake on to  wire rack and allow to cool.Melt 150 g ( 5 oz. ½ cup) apricot jam over a low heat, strain and spread over the surface of the cake. Keep cold until serving.

MONTRACHET One of the most famous of all white Burgundies, produced by two parishes (communes) in the Cote de Beaune, Puligny Montrachet and Chassagne- Montrachet. It is made from the Chardonnay grape and usually achieves great distinction. However, the specific vineyard is tiny and the wine is therefore scarce and  expensive.

   Also  a soft goat’s milk cheese (45% fat content) from Burgundy with a natural bluish crust. It is cylindrical, 6 cm (2 ½ in) a diameter and 8-9 cm (3-3 ½ in) thick. Packed in a vine leaf, Montrachet has a goaty scent and a marked nutty taste.

MONTRAVEL Mainly AOC white wines, some of which are dry and others sweet from vineyards on the right bank of the River Dordogne, about 130 km (80 miles) east of Bordeaux.

MONTREUIL  A garnish for beef steaks and other small cuts of meat consisting of artichoke hearts braised in butter and stuffed with peas and tiny balls of glazed carrot. Poached fish Montreuil are covered with white wine sauce and garnished with balls or boiled potato coated with a shrimp veloute sauce.

MONTROUGE  The name given to various dishes which include cultivated mushrooms.They are so called because of the mushroom beds which used to be at Montrouge, near the gates of Paris.

RECIPES

Croquettes Montrouge

Prepare a dry mushroom duxelles and add half its volume of chopped ham and a third of its volume of bread soaked in molk and then dried.Add some chopped parsley and 2 eggs yolks for each 250 g (9 oz) of mixture, mix well and season to taste. Shape the preparation into balls the size of tangerine.Flatten them slightly,coat with egg and br eadcrumbs, and deep fry in oil at 190 ^oC (375 ^oF), Drain on paper towels and sprinkled with salt.

Croustades Montrouge

Line some tartlet moulds with shortcrust pastry and bake blind. Fill them with a thick puree of creamed mushrooms.Sprinkle with fresh breadcrumbs, moisten with a little melted butter, and b rown in a preheated oven at 240 ^oC (475 ^oF, gas 9)

Escalopes of foie gras Montrouge

Prepare a thick mushroom puree. Cut some foie gras into slices and prepare an equal number of slices of bread of the same size. Fry the bread  in butter.Saute the foie gras in clarified butter and put each slcie on a slice of fried bread. Arrange in a ring on a flat dish with the mushroom puree in the centre and keep warm.Deglaze the foie gras pan with Madeira and a little stock, boil down to reduce the thicken with a  little arrowroot. Pour the sauce over the foie gras.

MOOSE  A member of the Cervidae family. A powerful and prolific animal, also known as American elk, which along with deer is the most hunted game in Canada. Although its meat is not sold commercially, it is often found on domestic tables in the autumn.Its meat is cooked in the same way as venison, accompanied by a spicy sauce and a preserve made of wild berries.

MOQUES a Belgian patisserie speciality from Ghent. A fat sausage of pastry made with brown sugar and cloves is rolled in granualted sugar, cut into thick slices and cooked in the oven.

MORAY  A large eel, up to 1.3 m (4 ft) long found in tropical seas. It is dark, brown with yellow and black markings and its wide mouth is armed with several rows sof strong pointed teeth, its bite is poisonous. The flesh of the moray is fatty but fairly delicate.

MOREL  A very tasty but rare mushroom which is found in the spring. Its globular or conical cap is deeply furrowed in a honeycomb pattern, and therefore the morel must be very carefully cleaned to get rid of any earth, sand or insects which may be inside.

RECIPES

Chicken with morels

Carefully wash 4-5 morels and split them in two lengthways.Dredge 6-8 chicken fillets with flour and fry briskly in 25 g ( 1 oz. 2 tablespoons) butter in a shallow pan together with 1 chopped shallot. When golden brown, season with salt and pepepr and add the morels.Cover the pan and cook gently for 7-8 minutes, then add 6 tablespoons Sauvignon wine and finish the cooking with the lid off. ( A little grated nutmeg will further improve the flavour) Add 1 tablespoon double (heavy) cream and cook for another 10-12 minutes.Serve in ahot dish.

Morels a la crème

Clean 250 g ( 9 oz ) morels. Wash them briskly in cold water and dry them thoroughly. Leave them whole if they are small, cut them up if they are large. Put the morels in a shallow frying pan with 15 g ( ½ oz 1 tablepoon) butter, 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon chopped shallots, salt and pepepr, braise for 5  minutes, then cover with double (heavy0 cream and reduce until the sauce has thickened. Just before serving add 1 tablespoon cream and some chopped parsley.

MOREY SAINT DENIS  A red Burgundy, or more rarely a white wine  from the Cote de Nauits. The grands crus of the parish are sold under thir own names.Clos de la Roche, Clos Saitn Denis, Clos de Lambrays, Clos de Tart and Les Bonnes Mares .

MORGON One of the ten crus of the Beaujolais region and considered to have longer ageing potential than many other crus  Beaujolails.

