- G and T / gin and tonic
Gin and Tonic.
During the empire days 'Indian Tonic Water', which contained anti-malarial quinine, was added to gin to create 'Gin and Tonic', a drink which became very popular with British people working in hot malaria infested countries. Its popularity continues today.
Gin and tonic often arrives with a slice of lemon.
- gala pie
2
A large, long, rectangular pork pie which has hard boiled eggs running through its centre. Can be bought in slices, but is also traditionally ordered complete, at Christmas, and at other celebratory occasions, or for funerals. The process for getting egg running through the middle, so that every slice contains egg white and yoke, is quite elaborate.
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.
- galantine / chicken galantine
A traditional 'galantine' is a deboned chicken wrapped or sewn back into its own skin, along with ground meat or fish, and other ingredients, and then cooked.
A galantine is cooked either by poaching it in stock or roasting it.
It can be served hot or cold.
French in origin.
See also: 'hindle wakes'.
- gallon
A 'gallon' is a unit of volume equal to 8 pints.
The Imperial gallon was defined by an act of parliament in 1824 as the volume of 10lb of water at 62°F, which is equal to 277.4194 cubic inches, should you be in any doubt.
Despite metrification the gallon is still an important measure to us. We still measure fuel and tank capacity in gallons, and fuel consumption in mpg (miles per gallon). Any large quantity of liquid is described as "gallons of ....".
one Imperial gallon = 4.5461 litres
[US-Aus-Nz-Eire-SA-India]
- game
Animals taken by hunting, or the flesh of game animals. See also 'game pie'.
alt: Someone who is described as 'game' is willing, perhaps even enthusiastic, but being 'on the game' is something quite different.
- game pie
No specific ingredients, but anything you can shoot or snare, and a combination of any of the following depending on what is available: Rabbit, hare, pheasant, partridge, venison, woodcock, or pigeon, but never duck, (which was traditionally eaten whole in Britain, boiled or roasted). May be called 'poachers pie', depending on either your political perspective, or your resourcing methods. One of the few dishes that the aristocracy and the peasants enjoyed in common. In times gone by 'game pie' would have contained plovers, crows, blackbirds, squirrel, etc. See also 'crow pie'.
- gamey
Strongly flavoured. A word often associated with 'well hung' meats, which does not mean .... never mind!
- gammon
A 'ham' which has been boned and cut up.
Gammon, with egg, is also a popular meal, but you don't get a whole gammon, just a slice of it, accompanied by a traditional lump of English, home grown, pineapple.
- Gannet
Gannet (the bird) has been eaten for thousands of years and was once served at the table of the Scots Kings and the wealthy. Young Gannet were traditionally gathered from Sula Sgeir, a rocky outcrop, in the north Atlantic, off the Orkneys (Sula being old Norse for Gannet).
- Garden of England
Kent is known as the 'Garden of England' due to its ability to produce wonderful fruits and vine borne produce including many fruits, cobnuts and hops. It is able to do this due to a combination of soil type and climate.
Two thirds of all tree grown fruit currently comes from Kent (2012).
- Gardeners Question Time
Gardeners Question Time is a long standing and popular gardening programme on BBC, Radio 4, and is essential Sunday lunchtime listening for gardeners. So appealing is its format that it has a following which includes many non gardeners, a category which once included me, and I remember it being compelling listening when I worked in the frozen wastes of arctic Norway, though I had no idea what they were talking about.
The programme consists of a panel of experts, which visit locations all around Britain, hosted by gardening clubs, allotment associations, etc. and deals with gardening problems experienced in that specific area or region.
The programme was originally broadcast in 1947 under the title of 'How Does Your Garden grow?' It didn't go national until 1957, prior to this it was broadcast only in the northern region.
The programme is now available on podcast though its unlikely that most of its fans will know what a podcast is, or how to grow one.
- garlic
Like many I only came across garlic in the 1970's, in foreign food, a time when it acquired a reputation for not being British, but actually it is mentioned in recipes in England from the 1300's and has been used for medicinal purposes since the Middle Ages. It has also been used as a protection against the plague, as an insect repellent and to ward off evil spirits and demons.
