V

VACHERIN  A cold dessert, made of a ring of meringue or almond paste filled with ice cream or whipped cream (or both).It owes its name to its shape and colour, which resemble the cheese of the cheese of the same name. The classic vacherin  is made of rings of meringue placed on top of each other, filled with ice cream of one or more flavours, to which may be added fresh or crystallized (candied) fruit, sponge biscuits soaked in liqueur, marrons glaces and so on, on a base of sweetened pastry. Whipped cream is piped over the top, and the dessert is decorated with piped over the top, and the dessert is decorated with crystallized flowers, sugar coated pearls or fruit.

   Sometimes the name vacherin is given to rounds of meringue layered with cream or ice cream.

RECIPES

Iced chestnut vacherin

Whisk 8 egg whites to stiff peaks, then mix in 500 g (18 oz. 2  ¼ cups) caster (superfine) sugar with a spatula. Make a round layer of meringue by piping a flat spiral on greased greaseproof (wax0 paper on a baking sheet. Pipe 2 rings of the same diameter on to baking sheets. Cook in a very low oven, then leave to cool.

  Cook 400 g (14 oz) peeled chestnuts in milk for 40 minute, drain them and reduce to a puree. When the puree is cold, add 1 liqueur  glass of rum, 3 stiffly whisked egg whites, 25 g (1 oz, 2 tablespoons) melted butter and3 coarsely chopped marrons glaces. Freeze for 4 hours in the freezer. Place the rings of meringue on to the flat round to form a shell, then pile the ice cream into this meringue shell. Decorate with Chantilly cream and a few marrons glaces. Return to the freezer until ready to serve.

Iced vacherin

Prepare 3 layers of meringue: draw 3 circles on sheets of greaseproof (wax) paper, marking their centres. Grease the paper on the side on which the circles have been drawn, then place the ungreased side on baking sheets. Whisk 8 egg whites to very stiff peaks with a pinch of salt, towards the end of this operation scatter in 500 g (18 oz. 2 ¼ cups) caster (superfine) sugar 9the mixture will be pearly).Fill a large piping (pastry) bag fitted with a large, smooth nozzle with this meringue mixture, then, starting from the centre of the circles, cover these with meringue, forming a flat spiral. Place the baking sheets in a preheated oven at 110 ^oC(225 ^oF, gas ¼ ) or at the coolest setting, close the door, turn off the oven and cook for 1 ½ -2 hours as it cools. Allow the meringues to become completely cold.

   Prepare some vanilla ice cream, make a light custard cream with 5 egg yolks, 150 g (5 oz 2/3 cup) sugar 100 ml (4 ft oz, 7 tablespoons) 1 2/3 cup) sugar, 10 ml ( 4 ft oz, 7 tablespoons) milk, a vanilla pd (bean) and 400 ml ( 14 ft oz, 1 ¾ cups) double (heavy0 cream. Freeze this cream in an ice-cream maker, making sure that it remains soft. Prepare 500 ml ( 17 ft oz. 2 cups) soft strawberry ice cream in the same way.

   To assemble the vacherin, remove the greaseproof paper from the meringue layers with the point of a knife. Place a ball of vanilla ice cream in the centre of one layer, then place the second layer on top, pressing sufficiently to allow the ice cream to come to the edges of the layer. Replace in the freezer to harden the ice cream, then remove and repeat the process with the strawberry ice cream between the second and third layers. Replace the vacherin in the freezer and prepare the decoration.

   Heat 100 g ( 4 oz ½ cup) sugar with 400 ml (14 ft oz. 1 ¾ cups) water and boil for 1 minute. Whisk 2 egg whites to very stiff peaks, pour the boiling syrup over them and whisk until the mixture is cold.Add 500 ml ( 17 ft oz. 2 cups) double (heavy) cream and whisk until the mixture has set. Chill in the refrigerator, then put into a piping bag with a fluted nozzle and pipe it decoratively on the top of the cake. Alternatively, simply apply a smooth covering over the top and sides of the vacherin, giving it the appearance of a cheese. The vacherin may also be decorated with crystallized (candied) fruits or violets.

   Heat 100 g (4 oz. ½ cup) sugar with 400 ml (14 ft oz. 1 ¾ cups) water and boil for 1 minute. Whisk 2 egg whites to very stiff peaks, pour the boiling syrup over them and whisk until the mixture is cold. Add 500 ml (17 ft. oz. 2 cups) double (heavy) cream and whisk until the mixture has set. Chill in the refrigerator, then put into a piping bag with a fluted nozzle and pipe it decoratively on the top of the cake.Alternatively, simply apply a smooth covering over the top and sides of the vacherin, giving it the appearance of a cheese. The vacherin may also be decorated with crystallized (candied) fruits or violets.

Mocha vacherin

Place a 20 cm (8 in) flan ring, 5 cm ( 2 in) deep, on a cardboard base. Put a baked success base in the ring and place it in the freezer for 20 minutes, this is the mould to be filled.

    Prepare a mocha ice cream, coarsely grind 50 g (2 oz) good quality coffee beans and add to 500 ml (17 ft oz, 2 cups) milk sweetened with 100 g ( 4 oz. ½ cup) caster (superfine) sugar. Bring to the boil, for 10 minutes. Pour the milk through a fine strainer and replace it in the pan over a gentle heat. Whisk 6 egg yolks in a bowl with 100 g ( 4 oz. ½ cup) caster sugar. When the mixture is white and thick, add a little of the hot coffee-flavoured milk, whisking, then pour the contents of the bowl into the milk saucepan. Heat gently, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. When the custard mixture coats the spoon at 83 ^oC (180 ^oF) withdraw the pan from the heat and stir occasionally until cold.  Then add 250 ml (8 ft. oz. 1 cup) double (heavy0 cream and freeze in an ice-cream maker

   Fill the mould with this ice cream, gently mixing into it 20 coffee beans that have been  steeped in liqueur. Smooth the surface with a palette knife, put the mould back in the freezer and leave to freeze for 3 hours. Place a serving dish in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, then carefully remove the flan ring and place the vacherin on the plate.

  For the decoration, prepare coffee-flavoured Chantilly cream, made with 200 ml ( 7 ft. oz ¾ cup) double cream, 60 ml ( 2 ft oz, ¼ cup) milk, 3 tablespoons icing (confectioner’s) sugar and 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder. Put this mixture in a piping (pastry)bag first decorate the sides of the vacherin with vertical bands of cream, then decorate the top, piping 8 spirals around it to indicate the portion for each guest. Finish with a rosette in the centre. Place 1 liqueur-soaked coffee bean in each whirl, Replace in the freezer until ready to serve.

VACHERIN CHEESES  The name to several cow’s milk cheeses (45% fat content) from Switzerland or France (Savoy or Franche-Comte) having a soft texture and a washed rind.

   Vacherin d’ Abondance, a Savoyard farm cheese, is in the shape of a thick pancake, 25 cm (10 in0 in diameter and 4 cm (1 ½ in) deep, encircled by a thin strip of spruce bark and set into a box, adhering to the base.A soft, runny sweet tasting cheese with a smooth red or pink rind, it should be served with a fruity white wine from Savoy or Burgundy, and the rind should not be discarded (the flavour is exceptional). Vacherin des Bauges (or des Aillons) is similar but sometimes creamier.These traditional cheeses were made as long ago as the 12^th century, when they were called vachelins. Finally, Vacherin Mont d’or, made on the farms in te Joux district of Franche Comte from unpasteurized milk and in Switzerland from unpasteurized milk in the canton of Vaud comes in the form of a flat cylinder, 15-30 cm (6-12 in) in diameter and 3-5 cm ( 1 ¼ -2 in) deep, also in a box and encircled by a strip of resinous sapwood.Excellent at the end of autumn and in winter, this creamy cheese has a sweet, slightly aromatic flavour, the rind is smooth and pink, slightly damp, and the cheese is soft, almost liquid in the case of Swiss Vacherin.

   A good Vacherin may be recognized by the colour and appearance of its rind. Before being broached it should be stored in a cool damp place. Once started, a block of wood should be placed against the cut surface to prevent it running too much, but it is a cheese which should be eaten quickly, as it rapidly loses its fragrance and flavour.

   These soft cheeses should not be confused with Vacherin Fribourgeois, which is a Swiss cooked cheese. It is shaped like a small millstone, 40 cm (16 in0 in a diameter and about 8 cm (3 in0 deep  (it is similar to Tomme d’ Abondance) it is a soft cheese with a smooth yellowish  grey or pink rind, smelling a little of resin and with a slightly acid taste. It is used particularly to make fondue fribourgeoise.

VACQUEYRAS AOC red, white or rose wines from the southern part of Cotes du=Rhone, rubust and concentrated, produced from Grenache, Syrah, Mourverdre and Cinsaut.

VALENCAY A goat’s milk cheese from Berry (45% fat content) also made in Touraine and the Charentes. It has a soft texture and a natural rind that is dusted with charcoal if it comes from a farm otherwise the rind may have bloomed surface, Made  in the shape of a truncated pyramid, 7.5 cm (3 in) across by 6-7 cm (2 ½ in) high, it is firm to the touch, with a musty smell and a nutty flavour.

VALENCIENNE, ALA the term applied to a rice dish inspired by Spanish cooking and prepared in the Valencian style, cooked in meat stock and garnished with asalpicon of peppers and smoked ham, sometimes with peeled and seeded tomatoes, peas and green beans may also be added to the rice. It varying concentrations, or in the form of vanilla sugar.