MORNAY  A bechamel sauce enriched with egg yolks and flavorued with grated Gruyere cheese. It is used to coat dishes to be glazed under the grill used to coat dishes to be glazed under the grill  (broiler) or browned in the oven including poached eggs, fish, shellfish, vegetables and filled pancakes. The invention of this sauce and its use is attributed to Joseph Voiron a chef of the 19^th century who is thought to have dedicated it to the cook Mornay, his eldest son.

RECIPES

Fillets of sole Mornay

Season some fillets of sole with salt and peper, place them in a buttered gratin dish, spoon over a little fish stock, and poach gently in a preheated oven at 200 ^oC (400 ^oF, gas 6) for about 7-8 minutes, until cooked. Drain them a cover  with Mornay sauce., sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and clarified butter, and brown in a preheated oven at 240 ^oC(475 ^oF, gas 9)

Mornay sauce

Heat 500 ml (17 ft oz 2 cups) bechamel sauce. Add 75 g ( 3 oz, ¾ cup) grated Gruyere cheese and stir until all the cheese has melted.Take the sauce  from the heat and add 2 egg yolks beaten with 1 tablespoon milk.Bring slowly to the boil, whisking all the time.Remove from the heat and add 2 tablespoons double (heavy) cream ( the sauce must be thick and creamy) For browning at a high temperature or for a lighter sauce, the egg yolks are ommitted. If the sauce is to accompany fish, reduced fish stock is added.

MORTADELLA  A lightly smoked Italian sausage served cold and very thinly sliced as an hors d’oeuvre. A speciality of Bolagna, the nmae by whidh it is sometimes called, it is traditionally made with different cuts of pork  flavoured in various ways, particulalry with coriander. The authentic sausage is very large in diameter and apepars in c ross section as a fine light coloured paste, dotted with diced fat. The first recipe dates from 1484. Later on many different recipes were devised not ony in Italy but also in other countries, using a variety of different meats.

MORTAR  A bowl made of wood, earthenware, marble or stone in which foods are pounded or ground to a paste or powder using a pestle. Mortars have used in cookery since ancient times.

MORVANDELLE, A LA   A French term, meaning in the style of Morvan ham, soup, omelette, baked eggs, tripe and veal cutlets.

RECIPE

Omelette a la morvandelle

Dice 100 g (4 oz, ½ cup) raw Mrovan ham and fry it lightly in butter.Beat 8 eggs as for an omellette season with pepper and add the ham. Cook the omelette in the usual way.Garnish with small thin slcies of Morvan ham heated gently in butter and rolled up into cornets.

MOSAIC  In charcuterie, a garnish on the top of a terrine or a galantine using ingredients of various colours cut into shapes circles, squares and stars.

    In patisserie, a mosaic is a round Genoese sponge, filed with butter cream, glazed with apricot jam and ice (frosted with white fondant. The top is decorated with apricot and redcurrant jam piped in parallel  lines and scored with vertical liens, using the tip of a knife.

MOSCATEL  Also known as Muscat of Alexandria.Grape variety producing dessert wines. These grapes are grown in Spain, where wines include Moscatel de Malaga, Portugal, where they include Moscatel the Setubal, Italy, where they inlcude Moscato di Pasntelleria as well as in Australia, California and South Africa.

MOUCLADE  A preparation of cultured mussels from the Poitou Charenties region. They are cooked in white wine with shallots and parsley, usually flavoured with curry or saffron, and coated with there cooking liquid enriched with cream and butter and thickened with egg yolks or cornflour.

RECIPE

Mussel farmers mouclade

Clean and wash 2 kg (4 ½ lb) mussels. Toss them in a saucepan over a brisk heat until they open. Discard any that do not open. Remove the empty shells and place the ones containing themussels in a dish, keep hto over a saucepan of boiling water. Strain the juice from the mussels through a fine sieve.Finely chop a garlic clove and a sprig of parsley and blend with 100 g ( 4 oxz. ½ cup) butter. Warm the mussel juice in a saucepan over a gentle heat. Add the flavoured butter, a pinch of curry ( or saffron), a pinch of ground celery seed, a dash of pepper and the mussels.Stir well, then simmer for 5 minutes.Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon cornflour (cornstarch) stir well and simmer for 2 minutes. Add 150 ml (1/4 pint 2/3 cup) double (heavy) cream and serve.

MOUSSE  A light soft preparation either sweet or savoury, in which the ingredients are whisked or blended and then folded together.. Mousses are often set in a mould and usually served cold.Savoury mousses, served as an horts d’oeuvre or entrée, many be based on for example, fish, shellfish, poultry, ham or a vegetable, sweet mousses are usuallyb ased on fruit or a flavbouring such as chocolate or coffee.

RECIPES

Savoury Mousses

Chichen mousse

Prepare in the same way as fish mousse but use poached chicken meat instead of fish and season the mxiture well using curry powder or ground  nutmeg.

Fish mousse

Clean 500 g (18 oz) fillets or steaks of either pike, whiting, salmon or sole and pound them in a mortar or put in a food processor. Sprinkle with salt and pepper,. Then blend in 2-3 egg whites, one after the other .Rub this forcemeat through a sieve and refrigerate for 2 hours.Then place the bowl in  crushed ice and gradually add 600 ml ( 1 pint, 2 ½ cups) double (heavy) cream, stirring the mixture with a wooden spoon.Adjust the seasoning, pour the mousse into a lightly oiled plain mould, and poach at 190 ^oC )375 ^oF, gas 5) for about 20 minutes. Wait abourt 10 minutes before turning out and serve the mousse warm, coated with a sauce for  fish.