Folklore: "Eat leeks in March, Garlic in May, all the rest of the year the doctor can play". ~ Sussex folklore
Q: "Garlic hath properties that make a man winke, drinke and stinke". ~ Thomas Naskie ,' 'The Unfortunate Traveller - 1594
- gastro pub
I cannot hear the word gastro without thinking of bowel problems nevertheless this is the title adopted by pub landlords and managers who provide high quality food (in theory) as well as the traditional array of drinks. Some of these pubs turn out incredibly good food and many pride themselves on sourcing within a few miles of their kitchen. Many also do sterling work in putting locally traditional dishes on the menu and in reviving lost or endangered dishes.
Gastro pubs, like normal pubs, come in all shapes, sizes and styles and whereas some have retained their original character and traditional serving arrangement there are others which cause discomfort and cause me step back outside to inspect myself (and to regret not polishing my shoes).
- gate
A gate is a protected opening in a fence, hedge or wall. The word 'gate' is norse, meaning 'way' or 'way to', as can be seen in many street names e.g. Kirkgate. Northgate, etc., but has come to mean the thing that fills the gap, rather than the gap itself.
Today the classic country gate is the large, hinged wooden 5 bar gate, (and its steel contemporaries), designed for wheeled vehicles, but gates were once simpler, narrower, and made without any reliance on metal.
The simplest gate was the woven wattle gate but in upland areas stone gateposts held bars of wood (sometimes known as a 'shiver'), slotted into carved grooves. The metal hinge and catch are relatively recent inventions.
Dialect: 'cluit' (a wattled gate - Cornwall).
See also: 'wattle'.
- gate net
A gate net, as the name suggests, is a net which is used in the gap in a hedge, fence or wall, the gap which is usually occupied by the gate. Rabbits get used to running through the gap, and under the gate, when running scared. This instinct or learnt behaviour is exploited by rabbit catchers who place the short net in the gap.
See also: 'long net', 'ferrets' and 'snare'.
- GBBF - Great British Beer Festival
CAMRA's showcase event held at Earles Court, London. The event is run by around 1000 volunteers and features over 500 beers plus ciders and perry. The event usually takes place during the first full week in August.
- giblet pie
Giblets, the cheap or even free parts of fowl, were once commonly made into pies. Giblets were the neck, feet, head, gizzard (split and the stones removed), heart, liver and any other bits of the bird anyone else didn't want. Other ingredients and spices are added and the whole lot is boiled for at least an hour before ending up in a pie.
- gill
A 'gill' (pronounced 'jill') is a unit of volume. Though the legal definition is a 1/4 of a pint, in conversation it can also be a third or a half pint.
Beer drinkers may be heard planning for a 'swift' or 'quick' gill but strangely never then actually order a gill.
- gin
Gin is a spirit flavoured with Juniper berries. Though originating from Holland, during the middle ages, this 'whisky of England' fell from favour due to its link with alcoholism amongst the working class, and with the rise of the 'Temperance movement'. It recovered its popularity, as an anti-malarial drink during the empire days, when combined with Indian tonic, its now famous partner ('gin and tonic'), and possibly giving rise to the expression "for medicinal purposes!".
Gin is once again finding respectability.
Other names for gin are: 'mothers ruin', 'daffy', 'eye water', 'blue ruin' (others)
In Cumbria gin was, and still is, traditionally flavoured with damsons.
Gin distilleries in England are on the increase as 'artisan' gins become fashionable.
Alternative uses: A 'gin trap' is nothing to do with drinking but is a vicious double jawed trap which snaps shut of an animal or mans leg.
See also 'damson gin', 'sloe gin', 'gin palace' and 'G and T'.
- gin palace / gin house
5a
A 'gin palace' was a highly decorated establishment for the purpose of selling gin and first appeared in the 1820's in response to the increasing demand for gin. They evolved from drab, often seedy gin shops and dram shops.
Due to a changes in legislation they became bigger and also began to sell beer and wine. Their bright and ornate style, making use of polished metals, etched glass, gas lights and mirrors was transferred to Victorian pubs where the style survived after the gin lost its popularity and gin palaces went into decline. The style survives today in old Victorian pubs.
