- dairy / dairy maid / dairy farmer / dairyman
Though most of us know of only one definition of 'cheese' but in times gone past the term was applied to other types of food, usually any which had been poured or pressed into a mould and the other 'cheese' definitions elsewhere in this glossary reflect this. However this entry will deal the the food made from pressed milk curds.
Apparently 98% of British households enjoy cheese (presumably the rest just endure it). Sheep and goats cheese could be considered to be the most traditional but in recent centuries cows' cheese has dominated resulting in sheep's cheese, becoming very rare in Britain, though they are still common throughout Europe and the middle east. Many of the cow cheeses we eat now were once sheep cheeses, but sheep and goat cheeses are returning in some style.
Cheese has a much longer shelf life than the milk from which it is made, historically making it suitable for storage and travel (each sailor in the Nelson's Navy was issued 12 ounces per week). Each region of Britain, particularly in England, has its own distinct cheese and the most popular cheese in Britain, is Cheddar, which is also one of the most popular cheeses in the world. Prior to the industrial revolution, and the consequent industrialisation of our food making processes, English cheeses were once the most famous in Europe (and therefore the world). There is a move to regain this position.
The British eat 700,000 tons of cheese per year (2010) and half of that is imported, some of it in ambiguous 'own label' packaging, pretending to be British, but the situation is improving with gradual changes now being made to supermarket own label Cheddars which are now more clearly labelled.
Huge quantities are imported, mainly from Ireland (90,000 tonnes in 2010) and from New Zealand, Australia and Canada (combined 12,000 tonnes in 2010) and with no clear indication of origin on the packaging. Our own cheese makers and dairy farmers are the victims of this deception.
During the war traditional cheese production stopped and everyone had to eat the 'National Cheese', which was very Cheddar like, and which largely explains why we love Cheddar so much today. Normal cheese production restarted in the 1950's and today there are over 700 named cheeses in Britain, and increasing, with England being the strongest and most varied producer, with new cheeses appearing all the time and with old traditional recipes being revived.
Alternative uses: Julius Cheeser was a Roman mouse cartoon character who appeared in the comic Topper (1954-1966).
Sayings: 'Hard cheese!' is an expression used by unsympathetic people upon discovery of your troubles, and a very important person may be referred to as the 'big cheese'.
Many people believe that eating cheese before bedtime will give you bad dreams.
Quote: "Cheese is milk's leap toward immortality." ~ Clifton Fadiman
Origin: Cheese comes from the Saxon 'cese'.
[US-NZ-Aus-Canada] (In New Zealand a 'dairy' is a corner shop).
See also: 'cheddar cheese', 'vinegar cheese', 'Red Tractor Scheme' and 'British Cheese Board'.
- Dairy school
Travelling dairy schools were set up during the Edwardian period (over 100 years ago) as part of the agricultural extension, an initiative to educate rural communities in the latest dairy techniques. They did this so that the rural communities could compete with industrialised processing by producing consistent products, and so that they had the means to make a fuller range of products during a period of low butter prices.
Devon County Councils dairy schools included the making of clotted cream and in Cardigan they taught the making of Caerphilly cheese.
- damson / bullace / damascene
2
The damson is small type of plum, native to Britain, and particularly associated with jams and preserves, and also with damson gin in some areas. Damson wine was once very popular in England.
The damson is an ancient traditional fruit which has fallen from favour, but is currently making a modest come-back. The Westmorland Damson Association, formed in 1996, is dedicated to regenerating ageing trees and orchards and is making good progress in re-popularising damson gin, preserves and puddings from the produce of the Lythe Valley (and surrounding areas) in Cumbria. They have a damson festival in the Lythe Valley, each year.
The wild form of Damson is known as 'Bullace' and an older name for the damson was 'damascene'.
The damson tree fruits at the end of August.
Dialect: 'bullum' (bullace-Cornwall).
See also: 'damson gin' and 'fruit cheese'.
Lane's Extinction Grading: Stable
- Stable in one or more areas/regions, but not growing.
- Still enjoyed by a number of families in one area.
- Successful recent revival with natural local growth.
- damson cheese
2
See 'fruit cheese'.
Lane's Extinction Grading: Stable
- Stable in one or more areas/regions, but not growing.
- Still enjoyed by a number of families in one area.
- Successful recent revival with natural local growth.
- damson gin
2
Damson gin is like sloe gin but made with damsons.