MOUSSELINE  Any of various mousse like preparations, most of which have a large or small quantity of whipped cream added to them. This  term is used particularly for mouds  made of various pastes enriched with cream (poultry, game, fish, shellfish, foie gras, for example) Mousselines are served hot or cold. If cold, theya re also known as small aspics.

  Mousseline is used as an adjective to denote a sauce enriched with whipped c ream (mayonaise mousseline, hollandaise mousseline) It is also used to describe the paste or forcemeat used to make fish balls and mousses.

   The term mousseline is much used in confectionery to describe certain cakes and pastries made of delicate mixtures (for example, brioche mousseline).

RECIPES

Mousseline of apples with walnuts

Peel and core 8 medium dessert apples, cut into slices, and make a compote by stewing them until soft with 2 knobs of butter, 3 tablespoons caster (superfine) sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla flavoured sugar and a small piece of inely choipped lemon zest.

  Peel and core 3  more apples and cut each into 8 pieces. Poach these pieces of apple slowly in a syrup  prepared with 350 ml (12 ft oz 1 ½ cups) water, 125 g the fruit should be just softened. Remove 14 pieces of apple and compelte the cooking of the other 9. Drain the fruit and put the syrup to one side.

As soon as the compote is cooked, mash it with a fork and reduce it over a high heat, turning it over with a spatula until a thick fruit  paste is obtained. Remove  from the heat and cool. Thicken with 120 ml (4 1/2 ft oz. ½ cup) whipped double (heavy) cream, 3 beaten eggs and 3 yolks. Add 2 tablespoons crushed walnuts and the half poached apple pieces.

    Butter a charlotte mould well and pour the mixture into it. Pile it up slightly and cook in a bain marie in a preheated oven at 190 ^oC )375 ^oF, gas 5) for about 40 minutes. Remove from theoven and turn out 15 minutes later on to a hot dish.

  Prepare a sauce by reducing the syrup in which the apples were cooked to 120 ml (4 ½ ft oz. ½ cup) butter and then 250 ml ( 8 ft oz. 1 cup) whipped double (heavy) cream. Flavour with Noyau liqueur. Coat the mousseline with this sauce and decorate with the 9 fully cooked pieces of apple.Serve some langues de chat biscuits (cookies) separately.

Mousseline sauce

Prepare a hollandaise sauce, just before serving blend into it half its volume of stiffy whipped dobule (heavy) cream.

MOUSSERON The common French name for several species of small white or beige mushrooms with a delicate flavour, including St. George’s mushroom, the fairy ring mushroom and blewits. They are cleaned and prepared like chanterelles.

MOUVETTE The French term for a round flat wooden spoon of varying size, used principally for stirring (or moving) sauces and creams and for mixing various preparations.

MOZART  A garnish for small cuts of meat consisting of artichoke hearts, slowly cooked in butter and stuffed with celery puree and potatoes, cut into strips (called shavings) and fried.

MOZZARELLA  An Italian cheese originating from Latium and Campania, still made with buffalo’s milk in these areas but with cow’s milk (40-45% fat milk in these areas but with cow’s milk (40-45% fat content) in the rest of Italy.  It is a fresh cheese, springy and white, the mild flavour has a slight bite, Mozzarella is kept in salted water or whey, shaped into balls or loaves of varying size 100 g  to 1 kg (4 oz ot 2 ¼ lb) The buffalo’s milk cheese, which has a more delicate flavour, is eaten at the  end of a meal, the cow’s milk cheese is used mainly for cooking, particularly for pizzas, but also for preparing a lasagne gratin or for stuffing fried rice croquettes. Mozzarella in carrozza, a popular Neapolitan snack, is a small sandwich filled with cheese, rolled in flour dipped in beaten egg, fried in oil, and eaten very hot.

MUFFIN  In Great Britain a muffin is a traditional light textured roll, round and flat, which is made with yeast dough. Uffins are usually enjoyed in the winter split, toasted, buttered and served hot for tea, sometimes with jam. In the Victorian era maffins were bought in the street from sellers who carried tray of them on their heads, ringing a handbell to call their wares.

   American muffins are entirely different, more like cake than bread. The rasiing (leavening) agent is baking powder and the muffins are cooked  in deep patty tins (muffin pans) Cornmeal and bran are soemtimes substituted for some of the flour.

RECIPES

English muffins

Prepare the yeast) in 300 ml (1/2 pint, 1 ¼ cups) warm water. Alternatively dissolve 1 teaspoon caster (superfine) sugar in the warm water and sprinkle in 1 ½ teaspoons dried eyast. Allow to stand until frothy (about 10 minutes)

   Mix 450 g (1 lb, 4 cups) strong plain (bread) flour and 1 teaspoon salt together.Add the yeast liquid and mix to form a soft dough. Turn out on to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes by hand) Shape into a ball and palce inside an oiled polythene (plastic) bag leave to rise until doubled in siz.e Remove from the polythene bag, knock back (punch down) and knead until the dough is firm (about 2 minutes) Cover the dough and rest it for 5 minutes.Roll out on a  floured surface to a thickness of 1 cm (1/2 in) Cover again and rest for a further 5 minutes.