Alternative use: Today the term 'gin palace' is applied to any fancy, expensive boat and is often used in a derogatory manner.
See also: 'gin'.
Lane's Extinction Grading: Extinct
Extinct but a useable recipe, knowledge or appropriate experience exists.
- gin trap / Fenn trap
The name 'gin trap' is given to a mechanical trap designed to catch an animal, or a human, by the leg, using spring operated jaws, either with or without a serrated edge or teeth. The word 'gin' is believed to be derived from the word 'engine', which was used centuries ago to describe any mechanical device.
Fenn is now the only trap manufacturer of any note still making spring traps in the UK, consequently the Fenn trap has become synonymous with gin traps in this country.
The use of gin traps against humans (trespassers and poachers) was banned in 1827.
The use of elevated traps to catch birds (pole traps) was banned in 1904.
Gin traps designed to capture an animal by the leg were banned in 1958.
The only gin traps still in use today are the 'humane' category, ones which kill outright instantly.
- ginger ale / beer
1
Made from fermented ginger, water, cream of tartar and yeast. It was originally alcoholic (up to 11%) but these days the name is applied to the non alcoholic carbonated drink with a ginger flavour. Popular for hundreds of years (from the mid 1700âs) and originally sold from chemists alongside mineral waters and dispensed in locally made stone jars or bottles (which are popular amongst collectors today). It saw its peak in the mid 1900's and then went into decline (along with other British drinks) when people developed a liking for fizzy drinks from other sources. These days the non alcoholic version is available in small cans alongside a large range of foreign and native carbonated drinks.
Production of alcoholic ginger beer has started again just recently (2009).
In the west of Scotland any fizzy drink may be referred to as "a bottle o' ginger", a historical link to times when ginger ale was the only commercially made fizzy drink.
Lane's Extinction Grading: Safe
- Nationally produced and/or consumed
- Very strong traditions in one village, town, county or region.
- ginger bread man
Why we should want to eat little biscuit people is a mystery to me, there must be some history or tradition associated with it. And it's not even bread. Ginger bread men are similar to 'parkin' biscuits. Why are there no ginger bread women? Where are all the outraged feminists when you need them?
Lane's Extinction Grading: Very Safe
Culturally exported so globally produced and consumed (i.e. its fate does not rest soley in our hands).
- Glamorgan sausages
Not made from meat but instead these unique sausages contain grated cheese, bread crumbs, chopped leeks or onions, and herbs. The bread crumbs and cheese are mixed in a roughly 2:1 ratio.
- Glasgow roll
1
A well fired bread roll much favoured by Clydeside manual workers in the past. As a consequence of the baking process the roll could be brown to black and was very robust (deliberately). The roll was traditionally a major part of Clydeside workers mid-morning or lunchtime meal and is sometimes known as a 'morning roll'. In the Clyde region other 'well fired' rolls can be found on sale in bakers but these are not made to the same recipe as the Glasgow roll.
See also 'well fired bread'.
Lane's Extinction Grading: Safe
- Nationally produced and/or consumed
- Very strong traditions in one village, town, county or region.
- Glasgow salad
A plate of chips.
- Globe Artichoke
After hearing how wonderful the Globe Artichoke (Cynara scolymus) is to eat I bought one. It was like eating an old gardening book from a jumble sale. Yet everyone reckons they are delicious. I should probably try again.
They originate from Africa and can be grown from seed.
Quote: "After all the trouble you go to, you get about as much actual "food" out of eating an artichoke as you would from licking 30 or 40 postage stamps". ~ Miss Piggy
See also: 'Jerusalem artichoke'.
- Gloucester cheese stew
The Gloucester cheese stew is layers of double Gloucester cheese, potato, onions and milk, topped with cheese and then baked.
- gold top
5a
Bottles of milk with golden coloured foil tops, and once delivered by 'milkmen'.
