Greenland halibut (US: Greenland turbot). A huge, side-swimming flatfish found in the deep waters of the North Atlantic. The skin is dark grey or brown. It is often smoked as it has dense, oily flesh. We went for a lovely walk once at a place rather ludicrously called Halibut Point, not so very far from Cape Cod. At a very short distance from the shore was a deep and utterly tranquil freshwater pool, full of turtles. No halibut that we could see.
A variety of round, yellowish-green cooking apple striped and flushed blushed with red which was raised in Dunstable in Bedfordshire by Major EJ Hambling. It was introduced commercially by Mr Bunyard of Maidstone in Kent in 1894 and was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society First Class Certificate in 1892. It cooks down to a golden purée. This late-season variety is harvested from mid-October in South-East England and is at its best from November to March.
Beef burger. The first hamburger was served in a bun (the breakthrough) in 1904 at the St Louis World Fair. It consists of beef minced (US: ground) with onions and formed into a thin patty. It is commonly then grilled and served on a soft white bread roll with a gherkin (US: dill pickle) and a choice of sauces. The beef burger is a very good example of something which, when made at home with good quality beef and served with a thoughtful sauce, can be a delight but which, in mass production, is pretty horrible. I stated that confidently some time ago, but have now read that there is doubt about the origins of the hamburger. Some say that Charles Nagreen flattened a meatball and stuck it in a bun at a Wisonsin country fair in 1855 to make life easier for his clients. Others subscribe to the opinion that, in the same year, Frank and Charles Mecnhes were similarly inspired and soldminced beef in sandwiches when they ran out of sausage meat at a place called Hamburg in New York State.
A colloquial name for John Dory. A high quality, plump, flattish fish with a golden sheen, with an ugly but amiable face. It was first associated with Zeus, then with St Peter, as evidenced by the ‘finger marks’ left by him when he picked it up to remove a coin from its mouth to pay some taxes.