   Vanilla is used particularly in patisserie and confectionery, to flavour creams, cake mixtures, ices, compotes, poached fruit, desserts, sweets (candy) and chocolate, for example. It is also used in distillery and flavours punch, hot chocolate,  mulled wine and sangria. In cookery a trace of vanilla is sometimes used to season fish soup, the cooking juices of mussels, certain white meats and even creamed vegetables.

RECIPES

Vanilla ice cream

Prepare a crème angiaise with 100ml (4 ft oz. 7 tablespoons) milk and a vanilla pod (bean) cut in two, 5 or 6 egg yolks, 150 g (5 oz. 2/3 cup0 caster (superfine) sugar and 400 ml (14 ft oz, 1 ¾ cups) double (heavy)cream. Pour the custard cream into an ice-cream maker and allow to set in the freezer for 4 hours. Pile up the mixture in a mould and replace in the freezer to complete the setting of the ice cream.

  It may be unmoulded on to a serving dish and decorated with crystallized (candied0 fruit or fruit poached in syrup or coated with cold fruit puree (strawberry, peach or mango, for example) or else used in balls in sundaes or to fill profiteroles.

Vanilla souffle

Pour 250 ml ( 8 ft. oz, 1 cup) milk into a saucepan and add a vanilla pod (bean) Heat gently until boiling, stirring occasionally, then cover and remove from the heat. Leave to infuse until completely cold, or for at least 30 minutes. Remove the vanilla pod.

  Mix 4 egg yolks with 3 tablespoons caster (superfine) sugar and 25 g (1 oz. ¼ cup0 plain (all-purpose) flour. Gradually stir in a little of the vanilla-flavoured milk to make a smooth paste. Then stir in the remaining milk and pour the mixture into the saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring continuously, until smooth and thick. Remove  from the heat and cover the surface of this creme patissiere with wet greaserpoof (wax) paper or cling film (plastic wrap) and leave to cool.

  Butter a 20 cm (8 in) souffle dish and sprinkle it with caster sugar. Whisk 6 egg whites until stiff, but not dry, then beat a spoonful of them into the crème patissiere to soften it slightly. Fold in the remaining whites and turn the mixture into the dish.Run your fingertip or end of a mixing spoon around the inside of the rim of the dish to make a shallow channel in the mixture, then bake the souffle in a preheated oven at 190 ^oC (375 ^oF, gas 5) for 20 minutes. Working quickly, dust the surface of the souffle with icing (confectioner’s) sugar and cook for a further 5 minutes to glaze the surface. Serve at once.

VANILLIN  A chemical substance responsible for the aroma of vanilla pods (beans) it may also be produced synthetically by using eugenol, an essence extracted from the clove tree. This consists of colourless crystals with a strong  smell and a pronounced vanilla flavour. Synthetic vanillin competes widely with natural vanilla, being used in patisserie, confectionery and chocolate  making, but its flavour is harsh and inferior to that of natural vanilla and it is avoided by discriminating cooks.

VANNER  A French culinary term meaning to stir a hot cream sauce or mixture, with a wooden spatula or a whisk until it is cold, to keep it smooth and particularly to prevent a skin forming on its surface. This process also shortens the cooling time.

VARIENIKI  In  Russian cooking a large form of ravioli filled with a mixture of drained curd cheese, butter and beaten eggs, seasoned with pepper and nutmeg, poached in boiling water and served as an entrée with soured (dairy sour) cream or melted butter. Lithunian varieniki are stuffed with chopped cooked beef, onion and suet, bound with a parsley sauce, they are served in the same way as the Russian version.

VATROUCHKA  A Russian cheesecake consisting of a sable base, covered with a mixture of eggs, sugar, crystallized (candied) or sometimes dried fruits and curd cheese, usually topped with a lattice of pastry and dusted with sugar after cooking.Another Russian culinary speciality are vatrouchki, small turnovers made of ordinary brioche dough and filled with a savoury curd cheese filing.

RECIPE

Vatrouchka

Macerate 200 g (7 oz, 1 generous cup) diced crystallized (candied) fruits in 2 tablespoons Cognac, Armagnac or rum.

   To prepare the pastry, beat together in a bowl 3 egg yolks and 1 egg white with 200 g ( 7 oz, 1 cup) caster  (suprfine) sugar until the mixture is thick and creamy. Whisk in 125 g ( 4 ½ oz.. ½ cu) softened butter, then sprinkle with 350 g (12 oz. 3 cups) sifted plain (all-purpose) flour. Form the pastry into a ball and chill for about 1 hour, Cut    the pastry in half. Use one portion to line a 25 cm (10 in) Prick the pastry with a fork and bake blind in a preheated oven at 200 ^oC (400 ^oF, gas 6) for 12-15 minutes. Then leave to cool.

   Meanwhile prepare the filling combine 4 whole eggs and 5 yolks with 400 g (14 oz. 1 ¾ cups) caster sugar in a bowl until the mixture is thick and creamy, add the crystallized fruits with the alcohol in which they have been macerating and 1 kg (2 ¼ lb, 4 ½ cups) curd cheese, mix well together.

  Pour the filling into the cooled pastry and smooth the surface. Roll out the reserved pastry into a rectangle and cut it into narrow strips. Arrange these in a lattice pattern on top of the filling sealing the ends on the sides of the pastry case. Glaze the filling and the pastry strips with beaten egg and bake in a preheated oven at 180 ^oC (350 ^oF, gas 4) for 40-50 minutes. Take out the vatrouchka, dust with icing (confectioner’s) sugar and leave until completely cold before serving.

VEAL  The meat of a calf up to one year old, specially reared for slaughter when weaned. Veal is a white, tender and delicate meat, highly prized in cooking, but its quality varies considerably according to the method of rearing.

Grass-fed and yearing veal. Pink veal comes from grass-fed, loose-housed animals 4-5 months old, so called grey veal is from older animals and the meat is sometimes hung for 2-3 days. The meat does not have the quality of white veal, which is from animals under 3 months old. It contains more water and it also lacks the mature flavour of well hung beef, but it is suited to light dishes, such as blanquette. Yearling veal is a comparatively new category of meat, known as anejo in Spain where it outsells beef. The French name for these older animals is broutart (which also includes lamb as well as calves) from the years after World War II when the demand for meat was too urgent to let young animals reach maturity.

High quality veal.  When the calf has been fed exclusively on its mother’s milk  it gives a very pale pink meat smelling of milk, with satiny white fat having no tinge of red. In certain regions of France, including Normandy, the calf used to be finished for the market by giving it up to 10 eggs daily the yolks  of which coloured its mouth, it was then said to have a palais royal.

Cuts and cooking methods.  The cutting up of the calf in the so-called Parisian manner which is the most widespread, provides for the following first category  cuts, consisting of the chump end of loin, the leg- giving the parts known in French as the noix, sous-noix and noix patissiere and escalopes cut from the noix or the noix patissiere the loin, and the fillet, as well as the best end of neck, second category cuts, consisting of the shoulder, breast, tendron flank and upper ribs, and finally, third category cuts, the scrag end and the knuckles.

   Calfs offal is the most prized animal offal, particularly the liver, sweetbreads, kidneys and spinal marrow, but the head, brains, tongue, feet and mesentery are also valued. Calf'’ foot is used to prepare stocks, stews and braised dishes.

   Outside France, it is in Italy that the widest variety of veal dishes is found osso bucco, piccata, saltumbocca and veal with tuna fish sauce, for example, also worthy of mention are the Hungarian porkolt with paprika, the Austrian Wiener scbutized and the British veal and ham pie.

Braised veal chops a la custine

(from Caremes recipe) Braise some veal chops, coat them first with 1 generous tablespoon duxelles, then with breadcrumbs, then dip in beaten egg and finish with another coating of breadcrumbs. Fry in well browned butter and serve with a light tomato sauce.

Breaded veal chops a la milanaise

Flatten the chops and season with salt and pepper. Dip in beaten egg and coat in a mixture of half breadcrumbs and half grated parmesan cheese. Cook gently in clarified butter in saute pan, then arrange on a serving dish garnished with cannelled lemon slices and sprinkled with noisette butter. Serve macaroni a la milanoise separately.

Casseroled veal chops

Season some veal chops with salt and pepper and cook gently in 20 g ( ¾ oz. 1 ½ tablespoons) butter or 2 tablespoons oil per chop, at first uncovered, then covered, until they are browned. Deglaze the saute  pan with 2 tablespoons each of veal stock and white wine per chop, reduce by half and pour over the chops.

    Alternatively, half-cook the chops, remove them from the pan, put in the chosen accompanying vegetable replace the chops in the pan and complete the cooking. The accompanying vegetables could incude diced aubergine (eggplant) small (pearl) onions, Vichy carrots, mushrooms hearts cut into quarters and cooked in butter, or green beans.

   Alternatively, the chops may be completely cooked and garnished with vegetables cooked separately, either by braising sauteeing or steaming.

   Other vegetables that may be used are chicory. Brussels sprouts, cauliflowers, endive, spinach, hop shoots, beans, lettuce, chestnuts, sorrel, peas or tomatoes. Buttered noodles or rice can also be served.

Casseroled veal chops a la bonne femme

Saute the chops in a flameproof dish until lthey are half-cooked. Add the bonne femme garnish, consisting, for each chop, of 4 small pieces of bacon, 5 small onions and 6 small new potatoes, all well browned. Cover and complete the cooking in a preheated oven at 220 ^oC 425 ^oF, gas 7)

Cold best end of neck of veal

Trim a shrotened best end of neck (rib) of veal and season it with salt and pepper. Cook in a preheated oven at 220 ^oC (425 ^oF, gas 7) allowing 30-40 minutes cooking time per 1 kg (2 ¼ lb) Allow to cool completely, then glaze with aspic jelly. Chill until ready to serve. Garnish with watercress and artichoke hearts stuffed with asparagus tips, glazed with aspic if desired.