A traditional drink particularly associated with Cumbria where there are a handful of small but successful commercial makers. Damson gin has been made by farmers' wives in Cumbria for at least 150 years, in old glass sweet jars. The damsons, sugar and gin, in their jar, are left on the dresser so that anyone passing can give it a shake. The gin will be perfect by Christmas. I was surprised to discover the ancient Cumbrian association with damsons, a fruit I would naturally link with warmer, southern climes, and not necessarily with a county famous for hypothermia.
See also: 'damson', 'gin' and 'sloe gin'.
Lane's Extinction Grading: Stable
- Stable in one or more areas/regions, but not growing.
- Still enjoyed by a number of families in one area.
- Successful recent revival with natural local growth.
- dandelion and burdock
2
Dandelion and burdock is a very English carbonated drink originally made from root extracts of the dandelion and the burdock (two common country plants) since the 1300's. The original version was not carbonated of course and this is still made by makers of old fashioned cordials and temperance drinks.
Sadly the popularity of our native drinks waned when American fizzy drinks became fashionable. Dandelion and Burdock, along with 'Tizer', are the summer drinks of my childhood, but both nearly disappeared due to American imports in the 1960's but both are now experiencing a bit of a comeback due to a rising interest in British food and drinks and a history which goes back at least 700 years.
The modern sugary version of dandelion and burdock is not the drink of my early years but more authentic versions are out there.
Beer was also once made from these two ingredients.
See also: 'pop'.
Lane's Extinction Grading: Stable
- Stable in one or more areas/regions, but not growing.
- Still enjoyed by a number of families in one area.
- Successful recent revival with natural local growth.
- Darby cooking pot
The worlds first mass produced cooking pot/oven made by Abraham Darby.
A black, three legged, cast iron cooking pot (which always appears in any theatrical scene involving witches). The cast iron pot had three legs so that a fire could be lit under it and it was used as much as an oven ('Dutch oven') as for liquids. The pots were so robust that they were used by sailors on board ships and were exported by colonists all over the world. They can still be found in many countries, sometimes still in use.
Abraham Darby (1678-1717), a Quaker, was famous for perfecting the production of pig iron in a blast furnace using coke instead of charcoal, and in 1707 he also invented the technique involving the use of sticky green sand to make moulds and re-usable 'patterns' (the technique still used today).
Using these casting methods Darby became famous for making the worlds first iron bridge near 'Coalbrookdale' in Shropshire, England, but it is less known is that he also made cast iron cooking pots for the masses using patented processes.
The patented techniques required for the manufacture of the cooking pots were then used to make items and machine parts which allowed the Industrial Revolution to progress and so Abraham Darby's foundry is acknowledged as the birthplace of the iron foundry industry.
It could be argued that without these casting and iron working techniques the Industrial Revolution would not have been what it was. Consequently 'Ironbridge', and the surrounding area, is viewed by many as its birthplace.
All that from a three legged cooking pot!
And cast iron cooking pots are still being made there, after 300 years! With a pedigree like that why would anyone want to buy a French one?
- Dartington long deep hive
The Dartington Hive was developed by the engineer and inventor Robin Dartington in 1975. He developed the Dartington hive specifically to keep bees in gardens or rooftops and not for commercial purposes.
The Dartington's brood box is larger than both the National and Langstroth beehives. However, the supers are half the size.
The hive is still under evaluation by beekeepers.
See also: 'bee hive'.
- dead flies
Synonymous with currants. See 'dead fly pie'.
- dead fly pie
Currants baked into pastry (usually leftover from baking) are universally known as 'dead fly pies' though there may be local or regional differences in how they are made. For example 'Eccles cakes', 'mint pasty', 'Chorley cakes', 'singing lily', and 'sad cakes' have all been known by this name. Another similar name is 'fly cemetery'.
Garbaldi biscuits, which are included in army ration packs, are known, by soldiers, as 'dead fly biscuits'.
- deep fried pies
A Scottish creation along with deep fried pizzas and deep fried battered Mars bars. This uniquely Scottish food type is approaching equal status with haggis, shortbread and whisky as part of the national identity of Scotland, and rather uniquely, is simultaneously achieving equal fame in both culinary and medical circles. Just say no!
- delicatessen
Though clearly a foreign word, and not traditionally a British retail outlet, they are very common now. High street delicatessens are actually leading the way on the reintroduction of traditional British cold meats and pies. It's a shame that foods which were once readily available from high street shops have to be sold in this way but any means against the people that closed down our high street shops is valuable, and I support delicatessens fully, in spite of their ridiculously inappropriate names (e.g. the 'Chacoutarie in Stockport'). Though some specialise only in foreign traditional foods others take British food very seriously and have actively sourced British replacements for imports. Some make foods on their own premises and cure their own hams. Old skills under a new name, local food sold to local people.