   Cut into 9 cm (3 ½ in) rounds with a plain cutter. Place on a well floured baking sheet and dust the tops with flour or fine semolina.Cover and prove in a warm place until doubled in size (about 15-30 minutes).

   Heat a griddle, hotplate or heavy frying pan and grease lightly. Cook the muffins for about 3 minutes or until golden brown on each side, or bake in a prehated oven at 230 ^oC (450 ^oF, gas 8) for about 10 minutes, turning over carefuly with a palette knife (spatula) after 5 minutes.Cool on a wire rack.

MULBERRY  The fruit of the mulberry tree. The two most common varieties are the black and white mulberry.The fruit is similar in appearance to the blackberry and should be picked or allowed to fall from the tree when very ripe.The juice of the black mullberry is very staining. In China, the leaves of the white mulberry are fed to silkworms, which eat nothing else. Mulberries are usually eaten raw or can be used in the same way as blackberries.

MULLED WINE  An aromatic alcoholic drink made with red wine, sugar and spices and served hot, traditionally in winter, examples are grog, punch and Bishop. Mulled wine is particularly popular in mountainous regions, in Germany and Scandinavia. It is traditionally prepared by slowly heating the contents of a bottle of Bordeaux, Burgundy or a similar red wine for about to minutes with lemon or orange zest, sugar or honey, and spices (cinnamon cloves mace), but this should never be brought to the boil, the liquid is strianed and served in glasses  or cups with handles. In the country it may be served in a pottery jug. To strengthen the aoma of the spices, these are sometimes left to infuse for half an hour in a glass of wine brought up to the boil, before the rest of the heated wine is added. If spirits are added or the wine is sufficiently high in alcohol, its vapours may be flamed.

MULLET  One of several unrelated fish which can be divided into two broad groups.

Grey mullet  These are found in coastal water and there are several species.The largest is the striped mulelt, which is up to 60 cm (2 ft) long with a large head, silvery grey back and brown sides.The golden mullet is the smallest 20-45 cm (8-18 in) it has gold spots beside its eyes and a yellowish tint to the sides.

·        Red mullet (goatfish) These fish are distinguished from the grey mullets by their smaller size 40 cm (16 cm0 maximum length reddish coloration and the  pair of barbels beneath the chin.They are a lean fish with a delicate flavour. The best variety is bright pink streaked with gold and has a black striped (front dorsal fin and two scales under its eyes. The sand mullet is inferior in quality. It is reddish brown and  has three scales under the eyes.

RECIPES

Bakes red mullet a la livournaise

Gut (clean) 4 red mullet, make some light incisions on their backs, season them with salt and pepper, and lay them head to tail in a buttered or oiled gratin dish. Cover with a reduced tomato fondue or sauce, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and 2 tablespoons oil or melted butter, and bake in a  preheated oven at 240 ^oC (475 ^oF gas 9). When the top is brown (after abour 15 mintues), add some chopped parsley and a few drops of lemon juice. Serve from the cooking dish.

Baked red mullet with fennel

Soften 25 g ( 1 oz. ¼ cup) chopped onion in oil, then add 1 tablespoon very finely chopped fresh fennel.Gut (clean) a mullet make some light incisions on its back, and season with salt and pepper Butter a small overproof dish, spread the base with breadcrumbs and a little olive oil and bake in a preheated oven at 220 ^oC (425 ^oF, gas 7) for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and a little lemon juice.

Bake red mullet with shallots

Peel and chop 40 g ( 1 ½ oz ¼ cup) shallots. Boil them in 150 ml ( 8 ft oz. 1 cup) dry white wine until almost all the liquid has evaporated, then spread the mixture into a buttered gratin dish.Gut (clean) 3 red mullet, dry them, make some incisions on their  backs, season with salt and pepper, and lay them in the dish. Pour over 6 tablespoons dry white wine and dot with about 25 g (1 oz. 2 tablepsoons) butter. Cook in a preheated oven at 230 ^oC (450 ^oF, gas 8) for 15 minutes, basting several times with the juices, add a little more white wine if necessary. Sprinkle with chipped parsley and a little lemon juice, and serve from the cooking dish.

MULLIGATAWNY  A soup of Indian origin, adopted by the British and particularly popular in Australia. It is a chicken consomme to which are  added stewed vegetables, such as onions, leeks and celery, highly seasoned with curry and spices (bay leaf and cloves) garnished with chicken meat and  rice a la creole. In the original Indian preparation the garnish also include blanched almonds and coconut milk (possibly repalced by cream) The Australians generally add tomatoes and smoked bacon.

MUNG BEAN  A bean plant, originating in the Far East, having small green, yellow or brown seeds. In India they are also knowna s green gram and are sometimes ground to make a flour used for savoury pancakes and dumplings. The hulled split beans are known as moong dal. Mung beans can be cooked and used as a dried pulse and are widely cultivated for their  shoots. Commonly known as bean sprouts, they are eaten either raw or blanched. They can be served as a vegetable accompanying a main dish, in  stir fries, such as chop suey, or in mixed salads. Bean sprouts can be bought fresh or canned.

