For much of the year the ptarmigan is simlar to the red or willow grouse, with a touch of white on the wings. In winter both sexes become pure white (as does the willow grouse). However, its habitiat is quite different as it prefers barren, stony mountain slopes, usually higher up than the willow grouse. The season is from 12th August to 31st January.
A drinking establishment, the British equivalent of a bar, traditionally selling warm beer. In the early 21st Century pubs have changed enormously. They were customarily the haunt of beer-swilling, cigarette-smoking blokes, propped against the bar, having an occasional game of darts over a bag of crisps (US: potato chips). Now they are likely to have scrubbed wooden floors, be populated by young women drinking wine and offer stylish, if not terribly tasty, food I what is know as a gastro-pub. That's when they are not occupied by semi-naked yoof downing cocktails and any alcohol they can lay their hands on and getting legless at the first possible opportunity.
A dual-purpose apple variety from Gloucestershire, with a wonderful creamy flavour, though it looks a bit of a mess.
Acerola. A small, thin-skinned, cherry-like fruit, smaller and sweeter than a loquat or medlar, and is rich in vitamin C. The fruits have five stones which clump together so they can seem like one, orange-yellow flesh and grow on a tree originally from Brazil and the West Indies. They have a slightly acidic, raspberry-like flavour and are usually used in desserts, preserves and purées. They can be dried for later use and, where the climate is sunny and warm, may ripen well for eating out of hand.
Giant puffball. An edible mushroom which slices almost like bread. Use only the smaller ones and they should be heavy and firm. If they are light in weight than they have dried up. Always cut them open from top to bottom with a sharp knife to check the interiorAn edible mushroom which slices almost like bread.
Puffed rice sounds odd. I have seen various descriptions of this. One is that this is sually made by heating rice kernels under high pressure in the presence of steam. The other is that long-grain rice grains are fried, then packed with sand and fried again. I think the result is rather like popcorn or Rice Krispies, but I am not sure what you do with the sand. I gather it has the flavour of wheat when treated in this way. I would imagine that the latter method is the one used for street-food snacks.
Flaky pastry consisting of multiple layers of pastry dough and butter or fat. As the dough cooks in the oven it rises, although there is no leavening, because of the way it is prepared. The dough is rolled into thin slabs that are stacked with butter added in between each layer. In the oven the butter melts and boils and as the water evaporates into steam it pushes the layers of dough up. At the same time the flour is cooking and hardening around the air bubbles.