Supermarket delicatessens are great places to watch people wrapping pizzas, to wile away several minutes listening to a fascinating teenage conversation, or to explore what it actually feels like to be the invisible man.
- Denby Dale pie
1
Every now and then the villagers of Denby Dale, in Yorkshire bake the world's biggest meat and potato pie and have made one in 1788, 1815, 1846, 1887, 1896, 1928, 1964, 1988, and 2000.
The pie is made to celebrate an important event and, in modern times, is used to raise funds for a deserving cause.
The pie dish in the year 2000 weighed 12 tonnes and was 40ft long, 8ft wide and 3ft 8in deep, and the pie itself contained three tonnes of beef, half a tonne of potatoes and 22 gallons of John Smith's Best Bitter. It was transported into 'Pie Field' on a 70ft waggon - and was blessed by the Bishop of Wakefield.
Lane's Extinction Grading: Safe
- Nationally produced and/or consumed
- Very strong traditions in one village, town, county or region.
- Derbyshire oatcake
2
A 'soft' variety of oatcake, approx 7inches across (17.5cm), circular, and made from equal amounts of oat and plain flour (wheat) and similar in recipe to the Staffordshire oatcake. Originally the 'Derbyshire' was huge, much bigger than the 'Staffordshire' (the batter for twelve 'Staffordshires' would only make four 'Derbyshire's'), but nowadays the Derbyshire and the Staffordshire oatcakes are almost identical, and are still just as good as each other.
Lane's Extinction Grading: Stable
- Stable in one or more areas/regions, but not growing.
- Still enjoyed by a number of families in one area.
- Successful recent revival with natural local growth.
- desolate cakes
2
The alternative name for 'sad cakes'.
Lane's Extinction Grading: Stable
- Stable in one or more areas/regions, but not growing.
- Still enjoyed by a number of families in one area.
- Successful recent revival with natural local growth.
- Desperate Dan pie
Desperate Dan is a fictional wild west character of the Dandy comic who first appeared in 1937, and is still being drawn today. He was immensely strong and tough and his favourite food is 'cow pie', a giant pie with a pair of horns sticking out of the top. In common usage any large pie has become known informally as a 'Desperate Dan pie' and this description can occasionally be seen on large market sold pies.
- dessert
The sweet part of the meal which follows the main course and is sometimes called the 'sweet' course. In many homes this course is simply known as the 'pudding', a traditional terminology from the days when this course was actually a pudding. Another commonly used word is 'afters' which is all encompassing.
These days the 'dessert', 'sweet' or 'pudding' course' can be anything but there are still those that would maintain that a proper 'pudding' comes with custard and that the word 'dessert' actually warns of something foreign, insubstantial or expensive.
Alt: 'Just desserts' is not an establishment where you can only buy puddings but is an expression which means that you are getting exactly what you deserve.
Quote: "Stressed spelled backwards is desserts. Coincidence? I think not!" ~ Author Unknown
- devil's porridge
Not a food at all but the name given by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to the explosive paste made, by hand, from nitro glycerine and cotton. The paste was part of explosive shell fillings destined for the the 'front' in the first world war.
- devilled
To season food heavily, often with mustard or pepper, e.g. 'devilled kidneys', 'devilled eggs', etc. 'Devilled' is sometimes pronounced 'divilled'.
- devilled kidneys
1
A traditional English, Edwardian breakfast of lamb's kidneys fried in a spicy sauce and served on toast, but may also be served as an addition to an English cooked breakfast. Also contains Worcester sauce, English mustard, cayenne pepper. The armed forces regularly serve a version of this, also at breakfast time.
Lane's Extinction Grading: Safe
- Nationally produced and/or consumed
- Very strong traditions in one village, town, county or region.
- Devon cure
Ham cured in light brine for 10 days, matured for two to three weeks and then dried for two and a half months.
- Devon flats
Biscuit made with clotted cream. Devon.
- diet
The modern definition might be 'a restricted selection of food' as these days we are concerned with eating habits which tend to provide us too many calories (and an inactive lifestyle which does not burn off enough of them). But this has not always been the case and all the generations which preceded us were obsessed with doing exactly the opposite, of getting enough calories.