MUNSTER  An Alsatian cheese made from cow’s milk (45-50% fat content) it has a soft yellow paste and a washed srraw to orange coloured rind.After it has matured for 2-3 months and had regular it has washings it has a strong smell and a full bodied flavour. It is eaten with Gewzitraminer in Alsace and with well balanced red wines elsewhere.Created in the 7^th century by monks the name is  derived from  monastere (monastery0 it is protected by an AOP which applies to certain districts of the Haut and Bas Rhin. Meurthe et Moselle, the Haute Saone. tHe Vosges and the Territory of Belfort.

MURAT  A method of preparing fillet of sole which are cut into small strips, cooked a la menuiere, and arranged in a timbale with potatoes (boiled in their skins and peeled) and poached antichoke hearts, cut into dice and sauteed. The   whole preparation, which may be garnished with slices tomato sauteed in oil, is sprinkled with coarsely chopped parsley, mixed with lemon juice and moistened with noisette butter.

MURFATLAR  A region in Romania, not far from the Black Sea, producing dessert wines.The use of overripe grapes gives a golden liqueur like wine with a bouquet reminiscent of orange blossom.

MUSCADET  White AOC wine made from the Melon de Bourgogne grape variety in the region south of nantes, close to where the Loire means theAtlantic. There are four appellations, Muscadet, Muscadet de Sevres-et Maine, Muscadet des Caoteux the la Loire and Muscadet Cotes de Grand Lieu. The description sur tie means that the wines are left to mature on the less (grape skins) thus gaining more dioxide before being bottled.The wines can be zesty and crisp and are a good accompaniment to seafood dishes.

MUSCAT There  are over 200 different types of Muscat vines recorded but the finest is acknowledged as the Muscat a Petits Grains or Muscat the wines can be dry but are mainly sweet and luscious with pronounced grapey aromas. Wines produced incude Beaumes de Vinie, Asti, Muscat of  Samos Vin de Constance from South Africa.

MUSHROOM  A type of fungus (a plant with neither chlorophyll nor flowers) generally found growing in cool damp palces in woodland and meadows, where the soil is rich in humus. A mushroom cap. Sometimes the whole mushroom may be easten in other cases just the cap.As well as wild fungi, there is also a variety of cultivated mushroom.

RECIPES

Mushroom blanc

Bring 6 tablespoons water with 40 g (1 ½ oz, 3 tablespoons) butter, the juice of half a lemon and  1 scant, tablespoon salt to the boil.Add 300 g (11 oz, 3 ½ cups) mushrooms and boil for 6 minutes.Drain and retain the cooking stock to flavour a white sauce, fish stock or marinade.

Mushroom croquettes

Clean and dice some mushrooms, sprinkle with lemon juice and saute them briskly either in oil or  in butter. Add some chopped shallot and parsley a little thyme, or bay leaf, a chopped garlic cloves, salt and pepper.Bind this salpicon with a thick bechamel sauce and leave to cool.Divide the mxiture into equal portions and roll them into cylinders.Dip the cylinders in batter, plunge into very hot oil and brown.Drain and dry on paper towels. Serve very hot (possibly with a tomato sauce)_. Either as a entrée or as a vegetable.

Mushroom essence

Clean and cdice about 450 g (1 lb) open cap cultivated mushrooms, then palce them in a saucepan  and season with salt.Add a litle white wine and water. Bring to the boil, stirring  then reduce the  heat and cover the pan tightly.Cook for about 20 minutes, until the mushrooms are greatly reduced. Strain the liquor through a sieve, pressing or squeezing the mushroom dry.Boil the liquor to reduce it to a full flavoured essence.

MUSINGY  Grand cru vineyard producing red and white Burgundies from the village of Chambolle Musigny in the Cote de Nuits,. Mostly red, the wines are world famous, being extremely fine and delicate and very expensive.

MUSK  A strong smelling secretion from the glands of the musk deer and Ethiopian civet or from various  seeds (especially musk mallow, cultivated in Africa and in the West Indies) Musk was formerly used as a spice and to flavour certain African and Oriental dishes.Today, smells are musky when they recall the plants from which infusions are made, or the wines which combine the scent of dried apricots, white peaches, dried figs and honey.

MUSLIN (CHEESECLOTH)  Loosely woven cloth used for straining thick liquids, sucha s sauces, and  purees, The liquid is either pressed through the  cloth with a spatula or enclosed in the cloth, the two ends of which are twisted in opposite directions.

   Small muslin bags are used to hold ingredients intended to flavour a dish.The flavouring ingredients are palced on a small square of muslin (or chiffon) the muslin is then drawn up and knotted to form a bag. In this way the flavouring material does not escape into the dish and can be removed when cooking is complete.

MUSSEL  A bivalve molluse found in aseas all over the world of which there are many species.European mussels have thin, rectangular shells, which are  dark blue, almost black, and finely striped.The  common European mussel is cultivated on the coasts of the Atlantic, the English Channel and the North Sea, especially between the mouth of the Gironde and Denmark. It is small lconvex and tender.The  musselss from Spain tend to be larger, brown in colour and with a tortoiseshell effect. The Toulon mussel, which is larger flatter and less delicate, is  found only in the Mediterranean. The main species of European mussels have spread to other areas through attaching themselves to the hulls of ships. Other varieties are found. Such as the green lipped mussel from New Zealand and a slightly larger variety found in the Pacific coast of North America.

