Tag Archives: Europe

Yorkshire Pudding

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Yorkshire Pudding

When do you enjoy a Yorkshire pudding?

  • Yorkshire pudding is a flour-based culinary dish that has been commonly eaten in Great Britain in Europe.
  • Yorkshire pudding is typically made of a batter of eggs, flour and a liquid, commonly milk or water, or a combination of the two, and it is traditionally cooked in fat.
  • ‘Yorkshire pudding’ is a ‘batter pudding’, and it is also known as ‘dripping pudding’ due to it being originally cooked in dripping, a fat from meat, and it is believed to have originated in northern England.
  • Most often, Yorkshire puddings are served as a side with a main meal of roast beef, or other roasted meat, although they can be served as an entrée, a main meal in themselves, or even dessert.
  • There is evidence of a recipe of a Yorkshire pudding that was published in 1737, in the book The Whole Duty of a Woman, and it is one of the earliest known written records of the pudding.
Yorkshire Pudding, Wheat, Pile, Food, Culinary, Ten Random Facts, Trivia
Yorkshire Puddings
Image courtesy of Sam Greenhalgh/Flickr
  • Yorkshire puddings are often tall and have a puffy texture, while the early versions where quite flat in comparison.
  • Hannah Glasse, who wrote the book The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy in 1747, recorded her own version of the Yorkshire pudding.
  • Gravy or other sauces, especially those made for meat or from meat juices, are commonly eaten with Yorkshire pudding.
  • Yorkshire pudding varies in size and shape, although it commonly has a somewhat sunken middle and is often cooked in the oven in small tins for individual serves, that have sides to increase the height of the pudding.
  • Many peasant families ate Yorkshire pudding as the main meal due to its inexpensive nature, and it was usually served with a sauce, often a gravy made from roast meat.
Bibliography:
Challis C, The History of Yorkshire Pudding, 2015, BT, https://home.bt.com/lifestyle/the-history-of-the-yorkshire-pudding-11363958395461
Yorkshire Pudding, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkshire_pudding
The Yorkshire Pudding- Where Did It All Begin?, 2014, Yorkshire Pudd, http://www.yorkshirepudd.co.uk/yorkshire-pudding-history/

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Cottage Pie

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Cottage Pie

Steaming cottage pie around the candle lit dinner table is a very homey picture.

  • Cottage pie is a pie that usually contains no pastry, and is made of meat filling, normally minced, and topped with potato.
  • ‘Cottage pie’ is also known as ‘shepherd’s pie’, and ‘potato top mince pie’.
  • Cottage pie is usually made with cooked and mashed potato, and cooked ground meat or meat chunks, with the addition of flavouring or sauce ingredients like tomato paste and beef stock.
  • Historically, cooked meat from leftover meals was the most common meat used in cottage pies, and the container the pie was cooked in was often lined with mashed potato.
  • The term ‘cottage pie’ was used in the 1790s and usually referred to a beef version of the dish, while ‘shepherd’s pie’ emerged in the 1870s in reference to a version using lamb or mutton.
Cottage Pie, Shepherd's Pie, Lamb, Trivia, Food, Culinary, Random, Slice, Ten Random Facts
Cottage Pie
Image courtesy of F_A/Flickr
  • European peasants favoured cottage pie as a meal, due to it being economical and its ability to maximise food resources, that is, leftovers.
  • The meat filling of cottage pie often has the addition of mushrooms, or vegetables like peas, carrots, celery, turnips, tomatoes and onion.
  • The 1790s saw an influx in cottage pie, primarily due to the increase in potato availability, and an abundant variety of recipes exist for the dish.
  • Once the cottage pie meat mixture and potato are cooked, the meat is placed in the base of a casserole dish, and spread with a thick layer of mashed potato, and baked in an oven for approximately 30 minutes.
  • Some versions of cottage pie, such as Cumberland, use bread crumbs in addition to potato, while a ‘cowboy pie’ has the addition of baked beans to the meat mixture.
Bibliography:
Cottage Pie, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottage_pie
Cottage Pie, n.d, Hospitality Info Centre, http://www.hospitalityinfocentre.co.uk/British%20Dishes/Cottage%20Pie.htm
Shepherd’s Pie, n.d, Cook’s Info, http://www.cooksinfo.com/shepherds-pie

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Fire-bellied Toad

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Fire-bellied Toad

Be careful about touching a fire-bellied toad… it can ‘burn’ you.

