Boiled Carrot Salad

It’s a travesty that this is the first time we’ve made something by the queen of all things aromatic, Claudia Roden (a short bio of whom  can be found here), however to me the interesting thing currently about this recipe is what it represents in terms of time and cost.

The Bakers’ ABC: U is for Upset

An old Scottish term, signifying the admission of any person to a trade or burgh, or the money paid for such an admission. “Upset price” of anything is the price at which goods for auction are exposed.

Upset is also the term used in England for the long boards or planks, placed round the sides of the oven, for batch bread, and in front of the loaves, after they are all “set”. The Scottish term for the same appliance is “setter”.

From The Baker’s ABC by John Kirkland, formerly Head Teacher of National School of Baking, published 1927 by Gresham

The Bakers’ ABC: T is for Tea Caudle

A beverage of early 18th century, consisting of a quart of china tea, four yolks of eggs and a pint of white wine, all mixed and boiled together; spiced with nutmeg and sweetened with sugar. Drunk hot.

From The Baker’s ABC by John Kirkland, formerly Head Teacher of National School of Baking, published 1927 by Gresham

The Bakers’ ABC: S is for Shrewsbury biscuit

This is a stock sweet biscuit, the basis of many varieties: 1 ¼lb flour, into which has been lightly rubbed 12oz butter, and mixed with 10oz castor, is made into a free dough with eggs. No aerating chemicals are used, as the paste is short. The kind of biscuit is very old, but in the old mixtures nutmeg and cinnamon were added as spices, Easter cakes and other short varieties are all made from Shrewsbury biscuit dough.

From The Baker’s ABC by John Kirkland, formerly Head Teacher of National School of Baking, published 1927 by Gresham

The Bakers’ ABC: R is for Rumpy

An old Scottish name for a kind of small crusty loaf or roll, egg glazed, round or oval in form, and cut in small squares on upper surface. The name hedgehog or porcupine is also applied to the same loaf.

From The Baker’s ABC by John Kirkland, formerly Head Teacher of National School of Baking, published 1927 by Gresham

The Bakers’ ABC: Q is for Quince

The fruit of the tree Pyrus cydonia or Cydonia Vulgaris. It is formed like the apple in some varieties or pear-shaped in others. It has a rich yellow or orange colour, with an agreeable odour, but if stored in quantity for some time it acquires a strong disagreeable smell. In Eastern countries the fruit ripens sufficiently to be eaten raw but European quince has to be cooked with sugar before use. The flavour of the apple tarts or jam is much improved by the addition of a small proportion of quince. Alone the fruit is made into an excellent marmalade.

From The Baker’s ABC by John Kirkland, formerly Head Teacher of National School of Baking, published 1927 by Gresham

The Bakers’ ABC: P is for Parleys or Parliament cakes

Cakes or biscuits of the gingerbread order, made with seconds flour and doughed with treacle or syrup. No shortening or enriching material is employed. But ground caraway or ginger is sometimes used as flavouring. The old method of making parley dough was to use seconds flour, and to each 60lb flour, 1lb pearl ash (potassium carbonate) and ½lb alum was mixed with the doughing syrup. The dough, made stiff was kept in the barrel for two or three weeks and was used afterwards as required. The later sort of dough used bicarbonate of soda only as an aerating agent, generally 1oz to 4lbs flour.

The cakes of biscuits are usually cut in oblong pieces, about 6in long by 2in wide, with plain or serrated edges. The cakes remain hard if kept from the air, but soften in damp weather of exposed. At one time parleys were made by bakers in country towns in Scotland to be given to children who bought bread from the shops.

From The Bakers’ ABC by John Kirkland, formerly Head Teacher of National School of Baking, published 1927 by Gresham