The GBK Cookbook

The British Food Trust

Other








Know Your Onions (and other vegetables)

There can be a lot of confusion over the names of vegetables as they frequently have different names in different countries. If you have ever wandered what aubergines, broad beans, courgettes, marrows and sweetcorn are, consult the following guide and hopefully this should enlighten you.

British Name Notes
Asparagus Asparagus is the cultivated form of a type of lily and has been grown as a delicacy in Europe for two thousand years. There are three basic types of asparagus, green, white and purple. An excellent soup can be made from asparagus.
Aubergine Originally egg-like both in shape and colour, hence their alternative name of 'egg plant', aubergines nowadays are more likely to be shiny, purple-skinned and a good deal larger than eggs. Aubergines are excellent stuffed or in soups and casseroles.
Beetroot Also known as beets in the US. Beetroot is usually red, although white and golden varieties are also grown. The leaves can also be cooked and taste something like spinach. Pickled beetroot is still a very popular preserve.
Broad Beans One of our earliest plants, broad beans have been cultivated in Europe and Asia since the Stone Age. They are known as fava beans in the US. Very young broad beans can be cooked in the pod. Older ones need to be removed from the pods and cooked in boiling water until tender. They are good in a bake.
Broccoli and Calabrese Sometimes described as 'poor man's asparagus', broccoli is one of the most nutritious vegetables. Broccoli makes a good filling for a flan. Calabrese is one of the varieties of broccoli and is tender with an excellent flavour.
Brussels Sprouts Said to originate near Brussels in the 13th century. Tiny, firm Brussels sprouts are best; they take longer to prepare, but are worth it. They make a classic dish at Christmas when they are served with chestnuts.
Burdock A tough root vegetable with a distinctive flavour which is an acquired taste. It should be scrubbed, sliced thinly and boiled for 30-40 minutes until tender, or it can be added to stews. In the past a drink was made from both burdock and dandelion roots.
Cabbage One variety of cabbage or another is available all year. Early in the year Spring Greens make a good accompanying vegetable with a clean refreshing flavour. Other varieties include January King, Roundhead, White Salad Cabbage, Red Cabbage and Savoy Cabbage.
Carrot One of the most versatile and nutritious vegetables. Delicious either raw or cooked, carrots are useful in salads, stews and casseroles, for serving with dips and making into carrot cake. Baby carrots can be cooked whole.
Cauliflower Probably originating from the Orient but not popular in Britain until the 18th century, cauliflower has a delicate flavour. It has a delicious flavour so long as it is not over-cooked. One of the classic dishes made with this vegetable is Cauliflower Cheese. Raw cauliflower florets are particularly good for scooping up dips.
Celeriac This celery-flavoured root is good both raw and cooked. To serve it raw, cut into fine julienne strips or grate coarsely. Cooked celeriac mixed with an equal quantity of potato makes a delicately-flavoured purée.
Celery There are basically two types of this versatile, crunchy vegetable: green-stemmed and white stemmed. It gives a specially delicious flavour to casseroles and makes an excellent soup. It can be cooked in a number of ways or used raw in salads. Crisp raw celery sticks are excellent with cheese, especially Stilton.
Courgette Known as the zucchini in the USA, these are best when not more than 10-15 cm (4-6 inches) long. They can be green or gold. They can be cooked whole, sliced into rounds or matchsticks or coarsely grated. They are also particularly good when stuffed. Courgette flowers are also edible.
Cress / Mustard and Cress Mild and juicy, cress appeals particularly to children. The cress widely available in the shops is not the traditional mixture of mustard and cress seeds but often salad rape. All kinds of mustard and cress make a pleasant addition to a salad bowl.
Horseradish The root of a plant native to South Eastern Europe, horseradish has a hot, pungent flavour. Finely grated horseradish can be added to mayonnaise or cream to make horseradish sauce, the classic accompaniment to Roast Beef.
Kale Kale is a non-hearting type of cabbage. It should be washed well as soil and grit tend to lodge between the stems. kale is particularly rich in calcium and B vitamins and used to be an important vegetable in Britain, though many people find its flavour rather strong.
Laver Ranging in colour from pinkish-purple to greenish brown, laver is a seaweed which grows on rocky North European coasts. It can be bought dried or cooked. It is made into cakes, known as laverbread in Wales.
Leek Delicately flavoured, with a slightly sweet taste, useful both raw and cooked. Leeks need careful washing as they may contain grit. They are the national emblem of Wales and feature in many Welsh dishes. They go particularly well with potatoes in soup.
Marrow The more mature version of the courgette has a delicate flavour. They are excellent when stuffed. They are nicest when the skin is tender enough to eat. A marrow that has been allowed to mature on the vine can be made into that traditional British favourite, marrow and ginger jam.
Mushrooms Wild mushrooms have long been used to add interest and nourishment to meals. They can be found in woods and fields if you know where to look or they can be bought from specialist greengrocers and markets, though the supply is usually erratic.
Onion There are many varieties of onion, ranging in colour from white and yellow to shades of purple and red and in size from minute bulbs such as pickling onions to large ones weighing 450g (1 lb) or more. Onions also vary a good deal in strength; some types are mild and sweet while others are extremely pungent. Spring onions may be called scallions or green onions outside the UK, particularly in the USA.
Parsnip A distinctively flavoured, sweet tasting root which used to be used in puddings and sweetmeats in medieval cookery. They can be roasted like potatoes, cooked and mashed or pureed, added to a julienne of mixed root vegetables, made into a winter soup or added to casseroles and stews.
Peas Another of man's earliest foods, peas are thought to have originated in the Near East and there are hundreds of varieties of garden pea. Petits Pois are a small, tender, sweet variety. Marrowfat peas are the variety needed to make Mushy Peas. Mangetout, also called Sugar peas or Snow peas are a variety where the pod is eaten.
Radish There are numerous varieties of radish; they can be the size of marbles or grapefruit, round or long and range in colour from white to red to black. They make a colourful and pungent addition to salads and make a good addition to a crudités selection.
Runner Beans Also called stick beans, because of the way the plants grow up sticks, runner beans originated in South America. They are the most popular green bean in Britain. They are delicious when they are young and tender and served with onions and tomatoes.
Spinach One of the most useful of the leaf vegetables, spinach can be used raw in salads as well as cooked. Spinach is particularly rich in vitamin A, iron and calcium but it also contains oxalic acid which inhibits the body's ability to absorb some minerals. It makes a good soup.
Swede Called turnips or neeps in Scotland and rutabaga in the USA, swedes are larger than turnips and do not have ridges. They have a sweetish flavour. Bashed Neeps are traditionally served with haggis in Scotland on Burns Night.
Sweetcorn Sweetcorn has a pleasantly sweet flavour, cheering golden colour and chewy texture. It is often referred to simply as corn in the US. According to Benjamin Franklin it is 'one of the most agreeable and wholesome grains in the world'. It is native to America.
Tomato An indispensable flavouring, thickening and salad ingredient. Also delicious cooked in a variety of ways. There are many varieties of tomato, ranging in size from the baby cherry tomatoes to the large beefsteak variety.
Turnips One of the oldest European root crops, turnips vary in shape and size and the skins may be white, green or tinged with purple. The flesh is usually white, juicy and pungent. The tops, eaten like spinach, make an extremely nutritious, strongly flavoured, vegetable.
Watercress With its hot, pungent flavour and dark green colour, watercress makes a good contrast to other leaf vegetables in a green salad. It is also useful in soups and sauces. Although watercress used to be gathered from the wild, it is now specially cultivated.