Cold veal a l italienne

Cook some small white (pearl) onions in olive oil in a flameproof casserole and set aside. Using the same pan, brown a noix of veal, then add to the casserole 300 (11 oz) canned tuna in oil, 100 g ( 4 oz) desalted anchovy fillets, 2 peeled and diced lemons, salt, pepper and bouquet garni. Replace the onions in the casserole. Moisten with an equal mixture of white wine and veal stock, cook for 1 ½ hours, then allow to cool in the casserole. Remove the veal and pass the rest of the contents of the casserole through a blender or processor. Prepare a mayonnaise, add the strained sauce to it and serve with the veal.

Filets mignons of veal with lemon

Pare the zest of half a lemon and cut into fine strips. Put into a saucepan with 6 tablespoons cold water and bring to the boil, then drain and rinse in cold water. Put the lemon strip back into a saucepan with 1 tablespoon water and 1 ½ teaspoons sugar cook until the water has evaporated, then set aside.

  Heat  20 g ( ¾ oz, 1 ½ tablespoons) butter in a frying pan. When it starts to sizzle, add 4 veal filets mignons, each weighing 75 g ( 3oz) sprinkled with salt and pepper on both sides. Brown them for 5 minutes on each side, then keep hot on a plate.

  Pour off the butter from the pan and deglaze with 4 tablespoons dry white wine, reducing to 1 tablespoon liquid. Mix in 40 g ( 1 ½ oz. 3 tablespoons) butter, then 1 tablespoon chopped parsley.

  Transfer the filets mignons to hot serving plates. Pour any meat juices into the sauce and coat the fillets with the sauce. Garnish each fillet with a peeled slice of lemon and a little of the shredded zest cooked in sugar.

Grilled veal chops

Flatten the chops and season with salt and pepper.  Coat with tarragon flavoured oil and elave to marinate for 30 minutes. Grill (broil) gently until the meat is cooked through (about 15 minutes) turning over once. Serve the chops with a green salad, a mixed salad or green beans, steamed and served with green butter.

Sauteed veal chops a la crème

Brown some veal chops, seasoned with salt and pepper, in a frying pan using 1 tablespoon oil per chop, cover and finish cooking over a low heat (about 15 minutes) Strain off the oil from the pan and add 1 chopped shallot per chop, cook uncovered until browned. Remove the chops and shallots  and keep hot. Add to the pan 2-3 tablespoons cider or white wine and 1 tablespoon double (heavy0 cream per chop boil over a brisk heat until the sauce is reduced and smooth. Adjust the seasoning and coat the chops with the sauce.

  All garnishes suggested for escalopes of veal may accompany sauteed veal chops.

Veal grenadins with salsify

Interlard 8-12 grenadins with strips of bacon fat. Cover the base of a flameproof casserole with pork or bacon rind. Finely slice 1 onion and 1 carrots, then brown then together in butter and palce in the casserole.Add the grenadins, cover the casserole and cook gently for 15 minutes. Pour  in 200 ml (7 ft. oz, ¾ cup) dry white wine and bring to the boil, then continue cooking until the wine has almost dried up. Pour in enough stock to come a short way up the meat, add season bring to the boil and cover. Cook in a preheated oven at 220 ^oC (425 ^oF, gas 7) for about 40 minutes, basting the grenadins occasionally.

  Meanwhile, scrub 675 g ( 1 ½ lb) salsify and cook in boiling water for 10 minutes. Allow to cool, then drain, peel and trim.Cut the salsify into fine strips and toss in lemon juice, seasoning and a little melted butter. Cover and set aside.

   When the grenadins are cooked, transfer them to a gratin dish or overproof serving dish or paltes. Spoon a little of the cooking juices over the meat. Then arrange the strips of buttered salsify  around the edge and place the dish or plates in the oven until the meat and salsify are lightly glazed. Sprinkle with chives and serve.

Vitello tonnato

Bone a 2 kg (4 ¼ lb) loin of veal and tie it neatly with string. Chop the bones into shrot lengths and set aside.Season the meat with salt and pepper. Brown it on all sides in a saute pan in 2 tablespoons olive oil, then remove the roast from the pan. Put the bones in the bottom of a large roasting tin (pan0 then place the meat on top and dot with 50 g ( 2 oz. ¼ cup) butter. Cook in a preheated oven at 220-230 ^oC (425-450 ^oF, gas 7-8) for 20 minutes. Add 1 diced carrot, 1 chopped onion and 2 garlic cloves in their skin, then continue cooking for a further 10 minutes. Season the meat and allow it to cool. Discard the bones,  then degrease the cooking juices in the pan and reduce them by half. Deglaze the pan with 100 ml (4 ft. oz, 7 tablespoons) white wine and 200 ml ( 7 ft oz, ¾ cup) water. Reduce, then strain the juice and set aside.

   Puree 150 g ( 5 oz) cooked or drained canned tuna, with 3 preserved anchovies. (desalted and boned) 40 g ( 1 ½ oz ) drained capers and 2 tablespoons of the meat cooking juices. Mix with 450 ml (3/4 pint, 2 cups) mayonnaise. Add seasoning to taste and, if necessary thin the sauce with up to  4 tablespoons chicken stocks.

  Cut the meat into 2-3 cm ( ¾ -1 ¼ in) thick slices. Arrange on a platter and pour the tuna sauce over.Sprinkle with sprigs of flat-leafted parsley and 25 g (1 oz) capers. Serve with quartered radicchio hearts, dressed with olive oil and lemon juice.

VEAU DE MER  The commercial name for porbeagle or taupe.This is a shark sold as steaks, fillets or in slices, like tuna.

VEGANISM  A stirck form of vegetarianism in which the diet is based o n cereals, fruit, nuts, fresh and dried vegetables and vegetable oils. It excludes all animal products, even eggs, milk and honey.

  With the ready availability today of a wide variety of fresh fruit and vegetables and modern production of items like soya (soy) milk, vegetable protein products and pure vegetable margarines, it is possible to have a reasonably varied and nutritous vegan diet. It is, however, still difficult to maintain a good balance of essential nutrients, and vegans must take great care to avoid dietary deficiencies in protein, calcium, iron, and vitamins B12.

VEGETABLES Herbaceous plants cultivated for food. According to the species, different parts of the vegetable are eaten, the fruit of courgettes sweet peppers and tomatoes, for example, the seeds of peas, lentils and beans, the leaves of spinach, lettuce and cabbage, the bulbs of onions, shallots and fennel, the tubers of potatoes and yams, the germ of soya, or the roots of carrots, turnips, parsnips and radishes. Mushrooms and other fungi are also usually regarded as vegetable. For culinary purposes a distinction is made between fresh vegetables (including greens) dried vegetables and salads.

   Cultivation, refrigeration and transportation have influenced the choice of vegetables available in Western supermarkets in the same way that they have broadened the choice of fruit. There seems to be an ever-expanding choice of exotic vegetables and markets in multi-cultural communities offer an excellent variety. As well as roots and tubers, the fruit vegetables, pods and pulses, summer and winter squashes are increasingly popular.

Vegetable in cooking. Some vegetables are fundamental to the majority of savoury cooking for the essential flavour they contribute. The humble onion brings essential character to av ast range of dishes, it is also an excellent vegetable in its own right. Carrots and celery are also widely used in the same way as onions. Some vegetables are used in modest proportions to complement the main ingredients in many dishes. The other vegetable fruit that is as important as the onion in many cuisines is the tomato, which forms the basis for many sauces.

   Apart  from their roles as flavourings, vegetables are cooked by all methods, singly or in various combinations, in dishes that are served as a separate course in some culinary cultures or to accompany fish or poultry and meat dishes.

  Vegetables are also the main ingredients in many dishes and they are often the primary focus for a menu. As main dishes, they may be vegetarian or contain animal foods in a supporting capacity for example as a stuffing.

Preserved vegetables Vegetables are widely used in chutneys, pickles and relishes. In addition they are often preserved individually, as for exmaple in saucerkraut or pickled onions. Bottling vegetables in brine has been replaced by freezing as a practical method of preserving them. The same is also true of drying those vegetables that are dried are the ones that develop a particular flavour or intensity, such as mushrooms, sundried tomatoes or sun-dried peppers. Peas and other pulses are dried, Freezing is the most practical method because it conserves the fresh flavour of produce and the vitamin content.

VEGETARIANISM  A type of diet that totally excludes meat, poultry and fish, but permits eggs, milk and butter. By including a wide variety of vegetables, grains, pulses and their products and dairy foods, the vegetarian diet can be well balanced.

VEINE  A French cut of beef from the neck, subdivided into a fat reune (or saignee) and lean vene ( or secodn clod) both rich in connective tissue. This meat is used for braising and stewing (daube, carbonade and son on).

VELOURS  The name given to a carrot soup to which consomme., substantially thickened with tapiloca, is added. This gives the soup a thick, velvery consistency.

VELOUTE  SAUCE  One of the basic white sauces, made with a white veal or chicken stock or a fish fumet, thickened with a white or golden roux. Numerous other sauces are derived from a allemande, caper, poulette and mushroom sauces from veal veloute) ivoire, supreme and aurore, suaces (from chicken veloute) and bretonne, cardinal and Nantua sauces (from fish veloute) The basic veloute can also be used as a basis for making smooth, fine but rich soup.

