An ash-coated disc of cow's milk cheese made from skimmed milk made in dairies in Les Riceys. It is at its best from July to November.
An ash-coated disc of cow's milk cheese made from skimmed milk made in daired in Les Riceys. It is at its best from July to November.
Le Trappiste is a disc of mild, semihard cheese made with cow's milk. It has an ivory white paste and a smooth, glossy, golden, washed rind. It is made at the Abbey of Belval in Picardy, north of Amiens in France. This cheese, which is reminiscent of Saint-Paulin and recorded since 1893, is eaten all year round and is made with raw milk. The curds are cooked and pressed. It contains 40-45% fat (dry). It may be found in the following dimensions: 20-25 cm (8") diameter x 3-4 (2") cm deep and weighing either 400 g (14 oz) or 2 kg (4 lb). Affinage is 5-6 weeks. Also made at the Abbaye de Belval is a cheese called 'le flamay d'Artois, one called ‘le ternois’ and another, le trappiste bière, which is washed in beer.
"The Norman hole." A shot of Calvados, drunk at a gulp, taken between the courses of a large meal as a digestive.
The starter for bread made by taking dough from a previous breadmaking to incorporate into new dough.
The starter for bread. This is the very best method. It is made from scratch and imparts an earthy complex taste to breads. Keeping it alive can be quite a challenge and heartbreaking on occasions.
Lovage. A large unwieldy herb. Pick the stems off the leaves, tie them and hang them to dry for about 3 days. When crisp, crumble the leaves and store. Good in hotpots. Lovage seeds are used mainly in Indian cooking, and are from a plant of the caraway family. The greenish-brown seeds are a little larger than celery seeds and have a strong aroma of rather coarse thyme. Oregano can be substituted.
Levroux is a truncated pyramid of soft, fine-textured, moist cheese made with goat's milk. It has a white paste and a natural mould rind. It is made on farms in the Indre department. The base is about 7-8 cm (3") tapering to 4 cm (1½") square at the top by 6 cm ( 2 1/3") tall, weighing 250-300 g (oz). Apparently it was just made as a regular cheese until the maker spotted that pyramid-shaped cheeses sold better in the local market. When it is fresh the cheese is quite acidic but then becomes nutty before souring as it ages.
A raising agent used to make a baked mixture light. Baking powder consists of bicarbonate of soda (US: baking soda) and cream of tartar which, if mixed with flour or starch, assists pastry and cake doughs to rise, as when it meets moisture it produces carbon dioxide which aerates and lightens the dough.