Although the concept of "a diet" is a modern one it all started in the Royal Navy where both the energy value of food and the constant threat of scurvy were taken into account when providing food to sailors. The huge physical effort of men battling with heavy work in bad weather, and high seas, called for the provision of high energy foods based on fatty meats and biscuits (totalling 5,000 calories per day, twice as many as an inactive man). And although science could not yet explain vitamin 'C' deficiency it was widely known that men fell ill and eventually died if denied fresh food for any length of time. This knowledge affected the Admiralty's standardisation of food supplies (type and quantity) for men at sea, a regulated practice and which was taken to a new level during the 1750's.
During 1759 the British Navy stationed a huge fleet in the western approaches to protect merchant shipping from French attack and to blockade the French fleet into the port of Brest. In order to maintain the health of the sailors the first ever ship-to-ship resupply system was invented in order to supply fresh food and live animals. This notion, that a considered and scientific approach to what people ate and drank (a diet) had a direct influence on their efficiency and well being, was enthusiastically adopted by successive generations of British sailors, and later emulated by British soldiers. See also 'raz'.
- dig for victory
'Dig for Victory' was the slogan which appeared on posters as part of the Ministry of Agriculture 'Grow Your Own' campaign during the second world war and a sentiment which could be adopted today in our war on food with air miles or a carbon footprint and our desire to eat something other than highly processed chemical laden foods.
The war time campaign was announced in the first few weeks of the war but took a while to get going. Allotments were created on spare land including public parks . Allotment associations were formed, some of which still survive today and remain an inspiration to modern allotment makers.
The Ministry advised on which vegetables to grow and they banned the growing of vegetables which they deemed to be either high maintenance or low in nutrition (e.g. cucumbers, asparagus, etc.).
See also: 'Ministry of Food', 'pig clubs' and 'home grown'.
- Digger movement
The 'Digger' movement, also known as the 'True Levellers', arose from the writings and passions of visionary and radical Gerrard Winstanley during the relaxed censorship period following the English Civil War. He saw that the ownership of land was connected to political power and political oppression and so came to believe, around 1648-49, that the private ownership of land should needed to be abolished in order that the English people could be free.
Acting on his beliefs he set up digger communes in Surrey at St. George's Hill and Little Heath Common which were public lands. Other communes, based on the same principles where set up elsewhere but little is known about them. The movement collapsed in 1650 due to opposition but Winstanley's ideas influenced many later thinkers and still have resonance today with smallholders and the communal or co-operative ownership of land and food production.
Gerrard Winstanley was born in Wigan, Lancashire in 1609.
(Note: The 'True Levellers' differentiated themselves from the 'Levellers' who were connected with insurrection and mutiny in the New Model Army).
- dinner
The name of a meal time however definitions vary throughout the country with roughly a north and south divide. In the north of Britain 'dinner' takes place in the middle of the day but this is known as 'lunch time' in the south of Britain. For those who experience a 'lunch time' their dinner then takes place in the evening. As southern Britain enjoys its dinner northern Britain is simultaneously enjoying its 'tea'. What you eat at these times is almost irrelevant. And thereâs another complication known as 'supper', oh and 'high tea', and in the Navy they have 'nine o'clockers'.
See also: 'tea - meal time'.
- dinner jacket
The dinner jacket was invented by Henry Poole & Co, of Saville Row, London, in 1865, and evolved from a garment first requested by Edward, the Prince of Wales (the future king).
The dinner jacket is often referred to as a 'DJ'.
Some people look like James Bond when wearing a dinner jacket whilst others remind you of night club 'bouncers'. I fall into the latter category.
Americans call the dinner jacket a 'tuxedo'.
- dinner lady
5b
A branch of fierce, white coated, kitchen warriors of immense physical prowess and mental fortitude, now largely extinct due to loss of habitat to soppy do-gooders. They had amazing skills, being able to stop an unruly kid in his tracks with a single stare, and the unique ability to scare any child into eating over boiled vegetables, usually with just the simple words "It's good for you!" (but delivery was everything). Immune to tears and whimpering, and their specially evolved eyesight can spot food hidden under cutlery from 100 yards but renders teachers largely invisible to them.
Lane's Extinction Grading: Extinct
It is known about, but there is no accurate documentation/recipe available.
- diploid / triploid
'Diploid' and 'triploid' are indications of how many chromosomes something needs to breed (two or three). It is particularly important with apple trees which can be either diploid or triploid depending on the species. This means that some apple trees, the triploid varieties, will only breed successfully, with healthy large fruit, if they are pollinated by two other trees, not one, an important factor when planting or when diagnosing the problems of an apple tree which isn't fruiting. Your apple trees could stop producing if a neighbour cuts his tree down.
- dixie
British Army terminology for a cooking pot or kettle.