  • Fire-bellied toads, also known as ‘firebelly toads’, are amphibians, and a toad of smaller size, native to central to northern Asia and across Europe.
  • Fire-bellied toads typically grow to be 4 to 7 centimetres (1.6 to 2.8 inches) in length and weigh 20 to 80 grams (0.7 to 2.8 ounces).
  • The scientific name of a fire-bellied toad is Bombina, that is one of two groups in the family Bombinatoridae, and there are eight species in the genus.
  • Depending on the species, the skin of fire-bellied toads contains numerous bumps, and ranges from green, black and brown in colour, while the underside is yellow, red, orange or black, and the bright colour acts as a natural warning that it contains toxins which can be harmful to animals, and can cause a rash in some humans.
  • The diet of fire-bellied toads consists primarily of flies, worms, shrimp, beetles, larvae, spiders and other insects.

Fire-bellied Toad, Frog, Trivia, Random Facts, Ten, Green, Black, Side, Animal, Reptile, Amphibian

A Fire-bellied Toad
Image courtesy of Flickpicpete/Flickr
  • Unlike most frogs, fire-bellied toads do not produce a croaking sound, but instead a bark, which is used by males to find a mate.
  • Female fire-bellied toads lay around 50 to 300 eggs at a time, laid onto vegetation that is situated above a small body of water, and they develop into tadpoles, and eventually toads, that have an average lifespan of ten to fifteen years.
  • Triangular or heart shaped pupils can be found in the eyes of some fire-bellied toads, and they can arch their backs and flip upside down to show their bright coloured bellies to scare away predators like birds, lizards, foxes and snakes.
  • Some fire-bellied toad species are listed as vulnerable or endangered due to habitat loss, and disease is also a possible cause of the decline in numbers in some species.
  • Fire-bellied toads generally live alone near fresh water ponds and streams, in forest and swamp habitats, and some species are kept as pets.
Bibliography:
Fire-bellied Toad, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/fire-bellied-toad/
Fire-bellied Toad, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire-bellied_toad
Oriental Fire-bellied Toad, 2015, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/amphibians/oriental-fire-bellied-toad/

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French Fries

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French Fries

French fries have been influenced by the Americans, Belgians, French, British… and the list goes on.

  • French fries are sticks of potato that have been cooked, most often fried in oil, and are popularly eaten across the globe, while those living in Belgium are said to be some of the biggest consumers of the food in the world.
  • ‘French fries’ are also known as ‘chips’, ‘fries’, ‘finger chips’, ‘French fried potatoes’, ‘shoestrings’, ‘frites’ and ‘pommes frites’.
  • French fries are most commonly eaten as a side with a main meal, or as a snack food, and they are very frequently found in fast food outlets, and often accompany burgers or cooked fish.
  • Flavourings, including salt, vinegar, cheese, mayonnaise, ketchup and barbecue sauce, among other sauces, are commonly eaten with French fries.
  • French fries are traditionally coloured a light yellow to a golden colour, and normally are soft internally and crisply shelled.

French Fries, Food, Potato Chips, Crinkle Cut, Homemade, Cooked, Ten Random Facts

  • The country that invented French fries is highly debated, while both France and Belgium in Europe claim the creation is theirs, but whatever the case, there is evidence of their existence as early as 1775.
  • The McDonald’s Corporation has contributed significantly to French fries becoming one of the most popular fast foods in the world, and their original fries originated as simple hand-cut potatoes until the late 1960s, when a transition to factory produced frozen fries occurred.
  • French fries generally range from 0.3 to 1 centimetre (0.12 to 0.4 inches) in thickness, while the length generally varies according to the length of the potato, and they can be curved, straight or wavy in shape.
  • French fries are typically served hot, and they can be purchased ready to eat from fast food outlets, or from supermarkets where they are sold frozen in packets and are ready to be cooked or heated at home.
  • French fries are very high in carbohydrates, fat, and vitamin B6, and they are high in vitamin C, potassium and fibre, as well as acrylamides, a potentially harmful substance that may have negative effects on health.
Bibliography:
French Fries, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_fries
Hiskey D, The History of French Fries, 2010, Today I Found Out, http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/09/the-history-of-french-fries/
Sloam N, Things you didn’t know about French fries, 2014, Fox News, http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/07/17/things-didnt-know-about-french-fries/

