The bird cherry is a variety of black-skinned, wild cherry most often used to make a conserve. It is often used as root stock.
A variety of banana from the Caribbean. It has reddish, almost purple flesh and is used, like a plantain, as a vegetable.
Bird chilli. A very hot, slender chilli about 65 mm wide. It is green, ripening to red. It is generally used finely chopped and added to sauces.
This custard made from cornflour (US: corn starch) and milk was invented by Mr Bird in 1837 for his wife who was allergic to eggs. It has been marketed through Britain since 1844 but wasn't registered with a trademark until 1876.
A very hot, slender chilli about 65 mm wide. It is green, ripening to red. It is generally used finely chopped and added to sauces.
Bird's foot trefoil is a yellow sweet clover, bird's foot trefoil. A leguminous plant the leaves and flowers of which, when dried, have a pleasant aroma. This delicate herb is high in carotene and vitamin C. In order to preserve its fragrance, it should never be more than briefly parboiled. It can be used in marinades, salads, custard dishes and clear soups to add aroma. It can be used to stuff rabbit. In Switzerland, it is used to make herbal tea. Some cheeses, notably the German cow’s milk Schabzieger and curd cheese are flavoured with the yellow flowers.
The birds' nests used for soup are built by the salangane, a type of Chinese swallow. Just before breeding the birds feed on gelatinous seaweed which makes them secrete a thick, whitish, glutinous saliva which they use to cement their nests. When the nests are soaked in water, they become transparent and gelatinous, which gives birds’ nest soup its characteristic odour and texture. Chopped poultry or vegetables are often added.
Potatoes cut into straws, deep-fried and formed into a nest, often filled with vegetables, such as peas.
The birds' nests used for soup are built by the salangane, a type of Chinese swallow. Just before breeding the birds feed on gelatinous seaweed which makes them secrete a thick, whitish, glutinous saliva which they use to cement their nests. When the nests are soaked in water, they become transparent and gelatinous, which gives birds’ nest soup its characteristic odour and texture. Chopped poultry or vegetables are often added.
