French Provincial Cooking - Elizabeth David [55]
Gingembre GINGER Little used in French cookery proper, although occasionally recipes which have filtered through from the French colonies call for a flavouring of either powdered or fresh green root ginger.
Girofle, Clous de CLOVES Two or three cloves stuck into an onion are a traditional seasoning of the pot-au-feu and of various meat stews in France. Ground cloves are also used in the composition of mixed spices (see Épices).
Glace de viande MEAT GLAZE Highly concentrated extract of meat used to heighten the flavour and give body to sauces. A recipe for making it in small quantities is given on page 112.
Gousse d’ail A clove of garlic.
Graines de paradis A relative of the Cardamom family, known in England as Malagueta pepper. Cultivated and used in the French African colonies of Dahomey, the Ivory coast and French Guinea.
Graisse de rognons de bœuf, Graisse de friture The rendered down fat of beef kidneys, considered by many French cooks to be the best for deep frying. For the method of rendering fat, see Saindoux.
Graisses alimentaires, Végétales Vegetable fats, mixed cooking fats, synthetic fats and margarines.
Gruau, Farine de Fine wheat flour. Also called farine de froment.
Guimauve MARSHMALLOW, MALLOW Pâte de Guimauve is the equivalent of our marshmallow sweet, which however contains no mallow. See Mauve.
Huile d’arachides GROUNDNUT OIL Suitable for frying and for making mayonnaise for those who do not care for the flavour of olive oil.
Huile d’olive OLIVE OIL Good olive oil seems to me as essential to good cookery as is butter, but as I have gone into this question in some detail elsewhere in this book (see pages 74,122 and 283) and also in the paragraph on Olives below I will not discuss it further here.
Hysope HYSSOP A bitter herb, used at one time in savoury stuffings but mainly regarded as a medicinal herb. Used also in liqueurs.
Jambon de Bayonne A ham usually served raw, cut in fine slices, as an hors-d’œuvre; the special method of curing Bayonne hams (which are mostly made near Orthez in the Béarn) includes wine in the pickling mixture and, unlike Parma ham, Bayonne hams are usually smoked, although only very mildly. When raw ham of this type is called for in a recipe, the best English substitute is a slice of mild gammon.
Jambon blanc Boned cooked ham, also called Jambon de Paris and Jambon glacé.
Jambon du pays, Jambon de montagne Almost every district has its own local methods of curing hams and a slice from these is often used as an ingredient in soups, stews and so on. Two country hams with well-justified reputations are those of the Ardennes and the Auvergne.
Jambon d’York York ham is much admired in France and enormous quantities of imitations are sold, although seldom with any pretence to being the genuine article.
Lard frais The layer of hard back pork fat nearest to the skin of the animal, used mainly for lardoons (see Lardage, page 75). The second layer of fat, nearest the flesh, is softer in consistency and is that mainly used for rendering down, after which process it is known as Saindoux.
Lard fumé Cured and smoked belly or flank pork, similar to our bacon.
Lard de poitrine Fat from the belly or breast of the pig, usually salted, or salted and smoked, in which state it is similar to our streaky bacon.
Lard salé The best quality of salted pork fat comes from the top layer of fat in the back of the pig, the same as that used for lardoons (see Lard frais above). The second quality comes from the belly and flank; this is also known as petit salé and is similar to our salt or pickled pork. Both salted and smoked pork are used a good deal in braised and stewed dishes, the former rather more than the latter; so when ordinary salt pork is not available, the best alternative is unsmoked