H
Haddock
- of the cod family, this fish is white-fleshed and is good to
use in any recipe calling for cod. Smoked, it is known as Finnan
Haddid. Poached, and served with drawn butter, it has a faint
hint of the flavor of lobster.
Haggamuggie / Haggis - the minced innards of an animal cooked with
oatmeal and suet. Traditionally, a meat pudding or sausage was
make then boiled in the cleaned stomach bag of the sheep.
Hake -
of the cod family, this fish is easy to fillet and has soft white
flesh.
Half-and-Half; Half & Half - is a mixture of equal parts milk and cream,
and is 10 to 12 percent milk fat. It cannot be whipped.
Halva
- a sweet dish or candy made from ground sesame seeds, fruit
or vegetables. Near Eastern in origin.
Hang -
to tenderize game or meat by hanging in a cool, dry, well-ventilated
place.
Hard Sauce
- a sweet liquor-flavored sauce traditionally served on hot puddings
and cold cake. Often offered at Christmas with plum pudding.
Hardtack
- a sailors name for sea biscuits.
Hare -
a wild rabbit with a strong gamey flavor. This is not a wild
version of the rabbits raised domestically for food in Europe
and some parts of the United States, but another type. It may
not be used in place of rabbit in a recipe.
Hash -
a recipe using leftovers, this dish is made by dicing pre-cooked
meats and/or vegetables, and cooking with seasonings, minced
onions, herbs, or sauce in a frying pan until crisp.
Haslet
- country dish of pork sweetbreads, heart and liver. It is cooked
in a casserole, fried, stewed or ground with onions and prepared
as a sausage.
Headcheese
- a molded jelly or sausage made from pig’s or calf’s
head stewed with herbs and seasonings; it includes meat.
Heart
- the heart of sheep, calf , ox and pig is used as a variety
meat in many popular dishes.
Hearthcakes
- the English name for a French round cake. Each region in France
creates its own version. The first hearthcakes were baked on
the hearth in hot ashes.
Hen -
a female bird. Commercially raised hen-chickens are tender. Hen
is also a term applied to the female of various aquatic creatures,
lobster for one.
Herbs
- any of a large group of annual and perennial plants whose leaves,
stems or flowers are used as a flavoring; usually available fresh
and dried.
Het Pint
- a Scottish drink used for special occasions. It is a heated
mixture of ale, eggs, whiskey and nutmeg.
High Altitude Cooking & Baking - Simply put, the weight of air on any surface
it comes in contact with is called air (or atmospheric) pressure.
There's less (or lower) air pressure at high altitudes because
the blanket of air above is thinner than it would be at sea level.
As a result, at sea level water boils at 212°F; at an altitude
of 7,500 feet, however, it boils at about 198°F because there's
not as much air pressure to inhibit the boiling action. This
also means that because at high altitudes boiling water is 14
degrees cooler than at sea level, foods will take longer to cook
because they're heating at a lower temperature. Lower air pressure
also causes boiling water to evaporate more quickly in a high
altitude. This decreased air pressure means that adjustments
in some ingredients and cooking time and temperature will have
to be made for high-altitude baking, as well as some cooking
techniques such as candy making, deep-fat frying and canning.
In general, no recipe adjustment is necessary for yeast-risen
baked goods, although allowing the dough or batter to rise twice
before the final pan rising develops a better flavor.
Source: © Copyright
Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD LOVER'S
COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst.
Hip -
bright reddish orange fruit of roses, particularly species roses,
as Rosa rugosa. It contains vitamin C and is used to make a tea,
and for jams and syrups.
Hochepot / Hotchpotch - a Belgian dish of considerable antiquity, a
very thick soup traditionally made with brisket of beef, shoulder
and breast of mutton, shoulder of veal, pigs feet, ears and tails,
chippolata sausages, onions, assorted vegetables, herbs and condiments.
The meat garnished with vegetables is served separately from
the broth. Probably associated with the phrase, hodgepodge, which
refers to a jumble of things all mixed together. England has
a “hot pot” which probably is a version of the Belgian
dish.
Hock -
British term for any white Rhine wine. Also, a cut of meat from
the leg of an animal, valued for soups, stews and jellies.
Hoisin
- a thick, reddish-brown, sweet-and-spicy sauce made from soybeans,
garlic, chiles and various spices and used as a condiment and
flavoring in Chinese cuisines; also known as Peking sauce.
Hollandaise
- a sauce made of butter, egg, and lemon juice or vinegar.
Hominy
- hulled corn with the germ removed. Hominy grits are uniform
granules that are boiled and served as a breakfast cereal or
as an accompaniment to a main dish or fish, meat or poultry.
Homogenized
- treatment for milk that breaks the fat into tiny particles
that can remain suspended in liquid rather than rising to the
top as cream in untreated milk.
Honey
- a sweet, usually viscous, liquid made by bees from flower nectar
and stored in the cells of the hive for food; generally contains
17 to 20% water and 76 to 80% sucrose; consumed fresh or after
processing, it is usually used as a nutritive sweetener.
Hopping John; Hoppin' John - a southern U.S. dish of black-eyed peas cooked
with a ham hock and served over white rice.
Hors d’oeuvres - a light food, hot or cold, prepared for small
servings, to be eaten before the main meal. The American equivalent
is an appetizer. Hors d’oeuvres were originally served on
a sideboard apart from the dining table and before the meal.
Hot Bag
- an extra heavy duty aluminum foil bag, pre-sealed on three
sides to make a large and durable pouch.
Hot Sauce
- a seasoning sauce, usually commercially made, containing chile
peppers, salt and vinegar.
Humble Pie
- “umbles” are the heart, liver, kidney and other innards
of a deer. Servants once made this into a pie for themselves
and coined the phrase “humble pie”. Today the connotation
is one who accepts a humble status or humiliating treatment voluntarily.
Hush Puppies
- a dish made of fried cornmeal batter. The term is said to have
originated at a southern fish fry where the cooks fried extra
bits of fish batter to throw to the noisy dogs to hush the puppies.