   Wild mussels are usually smaller and more leathery than mussels that have been cultivated.Care must be taken when gathering these because ofo their ability to absorb toxins, as with other shellfish.

Buying and cleaning.  Mussels are sold alive, cooked, or cooked and shelled.Theya re also sold smoked and shelled, and preserved in oil or sauce. Mussels bought live must be known to have come from clean waters, be firmly closed and cooked within 3 days of being caught (mussels with cracked or half opened shells which do not close when they are tapped must be thrown away.

   The mussels must be completely cleaned of any beard like filaments and parasite, which may be  attached to them, before they are used. This is done  by brushing and scraping under running, water.To remove the beard the cluster of fine dark hairs by which the shell attached itself to rocks pull it firmly away from the shell.The beard should come away in one clump. If the mussels are consumed raw, they must be eaten the same day that they are bought. Cooked mussels may be kept for 48 hours in the refrigerator.

Cooking.   Mussels are often cooked very simply a la marinere in cream, fried, au gratin or in an omelette. French regional mussel dishes inlcude stuffed mussels from the de Re, eclade and mouclade. Mussels also feature in a number of recipes from other parts of the world, including Spanish paella, zuppa di cozze from Liguria,  and in various Belgian dishes, made with white wine or cream and parsley and moulets, et frites, a national dish.

RECIPES

Fried mussels

Prepare some mussels a la marinere, remove from their shells and leave to cool. Marinate for 30 minutes in olive oil, lemon juice, chapped parsley and  pepper.  Then dip in frying batter  and cook in oil heated to 180 ^oC(350 ^oF). Drain them on paper towels and serve as an hors d’oeuvre (with lemon quarters) or with aperitifs (on cocktail sticks).

Hors d’oeuvre of musels a la ravigote

Cook some mussels a la mariniere, remove from their shells and leave them to cool compeltely in a salad bowl. Prepare a well seasoned vinaigrette and add to it some chopped hard boiled (hard cooked) eggs, parsley, chervil, tarragon and gherkins (pickled) Pour over the mussels and stir. Put in a cool place until time to serve.

Ice mussel soup

Place a red (bell) pepper in a preheated oven at 240 ^oC (475 ^oF, gas 9) for a few minutes, to loosen the skin, then peel. Clean 1.5 kg ( 3 ¼ lb) mussels and cooked over a brisk heat with half a glass of white wine for 2 minutes.Discard any mussels that do not open.Remove  the shells and reserve the cooking liquid. Peel and seed a cucumber, cut it into dice, then place in colander and sprinkle with coarse salt, leave to drain. Cut half a bunch of radishes into slices. Shell and skin 500 g (18 oz) broad (lava) beans. Wash and dice 5 mushroom caps (preferably wild) and sprinkle them with lemon juice.

    Finely slcie one half of the peeled red pepper and dice the other half. In a food processor, blend 6 peeled tomatoes, the slices of pepper, the mussel cooking juices, 2 tablespoons olive oil, a little sauce a I angloise and 10 drops of Tabasco sauce. Add the diced and sliced vegetables, the broad beans and the mussels.Adjusts the seasoning.Refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Mussels brochettes

Open some mussels over a brisk heat. Discard any that do not open.Remove the mussels from their shells and thread on skewers, alternating them with thin pieces of smoked bacon and tomato.Season with pepepr.Cook under the grill (broiler) for about 1  minute.

Mussels la bordelaise

Prepare 2 kg (4 ½ lb) mussels a la mariniere, drain them, remove one shell from each mussel, and palce them in a vegetable dish. Keep hot. Prepare 200 ml (7 ft. or. ¾ cup) meatless mirepoix, moisten it with the strained liquid in which the mussels were cooked, and add 150 ml ( ½ pint,  2/3  cup) fish veloute and 2 tablespoons tomato puree (paste) Heat and reduce by one third, then add the juice of half a lemon and whisk in 50 g 9 2 oZ. ¼ cup) butter. Pour this hot sauce over the mussels, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Mussels salad

Prepare 1 kg ( 2 ¼ lb) mussels a la mariniere, drain them and remove their shells. Set aside.

   Boil without peeling, 675  g (1 ½ lb) potatoes, peel while still hot and cut into cubes. Finely dice or shred 2-3 ceelry sticks. Peel and chop 1 shallot and 1 garlic clove and mix with plenty of chopped parsley. Mix all the ingredients together in a salad bowl.

  Make a vinaigrette with 2 tablespoons hot vinegar,  6 tablespoons oil, 1 tablespoon Dijon, mustard, salt and pepper. Pour this dressing over the salad and serve immediately.

Mussels a la poulette

Prepare some mussels a la mariniere, drain them, remove one of the shell from each mussel and place in a vegetable dish. Strain the cooking liquid  through a fine sieve, reduce by half and add 300 ml (1/2 kpint, 1 ¼ cups) poulette sauce.Add a little lemon juice, pour over the mussels and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Mix all the ingredients together in a salad bowl.

   Make a vinaigrette with 2 tablespoons hot vinegar, 6 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Pour this dressign over the salad and serve immediatley.

