Food and Drink

absinthe a green aniseed-flavoured liqueur, originally flavoured with wormwood, although this is now banned owing to its toxicity; in the 19th and early 20th centuries drinking absinthe was regarded as a sign of decadence.

whiskey [from the Gaelic for "water of life" ], spirituous liquor distilled from a fermented mash of grains, usually rye, barley, oats, wheat, or corn. Inferior whiskeys are made from potatoes, beets, and other roots. The standard whiskeys of the world are Scotch (commonly spelled whisky ), Irish, American, and Canadian. The Scotch Highland whisky (made in pot stills) and that of the Lowlands (patent stills) differ in the percentage of barley used, quality of the water, quantity of peat employed in curing the malt, manner of distilling, and kind of casks in which they are matured. Irish whiskey resembles Scotch, but no peat is used in the curing, and instead of the dry, somewhat smoky flavor of Scotch, it has a full, sweet taste. American whiskeys are divided into two main varieties, rye and bourbon, a corn whiskey that derives its name from Bourbon co., Ky. They have a higher flavor and a much deeper color than Scotch or Irish and require from two to three years longer to mature. Newly made whiskey is colorless, the rich brown of the matured liquor being acquired from the cask in which it is stored. Canadian whiskey has a characteristic lightness of body and must, according to law, be produced from cereal grain only. Whiskey was made in England in the 11th cent., chiefly in monasteries, but in the 16th cent. distilling was carried on commercially. No whiskey can be released from bond in Great Britain until it has matured in wood at least three years, and in practice...

cake originally a small mass of dough baked by turning on a spit; in present usage a dessert made of flour, sugar, eggs, seasonings, usually some leavening and liquid besides the eggs, and shortening. This last ingredient is not always used; unshortened cakes depend mainly on beaten eggs for leavening (e.g., spongecake and angel food cake). The early method of making sweet cake was by adding other ingredients to a portion of bread dough. Some cakes, such as fruitcake or poundcake, called for many eggs and for wine, brandy, or sack (an Elizabethan wine); these ingredients supplying the leavening agent. Modern cakes are generally raised with baking powder, baking soda, or beaten eggs.

bread food made from grains that have been ground into flour or meal, moistened and kneaded into a dough, and then baked. Many types of bread are leavened, usually with yeast, which induces fermentation and causes the breads to rise. The discovery of fermentation is attributed to the Egyptians, who also invented baking ovens. Unleavened flat breads have been eaten since Neolithic times (10,000 BC), and bread has long been a staple in the diets of people in all parts of the world, excepting Asia, where the preferred rice is eaten in grain form. Flat breads are made from various types of grains—corn (e.g., the tortilla), barley, millet, wheat, and rye—but only doughs made from wheat and rye contain enough gluten to trap the gases caused by fermentation and expand into an airy loaf of bread. Dark rye breads are common in Europe; the light rye breads popular in the United States are made with a mixed wheat and rye dough. White breads are made from a finely sifted wheat flour, as opposed to whole wheat bread, which retains the fiber-rich outer kernel of the grain. Nutritionally, bread is high in complex carbohydrates and a good source of B vitamins. Whole grain bread is higher in protein, has twice the fiber, and generally has more vitamins and minerals than white bread. Other ingredients that may be added to breads include milk, fats, eggs, salt, and sugar. Bibliography: See J. Beard, Beard on Bread (1973); J. and E. Jones, The Book of Bread (1986).