Alexanders or black lovage. A green plant which grows wild and may be used as a substitute for spinach. It is related to the weed "fat hen" which is used as chicken feed.
A name for champ. Mashed potatoes, dulse (a seaweed) and plenty of butter. This dish was traditionally pounded.
Pigeon pea or Angola pea. This is actually a bean but is called a pea because of its size and shape.
A fine bird, either farm-bred or wild, often cooked for special occasions. It produces a huge amount of fat, which is wonderful for roasting potatoes and other root vegetables. A bird weighing 4.5 kg (10 lb) will feed about 6 people, while one of 7 kg (15½ lb) will feed around 10 people. The goose is a particular bird and, despite many efforts by farmers, it lays its egg only at a season which means that goose is available to eat between Michaelmas and Christmas. After Christmas, as the goose moves towards its breeding season again, the texture of the flesh changes, rendering it essentially inedible.
Goose barnacles attach themselves to logs, the bottoms of ships, rocks, any surface which is constantly submerged. I watched a delightful television programme with Billy Oddy, in which he talked about a log which had drifted up on to a beach in the Scilly Islands. It was covered in silvery, shimmering goose barnacles. He said that he had never seen a goose barnacle before, and that was because they were normally deep under the sea. He then lifted a single goose barnacle away from the hoard, showing a long and muscular "foot" - the edible part. As he lifted it, it became clear that it looked for all the world like the neck and head of a delicate goose. He went on to explain that the Victorians had believed that, when geese set off on their migrations, they were actually travelling into the oceans, and that these goose barnacles, when they hatched, became geese and flew to land. There is, he reminded us, a goose called the barnacle goose. The tough neck is cooked in its skin, which should be peeled off before eating. Sometimes a small amount of orange liquid is released at this stage.
The gooseberry is a species of Ribes. They may be a fairly acid green or red or even deep purple. They have been cultivated for so long in Britain that they are now often found in bushes around ruins, where it is difficult to tell if they are wild or escaped cultivated types. It was probably first seriously cultivated in Holland but was popular in English cottage gardens by the end of the 18th Century and it is in this country that they thrive. They are best know for the tart flavour they give to pies, fools and crumbles. My mother used to bottle gooseberries in large Kilner jars, whilst telling me that I had been found under the bush nearest to the kitchen.
A variety of hard, sour, green cooking apple which probably arose in Kent and was recorded in 1831. It cooks down to a sharp purée. This late-season variety is harvested from late October in South-East England and is at its best from December to March.
Monkfish (US: angler fish). A fish with a sweet flavour and succulent firm flesh but with the ugliest appearance imaginable. It is found in the Mediterranean and Atlantic, in coastal waters of north western Europe. It can be recognised by its large head and fan-shaped fins. The fins and the operculum are spiny. It can be eaten fried or in soup. The larger fish often have better flavour. It has a hideous head, which is why it is usually displayed without it, and a muddy colour. It is known as the anglerfish as it bears on its head a 'rod' and 'lure' which attract its prey. The meat of the tail is sweet and succulent - almost like lobster meat, entirely compensating for is appearance. The flavour may well be assisted by its own diet which is high in shellfish. The best monkfish are Lophius piscatorius and the similar Lophius budegassa, the favourite of the Spanish. American monkfish or goosefish (Lophius americanus) is considered inferior, while New Zealand monkfish (Kathetostoma giganteum) is related to the stargazer and is only fit for soup.