Mussels a la poulette

Prepare some mussels a la marineire, drain them, remove one of the shells from each mussel and place in a vegetable dish.Strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve, reduce by half and add 300 ml (1/2 pint, 1 ¼ cups) poulette sauce.Add a littl lemon juice, pour over the mussels and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Mussels in cream

Prepare 2 kg ( 4 ½ lb) mussels a la mariniere, drain them, remove one of the shells from each mussel and place them in vegetable dish. Keep hot, Strain the cooking liquid through a fine cloth. Prepare 300 ml ( ½ pint. 1 ¼ cups) light bechamel sauce, add 200 ml ( 7 ft oz. ¾ cup) double (heavy0 cream and the cooking liquid from the mussels, and  reduce by at least one third. Season with salt and pepper and  pour this hot sauce over the mussels.

   The bechamel cream sauce may be flavoured with curry or 1 tablespoon chopped onion, softened in butter.

MUST  Grape juice, skins, seeds and pulp before it has been acted on by the yeasts that convert the natural sugar in it to alcohol. See wine.

MUSTARD  A herbaceous plant, originating from the Mediterranean region, of which there are numerous species.Several have edible leaves, some produce an edible oil and three provide seeds which are used to prepare the yellow condiment of the same name.The three varieties are black mustard (spicy and piquant) brown mustard (less piquant) and white, or yellow, mustard (not very piquant but more bitter and more pungent) Tehse seeds contain two elements, myronate, and myrosin.When crushed in the presence of water, they release a volatile and piquant essence which gives mustard its distinctive flavour.

  Mustard has been known and used sicne ancient times. Black mustard seeds is mentioned in the Bible, the plant, cultivated in Palestine, was itnroduced into Egpyt, where its crushed seeds were served as a condiment (as they still are in the East).The Greeks and Roman used the seeds in the form of flour or mixed in tuna fish brine (muria), for spicing meat and fish. Mustard also has an ancient history throughout Europe. The medicinal properties of the plant were also highly valued in the Middle Ages. Commercial production began in Dijon by the mid 14^th century and in Britain in 1727.

  Mustard is a condiment that can be flavoured in many different ways for example with tarragon, garlic, mixed herbs, horseradish, chilli, honey, paprika and fruits. In addition to its uses as a conditment for meat and charcuterie, mustard is used in cookery for  coating rabbit, pork, chicken and oily fish before cooking. It may be added to the cooking stock of a  ragout or a blanquette, and it is the basis of numerous dressing and sauces, both hot and cold (such as vinaigrette, mayonnaise, remoulade, devilled sauce, dijonnaise, Cambridge) In English cookery, mustard sauce is often enriched with egg yolk or flavoured with anchovy essence, to acocmpany fish. Gremona msutard, from Italy, resembles chutney rather than msutard, as it is made from fruits macerated in a sweet and sour sauce containing msutard, it generally accompanies boiled meat.

RECIPES

Mustard and dill dressing

Whisk 2 tablespoons Dijon msutard with 1 tablespoon caster (superfine) sugar and 3 tablespoon cider vinegar in a bowl. Add a little salt and pepper and whisk well. Gradually pour in 150 ml ( 1/4 pint, 2/3 cup) olive oil, whisking continuously to make a thick dressing. Stir in 3 tablespoons finely chopped dill. Taste for seasoning and sweet sour balance, add a squeeze of lemon j uice to sharpen the dressing, if  liked.Serve with fish salads, poached or smoked salmon, or graviax. The dressing also goes well with poached eggs, or cold hard boiled (hard cooked) eggs in salads.

Mustard sauce

Melt 2 tablespoon butter in a small sacuepan, then blend in 2 tablespoons flour and mix well. Pour in 250 ml ( 8 ft oz. 1 cup) milk, beat and leave to took over a brisk heat until the sauce thickens. Lower the heat and simmer for 3 minutes then add 4 tablespoons double (heavy) cream. 1 teaspoon white vinegar, 1 teaspoon English msutard powder, salt and a little pepper.Serve at once with poached fish.

MUSTARD POT  A small pot in which mustard is served at table, it sometimes form part of a cruel. Its lid is notched to allow themustard spoon to pass through. The oldest models, which are made of pewter and very large, date from the 14^th century. In  silver gilt and even gold. It was only after the 18^th century that mustard pots were manufactured in porcelain, pottery, glass or wood.

MUTTON  The meat from sheep over a year old.  The criteria  of quality are firm, compact, dark red flesh and hard fat, pearly white in colour and plentiful  around the kidneys. Mutton is at its best at the end of the winter and in the spring, in summer (shearing time) the smell of wool grease tends to impregnate the flesh.

RECIPES

Braised mutton cutlets

Trim some thick cutlets and season with salt and pepper. Butter a shallow frying pan, line it with bacon rinds from which all the fat has been removed and add some thinly sliced carrot and onion. Arrange the cutlets in the pan, cover and cook gently for 10 minutes. Add enough white wine to just cover then reduce with the lid removed. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of brown gravy or stock, add a bkouquet garni and cook with the lid on for about 45 minutes. Drain the cutlets and keep them hot on the serving dish.Surround with boiled Brussels sprouts (the garnish may also consist of chestnuts, sauteed potatoes or a vegtable purree) Reduce the braising stocks, strain it, and pour it over the cutlets.