RECIPES

Basic veloute sauce

Stir 2.75 litres (4 ¾ pints, 12 cups) white veal or chicken stock into a pale blond roux made with 150 g ( 5 oz. 2/3 cup) butter and 150 g ( 5 oz. 1 ¼  cups) plain (all-purpose) flour. Blend well together. Bring to the boil, stirring until the first bubbles appear .Cook the veloute very slowly for 30 minutes, skimming frequently. Strain through a cloth  Stir until it is completely cold.

  Veloute may be prepared either in advance or just before it is required As the white stock used for making it is seasoned and flavoured, it is not necessary to add other flavourings. An exception is made for skins and trimmings of mushrooms, which may be added when available, this addition making the sauce yet more delicate.

    Veloute sauce based on fish stock

    Make in the same way as basic veloute    sauce, replacing the veal or chicken stock with fish stock.

VENACO  A Corsican cheese made from goat’s or a greyish scraped natural rind. It comes from Venaco and Corte and is made in only a small scale as a it is made in the for of  a 13 cm (5 in) square slab, 6 cm (2 ½ in) high Venaco is a whitish, fatty cheese, firm to the touch, with a strong smell and sometimes a piquant flavour. It is served with a full bodied red wine.Sometiems the cheese is crumbled and soaked in wine and marc brandy.

VENDEE The coastal strip of Poitou is known as the Vendee, and the cuisine of this region combines the resources of the sea with the culinary traditions of the hinterland.

   The pastureland of the Vendee is stock breeding country, and many cattle are raised, providing excellent meat. Cereals and vegetables are also grown, including the  famous Vendee green cabbages and mogettes, white haricot (navy) beans, which are cooked in the usual way and dressed with butter and cream. Other popular dishes are broad (fava0 bean puree in stock, cbouee green cabbage boiled in salted water, drained pressed and mixed with for 2 minutes on each side, until well browned outside and still slightly pink in the middle.

   Reheat the sauce and add  150 g (5 oz. 2/3 cup) butter, cut in small pieces, whisking hard continuously. Drain the venison on paper towels. Deglaze the pan with a little water and reduce for 1 minute, then whisk this into the sauce and add seasoning to taste. Drain the pears on paper towels. Coat warmed plates with the sauce, then arrange the venison and pears on top.

VENITIENNE, A LA  The name given to pouached fillets of sole, slices of conger eel sauteed in butter, poached chicken or soft-boiled  or poached eggs when accompanied by venitienne sauce. This sauce is made with a mixture of vinegar, tarragon and allemande sauce, reduced, mixed with green butter, strained and garnished with herbs.Fish served with a normande sauce mixed with herbs and chopped capers may also be called a la venitienne.

RECIPES

Fillets of sole a la venitienne

Fold the fillets of sole in half and poach them in a fish fumes made with white wine. Drain and wipe them and arrange them in a ring on a serving dish, alternating with heart-shaped croutons friend in butter.Coat them with venitienne sauce mixed with the reduced cooking liquid from the sole.

Venitienne sauce

(from Cereme’s recipe) Boil together in a saucepan 2 tablespoons allemande sauce, a generous pinch of chopped tarragon blanched and drained in a fine silk strainer, 1 tablespoon chicken glaze, a little isigny butter, a pinch of grated nutmeg and a few drops of good tarragon vinegar.

VENTADOUR  The name given to a dish of tournedos steaks or noisettes of lamb, garnished with slices of bone marrow and truffle and served with artichoke puree and potato cocotte.

VENTRECHE Belly of pork, salted, then rolled  a speciality of south west France.Completely boned and skinned, the belly is salted for about ten days, then washed drained and braised.Sprinkled with ground pepper, it is rolled, fitted into a cellulose casing, then dried for one to four weeks. Ventreche is used in the same ways as salted belly of pork.

VERBERA, LEMON Also knowna s lemon  vervain. The leaves of this evergreen shrub, Aloysia triphylla, have a distinct  lemon flavour. They are narrow and bright green, and may be used whole or finely chopped.An infusion of the leaves and flowers of lemon verbena, sweetened with honey, is recommended for liver and kidney ailments and for soothing the nerves. Fresh verbena leaves contribute  their lemon fragrance to stocks, sauces and moist dishes. Whole sprigs can be added to the cooking water for vegetables, rice or pasta, or thye can be used to flavour steamed foods. When finely chopped, the leaves are also suitable for dry mixtures, such as forcements.

   Dried powdered verbena leaves can be added to meat  and fish stuffings to give a delicate flavour.

VERDIER The name given to a dish of hard boiled (hard-cooked) eggs stuffed with foie grass, placed o n a bed of cooked sliced onions, coated with a bechamel sauce containing  truffles, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and browned in the oven. The dish is attributed to the proprietor of the Maison Doree.

RECIPE

Hard boiled eggs Verdier

Hard-boil (hard-cook) the eggs, shell and halve them. Remove the yolks, rub them through a sieve and mix with one third of their volume of foie gras cut into very small dice. Fill the halves of egg white with the mixture. Slice some onions, gently soften them in butter, blend them with a very little bechamel sauce seasoned with curry powder and spread in a layer in a gratin dish. Place the stuffed eggs on top, and coat with bechamel sauce mixed with a julienne of truffles. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and brown in a very hot oven.

   The foie gras may be replaced by diced chicken livers sauteed in butter and the truffles with a julienne of sweet peppers, but in this case the dish should not be called by the classic name.

VERDURE A term used in French cuisine to describe a green salad or a mixture of green pot herbs.Chopped verdure is used especially to make forcemeats or purees. The name verdurette is given to a vinaigrette sauce mixed with chopped chives, hard boiled eggs, chervil, tarragon and parsley.Kitchen staff in the times of the ancient Regime included a verdurier, whose job was to provide the herbs and vinegar.

VERGEOISE  A type of French soft brown sugar (beet or cane) crystallized from a syrup remaining at the end of the refining process, the colour and smell of which is determined by the components of the raw material used. Its name is taken from the old sugar moulds, the vergeoises, in which large sugar loaves were made.

  There are two kinds of vergeoise, light and dark brown, the former is obtained by recooking the syrup removed at the first stage of the sugar-refining process, dark brown vergeoise, with a more unusual smell, results from recooking the syrup removed at the second stage of sugar refinement.

   In northern France and Belgium vergoise is commonly used to make pastries, especially tarte au sucre and also to sprinkle on or fill crepes and waffles.

VERJUICE  The acid juice extracted from large unripened grapes or crab apples, which was formerly widely used as a sauce ingredient, a condiment and in deglazing until eventually superseded by the instruction to add a dash or lemon juice in recipes. In the Middle Ages vertjus was an acid-tasting stock prepared with the juice of unripe grapes, sometimes mixed with lemon or sorrel juice, herbs and spices. It was used in most sauces and liaisons.

   In the latter eyars of the 20^th century the use of verjuice experienced a revival. It is in general use in Middle Eastern cookery.

RECIPE

Soft roes of herring with verjuice

Soak 800 g (1 ¾ lb ) soft roes of herring for 1 hour in cold water with 100 ml (4 ft oz. 7 tablespoons) white wine vinegar. Drain and wipe. Season with salt and pepper, coat with flour, shaking off any excess, then prick with a needle to prevent them from bursting during cooking. Heat 40 g (1 ½ oz, 3 tablespoons) butter and 3 tablespoons oil in a frying pan. Carefully place the roes in the hot fat and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.

  Heat 75 g (3 oz. 6 tablespoons) butter in a separate frying pan and brown 76 g (3 oz. 1 cup) diced mushrooms and an equal quantity of diced sour apples for 4 minute.s Then add 75 g (3 oz) diced tomatoes, cook for 1 minute and add 50 g 92 oz) capers, salt and pepper. Arrange the roes on warmed plates, sprinkle with 50 g ( 2 oz. 1 cup) small l sprigs of parsley and garnish with the browned vegetables.

  Remove  the fat from the pan in which the roes were cooked and add, over a brisk heat, 3 tablespoons cider vinegar and an equal quantity of verjuice.Bring to the boil and pour over the roes.

VERMICELLI  A pasta made in the form of fine strands often used in soups but also served like spaghetti.Angel’s hair is a very fine variety of vermicelli, used only in consommes and clear soups. Vermicelli is also used to make certain puddings and souffles.

   Chinese vermicelli, prepared with soya flour, comes in long, lustrous skeins. Boiled or fried, it is used in soups, vegetable mixtures, forcemeats and so on. In the Far East there is a type of vermicelli made with rice flour. It consists of long, flat, whitish strands and is cooked in the same way is noodles.

VERMOUTH An aromatized wine whose name is derived from the German word Wernut (wormwood or absinthe) this being an ingredient of many recipes for vermouth.

  Vermouth is now made in many regions where wine is made, although commercial production began in Turin in the 18^th century.Before this, various versions of wine incorporating herbs, spices barks and peels were made, often for semi-medicinal purposes, records of these drinks exist from about the 5^th century BC By the end of the 18^th century establishments for making vermouth were established in Marselle and Chambery in France, and these places with Turin, remain the world centres for production.

   Vermouth is now made in many regions where wine is made, although commercial production began in Turin in the 18^th century. Before this, various versions of wine incorporating herbs, spices, barks and peels were made, often for semi- medicinal purposes, records of these drinks exist from about the 5^th century BC. By the end of the 18^th century establishments for making vermouth were established in Marcellie and Chambery in France, and these places, with  Turin, remain the world centres for production.