Today milk comes in varying degrees of fat freeness (and in plastic cartons) and some people get paranoid if they see you using blue top milk and not red. But not so long ago milk was classified in the opposite direction and the best milk was the one with most cream in it (i.e. the most fat). All milk (silver tops) came with a lovely layer of cream on top anyway but 'gold top' was a special treat, perhaps for the weekend or for baking projects.
Nowadays no milk comes with cream on top, not even the blue top, so called 'full fat' variety. I miss that cream, it was lovely on your cornflakes, and even the nicest, organic, blue top milk does not compare with it. What is the point of skimmed milk anyway?
Lane's Extinction Grading: Extinct
Extinct but a useable recipe, knowledge or appropriate experience exists.
- golden syrup
A thick syrup (inverted refiners syrup), a by-product of sugar cane refining process, and a blend of sucrose, glucose and fructose, and which was once thrown away. Used on pancakes, in porridge and as the filling in sandwiches (which requires speed eating skills, or a mother with a wet flannel in close proximity). Lyles's Golden syrup still comes in wonderful robust, traditional packaging (which resembles a paint tin) and, according to the Guinness Book of Records, is the oldest brand packaging in the world. I suspect there is an old sticky tin of this, stuck to a shelf, in nearly every kitchen in Britain (but it lasts forever and can be 're-syruped' (I just made that word up) by warming if it goes crunchy).
Lane's Extinction Grading: Very Safe
Culturally exported so globally produced and consumed (i.e. its fate does not rest soley in our hands).
- goose / gander
A goose is an adult female whilst the adult male is known as a 'gander'. The young are known as 'goslings'.
'Gos', often a reference to geese, appears in many place names, particularly in England, e.g. Gosforth (Cumbria) 'a ford frequented by geese', Goswick, Gosford, Gosham, Gosmere, Gosport, etc. though occasionally 'Gos' or 'Goose' may have originally derived from 'gorse'.
A keeper or herder of geese was once known as a 'gosherde 'or 'gossard' which is the origin of the surname 'Gossard'. According to the 1891 census most Gossards are to be found in Yorkshire, Lancashire and parts of the Midlands but other occupation names associated with geese may have been used elsewhere.
Roast goose was, for hundreds of year, a traditional food, particularly at Christmas dinner, and on Michaelmas Day (1st August) in England. Although the Turkey arrived on our shores in the 1500's the demise of the goose began after the introduction of a fast growing, larger variety of turkey from America after World War 2. The fate of the native goose was almost sealed when intensive Turkey production took hold in the 1960's, combined with an aggressive marketing campaign. But a few families maintained their goose eating traditions and for the last 20 years the Christmas goose has enjoyed a modest, and continuing revival with 1 in 30 of us having returned to this older tradition, no doubt aided by the knowledge that geese cannot be reared indoors.
Geese also have a reputation for being as good as guard dogs.
The goose wing is a traditional tool of the bee keeper who uses it to gently remove bees from equipment, and himself, without harming the bees. Many modern beekeepers still use goose wings and large goose feathers in this way, preferring them to brushes.
Nursery rhyme:
Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat.
Please to put a penny in the old man's hat;
If you haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do,
If you haven't got a ha'penny then God bless you!
And:
Goosey Goosey Gander where shall I wander,
Upstairs, downstairs and in my lady's chamber
There I met an old man who wouldn't say his prayers,
I took him by the left leg and threw him down the stairs.
Alternative uses: If 'your goose is cooked' it means you are finished (in a bad way), and if you are 'goosed' it means that you are tired, although there are some less savoury uses of the expression. 'Goose pimples' are what you get on your skin when you are cold. You must never kill the goose that lays the golden egg. Timid individuals wouldn't say "boo" to a goose. And what is sauce for the goose is, apparently, also sauce for the gander.
See also: 'green goose', 'goose day', 'goose fair', 'goose fat'. 'goose egg', 'Yorkshire goose sauce' and 'mock turkey'.
- goose day
Goose day is also known as Michaelmas Day, which is the 29th September. On this day geese were traditionally eaten in England and goose fairs evolved to meet this seasonal increase in demand.
There are several theories as to the origin of this tradition but one is that Queen Elizabeth the first was eating goose, on Michaelmas Day, when the news of the defeat of the Spanish Armada reached her. She vowed to eat goose at each Michaelmas, as a celebration, and others followed suit.
