Acorn. The fruit of the oak tree, shaped like a tear drop. Some varieties are edible and can be ground to use as a coffee substitute or mixed with flour and used in bread.
Ákavíti means "water of life." Eau-de-vie. Broadly applied to all the principal indigenous spirits of the Scandinavian countries. This is a colourless, grain or potato based spirit. The best known brand in the world is Danish, but it is produced throughout Scandinavia. It is flavoured with cumin and aniseed, caraway seeds or fennel. It should be served really very cold and is often drunk with beer before or after a meal. It is also drunk during a meal, particularly an open sandwich meal which includes pickled herrings – traditionally a shot of aquavit with each different type – or when a particular mature cheese, gammel ole, is offered.
Wild goose. In Nordic countries this is generally the bean goose (Anser segetum), very similar to pink-footed and greylag geese. Apparently it is called the bean goose from the likeness of the nail of the bill to a horse bean. They flock in their hundreds in Lapland in the spring.
Grey partridge. A lovely partridge, the male of which has a grey breast and terra cotta face and with dark, almost pigeon-like flesh. This is a gregarious bird which is seen in a tight-knit flock, usually beside or in cultivated fields where it can find the seeds and leaves it eats. Grey partridge are more numerous in the United Kingdom and have a more delicate flavour than the less common red-legged partridge.
