Glossary of Food and Cookery Terms — 'Y'

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Liberia is a West African country formed by freed slaves. It is one of only two African countries never to have come under European rule. Liberia is also one of the few African countries with a tradition of baking. Sitting alongside these are ingredients sourced directly from the rainforest.

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Chillies (chili, chilé, ají) is an amazing spice that originates in Central and Northern South America. It was unknown in the Old World until the early 1500 but by 1549 had made its way across the world from Europe through Africa, the Near East and had reached China and Japan. Learn about the history of the spread of chillies and why this is such an amazing spice.

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Senegal was formerly the capital of French West Africa and the French influence remains strong in the country, not least in the cooking. French cooking techniques and European vegetables mix with rice, fish and hot chillies to yield a cuisine that is vibrant exciting and above all tasty. Try out two classic Senegalese dishes for yourselves here.

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The Romans were the first peoples to formally add a dessert course at the end of a meal. Here you will learn a little about why we like sweet desserts and why they all, in one way or another, echo the fruit our ancestors used to eat. You will also see two recipes for classic fruit-based desserts.

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When thinking of cakes, everyone automatically imagines a recipe for baking. Yet, for hundreds of years before ovens became ubiquitous cakes were being steamed rather than baked. Here you will find a recipe for a classic steamed cake that you can prepare anywhere, even on the barbecue or whilst camping. Wow your friends by giving them a freshly-steamed cake the next time you go camping.

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Those obsessive about wild foods will source a whole meal from the wild. But this is not the way that it's best to start with or even to keep going with wild foods. It's far better to gather a few fruit, wild greens or mushrooms and to add these to your everyday cookery. This way you get an introduction to the range of wild foods available and you begin to extend your cookery by adding wild ingredients.

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British cookery is often seen as a joke, yet with the range of available fresh ingredients British desserts are some of the most divine and inspiring in the world. Here I present two classic desserts: one modern and one traditional for your enjoyment.

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The main course is the most important part of any formal meal, with preceding courses leading up to it. Here you will learn a little more about main courses as well as how they developed in Ancient Rome. In additional a recipe for a classic Roman main course is provided.

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British cookery is often treated as 'poor relation' in terms of European cuisine. And whilst this may well have been true in the past, there has always been one area of cookery where Britain has always excelled... the production of desserts. Here you will find recipes for two classic British desserts.

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This article gives an introduction to the history of that classic breakfast food, the waffle, starting form the Medieval European origins to the invention of the classic American waffle. Recipes for traditional and chiffon waffles are also given as well as some ideas of how to adapt and very these classic recipes.