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The Louvre

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The Louvre

“A place for bringing together monuments of all the sciences and arts” – The Louvre

  • The Louvre is one of the greatest and largest museums on Earth, located in France’s Paris, Europe, and it is officially known as the ‘Louvre Museum’, or ‘Musée du Louvre’ in French.
  • The Louvre started out as a fortress, built in 1190 by King Philip II of France; and the fortress was converted into a palace in the 1500s.
  • The Louvre first opened in August 1793 after ownership rights of the palace were forfeited by King Louis XVI, due to his arrest in 1792 as a result of the French Revolution, and the museum opened with 537 art pieces in its collection.
  • Under the direction of Napoléon Bonaparte in the late 1700s and early 1800s, the Louvre, called ‘Musée Napoléon’ at the time, acquired thousands of artworks through raids, although around 5000 of these were given back to their original owners after his abdication.
  • The Louvre is known for its four glass and metal pyramids that were completed in 1989, with the largest covering the main entrance to the building and reaching more than 21 metres (69 feet) in height.

The Louvre, Mona Lisa, Glass Pyramid, Beauty, Scene, Ten Random Facts, Museum, France, Paris

The Louvre
Image courtesy of JH Images/Flickr
  • The Louvre saw 9.7 million visitors in 2012, a record breaking year, making it the most popular and visited museum in the world, while 70 percent of visitors are said to be foreigners.
  • Despite having around 35,000 artworks on display, the Louvre is said to have in its collection approximately 380,000 pieces.
  • The Louvre is famed for housing the Mona Lisa, ever since 1797, and other collections include sculptures, paintings, prints, drawings, Egyptian artefacts, and Greek and Roman relics.
  • On a single visit, it is not humanely possible to view each artwork on display in the Louvre, as doing so would take more than 12 days straight, if each piece was viewed for 30 seconds without stopping over the period.
  • The Louvre covers a total of 60,600 square metres or 15 acres (652,300 square feet or 6 hectares) in area, and spreads beyond its original building.

Visit the Louvre using The Paris Pass! The Paris Pass has also provided additional facts that you can view here.

Bibliography:
25 Interesting Facts About The Louvre, 2015, Unpublished Text Document, The Paris Pass, Paris
Louvre, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louvre

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Polenta

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Polenta

Polenta was a peasant’s meal.

  • Polenta is a porridge-like food made by boiling ground maize or other grain, and the dish is said to have originated Italy, where it was commonly eaten and eventually became a staple food among the poor and commoners in both Europe and North America.
  • The term ‘polenta’ originates from the Latin word meaning ‘peeled barley’, and is linked to the Latin word ‘pollen’ meaning ‘fine flour’ or ‘mill dust’.
  • Typically the grain used for making modern polenta is ground maize, known as ‘maize flour’ or ‘cornmeal’, and this ingredient is gluten free, making polenta a good alternative for those who can not have gluten.
  • Before the availability of maize in Europe, polenta was eaten by Ancient Romans and was generally made of chickpeas, millet, spelt, chestnut flour, farro, or buckwheat, and today, the dish is sometimes made with a combination of these products.
  • Polenta is most commonly yellow in colour, and can range anywhere between yellow and white, and the colour varies according to the grain used.

Polenta, Food, Culinary, Yellow, Assortment, Sticks, Baked, Cooked, Ten Random Facts

  • Polenta is traditionally made by gradually adding cornmeal to a pot of boiling water, stock or other liquid, and simmering for up to 45 minutes, with occasional or continuous stirring over the period.
  • The finer the grain used to make the polenta, the creamier the final product will be, and sometimes lengthier cooking times and more stirring can also improve the texture.
  • Once boiled, polenta will set if allowed to cool, and is commonly placed in a pan and refrigerated, and later cut into various shaped pieces for frying, grilling or baking, and eaten in various meals, and can be used as an alternative to bread or as a side.
  • Polenta is  high in vitamins C and A, and the food also contains protein, carbohydrates and fibre.
  • Quick cooking polenta is available and is useful for cutting down the boiling time, and pre-made polenta can also be found packaged in supermarkets, and is ready to cut and bake or fry.
Bibliography:
A Brief History of Polenta, 2012, Food in Italy, http://www.foodinitaly.org/blog/2011/04/23/a-brief-history-of-polenta/
Demetri J, Polenta, 2012, Life in Italy, http://www.lifeinitaly.com/food/polenta.asp
Polenta, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polenta

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