- goose egg
Goose eggs were difficult to obtain for a while (for a few decades) but are now widely available, seasonally at markets, food fairs and shows.
Their size presents a challenge to the modest appetite and so shared omelettes or scrambled eggs made with goose eggs are the favourite way to use them. Some individuals simply view the goose egg as a personal challenge.
There is something satisfying about the feel of a goose egg, its size and weight, and as there are no special boxes for them it requires careful treatment to get one home intact, which adds to the anticipation and sense of achievement. You tend to find yourself staring at it with admiration, before it is cooked.
Laying in geese begins traditionally on St. Valentineâs Day, 14th February, but much depends on the weather at this time. It is important to collect the eggs every day otherwise geese will go broody and then egg production stops.
The texture of goose eggs when cooked is similar to duck eggs, but goose egg yolks tend to be a darker orange.
- goose fair
5a
Goose Fairs in England were traditionally held at the end of September or beginning of October. Geese were traditionally eaten in England on Michaelmas Day (29th September) and the fairs would have supplied this increase in demand. Although the name remains I don't think anybody sells geese at them any more, a pity. There's one in Nottingham that I know of. Any more?
Lane's Extinction Grading: Extinct
Extinct but a useable recipe, knowledge or appropriate experience exists.
- goose fat
Excellent for giving flavour and colour to fried and/or roasted things, especially spuds. Making a respectable comeback against olive oil, and can be obtained in small jars from many outlets all around Britain. Goose fat was once the favoured insulator against the cold for cross channel swimmers, thank goodness they invented wet suits, and cross channel ferries. If we all ate goose a bit more often we wouldn't have to buy goose fat.
- gooseberry
3
Gooseberry is often pronounced 'guzberry' and also known as 'goosegobs', 'goozegogs' or 'goosegogs'. Once found growing in nearly every garden, often amongst boundary hedges, the gooseberry is now uncommon, replaced by cheap, unsightly fencing from DIY stores, and I cannot remember the last time I had 'goosegob pie'.
Gooseberries were once commonly used in the kitchen in savoury and sweet dishes (not just in jams and pies) with each garden having a gooseberry patch, and with over 2,000 varieties being grown. These days only 3 varieties are commercially grown and they aren't even the best ones, consequently most people think that gooseberries are always hard, green and sour. Many of the old heritage varieties are now being revived with surprising results of taste, colour and texture.
There has been a gooseberry fair at Egton Bridge, in Yorkshire for over 200 years, and a gooseberry pie fair in Galmpton, Devon since 1873.
Alternative uses: When children ask about where they came from the traditional reply was "we found you under a gooseberry bush" (or was before soul-less politically correct killjoys systematically destroyed our traditional stories and nursery rhymes). These days kids are more likely to believe that babies are downloaded from the internet. I wonder if there is some ancient significance to the gooseberry bush, or a traditional link between it and birth?
If a person thinks that somebody is telling them something which is untrue then he or she might say "I wasn't born under a gooseberry bush".
See also: 'gooseberry fool', 'gooseberry fair' and 'gooseberry societies'.
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.
- gooseberry fair
The Egton Bridge Gooseberry fair has been going since 1800 in Egton Bridge, Yorkshire and is organised by Egton Bridge Old Gooseberry Society, the oldest in the country.
See also: 'gooseberry societies'.
- gooseberry fool
Gooseberry fool is a desert made with green gooseberries, cream and sugar and is an Elizabethan dish.
The gooseberries are cooked, with sugar, and then cooled and blended with cream.
The word 'fool' can be tacked onto the end of any fresh fruit which has been prepared in the same way as gooseberry fool.
- gooseberry societies
Gooseberry societies were a result of the Victorian obsession for growing and creating new varieties, though the oldest society, in Egton Bridge in Yorkshire, is over 200 years old. Once numerous the societies are now down to eleven (2012), ten of which are in Cheshire, and one in Yorkshire.
Members of these societies aim to grow the biggest gooseberries, an activity which takes place in secret, and the results of which are revealed on just one day a year.