Mutton broth

Finely dice a carrot, a turnip, the white part of 2 leeks, 1 celery stick and 1 onion. Soften this brunoise in butter, then add 2 litres ( 3 ½ pints,  9 cups) white consomme. Add 300 g ( 11 oz)  breast and colalr of mutton and 100 g ( 4 oz, ½ cup) pearl barley blanched for 8 minutes in boiling water. Cover and cook gently for 1 1/2 hours. Remove and dice the meat and put back in the soup. Sprinkle with chopped parsley just before serving.

Mutton cutlets a la fermiere

Season 6 thick cutlets with salt and pepper. Fry them lightly in butter in a shallow flameproof serving dish.Add 300 ml ( ½  pint, 1 ¼ cups) vegetable fondue, 6 tablespoons fresh green peas and 150 ml ( ¼ pint, 2/3 cup) white wine.Reduce, then add a bouquet garni and 200 ml * 7 ft oz. 2/4 cup) brown stock and cook with the lid on for 20 minutes. Then add about 20 small potatoes and continue cooking with the lid on for a further 35 minutes.Serve in the cooking dish.

Mutton cutlets a la villeroi

Braise the cutlets and leave them to cool in their stock.Drain them, coat them in Villerol sauce, then dip them in beaten egg and breadcrumbs. Fry until golden in clarified butter and serve with a  Perigueux or a tomato sauce.

Mutton cutlets chasseur

Saute 6 cuttlets in butter in a shallow frying pan, then drain and keep them hot.Place in the pan 1 tablepsoon chopped shallots and 6 large thinly sliced mushrooms and stir for a few moments over a brisk heat. Sprinkle with 1560 ml ( ¼ lpint, 2/3 cup) white wine and reduce until almost dry. Pour in 250 ml ( 8 fit oz 1 cup) thickned brown stock and  1 tablespoon tomato sauce, boil for a few moments, then add 15 g ( ½ oz, 1 tablespoon butter) and ½ teaspoon chopped chervil and tarragon.Cotat the cutlets with this sauce.

Mutton filelts in red wine

Cut the filelts of mutton into small squares. Season with salt and pepper, then cook them quickly in very hot butter, keeping them slightly pink inside. Drain them and put on one side. In  the same butter quickly cook (for 6 fillet) 125 g ( 4 ½ oz. 1 ½  cups) thinly sliced mushrooms and add them to the meat. Make a sauce by adding 300 ml ( ½ pint, 1 ¼ cups) red wine to the pan juice, reduce then add several spoonfuls of brown veal gravy.Reduce once again, add some butter and strain. Mix the meat and the mushrooms with this sauce and serve very hot.

Ragout of mutton a la bonne femme

Cut 800 g ( 1 ¾ lb) mutton into cubes, season with salt and peper, and fry quickly in oil with a chopped onion. Skim off some of the oil in which the meat was cooked, dust the meat with a pinch of caster (superfine) sugar and 2 tablespoons flour and mix. Then add a small crushed garlic clove and moisten with 1 litre ( 1 ¾ pints, 4 ½ cups) water or stock.Add 3 tblepsoons tomato puree (paste) or 100 g ( 4 oz. ½ cup) fresh tomatoes, peeled and  crushed, and bouquet garni. Cook, covered, in a preheated oven at 220 ^oC (425 ^oF, gas 7) for 1 hour. Drain the meat and reserve the cooking stock. (strained and skimmed).

  Return the meat to the pan and add 400 g (14 oz. 2 ½ cups) potatoes cut into olive shapes. 24 glazed baby (pearl) onions, and 125 g ( 4 ½  oz, ½ cup) streaky (slab) bacon (diced, blanched and lightly fried). Pour the cooking stock over the  ragout. Bring to the boil, cover and finish cooking in the oven for 1 hour. Arrange in a timbale or in a  round dish.

MUZZLE  The projecting nose and jaw of certain animals. The muzzle of an ox or pig is used chiefly in charcuterie. Both are prepared in the same way as ox tongue. In France, ox muzzle is usually sold ready prepared  and it is used as a cold hors d’oeuvre, served in a herb flavorued vinaigrette. Pig’s muzzle is also sold as a cooked meat speciality, similar to brawn (head cheese) it is prepared using the whole head (and soemtimes the tongue and the tail) which is boned, cooked, pressed and moulded. In Brazil, the most popular dish is fetpada which consists of pig’s muzzle cooked in a stew.

MYCOPROTEIN  A protein rich type of manufactured fungi which is proceesed to make Quorm. See Quorn.

MYRTLE  A Mediterranean shrub whose aromatic evergreen leaves and purple black berries have a flavour like that of juniper and rosemary. Myntle leaves are used particularly in Corsican and Sardian cookery, to flavour roast thrushes, boar, charcuterie and bouillabaisse. The Romans used mythe leaves and berries extensively for flavouring ragouts and certain wines.

MYSOST   A Scandinavian cheese made from cow’s milk whey (20% fat content). Mysost is a brown compressed cheese, the water from the whey is evaporated leaving only the whey albumen and lactose which acquires the consistency of very hard butter and a slightly sweetish flavour. See also Gjetost.