Hen of the woods or maitake mushroom. A frilled fungus with many caps that grows on trees and which is edible when it is very young.
Guar gum is made from the ground endosperm of guar beans and is used as a thickener and stabiliser in the food industry. It has the E-number E412.
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.