- dock (Polygonum bistorta)
Dock, or 'sweet dock' or 'water dock' is the local name in the Calder Valley in Yorkshire, for the edible plant (Polygonum bistorta) used in 'dock pudding', and in 'Easter ledge pudding'.
This is not the plant everyone else calls dock which is known in the Clader Valley as 'cow dock'. Another plant, the common sorrel, is known as the 'sour dock'.
Collecting the dock plant (in March and April) is known as 'docking'.
Description:
Patch forming (sometimes huge), unbranching perennial growing up to 50cm (30in) though commonly smaller. Flowers: April to September, pink in erect dense spikes up to 1.5cm wide (0.5in). Leaf: On winged stems. Large, narrow, hairless triangular leaf which unfurls from an erect leafy spike. Habitat: Roadsides, meadows, and wood. Is often associated with water which has led to one of its names the 'water dock', and the most leafy, edible leaves will be found on plants close to water.
Propagation: The patches form from tough creeping rhizomes which are easy to transfer and will, if not allowed to dry out, will spread into a new patch.
Dialect: "dock", "sweet dock" and "water dock".
See also: 'dock pudding', Easter ledge pudding' and 'World Dock Pudding Competition'.
- dock pudding
3
Dock pudding is the result of various cooked, wild spring green leaf (mainly dock), and onions, mixed with oatmeal, and results in a spinach / spring cabbage type of dish. It can appear as a consistent smooth green paste, or can be porridge like, or as a firm mash, or can be quite 'leafy' depending on the cooking method and personal preference. The taste too varies, depending on the combination of ingredients.
Dock pudding was, and still is, traditionally fried in bacon fat and eaten as part of an English breakfast in the upper Calder Valley region of Yorkshire.
Huge areas of dock have vanished in the last 30 years due to loss of habitat, modern farming techniques, use of herbicides, and balsam invasion, but enough remains for those that still eat it. Docks have survived where the valley sides are too steep for tractors, beside fenced off streams protected from grazing, in old abandoned meadows and along ancient lanes, and where the dock has survived so too has the practice of eating them.
In the Calder valley secret family recipes abound and are handed down from mother to daughter. They include docks, nettles, wild garlic (Ramsons), oatmeal, onion, spring onion, and leek. The dock pudding is celebrated annually in the village of Mytholmroyd at the unlikely sounding 'World Dock Pudding Competition'.
The docks are actually bistort (polygonum bistorta), sometimes known locally as 'sweet docks', and not the things that most people would call 'docks', which are locally called 'cow docks'. Docks appear in early March, well before the leaves on the trees, and in times past they have been a valuable and welcome source of early greenery for cultures which have just spent the winter on preserved food and salted meat. The Celts of Britain all ate 'docks' apparently but I suspect they weren't the only ones. The best, softer dock leaves are available for about a month.
So dock pudding doesn't start in a kitchen but in a meadow or a lane and the 'picking' was often carried out by kids or by father and son teams. 'Dock patches' were particular to families. The stalks can be removed whilst picking but some prefer to de-stalk at home.
There are many recipes and methods in the Calder Valley (many closely guarded and handed down within families). The dock pudding can be made fresh, in a frying pan, or can be bulk made (boiled) in huge pans for use over several days and can even be stored in jars. A more recent tradition, made possible by freezers, is to have a dock pudding breakfast on Christmas morning.
All modern recipes involve 'docks', onion and oatmeal though I suspect originally, before onions were invented, that 'Ramsons' (wild onion / garlic) would have been a major ingredient and they still feature occasionally in some recipes. The addition of spring onions and/or leeks (in many recipes) may go some way to replicate the influence of 'Ramsons' on the final taste. Some recipes call for the addition of an egg but this can spark debate.
As well as adding the fried dock pudding to a cooked breakfast it is also spread hot inside a bacon butty, but lovers of dock pudding would eat them with every meal if they could and eagerly awaited the season.
During the Second World War, the German propagandist William Joyce, better known as 'Lord Haw Haw' announced on German radio that food rationing was so bad in Yorkshire that people had resorted to eating 'grass', unaware that dock pudding was a local delicacy!
The other place where the 'dock' is eaten is the Lake District where a dish called 'Easter Ledge Pudding' is still made. It is similar to dock pudding but differs slightly in that it contains eggs. It too is fried in bacon fat and eaten for breakfast.
In some areas of Britain docks were grown commercially (for the medicinal properties of their roots) and 'dock pudding' was once sold in butchers and green grocers in Calderdale, served fresh from huge pans.
See also 'World Dock Pudding Competition'.
Lane's Extinction Grading: Unsafe/Decline
- Still enjoyed by the older generation in one area.