VERNIS  A bivalve molluse that inhabits the sandy ocean bed and belongs to the same family as clams it is cooked in the same way. Its shells, 6-10 cm (2 ½ - 4 in) long, are smooth, shiny and brown, marked with dark radiating stripes.

VERNON. The name of a dish of sauteed small cuts of meat, which are garnished with artichoke hearts topped with asparagus tips, turnips stuffed with mashed potato and hollowed out apples filled with peas in butter.

VERON, LOUIS DESIRE  French doctor and jornalist. After practising medicine in fashionable circles, he became a critic and the editor of various literary reviews, then administrator of the Opera and finally a political journalist at the head of Constitutioned , which supported the cause of Louis Napoleon and the Empire. He owes his place in the history of gastronomy to his role as a lavish host, at first in his apartment in the Rue de rivoli, then at Auteuil.   Among his  guests, Sainte Beuve, Nestor Roqueplan and Arsene Houssaye rubbed shoulders with Halevy, Auber. Trousseau, Velpeau and a number of famous actresses, including Rachel, his mistress. On Fridays dinner was more formal, and guests included certain political personalities, sometimes even the Prince President himself.

 

RECIPES

Fillets of brill Veron

Cut the fillets in half lengthways, season with salt and pepper, dip in melted butter and breadcrumbs, sprinkle with more melted butter and cook gently under the grill (broiler) Arrange the fillets on a hot serving dish and coat with Veron sauce.

Veron sauce

Prepare a reduced herb mixture as for a bearnaise sauce.Then add 200 ml (7 ft oz, ¾ cup) normande sauce and 2 tablespoons very concentrated brown veal stock or fish glaze. Season with a pinch of cayenne, rub through a sieve and add 1 tablespoon snipped chervil or tarragon.

VERONICA A genus of plants of which there are numerous species found throughout temperate regions.Veronica officianalls. Common speedwell, nicknamed the tea of Europe inFrance, was used as long ago as the early 18^th century as a substitute for tea.  Veronica heccabunga, brooklime, is often confused with watercress and can be eaten raw in salads or cooked like spinach.

VERT In Flemish cooking the name au vert is given to a dish of eels cooked with numerous herbs which vary according to the season and may include sorrel, spinach salad cress, white deadnette, parsley, chervil, tarragon, mint, sage, salad burnet and lemon balm.

  Sauce verte (green sauce) is a mayonnaise containing a puree of herbs. In former times the sauce was more of a vinaigrette, which the Parisian sauciers in the reign of Louis XII used to sell in the streets.

   The modern recipe was perfected by Balvay, formerly chief to Napoleon III, then chef at the restaurant Le Doyen, where  it became a speciality, particularly  when served with  sea trout. Beurre vert is a flavoured butter made with chopped herbs.

RECIPE

Green sauce

For 400 ml (14 ft oz, 1 ¾ cups) sauce, prpeare 300 ml ( ½ pint, 1 ½ cups) mayonnaise and 100 ml ( 4 ft oz, 7 tablespoons) puree of green herbs (spinach, watercress, parsley, chervil and tarragon0, blanched for 1 minutes in boiling water, cooled under the tap, thoroughly dried and then pounded in a mortar. Mix the 2 preparation together and rub through a sieve.

  Use the sauce like classic mayonnaise, especially to accompany cold poached fish.

VERT-CUIT  A French culinary term used when food is cooked very lightly and served almost raw by analogy with fruit, which is described as vert (green) before it has ripened. Duck au sang and woodcock, in particular, are served vert-cuits.

VERT-PRE  The term describing preparations of grilled (broiled) meat (kidney’s steaks, chops, noisettes and so on) garnished with straw potatoes and watercress and served with maitre d botel butter, which is either placed on the meat in rounds or melted and served in a sauceboat. The name is also given to preparations of white meat, duckling, vol au-vent, for example, garnished with a mixture of peas, asparagus tips and green beans, tossed in butter.Chicken or fish coated with green sauce are also called vert pre.

VICAIRE, GEORGES French  scholar (born Paris, 1853, died Chantilly, 1921) A cousin of the poet Gabriel Vicaire, he wrote a Manuel de I amanteur de liuvres au XIX siecle  and also a study of Balzac as a publisher and printer. However, he is best known to collection of books on cuisine for his valuable Bibliographe gastronomique, which records and describe some 1,500 works on gastronomy and cuisine from the time when printing first began up to 1890. The work is dedicated to Baron jerome Pichon, with whom he published Taillevent’s Viamedier in 1892.

VICHY The name given to a dish of sliced carrots cooked over a low heat  ( traditionally with  sugar and bicarbonate of soda or Vichy salt) until all the moisture is absobed. To justify the name, the water used for cooking should be Vichy Saint Yorre mineral water.Vichy carrots, or carrots a la Vicby, with fresh butter and parsley, are often served with veal cutlets and sauteed chicken, coated with a sauce made by deglazing the cooking pan with veal stock.

RECIPE

Vichy carrots

Peel 800 g (1 ¾ lb) young carrots and cut into thin rounds. Place in a saute pan and just cove with water, adding 1 teaspoon salt and a generous pinch of sugar per 500 ml ( 17 ft oz. 2 cups) water. Cook gently until all the liquid is absorbed. Serve the carrots in a vegetable fish, sprinkled with small pieces of butter and chopped parsley.

VICHYSSOISE A leek and potato soup thickened with fresh cream and served cold, garnished with chopped chieves.Vichyssoise was created in the United states by Louis Diat, a French chef who named the soup after his local town. As a child, he had eaten the soup for breakfast when he lived in a village near Vichy in France. The name vichyssoise is also given to any cold soup based o n potatoes and another vegetable, such as courgettes.

RECIPE

Vichyssoise

Slice 250 g ( 9 oz) leeks 9white part only) and cut 250 g ( 9 oz) peeled potatoes into quarters.Soften the leeks in 50 g (2 oz. ¼ cup) butter in a covered pan without allowing them to brown. Then add the potatoes, stir and pour in 1.75 litres 93 pints, 7 ½ cups0 water.Add salt, pepper and a small bouquet garni. Bring to the boil and cook for 30-40 minutes. Puree the potatoes and leeks in a blender or food processor and return to the pan Blend in at least 200 ml ( 7 ft oz. ¾ cup) crème fraiche and return just to the boil, stirring frequently. Allow the soup to cool and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Serve sprinkled with chopped chieves in consomme cups.

VICTORIA  There are a number of dishes and sauces dedicated to Queen Victoria, all characterized by their rich ingredients or elegant presentation. Barquettes and bouchees, fillets of sole, poached and soft boiled eggs and filled omelette Victoria all contain a salcpicon of lobster and truffle, bound in various ways Scallop shells of fish Victoria, with mushrooms and truffles, are coated with Nantua sauce and garnished with slices of truffle.

   Salad Victoria is a mixed salad of diced cucumber, a salpicon of langouste, sliced celeriac, sliced artichoke hearts, sliced potatoes and thin strips of truffle, dressed with pink mayonnaise.

 

RECIPES

Scallop shells of salmon Victoria

Fill the scallop shells with a mixture of salmon poached in fumet, sliced mushrooms cooked in butter and small diced truffles.Coat with nantua sauce, dust with grated parmesan cheese, sprinkle with clarified butter and brown in a very hot oven.Garnish each scallop shell with a slice of  truffle heated in butter.

Victoria sauce for fish

Prepare 250 ml ( 8 ft oz. 1 cup) white wine sauce. Add 2 tablespoons lobster butter, a dash of cayenne, and 2 tablespoons diced lobster flesh and truffles.

Victoria sauce for venison

Prepare 250 ml ( 8 ft oz. 1 cup) espagnole sauce, add 150 ml ( ¼ pint, 2/3 cup) port and 3 tablespoons redcurrant jelly. Then ad 8 peppercorns. 2 cloves, a small stick of cinnamon and the blanched zest of an orange. Boil until reduced by one third, add the juices of the orange and a little cayenne, and rub through a sieve.

VIDELER  A French culinary term meaning to make a border around the edge of a piece of pastry by gently easing it with the figners a little at a time, upwards then toward the centr,e to form a rolled edge.The rim of a tart case is treated in this way before being cooked in a flan ring to give a neat even edge.

VIENNOISE A LA The description a la viennoise is given to veal escalopes or to fillets of poultry or fish coated with egg and breacrumbs, sauteed and served with chopped hard boiled eggs fried parsley and capers the meat or fish is usually topped with a slice of lemon with skin and pith removed and with a stone green olive surrounded by an anchovy fillet.The serving dish is coated with thickened veal stock, and noisette butter is served separately.

 

RECIPES

Chicken a la viennoise

Quarter a young chicken weighing 800-900 g ( 1 ¾ -2 lb) sprinkle the joints with salt and pepper then coat with egg and breadcrumbs.Cook in a frying pan in 60 g ( 2 oz. ¼ cup) clarified butter, turning once., or deep-fry in fat at a temperature of 180 ^oC(350 ^oF) until golden and cooked through.Drain on paper towels and serve with fried parsley and lemon quarters.

Escalopes a la viennoise

Flatten 4 escalopes well and sprinkle with salt on both sides. Put 4 tablespoon flour with a little salt on one plate, 175 g ( 6 oz. 2 cups) dried breadcrumbs on another and 2 beaten eggs on a third. Melt 100 g ( 4 oz. ½ cup) lard in a large frying pan. Dip the escalopes into the flour so that they are compeltely covered with a very fine coating then in the beaten egg and finally in the breadcrumbs, coating them evenly on both sides. Place in the lard when it is on the point of smoking and cook gently for 8 minute on each side. Serve well browned.

