Gargoyle Pie

All contributions gratefully received, on any subject, e.g. history, local names, recipes, pictures, videos, songs, poems, traditions (local or family), personal anecdotes, etc.

tablet

Scottish confectionary which is traditionally home-made, and resembles Kendal mint cake in appearance, but is softer (more like fudge), creamier and without the mint. Made from condensed milk, cane sugar, flavouring (usually vanilla) and unsalted butter (similar ingredients to fudge).

takeaway

Street food or fast food which is not consumed on the premises but taken away instead, usually to be eaten at home (yours or somebody else's). The term is applied to food of any ethnic origin and the question "Shall we have a takeaway tonight?" is code for "I can't be bothered cooking, can you?", however the expression tends to be applied more to foods which are of foreign origin as very few people would refer to 'fish and chips' as a 'takeway'.

tallow

'Tallow' is animal fat, usually rendered mutton or beef, often processed from suet. It has a high melting point and is solid at room temperature and is pure white. Tallow, if stored in sealed containers, has a long shelf life.
Tallow, usually from sheep, was used to coat the foam like innards of a bog rush to make 'rush lights' and when wax candles were invented the mutton tallow was then used to make cheaper tallow candles. Tallow rush lights and candles have a strong smell and do not burn cleanly, creating black smut.
Tallow is still an ingredient of soap and cosmetics, is used as a lubricant and has been converted into bio-fuel (even tested in a power station).
Early explorers were often forced, by dire circumstances, to eat their tallow candles. This trick has not been missed by survival equipment companies who are making tallow candles once again, but under false pretences as these modern 'tallow' candles are made from edible vegetable fat.
Tallow melters were known as 'oynters'.

tap room

Not so long ago all pubs had two distinct rooms called the 'tap room' and the 'best room', 'parlour', 'lounge', 'snug', or 'back room'. Only a few have maintained this tradition.
The tap room, as its name suggests, was where the beer taps were housed and jugs, pots or glasses of beer were originally carried through to the lounge which traditionally had no 'line of sight' between the two rooms so that the privacy of each was maintained (and possibly so that the ladies in the 'best room' were shielded from the language and boisterousness of the 'tap room'.)
The two rooms had different functions and two types of clientele. The tap room was where the working man would call in on the way home, still in his muck, but when he came back in the evening with his wife they would go in the best room and socialise with other couples, and at weekends with families.
The tap room was sparse, with wooden benches, stools and chairs, and no carpet on the floor. The beer was cheap. It was a mans domain and indeed women were often prohibited from entering though most women (and some blokes) wouldn't be seen dead in there anyway.
Games were often played in the tap room notably cards, dominoes and darts but also skittles, shove ha'penny, etc. They were places where the locals went, deals were struck, bets were made, sports teams were born (and died), hobbies were shared and life long friendships were forged.
Tap rooms have cleaned themselves up a bit though they are no longer single sex. In every town there will be one or two pubs which stubbornly cling onto the original tap room decor and philosophies.
The 'best room' was often dripping with brass ware, horse brasses being a favourite for centuries, or with common items from the local industry, but these have given way to other 'interesting' ornaments and there are now companies which provide meaningless rubbish to plastic pubs in an attempt to feign authenticity and to justify the heart stopping beer prices.
But many pubs have evolved into a large single room, family friendly and charge 'snug' prices throughout but working men still feel the need to seek out tap rooms and "proper pubs", which is how CAMRA came about and partly why it still exists.
Pubs have evolved, losing their tap rooms, due to several reasons.
Firstly there are no longer huge numbers of men doing hard physical jobs requiring the slaking of thirst to mark the end of a tough day.
Secondly working men now visit pubs as much to watch sports on big tellies as much as they do to socialise and they like to do this seated in large comfortable rooms.
Also society in general has become insular, less community minded, lazy and more likely to stay at home. This attitude has contributed to the demise of pubs.
Cheap supermarket beer is not helping either.
See also 'pub'.

tart

A shallow open, short crust pie which can contain either sweet or savoury ingredients but most people will think of sweet puddings when they hear the word.