The gooseberries are picked, in front of witnesses and are secured in boxes with sealing wax, which aren't opened until the following day, the show day, usually in July or August.
See also: 'gooseberry fair'.
- Goosnargh cake
3
Once famous, and originating from Goosnargh, in Lancashire. They are more like shortcake biscuits than a cake, but richer (high butter content), drier, designed to keep, and flavoured with whole caraway seeds, which add both flavour and a crunchy texture. There are several interesting and dramatic stories linked to the origins of the Goosnargh cake, one of which features Vikings and another which involves Oliver Cromwell. Then there's the possible link with Catholics (which may explain a previous strong link to Whitsuntide), and there's the story about the very bad winter.
Can be bought in Goosnargh post office, the focal point of the cakes modest revival. You definitely need a cup of tea on hand with this one, it's like eating really nice chip board.
See also 'wiggs' and 'Yorkshire funeral biscuit'.
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.
- grace
Saying 'grace' is the saying of a prayer or the giving of thanks before a meal. The contents of grace varies with the religion, denomination, location, occasion and whim but many of in Britain will be familiar with:
"For what we are about to receive may the lord make us truly thankful"
There are many local, dialect and humorous forms of grace.
- grafter / spit / trench digger
The long, heavy, narrow and concave blade of the 'grafter', as I was brought up calling it, can slice through heavy soil, stoney soil and root ridden ground. It can easily dig a narrow trench through soft soil or clay, though it is more commonly used alongside a standard shovel to work around rocks, pipes and foundations. It is also known as a 'spit' by some and generally as a trench digging tool.
The long shaft of the grafter allows greater leverage and the wooden shaft is discouraged from breaking by the extended metal sleeve, which comes much higher than other digging tools.
This tool is so robust that, in the right hands, and thrust accurately downwards from a height, it can cut through thick roots, bricks and small rocks. It is also good for tunnelling sideways under things.
It is a tool of the professional digger, the ground worker, the utilities gangs, and before mechanisation, the farmer. Though little known in the gardening world, perhaps because of its weight, it is my favourite tool for lifting plants, allowing a much narrower piece of earth to be dug, and a deeper lift. The concave blade cradles the lifted plug of earth. It is also an excellent post hole digger.
See also: 'mattock'.
- grafting
Grafting is a method of plant propagation where the tissues of one plant are encouraged to join with another.
One plant is selected for its roots or 'rootstock and the other is chosen for the upper parts (stem, leaves, flowers or fruits) and is known as the 'scion'.
For a successful graft the vascular cambium tissues of each part must be in contact with another and the join is protected until the two parts have fused together, which normally takes a few weeks.
The main advantages of grafting are ease of propagation, rapid fruiting, hardiness, cultivar change, and consistency.
Alternative uses: To work hard is sometimes called 'grafting' and a long, thin bladed spade is known by some as a 'grafter' (also known as a 'spit' or a 'trenching tool').
- granary bread
Brown bread with filling finding 'bits' in it. Wholemeal with whole grain.
- grannie sookers
Literally 'granny suckers'. Scottish. Any category of sweet favoured by grannies , presumably boiled sweets and toffees, which seem to be universal granny favourites, regardless of ethnic background.
- gravy
Gravy is a very British thing and is made from the juices of meat (and vegetables) which run freely from the food during cooking. A good gravy can make a huge difference to a meal or pie, and though we don't talk about it much, the quality of a gravy is very important to us. Most of us associate gravy with formal meals, but on the west side of northern England down to, and including Staffordshire, chips are eaten with gravy and chip shops sell pots of it. In Lancashire they put gravy on everything, even in sandwiches.
Dialect: 'dippy' (Cornwall).
Quote: "In England there are sixty different religions, and only one sauce". ~ Domenico Caracciola (1752-1799)
Alternative: The word 'gravy' is also sometimes also used to describe the jelly in pies, when they are warm and the jelly is liquid, and a 'gravy train' is a situation which it would be beneficial to be involved in, a lucrative endeavour.
See also 'gravy boat' and 'pobs'.