- Enjoyed by dwindling numbers (shunned by pretentious people and kids).
- Sucessfully revived in small pockets for a few families.
- docking - pricking
'Docking' describes the process of pricking a biscuit with small holes prior to baking so that it does not swell or puff up into a crispy balloon. The tool used to make the holes is called a 'docker'.
- docking - tails
The removal of a lambs tail is known as 'docking'.
See also: 'lambs tail pie'.
- Doctor Carrot
5a
Doctor Carrot was a cartoon character created by the Ministry of Food, during World War 2, to encourage the growing and the eating of carrots as this was one of the few foods which most people could grow, or obtain during the hard years of food rationing.
See also: 'Potato Pete'.
Lane's Extinction Grading: Extinct
Extinct but a useable recipe, knowledge or appropriate experience exists.
- dog fish
Dog fish has had an image problem for a long time, despite being a tasty fish. The government once re-branded it as 'woof' during times of hardship, and these days it may also be known as 'rock salmon' or 'rock eel'. Any others?
- dog nosed spoon
A 'dog nosed spoon' is a spoon which has a flattened or blunt end rather than a rounded one. c1600's
See also: 'spoon'.
- dolly / pie dolly
1
A 'dolly' is the cylindrical wooden former around which 'hot water pastry' is moulded to make 'hand raised' pork pies. In an emergency any cylindrical object (e.g. jam jar, pot, etc.) can be used but a pie dolly is designed to produce a specific pie size. To make the job easier for the pie maker a dolly will have a shoulder onto which the pie makers thumbs can rest during raising and also a handle to aid in extraction of the dolly from the raised pastry. It may also have a line around the dolly to mark how far the pastry should be raised.
See also 'hand raised' and 'stand pie'.
Lane's Extinction Grading: Safe
- Nationally produced and/or consumed
- Very strong traditions in one village, town, county or region.
- doorstep
Any thick sandwich or thick slice of bread may be referred to as a 'doorstep'.
- Dorset knob
Domed rusk. Dry and very crisp, slightly sweet.
- double pan / porringer pan
A 'double pan',, also known as a 'porringer pan' or simply a 'porringer' is a metal pan which is actually two pans, one snugly fit inside the other. The outer pan holds water and heats the contents of the inner without burning. Used for delicate liquids like custard, or for melting things like chocolate and toffee. Much favoured by hobby candle makers.
See also: 'porringer'.
- double yolkers
An egg containing two yokes is known as a 'double yolker'. These eggs used to be random but quite common occurrences when I was young, a treat to get excited about, but with increased standardisation and rigid control exerted by supermarkets the double yolker vanished .... until recently! Small producers are once again providing this treat to us, meeting a childlike demand which never went away.
Most often double yolk eggs are laid by young hens of highly productive egg laying breeds. As the hens become more mature their system settles down to correct production then the double yolks become less frequent to non-existent. So if you want double yolkers all the time you have to obtain a constant supply of young hens.
- dovecote
5a
Round or square buildings which were built to specifically house pigeons and contained rows of ledges or holes on, or in which the birds could build nests. We tend to think of dovecotes as rather ornamental buildings and associate them with stately homes where they were used to demonstrate wealth and status. It was once fashionable to show that your pigeons had a better home than your tenants and labourers. But this was not always the case and dovecotes were once important contributors to an organic rural and agricultural life, valued by all. The dovecotes provided eggs and valuable fresh winter meat, but also feathers and, most importantly, high quality fertiliser. Pigeon droppings were also collected for the production of saltpetre, an ingredient of early explosives (of the type used under the Houses of Parliament by Guy Fawkes).
The original rural and monastic dovecotes were functional (beehive shaped) and therefore architecturally crude and evolved later into the fancy status symbols of the 'big houses'. Some simpler, more functional dovecotes were built into the roof or loft of an existing barn, a stable or house and evidence of the pigeon entrances can still be seen in the gable ends, though these days they will be blocked up.
There were over 26,000 dovecotes in England in the 18th century but they went into decline in the 19th century. Many fine examples can still be see around Britain, especially in England.
There are references to the practice of keeping pigeons in many place names and old pub names e.g. Dovecot (Liverpool), Dove Holes (Derbyshire), The Dovecote (pub name), etc.
Surname: If you have the surname of 'Dovecott' you may have a hint as to what some of your ancestors did for a living. The Scottish variation of 'dovecote' is 'doocot'. See also 'culverhouse'.
Lane's Extinction Grading: Extinct
Extinct but a useable recipe, knowledge or appropriate experience exists.