VIENNOISERIE A French term taking its name from Vienna and the local baking traditions. This is used to describe bakery products other than bread, traditionally consisting of croissants, milk bread rolls, fruit buns, brioches and so on that is items made from raised dough or puff or rough puff pastry and excluding biscuits (cookies)sables and so on, which come into the cat egory of patisserie.Fancy breads, such as Viennese, granary and large bioche, for example, grouped under the term panasserie, are sometimes also included in viennoiserie.

VIEUX PANE A soft cow’s milk cheese (50% fat content) with a washed crust. It is a flat, square cheese weighing 2.25 kg ( 5 lb) Recently invented, it is factory made and has an honest, earthy flavour.

VIGNERONNE, A LA  The description given to dishes prepared with grapes or autumn produce or in wine growers style.Salad a la vigneroinne consists of dandelion leaves and browned , chopped bacon, deressed with walnut oil. The bacon pan is deglazed with vinegar, and this is used to season the salad. Small birds a la vigneronne are usually cooked in a casserole with grapes. Snails a la vigneronne are shelled, sauteed with garlic and shallots, coated in batter containing chieves then fried.

RECIPE

Partidge a la vigneronne

Pluck, clean and truss a partridge. Cook it in butter in a saucepan for about 30 minutes, then drain and untruss it. Put into the saucepan 24 skinned and seeded grapes, 3 tablespoons game fumet and 1 tablespoon flamed brandy. Cover the pan and cook gently for 5 minutes, then replace the partidge on top, heat through and serve.

VILLAGEOISE, ALA  The description given to poached white meat or poultry accompanied by vilageoise sauce. This is either a bechamel sauce mixed with onions softened in butter, veal or poultry stock and mushroom essence, which is strained, thickened with egg yolk and finished with butter or a light veloute sauce mixed with onion puree, thickened with egg yolk and cream and finished with butter.

RECIPE

Villageoise sauce

Slice 400 g ( 14 oz 2 ½ cups) onions and cook gently for 20 minutes with a piece of butter about 50 g ( 2 oz ¼ cup) Add 300 ml ( ½ pint, 1 ¼ cups) very thick bechamel sauce, then 200 ml (7 ft oz. ¾ cup) veal or poultry stock and a little mushroom essence. Continue to cook over a low heat, stirring constantly. Strain the sauce and thicken it with an egg yolk. Away from the heat, beat in 40 g ( 1 ½ oz, 3 tablespoons) butter cut in small pieces.

VILLEROI The name of a sauce used to coat various foods that are then covered with egg and breadcrumbs and deep fried.These preparations are descxribed as a la Villerol and include attereaux of offal, brochettes of seafood, fish steaks, sweetbreads, chicken pieces or mutton cutlets, they are served with a tomato, devilled chasseur or mushroom sauce.

  Villeroi sauce (dedicated to Marshal de Villeori, mentor of Louis XV) is an allemande sauce, made either with meat stock  or fish stock mixed with white stock and mushroom essence and then reduced, the sauce may be finished with truffle essence or puree, of tomatoes or onions, or mixed with chopped truffles or mushrooms or a mirepoix.

  When the sauce has reached the right consistency it should be left to cool before being used to coat the food.

RECIPES

Attereaux or lamb’s brains a la Villeroi

Cook the lamb’s brains in white stock, leave them to get cold under a press,then cut into pieces. Marinate for 30 minutes in oil with a few drops of lemon juice, chopped parsley, salt and pepper. Thread the pieces on to skewers and coat with Villeroi sauce. Then Coat with egg and breadcrumbs and deep fry in hot oil at 180 ^oC (350 ^oF) until golden. Drain dust with fine salt and arrange on a serving dish.

Scallop and oyster brochettes a la Villeroi

Poach the white flesh and the coral of the scallops in water, then the shelled oysters in their own water, allow to cool. Drain and thread alternately on to skewers, coat with Villeroi sauce, then breadcrumbs, fry and serve as for attereaux of lamb’s brain a la Villaroi.

Villeroi sauce

Prepare 200 ml ( 7 ft oz, ¾ cup) allemande sauce., dilute with 4 tablespoons white stock flavoured with a little mushroom essence, then reduce until it coats the spoon. Put through a strainer and stir until the sauce is barely tepid.

VINAIGRETTE A cold sauce or dressing made from a mixture of vinegar, oil, pepper and salt, to which various flavourings may be added. Shallots onions, hervbs, capets, garlic, gherkins, anchovies, hard-boiled (hard-cooked) egg or mustard, for example.

   Vinaigreet is used especially for dressing green salads. The choice of oil (olive, sunflowers, walnut and so on) and vinegar is made according to the nature of the salad, the vinegar may be replaced by lemon juice or is sometimes flavoured with it. Vinaigrette is also used to dress various other cold dishes vegetables (such as tomatoes, asparagus, cauliflower, leeks or artichoke hearts) meat sheep’s troters (feet), brawn, boiled beef, calf’s head and fish in court-bouillon. It is considered to be a typically French sauce and is often called. French dressing in Britain. It was a French émigré, Chevalier d’Albignae, who started the fashion in London high society for salads dressed in this way.

RECIPE

Vinaigrette

Dissolve a little salt in 1 tablespoon vinegar (salt does not dissolve in oil0.Add 3 tablespoons oil and some pepper. The vinegar can be replaced by crème fraiche.

   Other flavourings, such as herbs, mustard or garlic, may be added to taste. The mixture may also be placed in screw-top jar and shaken vigorously to form an emulsion.

VINALGRIER  The French name for the small glass bottle, usually with glass stopper, used for serving vinegar at the table, it forms a pair together with the oil bottle as part of a cruet.

  In France the name is also given to a large earthenware or stoneware cask traditionally used to make homemade vinegar. Shaped like a bottle or jug, usually with a capacity of 5 litres (9 pints, 5 ½ quarts) it has a tap at its base, allowing the vinegar to bedrawn off as a required.

RECIPE

Vincent sauce

Prepare a mayonnaise with 1 egg yolk, 1 teaspoon white mustard, 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar, 250 ml ( 8ft oz, 1 cup) oil, salt and pepper. Blanch the following herbs for 1 minute in boiling water, chervil, chives, watercress, sorrel and parsley. Rub the mixed herbs through a sieve and add 1 generous tablespoon of the resulting puree to the mayonnaise. Mix in  1 finely chopped hard boiled (hard-cooked) egg and adjust the seasoning.

VIN DE LIQUEUR  The term adopted by the EU for all fortified wines, such as port, in which fermentation has been arrested by the addition of spirit.

   The term vin de liqueur or vin liquoreus also signifies a sweet wine, where the spirit has been added earlier so that in the resultant drink the spirit is more pronounced. Ratafia, Pineau des Charentes, Maculin and Floc de Gascogne are all included in this category.

VIN DE PAILLE A dessert wine, coming mainly from the vineyards of the Jura and also from a small number of producers in Hermitage, Arbois and L’Etoile, which is made from grapes that are slightly dried after picking either by being laid on straw mass 9hence the name paille) or hung on racks. This dry8ng before pressing concentrates the juice, and the wine are luscious and sweet in style and capable of long ageing. Very little is produced.

VIN DOUX NATUREL   In France a wine that has been fortified with brandy, which increases its strength to more than that of table wines and arrests the working of the yeasts, so that some of the natural sweetness in the grapes remains in the finished wine.Both red and white examples are made, and the majority come from the Grand Roussillon region in the south on the Franco Spanish border, others come from the mouth of the Rhone. The grapes are predominantly.  Muscat as in the well-known Beaumes de Venise and Muscat de Frontignan.But other grapes used include the Malvoisie and the Grenache as in Rasteau.

VINEGAR  A sour liquid, widely used as a condiment, consisting of a dilute solution of acetic acid obtained by natural fermentation of wine or any other alcoholic solution.Vinegar has been produced and used since the Gallo-Roman era, vinegar diluted with water was a common drink of the Roman legionaries. Orleans, an important centre for wine transport on the Loire, soon became the vinegar capital, and half the French wine vinegar is still produced there. The vinegar merchants corporation was created in this city in 1394, and in 1580 Henri lV ordered that the profession of vinegar and mustard merchant should be a recognized occupation in the town and its suburbs, which resulted in the perfection of carefully developed production methods.

  In 1862 Pasteur discovered that acetification was caused by a bacterium.Acetification takes place on contact with air, it produces a good vinegar if the wine red or white is light, acid and thoroughly strained to get rid of any residue. The operation takes place at a temperature of 20-30 ^oC(68-86 ^oF). The fermentaiton is caused by bacteria present in an even, velvety grey film, which forms on the surface and slowly sinks into the liquid in a folded sticky mass, this is the vinegar mother. The quality of vinegar always depends on the quality of the wine or other alcohol used to make it, it must contain at least 6% acetic acid and be clear, transparent and colourless if it comes from white wine or differing shades of pink if it comes from red wine. Spirit or wine vinegars are mostly used in France, but in Britain and the USA malt and cider vinegars are also widely used. Vinegar may also be made from champagne or even honey.There are also differently flavorued or coloured vinegars, such as those using beetroot.

Types if vinegar

Balamic Vinegar a dark, richly flavoured wine vinegar orginating from Modena in Italy, where there is a long tradition of making this viengar that was thought to be a tonic and health giving, the meaning of its name.

