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.
Monkey bread is a gourd-like fruit obtained from the baobab tree which is eaten fresh or made into a drink. The leaves are also dried and powdered.
A sweet bread made of irregular pieces of dough piled into a pan and baked, sometimes with the addition of nuts, currants, cinnamon and sugar.
Monkfish (US: Angler fish) is a fish with tail meat which has a sweet flavour and succulent firm flesh, almost like lobster meat, entirely compensating for is appearance as it has the ugliest looks imaginable. It can be recognised by its hideous head and fan-shaped fins which, like the operculum, are spiny. The fish is often displayed without the head. With the skin on the tail is muddy coloured but, without it, a translucent pink. The flavour may well be assisted by its own diet which is high in shellfish. The tail is covered with a tough transparent membrane. It is best to remove this before cooking as heat causes the membrane to shrink around the meat of the fish, curling it up. It can be quite a fiddle to remove but is worth the effort.
Monk's beard, increasingly well known as agretti, is a thin, wild spring grass, a saltwort type of chicory, looking like a cross between samphire and tumbleweed, mainly used in northern Italy though it will grow almost anywhere. It has a bitter flavour, bearing some relation in texture and taste to samphire, succulent and pleasantly resistant to the bite, and is eaten raw, blanched for seconds and dressed, or stewed in olive oil. It is also a useful addition to salads. It has a very short season which seems to be quite specifically five weeks in spring. Only the leaves are eaten as the texture of the stems is rubbery. The flowers are not eaten. It needs to be well washed as it is inclined to harbour dirt.
A slightly flattened sphere variety of beetroot.
A name for Dunn's Seedling, a crisp dessert apple (the larger size being also a good cooker), green and russet with red streaks. It was raised in Australia by Mr Condor at Kew in Melbourne. It is recorded in 1890 in the UK. It is a late-season apple harvested from mid-October in South-East England and is at its best from December to March.
A name for Gloria Mundi, a very large variety of green cooking apple which may have been risen in North American or Germany. There are records in the United States in 1804. It was introduced commercially into the United Kingdom in 1817. This late-season variety is harvested from early October in South-East England and is at its best from October to December. It cooks to a dark golden purée.
