Bicarbonate of soda
Bicarbonate of soda Bicarbonate of soda, or baking soda, is an alkali which is used to raise soda breads and full-flavoured cakes such as gingerbread, fruit cake, chocolate cake and carrot cake. It needs an…
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Barbera
Barbera Pronounce it: bar-bare-ah Pizza house star This is probably the first red wine anyone drinks in an Italian restaurant or pizza place. That’s because it can be cheap and very cheerful. The red, juicy…
Beansprouts
Beansprouts Pronounce it: been sp-rowts The two most common beansprouts are the green-capped mung bean and the bigger, yellow-capped soy bean. Widely seen as a major, somehow magic, ingredient, beansprouts have little more nutrition than other…
Body – light, medium, full
Body – light, medium, full Pronounce it: bo-dee One of the useful ways to distinguish between wines is to indicate the body of the wine. It’s an indicator of the way the wine feels in…
Beetroot
Beetroot Pronounce it: beat-root A favourite in 1970’s British salads (served cooked and pickled in vinegar), beetroot is a root vegetable with dark, purple skin and pink/purple flesh. It has also enjoyed something of a…
Basil
Basil Pronounce it: ba-zil Most closely associated with Mediterranean cooking but also very prevalent in Asian food, the herb basil has a sweet, strong aroma and flavour. There are three main Mediterranean types: sweet, with…
Buckwheat
Buckwheat Pronounce it: buhk-weet Buckwheat actually comes from the seeds of a plant distantly related to rhubarb and is neither related to wheat, nor, technically, a grain. It is usually found in ground form, but can also be bought…
Baking powder
Baking powder Pronounce it: bay-king pow-dah Baking powder is a raising agent that is commonly used in cake-making. It is made from an alkali, bicarbonate of soda, and an acid, cream of tartar, plus a…
Banana
Banana Pronounce it: bah-nah-nah Probably the best known, most popular tropical fruit, their name probably derives from the Arabic for finger, ‘banan’. There are a number of varieties, inluding red bananas (which have a yellow-pink…
Blackberry
Blackberry Pronounce it: blak-bear-ee A purply black-coloured berry comprising many individual seed-containing fruits surrounding a cone-shaped core. Wonderfully juicy, they’re good raw (straight from the hedge!) or cooked and are bursting with vitamin C. Wild,…