The butter clam or Washington clam is a sweet, hard-shell Pacific clam from Puget Sound in the American North-West. Its name derives from its flavour, which is sweet and buttery. It is of the same family as the Venus clams.
A mixture of butter and sugar sometimes with egg yolk and flavourings. It is beaten vigorously until it whitens and then used for sandwiching sponges together and to decorate and garnish a variety of cakes and confections.
A variety of butterhead lettuce with a small, slightly loose head and quite soft leaves but good flavour.
A turban-shaped winter squash with a distinctive, pale cap. It ranges from 6.5-7.5 cm (2-3 inches) high with a diameter of 10-20 cm (4-8 inches). It has a heavy, deep green rind marked with irregular stripes the same colour as the cap. The flesh is orange and fine-textured with a mild, sweetish taste. It can be baked, steamed or boiled.
A utensil with a curved, serrated hook, rather like a large crochet hook. It is drawn down the length of a piece of butter, forming curls with a ridged pattern on the outside, rather like a shell. The best thing is to drop these straight into iced water to help them to keep their shape.
A dish from Cork of new laid eggs rubbed with butter while they are still warm and the shell still has absorbent qualities. The eggs are enriched and flavoured by this process. However, they are extremely expensive as it is very labour intensive.
The fatty particles in milk which are separated out to make cream, from which butter is then made, a high fat dairy product.
There are several fish which are called butterfish. This one is a slippery, shimmering, silver seafish with rich, soft white flesh. It is found off the Atlantic coast of the United States, where these were caught. It is good grilled or fried and may be smoked. Fish for market weighs up to 200 g (7 oz). Butterfish in English also refers to a fish of Australian waters better known as a mulloway; a small, eel-like marine fish and a deep-bodied freshwater fish with greyish skin.
