I thought I knew everything about English condiments, until this weekend. I have tasted what I thought was a full spectrum — from the deep brown HP sauce to the polarizing Marmite to piccalilli and the ubiquitous malt vinegar.
I have been exploring international condiments for the last several years, but this was a new one. Think of the pairing of a savory fig jam on brie and crackers. When I picked my jar up, there were three on the top shelf. In the UK, whenever a recipe suggests pickle or sweet pickle, they are referring to the Branston Pickle.
It is actually not really a pickle in the American sense, but more of a chutney, probably with a large influence from India, as with the piccalilli condiment and English curries. Food terminology In the UK is a bit of a bizarro world for us Americans. They call potato chips crisps. A cookie is a biscuit, a pudding is a cake, a chip is a French Fry, jelly is actually jello, jam is what we call jelly, black treacle is molasses, and a pickle is actually a chutney.
They also use French words for their vegetables — cilantro is coriander, a courgette is zucchini, aubergine is eggplant, marrow is squash, and rocket is arugula. The relish is turning this year along with our own Cincinnati Chili. The recipe had been made locally in homes for many years and was purchased in from a local woman named Mrs. It includes a variety of vegetables — among them carrots, cauliflower, gherkins pickles , marrows squash , courgette zucchini onion, rutabaga and tomatoes.
It also contains some sweet fruits — apples and dates. In addition to the preservatives of vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and sugar it contains, cloves, coriander, mustard seed, cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper and cayenne. Malt vinegar is the acid of choice and finds its way into many other UK condiments.
