Glossary     ( T to Z )

Tabasco Sauce
   made with spirit vinager, red peppers and salt and aged for three years in oak barrels.

Table Beet
  see Beetroot

Tahini Paste
   made from crushed sesame seeds.

Tamarind
 vegetable dishes are often given a sharp, sour flavour with the inclusion of tamarind juice.
this is made from the semi-dried, compressed pulp of the tamarind tree.  It's possible to buy bars
of the pungent smelling pulp in asian grocery stores.
 Store it in a tightly sealed plastic bag, or an air-tight container.

Tannia
 both the green leaves and the thick root stock are eaten.  The tubers are similar to those of taro.

Tansy
  See Herbs

Taro
  Dirty brown root stocks, usually sold in bunches of five or six, mostly with a long piece of stem.  The young green leaf is also sometimes sold.
  Uses:
Peel, slice, wash in salt water, steam and eat.

Tarragon
  see Herbs

Thyme
  see Herbs

Til
  see Sesame Seeds

Tomato
  juicy fruit that can be round, pear-shaped, angular or ribbed.  Has two or more segments.  In most round tomatoes the seeds are embedded in a jelly like substance.  Large round fruits are generally more fleshy.  The most fleshy is the larger,
ribbed, Marmalade tomato.  There are yellow, red, pink and white varieties.  The green tomatoes used in recipes are usually unripe red tomatoes.

Turmeric
  branched rootstocks, round in cross-section and deep orange in colour.  Used primarily in powdered form, for colouring and as an ingredient in curry dishes.

Turnip Greens
  young leaf vegetable.  The entire plant is harvested and sold either tied in bunches or as loose leaves cut off at ground level, depending on variety.
 Use
Wash the leaf and boil.  Alternatively, chop up finely when raw and use in salads or bubble and squeak.

Turnip Rooted Parsley
  smooth leaves with a fleshy white tap root.  Both leaf and root can be eaten.  The leaf is used as with parsley.  The root can be shredded into salads, diced in soups and stews, or boiled like a carrot.

Turnip Tops
  see Turnip Greens

Turmeric
 this aromatic root is dried and ground to produce a distinctive bright yellow-orange powder.  It
has a warm aromatic scent, and a full, somewhat musty taste.

Vark
 This is edible silver that is used to decorate elaborate asian dishes, prepared for the most special
occasions and celebrations.
Available in asian food stores.

Vegemite
   see Marmite

Vegetable Spaghetti
  smooth, oval to round fruit, green at first, turning yellow.  When cooked the stringy flesh looks very much like spaghetti.

Vinegar
   Malt
made from beer, it's dark brown in colour with a strong smell and flavour.
   Light Malt
less robust version of malt used for salads and dressings
   Cider
vinegar made from fermented apples, used when cooking poultry or game. It is also an excellent base for dressings and marinades.
   Rice
a colourless, seasoned vinegar containing sugar and salt
   Tarragon White Wine
made from wine, flavoured with tarragon
   Balsamic
product of Modena, Italy.  An aged vinegar the quality of which varies considerably, the best is expensive.
Used for dressings, marinades and sauces.
   Sherry Vinegar
made from sherry and (usually) aged in old sherry casks.
Used for dressings, marinades and sauces.

Water Chestnuts
   small white crisp bulbs with a brown skin and yellowish-white inside.  Crisp and sweet in flavour.  Canned water chestnuts are peeled and will keep for a couple of weeks, covered in the water in the fridge.  ( ice box ).

Water Cress
  a water plant with longish stalks and dark green, rounded leaves.  

Waterleaf
  long, spatula-shaped leaves with hardly any stem. Rather slimy when cooked.  Eat boiled.

Wax Gourd
  large, ovoid or spherical, dark-green to bluish fruits with a chalk-white wax layer.  The flesh is pure white and juicy, and quickly becomes spongy towards the centre.  Half-ripe fruits are the best for eating.

White Beans
  see Kidney Beans

White Cabbage
  a cabbage with smooth green outer leaves and a flat, round, or pointed, closed firm head.  The pointed type is often incorrectly regarded as a seperate variety ( Pointed Cabbage ).

White Gourd
  see Wax Gourd

Wild Celery
  see Smallage in Herbs

Wild Marjoram
  see Herbs

Winged Yam
  lobed or branched, fleshy tubers, varying in shape.

Winter Celery
  there are two types of celery, the self blanching, with golden-yellow stems, and the non-self blanching, that may be atificially blanched or eaten green.

Winter Purslane
  see Claytonia in Herbs

Winter Squash
  see Pumpkin

Witlof
   see Chicory

Worcestershire Sauce
   a spicy sauce, particularly good used in red meat dishes. But very flexible.

Yam Bean
  edible thickened roots, shaped like a beet or swede.
 Use
Raw in salads ( shredded ).  Young tubers may be roasted.

Yardlong Bean
  very long ribbon-like greyish-green pods that can grow to over a yard ( a metre ) long in a warm climate.  Cut the pods into short lengths and boil.

Zest
  the thinly parsed (cut) rind

Zucchini
  see Courgette