- dram
A 'dram' is a fictitiously small measure of whisky, and the a key part of a seemingly innocent suggestion, or introduction, which can result in several unplanned nights of surreal conversations in Scottish bars with people called Jimmy.
Dram comes from the word 'drachm' which is an old imperial measure of fluid.
In Cornwall you may be offered a 'caulk', in the Navy a 'tot', in Kentish dialect you may be bought a 'dosset' or 'dussit', and almost anywhere you might be offered a 'nip'.
- dredgerman
Without even knowing what's in it, from the name alone, you want one, and you also feel that you might need a lie down after eating it. But actually you'd be wrong as it consists of streaky bacon and oysters, disappointingly healthy actually. Those dredgermen must have been quite sophisticated, not what you'd expect at all, perhaps influenced by the proximity of France? But I still want one. Originating from Whitstable in Kent.
In south Wales they eat their bacon with cockles.
- dressing / dresser
'Dressing' is an old occupational name applied to people who change a raw material into a finished product and was used across many skilled occupations.
Once much more widely used it is now the word is only applied in the food industry to tripe and to boiled crabs both of which are 'dressed' by 'dressers'.
Stone and roofing slates are still 'dressed', and the cutting of hair is still performed by a hair dresser. In times gone by there were flax dressers, feather dressers, leather dressers, seal skin dressers, tarpaulin dressers, cotton dressers, hemp dressers and iron, brass or tin dressers.
Alternative uses: The word was also used, not surprisingly, by the clothing industry where its meaning is different but where you can still find 'window' dressers.
- dried fruits
When we speak of dried fruits we usually think of such things as imported currants, raisins and candied peel, but dried fruits were traditionally made from home grown fruits such as plums.
- drinking chocolate
Not the unsatisfying powdered chemical stuff we endure these days but chocolate flakes melted in a pot and boiled for a period of time. A similar drink can be made from bars of dark chocolate. Sailors call this kind of drinking chocolate 'ki' (pronounced 'kai').
- dripping
Mucky fat is unrefined beef or pork dripping and gets its name from the dark content which makes the white fat look mucky. It is the most tastiest dripping to put on toast or in sandwiches and was used by many in place of butter.
Mucky fat on toast was a favourite breakfast and many working men took mucky fat sandwiches to work every day. There are still a few pubs and clubs which put on mucky fat sandwiches on special occasions, quiz nights and 'sports' nights.
Mucky fat became very rare but has seen a modest revival in the last year or two and can be obtained from long established butchers particularly in markets.
Dialect/slang: "scrape", "sweet fat".
See also: 'dripping'.
- dripping pudding
5a
Before ovens were commonplace many foods were expertly cooked using the direct heat of a fire, for example 'drop scones' (on a griddle) and 'teisen lap' (fire front). Meat was often spit roast and the drippings caught in a pan underneath or allowed to drip onto another food which was also cooking by the same fire.
Yorkshire Pudding was once such a dish, cooked in a pan in the direct heat of a fire, beneath a joint of meat, and may once have been known as 'dripping pudding' as could several other dishes cooked in this way.
Lane's Extinction Grading: Extinct
Extinct but a useable recipe, knowledge or appropriate experience exists.
- drizzled
Foreign liquids are not allowed to be poured, shaken or sprinkled over anything but must be 'drizzled' (usually over other foreign things), so vinegar, for example, is never 'drizzled' over chips, and gravy can never be 'drizzled' over Yorkshire pudding. I think its something to do with bye-laws.
- drop scones
Scones that are made on a griddle or on other hot surfaces.
- droving / drover
5a
'Droving' is the act of walking herds or flocks of domesticated animals between two places, usually to market. Animals could be driven hundreds of miles along traditional drover roads, from remote rural areas to towns, on journeys sometimes taking months.
Drovers roads evolved over centuries of use and travelling along them with animals involved the payment of tolls to compensate land owners for the grazing incurred by the drovers animals. Upland drovers routes sometimes came about as a result of drovers trying to avoid these payments. Drovers routes were often much wider than ordinary roads, certainly far wider than the narrow pack horse routes, and roads with wide verges today are often this way because they are ancient drovers roads. Drovers pubs sprang up along them.
Many drovers were specialists who bought cattle from farmers along the way and then sold them for the best price at market.
For longer journeys poultry had their feet coated in bitumen or wore small leather boots to protect them from wear and cattle were fitted with 'cattle shoes'.
Droving ceased when trains and motor transport came along, and died out during the Edwardian period, but many of the old drover roads still exist, dotted with ancient Inns which once offered hospitality to the drovers.