  Authentic balsamic vinegar is made from selected grapes, reduced to a must and concentrated, then fermented for a year. This is the comparatively quick part of the process the technique that makes balsamic vinegar so special is the long maturing in wooden casks for at least 10 years. The vinegar is not set aside indefinitely,but transferred from one cask to another, each carefully selected for the wood and the flavour it imparts. During the maturing, the vinegar evaporates during the warm summers and rests in the cool winters, to become rich, full-boiled and mellow. The fines vinegars are aged for well over ten years and they can be nuttured for anything from thirty to a hundred years.

Industrial production Industrially produced wine vinegar is made in 24 hours with red or white wine, which is brewed with beechwood shavings soaked in vinegar, a quick method which gives a pungent, unperfumed product, Spirit vinegar is obtained by forcing air into a  mixture of vinegar and beetroot alcohol, it is colourless or tinted with caramel.

Uses of vinegar  Essential in the preparation of mustards, cold sauces and vinaigrettes  vinegar also plays a major role in cooked reduced sauces and in deglazing.  It is indispensable for sweet and sour preparations and for marinades and conserves, such as pickles or fruit and vegetable chutneys.

   Different types of vinegar have different uses Spirit vinegar is used to clean fish and mushrooms, it is also used to prepare cocktail onions and gherkins.White wine vinegar is suitable for seasoning endive, cos lettuce and chicory, for meat game and fish marinades, to prepare beurre blanc and hollandaise and bearnaise sauces, and to finish noisette butter, as well as to deglazing. The traditional French white wine vinegar is preferred for making aromatized vinegar at home.

Home made vinegar.  The method consists of pouring some good quality white or red wine into a cask and placing delicately on the surface a pice of vinegar mother.The vessel is then sealed with a paper stopper ( to allow air to pass) and left at room temperaure for a minimum of one month and a maximum of two months.The vinegar may then be drawn off as required and replaced by an equal quantity of wine. If a vinegar mother is unobtainable, wine vinegar should be mixed with red wine in equal proportions  and then left, as before, for a certification to take place, in this case, however, it will take at least three or four months for the vinegar to be produced. The vinegar mother should always stay on the surface and notmix with the alcohol. The cask should never be placed in a wine cellar.

Flavoured viengars. The traditional wine vinegars are often aromatized, using tarragon, basil, garlic, shallot, lemon, raspberry or even rose and elderflower.

  A wide variety of traditional  and contemporary spiced, sweetned and flavoured vinegars of excellent  quality are produced commercially. From fungi, such as truffles, and mixtures of pickling spices, to fruit and herb mixtures, they reflect a history of seasonings. Home made flavoured vinegars are easily prepared with dried spices and herbs. Fresh herbs give an excellent flavour when they are simply crushed with or added to vinegar in a bottle however, there is a risk of contamination from Clostridium botullinum present on the herbs. This bacteria may be found on fresh uncooked produce and although it may be destroyed, its spores are highly resistant and they may develop in anaerobic conditions, that is without air, when the vinegar is stored for any length of time. Boiling the herbs separately or in the vinegar before leaving them to infuse is the safest method, but this does spoil the flavour of some herbs.

RECIPES

Herb vinegar

Peel and slice 2 small onions and 2 shallots and blanch for 30 seconds in boiling water with 5 chives. Cool and wipe them and place in a 1 litre ( 1 ¾ pint, 1 quart) bottle of traditional French wine vinegar. Leave to macerate for a month before use.

Raspberry vinegar

Pour into a stoneware jug 2 litres ( 3 ½ pints, 9 cups) red wine vinegar and as many cleaned raspberries as it will hold. Leave to macerate for 8 days, then strain through a very fine sieve or jelly bag, without pressing the fruit, and decant into bottles.

Rose vinegar

Put 100 g (4 oz) red rose petals in 1 litre ( 1 ¾ pints, 4 ½ cups) red-wine vinegar and leave to macerate for 10 days. Strain and bottle.

Tarragon vinegar

Blanch 2 sprigs of tarragon for 10 seconds in boiling water, cool, wipe dry and place in a 1 litre ( 1 ¾ pint, 1 quart) bottle of white wine vinegar. Leave to macerate for 1 month before use.

VINHO VERDE Red or white wine made from a wine growing area between the Minho and Douro rivers in northern Portugal. Traditional Vinho Verde wines are low in alcohol, between 8.5 and 11.5%.The whties are light, crisp, sometimes spritzy , with lean acidity and are good as aperitif or picnic wines. The reds are lean and slightly peppery and make an excellent accompaniment to rich, oily food.Wines qualifying under  the Vinho Regional Minho appellation, which has the same demarcated area as Vinho Verde, may now be made in a fuller style with higher alcohol levels.

VIN JAUNE  An AOC wine from the Jura, coming from Chateau Chalon, Arbois, L Etoile and several other regions.The grapes, all Savagnin, are picked late and the wine is put into oak casks, which are then sealed.The wine stays in the casks for a minimum of six eyars, during which time a yeast film forms on the surface, similar to flor on sherry.This method results in an unusual dry wine, yellow in colour, of slightly more than table wine strength and with a nutty flavour.Good vintages will fill out in the mouth. Vin Jaune keeps admirably, even for many eyars. In cooking it may be best known for coa qu vin jaune, a speciality of Franche Conte.

VIN SANTO Holy Wine A dessert wine ranging from a straw like to deep amber colour, produced throughout Tuscany mainly from Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes, although in some areas other varieties, including Chardonnay, into Gris and Pinot Blanc, may be used. There is a pale pink to intense rose coloured wine known as Vin Santo Occihio de Pernice, which is made from Sangoiovese and Malvasia Nera grapes. Production methods vary depending on the producer. The grapes are laid to dry on racks or mats under the rafters, then pressed and stored for a minimum of three years in small oak or chestnut casks. The barrels are sealed and not topped up. The better producers age their wines for longer. The resulting wine can be dry, semi-sweet or sweet.

VINTAGE  The harvesting of grapes when they are at an optimum balance that is, when the grape sugar and acidity are in balance. A vintage wine is made from the produce of a single harvest.

VIOLET  Known in French as the figue de mer, the Microcosmus sulcatus is a member of the Pyuridae family. The violet looks like a gnarled shellfish, but its outer covering is a leathery coat. It can grow to about 8 cm ( 3 ½ in) in size, Its habitat is the seabed or rocks. The violet is cut in half to reveal  the edible, soft yellow centre, which looks like scrambled egg.Scooped out and eaten raw, in Provence it is considered to be delicacy. In Italy the violet is known as uovo di mare or limone de mare and in Spain it is probecho.

VIOLET FLOWERS Purple flowers from a small perennial plant. When newly opened, they may be used to decorate salads or in stuffings for poultry or fish.The sweet violet, a common European species, was formerly used in a cough medicine, nowadays, it is used mainly in confectionery and preserves. Crystallized (candied) violets are a speciality of Toulouse and are popular in Britain the complete flowers are immersed in sugar syrup, sometimes coloured, which is allowed to come to the boil. After crystallization they are drained and dried, then used as decoration or to aromatize desserts, sometimes with crystallized mimosa flowers.

VIVOFLAY The name of a spinach dish consisting of subrics made with spinach puree, wrapped in blanched spinach leaves, then coated with Mornay sauce and browned in the oven. Spinach subrics also feature in the Viroflay garnish to accompany large joints of roast meat served with thickened gravy, quartered sauteed artichoke hearts and chateau potatoes.

VISITANDINE A small round or boat-shared cake, made of a rich mixture of egg whites, ground almonds, butter and sugar.After cooking, it is sometimes glazed with apricot jam and iced (frosted0 with fondant flavoured with kirsch. Visitandines, which were first made in monasteries, were invented as a means of using up surplus egg whites.

RECIPE

VISITANDINES

Mix 500 g ( 18 oz. 2 ¼ cups) caster (superfine) sugar and 500 g ( 18 oz. 4 ½ cups) sifted plain (all-purpose) flour, then mix in 12 very lightly beaten egg whites little by little, stirring in well, and finally 800 g ( 1  ¾ lb, 3 ½ cups) melted butter (barely tepid) To finish, add 4 stiffly whisked egg whites. Fill buttered barquette moulds with small quantities of the mixture, using a piping (pastry) bag with a large smooth nozzle. Cook in a preheated oven at 220 ^oC (425 ^oF, gas 7) for about 10 minutes or just long enough for the cakes to be browned with the insides remaining soft.

VIVANEAU  A tropical fish of the West Indies and Africa, similar to sea bream (dorade) It is a brightly coloured fish weighing up to 2 kg (4 ½ lb) with a triangular head and pointed muzzle. Its flesh is fine and firm, very suitable for marinading in lime and spices, but it is also often prepared with coconut milk or simply grilled.

VIVEUR  Now a synoym for reveller or lover of the high life, this term was used, mainly in the 19^th century, to describe various fairly rich or spiced culinary preparations viveurs or des viveurs soup is a chicken consomme seasoned with cayenne, garnished with fine strips of celery and served with paprika diablotins. It may also be coloured with beetroot (red beet) juice and garnished with small poultry quenelles. Viveur omelette is made with celeriac, artichoke hearts and beef cut into small dice.

RECIPE

Viveur omelette

Cook 2 artichoke  hearts in white stock, drain them and cut into dice. Boil 2 tablespoons diced celeriac in salted water and drain. Cut 100 g ( 4 oz) beef fillet into small cubes, salt them and dust with cayenne.Saute all these ingredients                                                                                     in butter in a large frying pan and pour oven them 8 beaten eggs, seasoned with salt and pepper. Make into a flat omelette and serve very hot.