- gravy boat
A special boat shaped jug/dish, with a distinctive broad spout, often sat on an oval plate. It is long and thin allowing a large surface area of gravy to be exposed to the air thus ensuring that your gravy is stone cold and coagulated. It also takes up lots of space on the table and requires constant refilling, but its traditional. Some gravy boats are also separators preventing the floating fat (of home made gravy) from getting onto your plate.
French in origin (need I say more?).
- gravy wrestling
An annual World Gravy Wrestling competition takes place behind the 'Rose and Bowl' pub, Stacksteads, Rossendale, Lancashire. Competitors range from athletes to locals from the pub. The competition is in its fourth year (2010).
It is a charity event and though points are given for a 'take-down' and an 'escape' they are also awarded for entertainment or fun value. The judges can be also be swayed by applause/boo-ing from the crowd.
The winner in 2009 was 'Mr. T' who lost his title in 2010 to 'Bunny Boy'.
- greasy spoon
1
A very British eatery, and the name is traditional, not a reflection on health or hygiene standards. An affectionately named category of cafe, which serves traditional, fried, or fast foods, on a plate (as opposed to the 'butty wagon', which serves food in a paper bag, or wrapped in a napkin). Traditional greasy spoons are often managed by capable ladies, or surly blokes, and are mostly frequented by shoppers and people engaged in manual work, driving, and motoring hobbies, but by no means exclusively so and they are also popular with subdued Saturday sports teams who have prematurely celebrated their win the night before. Everyone will have affectionate memories of them as they are places which have no entrance qualifications, (stated or implied) and are famed as the mythical cure to a hangover (disputed). The 'greasy spoon' is the fortress home of such dishes as the 'full English breakfast', liver and onions, bangers and mash, anything and chips. They can be found in all corners of this land, in village, town, city and in the remotest parts of the countryside, and all along the roads in between them. They vary in decor from old style formica decked 'transport caff', to flowery places with clean tablecloths and quaint teapot collections. You can find them in narrow alleys or overlooking endless horizons, and there's is no telling where one will pop up (or when).
See also: 'butty wagon'.
Lane's Extinction Grading: Safe
- Nationally produced and/or consumed
- Very strong traditions in one village, town, county or region.
- green goose
A young Goose which is not fully grown (about four months old). Considered the best roast goose.
See also: 'goose / gander'.
- green tomato chutney
A great way to use up unripe produce. I remember kitchen drawer full of green tomatoes on newspaper at the end of the season, waiting to ripen. Any that failed to ripen properly were turned into green tomato chutney.
- greenhouse / glasshouse / hot house
A 'greenhouse' is a house made of glass (walls and roof) and its purpose is to create a warmer and/or more humid climate for the growing of plants thus allowing plants to be grown out of season or delicate plants to be grown where they could not survive naturally. Greenhouses also provide protection from predators and pests.
A greenhouse may also be known as a 'glass house' and a heated greenhouse may be known as a 'hot house'.
Greenhouses may be so good at keeping out unwanted insects that they may also keep out useful ones too. In such circumstances artificial pollination techniques are required.
Sayings: "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" meaning don't criticise others until you are perfect.
See also: 'cloche', 'poly tunnel' and 'cold frame'.
- grey peas *
Eaten like mushy peas and with bacon. A Black country favourite.
- grey peas and bacon
Grey peas and barley are soaked overnight and then cooked with chopped onion and the chopped and browned bacon. Dish of the Midlands.
- griddle
4
The flat, or slightly dished metal plate which replaced the 'bak stone'. It is suspended over a fire and food is dropped onto it. Scones, oatcakes, 'singing hinnies' and 'Welsh cakes' are examples of griddle food.
Lane's Extinction Grading: On the brink.
- Difficult to find, on the brink of extinction.
- Revived by an individual or by a few culturally unconnected individuals.
- grig
A 'grig is any small eel but in some regions it may be applied to a specific eel type (e.g. sand eel) or to any lively eel.
See also: 'eel' and 'elver'.
- groats
The hulled grains of cereals.
Dialect: 'pillas' (naked oats - Cornwall).