[Aus-US]
See also: 'Norfolk Black' and 'cattle shoes'.
Lane's Extinction Grading: Extinct
Extinct but a useable recipe, knowledge or appropriate experience exists.
- dry curing
The practice of drying meat or fish in salt (and sometimes other dry ingredients), and often the first stage of a larger curing process. Dry curing is quicker then 'wet', or brine curing, two to three days per pound (of ham), whereas brine curing requires about 4 days per pound of ham. See also 'curing' and 'smoked'.
- dry hopping
'Dry hopping' is the adding of hops, after fermentation, to give a beer aroma.
- ducks
Ducks for eating can be obtained from the wild by trapping/hunting or from domesticated stock but ducks are also kept for their eggs which are larger than hens eggs and creamier when cooked.
There are numerous domesticated varieties which have different attributes for example 'Runners' are considered good producers of duck eggs and the larger varieties such as 'Aylesbury' are bred for eating. The Domestic Waterfowl Club has details of all domesticated varieties.
Mallard is the main variety of wild eating duck and can still be seen on sale in some butchers and game dealers.
Alternative use: Around the middle of England (Midlands, Derbyshire etc.) they might call you "duck" or "mi duck" which is the same as saying "love" or "mate".
See also: 'savoury duck'.
- dumplings
Dumplings are cooked balls of dough made from flour and and in some cases fat. They are commonly boiled in liquid (soup, gravy or stew), either in a pot or in a tray in the oven (if you want a crusty top). But this method is not exclusive and the 'clootie'' dumpling' is boiled or steamed in a bag and the 'Cotswold dumpling' is fried.
Dumplings come in many forms and are popular throughout most of Britain, indeed throughout Europe, but the most common version in Britain is the suet dumpling, though dumplings have, and are still made from flour and a raising agent (See: 'Norfolk dumpling').
The nursery rhyme below suggests that dumplings were once eaten as a sweet food but most people will know them as an accompaniment to savoury offerings, mainly stew like dishes, and indeed many of us feel cheated if we are served stew without at least one. My childhood memories are of giant deep oven tins, the edges encrusted in dark congealed stew and elsewhere the gravy still boiling. Stew and dumplings was a seething brown ocean of meat and vegetables, with crusty icebergs of dumplings, and I willingly entered those dark waters knowing full well that I was the Titanic.
Dialect: 'dough boys' (Somerset and Dorset), 'sinkers' 'floaters' or 'swimmers' (Norfolk).
Nursery rhyme:
Davy Davy Dumpling,
Boil him in a pot;
Sugar him, and butter him,
And eat him while he's hot!
Alternative: 'Dumpling' can be applied to a person in two different ways either affectionately (e.g. "my little dumpling") or as a description of an overweight person (e.g. "a great dumpling of a man").
See also: 'Norfolk dumplings' and 'Cotswold dumplings'.
- Dundee cake
Dundee's contribution to the many fruit cakes of Britain. A rich, fruity cake, topped with almonds, but not as heavy as some. Variations include cherries and walnuts.
- Dunmow Flitch Trials
2
Anyone who has been married for a year and a day can present themselves for scrutiny at the Dunmow Flitch Trials in Great Dunmow, in Essex, where their devotion to one another is tested, and judged by 6 bachelors and 6 maidens. Participants must swear the 'Flitch Oath' whilst kneeling on pointed stones.
"You do swear by custom of confession
That you ne'er made nuptual transgression
Nor since you were married man and wife
By household brawls or contentious strife
Or otherwise in bed or at board
Offended each other in deed or in word
Or in a twelve months time and a day
Repented not in thought in any way
Or since the church clerk said amen
Wish't yourselves unmarried again
But continue true and desire
As when you joined hands in holy quire."
The couple is tried 'against the flitch' (a flitch of bacon) and the pair have to convince the jury of their loyalty, faithfulness, commitment and love. Convincing couples win the Dunmow flitch.
The earliest records for the trials goes back to 1445, and they were mentioned in Chaucers 'Wife of Bath's Tale'. The trials take place every 4 years, the next one being in 2012.
See also: 'flitch'.
Lane's Extinction Grading: Stable
- Stable in one or more areas/regions, but not growing.
- Still enjoyed by a number of families in one area.
- Successful recent revival with natural local growth.
- Dutch oven
A Dutch oven is a cast iron pot with a tight fitting lid. It was originally designed to sit in the coals of a fire, on its three legs, and hot ashes were then placed on the lid.
See also 'Abraham Darby' and 'pipkin'.