A name for the yabby, a freshwater crayfish found in swamps, streams, practically dried-up water-holes, and rivers. It prefers moving water but will put up with anything, being a tenacious beast which can even survive drought by burrowing into the ground. Yabby is a general term for all the freshwater crayfish, mainly Cherax destructor, in Australia except the redclaw and the marron. The meat is sweet and succulent.
A small variety of juicy, crimson eating apple raised at Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa in 1898 as a McIntosh cross and introduced commercially in 1910. It was awarded the Wilder Silver Medal in 1923. This mid-season variety is harvested from mid-September in South-East England and is at its best from September to November.
A stew which used to be thickened with ship's biscuit (US: cracker), made on board. The name is derived from Liverpool, once a major port, and the term scouse which relates to it.
Lobster. The European lobster is a large, marine shellfish with huge claws and is dark, mottled blue-black before cooking, turning red during the process. The flesh is sweet and tender. The Maine or American lobster found in the United States is huge in size and lacks the wonderful sweetness of its European cousin. American varieties may sometimes be brick red before cooking. In Europe they are likely to up to 2 kg (4¼ lbs) while North American ones may be a lot larger. Increasingly, American lobsters are imported for use in Europe.
Lobster bisque is a thick creamy soup based on puréed lobster, white meat stock (rather than fish stock), with white wine, tomato purée and cream and a halved lobster excluding the claws. Originally game soup coloured red with crayfish. It varies from place to place and may just mean a creamy soup.
Lobster thermidor. The tail meat of a cooked lobster, sliced, replaced in the shell, coated with a cream sauce flavoured with mustard and browned under the grill.