- groaty dick / pudding
Black country dish which is popular on bonfire night and once eaten as part of midsummer's eve celebrations. Soaked groats (oat) leeks, onion, beef and beef stock, baked at 150 degrees Celsius for up to 16 hours. Also known as 'groaty pudding'.
- grog
'Grog' is a naval term for rum, or more correctly watered down rum, and was given this name by sailors in the early 1700's (the un-watered down version became known as 'neaters').
Edward Vernon, on returning to Jamaica as the senior commander, noted how sailors had adopted rum as their favoured drink and were consuming approximately half a bottle each per day. At the time Britain was at battle with both France and Spain and Vernon was worried about the efficiency of his fighting force and their ability to defend Jamaica, (the most important British colony in the region at that time). They were also responsible for protecting the merchant fleet carrying vast quantities of sugar to Europe. He therefore insisted that the rum be watered down. The name 'grog' was taken from nickname sailors had for Vernon, which in turn was taken from the favourite coat in which Vernon was always seen, a coat called and made from 'grogam' (a waterproof material made from silk, mohair and wool. and stiffened with gum).
Poem by Dr Thomas Trotter - 1781 (HMS Berwick):
A mighty bowl on deck he drew,
And filled it to the brink;
Such drank the Burfordâs gallant crew,
And such the gods shall drink.
The sacred robe which Vernon wore
Was drenched within the same;
And hence his virtues guard our shore,
And Grog derives its name.
The word 'groggy' is thought to have derived from the condition a man gets in after drinking too much grog.
Alternative use: Grog is the name given to course material added to clay so that the resulting pot is resistant to thermal shock.
See also 'grog blossom', 'rum ration' and 'pussers neaters'.
[US-Aus-NZ-Can]
- grog blossom
Redness of the face, or blotches caused by overindulgence of 'grog' (rum) but used to describe over indulgence in any spirit. Known in more modern times as 'alkie rash'.
- growler
A Yorkshire term for a 'pork pie'. A word used mainly by blokes, and usually only applied to those of the hand held variety, as 'pie and peas' is never referred to as growler and peas.
- gruel
A thin soup made from cereal (no meat). Not, as I thought, a Victorian meal given exclusively to prisoners and kids in orphanages, but an actual dish of some history and repute, and once eaten by ancient Greeks. However it is a food associated with poverty, hard times, and punishment, though thin soups can command a lot of money in posh restaurants these days. They probably don't call them 'gruel' though and rely more on words like 'clear', 'delicate', 'subtle', 'hint' and 'essence of'.
- Gruen transfer
One of the tactical product placement theories used by supermarkets, and which suggests the most effective way to organise and display products to appeal to certain customers. For example women tend to focus on products which are 3-4ft (1 metre) high and will select based primarily on value, whereas men will tend to look at stuff which is higher and will be comfortable with more expensive things.
There is a theory in America that the reason nobody went back to the moon is because all the scientists who would have worked for NASA went instead to work for supermarkets and developed all these theories (on much higher wages).
See also 'BOGOF'.
- guano
Guano (from the Quechua 'wanu', (dung) via Spanish) is the excrement (faeces and urine) of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals which has been collected as manure.
Guano has high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also a lack of odour. Soil that is deficient in organic matter can be made more productive by addition of this manure.
Guano collecting was once a large industry and though guano is still collected the practice has been made largely obsolete by the introduction and mass production of chemical fertilisers.
Guano was also once an important source of nitrates for gunpowder.
See also: 'dovecote', 'caprolite' and 'marl'.
- gully knife
In the north east of England housewives of the older generation still call a large bread knife a 'gully'. Gully is an old word for a large working knife, variations of which were used in many industries around Britain and were commonplace amongst sailors.
- gurry
A Victorian word for fish offal.
- gypsy tart
Originating from Kent this cheap and simple dessert was made from pastry, evaporated milk and brown or muscovado sugar, and was a common school dinners dessert, in Kent, the 1960's, 70's and 80's. Kent people who bump into each other, outside the county, seem to bond quickly over accounts of this food in the same way that the rest of us will talk affectionately about semolina or 'frogs spawn'.