VLADIMIR  A name given to various dishes dating from the Edwardian era, probably dedicated to a grand duke of this name. Turbot or sole Vladimir is poached, coated with white wine sauce containing crushed tomatoes and poached clams, then glazed in the oven. Small cuts of meat Vladier  are sauticed, garnished with small pieces of braised cucumber and diced sauteed courgettes and covered with a sauce made of the cooking liquid deglazed with soured  cream and seasoned with paprika and grated horseradish, this preparation is reminiscent of Russian cookery. Eggs star le plat Vladimir are fried, then sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and garnished with diced truffles and asparagus tips.

VOANDZEIA  A type of bean, also called groundnut or pois arachide, with yellow pds containing round edible seeds, very rich in starch and protein. It has considerable economic importance in tropical Africa, where it is widely used as food, being one of the most nutritive vegetable products. It has also been introduced into Central  American.

VODKA  An alcoholic drink made from grain, molasses, potatoes or various other vegetables that are available for distillation. It probably originated in Poland  and is now made in many countries, including Britain. Vodka goes through distillation and rectification in continuous process. It is a neutral spirit and basically has neither taste nor smell. It is mainly appreciated for the stimulus given by the alcohol.

   Various vodkas may be flavoured with spices plants, leaves or fruits. From Poland, for example, comes zubrouka, made of maceration of grasses called bison grass, mentioned by Somerset Maugham in his novel.The Razor’s Edge as a drink that smells of freshly nown hay and spring flowers.

  Vodka is now an international drink, often served with caviare and smoked fish. It is also used to flame various fish preparations and a special sweet omelette and to deglaze certain dishes, particularly poultry.

   The West was slow to take to vodka, but in recent years it has beocme enormously popular in the Untied states. It is used in a variety of mixes, including Bloody Mary (vodka and tomato juice).

VOILER A French cookery term meaning to coat certain pastries or iced desserts with a veil of sugar, consisting of fine threads of sugar cooked to the hard crack stage.

VOISIN  A restaurant in the Rue Saint Honore in Paris, considered to be one of the foremost in the capital between 1850and 1930.

   Its first manager was bellanger who set up a cellar of reputable Burgundies. The menu for the Christmas Eve midnight feast in 1870, consisting of the choicest meat of animals from the paris Zoo, has remained famous elephant consomme, civet of kangaroo, haunch of wolf with roebuck sauce, antelope terrine with truffles and so on. Taken over by Braquessac, who came from Bordeaux, the restaurant kept up its reputation with its chef, Choron, who created, among other things, a bearmaise sauce with tomatoes. Daudet, the Concourts and Zola were regular customers s was the Prince of Wales.

RECIPE

Duck Voisin

Roast a duckling so that the meat remains slightly pink- about 30 minutes in a preheated oven at 230 ^oC (450 ^oF gas 8). Let it get completely cold, then remove the fillets. Break up the carcass and trimmings and use these to prepare a salmi.Strain the salmi, remove the fat, and add to it an equal quantity of meat aspic. Reduce andstrain. Place a layer of this sauce in a timbale mould, when it has set, place on top a layer of finely sliced duckling fillets. Coat them with more of the sauce, then cover with a layer of sliced truffle.Continue to fill the timbale with alternating layers of duck and truffle, coating each layer with a little half-set aspic. Finish with a layer of aspic. Chill in the refrigerator until set. Turn out and serve very cold.

VOL-AU-VENT A round case of puff pastry, 15-20 cm (6-8 in) in diameter, having a pastry lid. The vol-au-vent is filled after baking and served as a hot entrée or hors d’oeuvre. Its invention is attributed to Careme, who had the idea of replacing a shortcrust pastry case with puff pastry of such delicacy that it flew away in the wind on coming out of the oven. The celebrated chef also said. This entrée is attractive and undoubtedly very good, it is almost always eaten with pleasure on account of its extreme delicacy and lightness.

  The filling for a vol-au-vent is bound with sauce, there are many different kinds a la financiere, a la reure, a la benedictine, a la toulousaine, a la nanthua, seafood, mushrooms, in bechamel sauce, sole fillets, poultry or veal quenelles veal, sweetbreads or escalopes, sliced chicken fillets, lobster chicken or game finished with a salpicon of the basic ingredient can also be used, and even spaghetti in tomato sauce with diced ham, The classic presentations, however, are vol-au-vent financiere and mariniere.

    Both the filling and the pastry case must be very hot, and the filling takes place at the last moment to avoid soaking the pastry. The vol-au-vent is served immediatley, although it may be placed briefly in the oven to reheat after filling.

  The classic vol-au-vent has been adapted to modern tastes. Individual ones are now popular, and bite-size cocktail ones are often made to serve with drinks.

RECIPE

Vol-au-vent case

Prepare 500 g ( 18 oz) fine puff pastry.Divide it in half and roll out each half to a thickness of 5 mm ( ¼ in) Cut out 2 circles, 15 cm ( 6 in0 in diameter. Place 1 pastry circle on a slightly dampened baking sheet. Using a 12-13 cm ( 4 ¾ =5 in) round cutter, remove the centre of the second circle. Dampen the top of the pastry circle and place  the outer ring from the second one on top. Turn the ring over as you place it on the circle so that the slightly floury underside is uppermost.

   Roll the central circle of pastry from the ring to the same size as the vol-au-vent.Dampen the border of the vol-au-vent and place this third layer on top. Glaze the top with beaten egg top then use a small knife to score around the inside of the border. This marks the lid covering the well in the vol-au-vent scoring it without cutting through completely makes it easier to remove when cooked. Mark a pattern on top of the lid by lightly scoring it in a criss-cross pattern.

   Bake in a preheated oven at 220 ^oC (425 ^o F, gas 7) for about 15 mintues until well- risen and golden brown.After taking it out of the oven, place the vol-au vent on a wire rack, carefully cut out the lid without breaking it, plce it on the wire rack, and remove the soft pastry from the inside of the vol-au-vent. Keep hot, Reheat the filling, fill the case with it, place the lid on top and serve very hot.

Vol-au-vent financiere

Blanch 50 g ( 2 oz) sweetbreads, rinse under cold water, then dry.Remove the skin and cut into large chunks. Cut 200 g ( 7 oz) chicken quenelles into medium-sized cubes.Blanch 12 cockscombs and cook in butter for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Cut 300 g (11 oz) mushrooms into quarters and saute in butter in a frying pan and then drain. In the same pan, saute the sweetbreads, seasoned with salt and pepper, for 2 minutes. Remove and set aside with the mushrooms.Deglaze the pan with 100 ml ( 4 ft oz. 7 tablespoons) Madeira, reduce a little and return the mushrooms and sweetbreads to the frying pan.Cover and simmer for 3-4 minutes.

   Make a golden roux with 40 g ( 1 ½ oz. 3 tablespoons) butter, 40 g ( 1 ½ oz, 6 tablespoons) flour and 500 ml ( 17 ft oz, 2 cups) chicken stock. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1 chopped white truffle and 100 ml ( 4 ft oz. 7 tablespoons) Madeira. Cook gently for 10 minutes.

  Place the sweetbreads, mushrooms and their juice, the diced quenelles, cockerels, kidneys and 12 shelled crayfish in a saucepan.Pour the sauce on top and allow to simmer for 4-5 minutes. Just before serving remove from the heat and add 1 egg  yolk mixed with 100 ml ( 4 ft oz, 7 tablespoons) double (heavy) cream. Fill the vol-au-vent with the stuffing and place the lids on top.

VOLIERE, EN Describing  a decorative method of presenting game birds, particularly pheasant and woodcock. This method was in common use up to the 19^th century but is now obsolete. On the cooked bird, the head, tail and outspread wings were placed in position and held with small wooden pegs. In the Middle  Ages peacocks, swans and herons were presented en voliere, and a piece of hurning flax was placed in their beaks. Under the Ancient Regime various game birds, complete with their feathers, were served on a large silver dish and presented as chasse royale.

VOLNAY  An AOC red Burgundy wine from the Cote de Beaune. The favorite wine of Louis XI, Volnay is famous for its elegance, quality and charming bouquet.

VOSNE-ROMANEE  A village I n theCote de Nuits area of burgundy, producing very fine wines from Pinot Noir. There are six grand cru vineyards.Romanee Conti, La Romanee, La Tache, Richebourg. Romanee St. Vivant and La Grande Rue, as well as wines produced at premier cru and village level.

VOUVRAY AOC  white wines from the Loire Valley near Tours. Made from the Chenin Blanc and Arbois grapes (mostly the former) Vouvray is dry to sweet, may be still petillant (slightly sparkling) or mouseux (fully sparkling) It often ages in cellars dug into the limestone.

VUILLEMOT, DENIS-JOSEPH  French chef (born Crepy-en-Valois, 1811, died Saint Cloud 1876). The son and grandson of maitres d ‘hotel, he started his apprenticeship under Very, became the pupil of Carene, then set up on his own account at Crepy and  later at Compiegne. He then assumed the management of the Restaurant de France at the Place de la Madeleine in Paris and finished his career at the Hotel de la Tete-Noire, at Saint Cloud.

  A long standing friend of Alexandre Dumas, he was his technical associate for the recipes in the Grand Dictionnaire de la cuisine (1873). He also organized a banquet in the novelist’s honour on his return from Russian, which has remained famous for its culinary creations, all bearing names evoking the title of Dumas works soups a la Buckingham and aux Mobicans, tourt a la Henri III, lobster a la Porbos, fillet of beef a la Monte-Cristo, bounchess a la reine Margot, bombe a la dame de Monsoreau, salad a la Dumas, gateau a la Gorenglot, and crème a la reine Christine.