Nursery rhyme:
The Queen of Hearts she made some tarts all on a summer's day;
The Knave of Hearts he stole the tarts and took them clean away.
The King of Hearts called for the tarts and beat the Knave full sore
The Knave of Hearts brought back the tarts and vowed he'd steal no more.

alt: The word may also be used to describe a woman of generous affections.

tartare sauce

A thick white sauce made from mayonnaise and finely chopped pickled capers, gherkin, onions and parsley. Traditionally served with fried seafood dishes.
The name gives its origin away. In France it was developed as a sauce to be used with steak but has found other uses in our culture. 'Tartar' sauce is the same thing but is the US spelling, and according to a US food web site some people still actually still use the original quaint spelling (so that would be the entire English and French speaking world outside America then?)
Not to be confused with 'cream of tartar' which is something else altogether.

tater

Variation on 'potatoes', used in various parts of England.

tatie hash / tater hash

Boiled potatoes, chopped onions and corned beef stewed long in butter and milk. When cooked, the potatoes are mashed (or hashed). Traditionally served as a nourishing main course accompanied by red cabbage or pickled beetroot. Northern England.

taties

Variation on 'potatoes', used in various parts of England.

tatties

Variation on 'potatoes', used in Scotland, and often linked to 'neeps'.

tea - drink

A drink with jam and bread, apparently. A hot drink made from infused leaves of the tea plant and there are estimated to be over 1,500 varieties. We have been drinking tea for 450 years. Tea comes in an amazing array of flavours, and any infusion of leafs, roots, flowers or fruits is also known as 'tea' regardless of whether it has actual tea in it or not. This type of tea may be known as 'herbal', 'smelly' or 'flowery' tea
Traditionally 'proper' tea is turned to by the British in times of potential stress, distress, sadness or imminent danger but also in times of celebration and the British are renowned for their tea drinking obsession. Quality teas throughout the world are deliberately, and oddly linked to England, a place where not a single tea plant grows naturally. For example teas drunk in the middle east often have English scenes on the packaging or are linked to England in some other way (e.g. Ahmeds tea of London).
Here are some tea fact and figures: approx. 165 million cups of tea are drunk every day in the Britain (62 billion cups per year) and we are the 2nd largest consumers of tea in the world (per capita) consuming 2.1 kg per person per year and importing 160 thousand tonnes per year. 40% of the nations fluid intake is tea.
For years tea has suffered decline but now, like fish and chips, it is coming back and is experiencing a new popularity.
Tea and coffee facts: tea outsells coffee by 2 to 1, contains about half the caffeine of coffee and costs approximately half as much, per cup, to make.
Tea and milk facts: Tea is taken with milk, but never with cream and over 25% of milk consumed in the UK is taken with tea.
Tea is also known as 'char' but this word is never used on its own but always with 'a cup of' and 'lady'. The word 'cuppa' is also used to mean a cup of tea.
Sayings: If you regard something as not being for you then you might state that "it's not my cup of tea!".
Sea also: 'tea - meal', 'tea bags', 'tea cosy', 'tea dance', 'tea drinking' and 'Twankay tea'.

tea - meal time

For those living in the northern half of Britain, and parts of South Wales, 'tea' is not just a drink but is also the meal time that occurs at the end of the day (known as 'dinner' by those living in the southern half of England).
See also" 'dinner', 'cream tea' and 'high tea'.

tea bags

I get so used to seeing American web sites claiming that they invented everything that I was amazed to discover that they actually did invent the tea-bag, admittedly by accident but they still invented it.
Struggling to cut costs, Thomas Sullivan, a New York coffee merchant who turned to tea, sent out samples in small silk sachets rather than as loose tea (1903). His penny-pinching was misunderstood by his customers who failed to realise that they were supposed to cut open the sachet and empty its contents into a pot before brewing their tea. The 'tea bag' was an instant success with his customers and the idea spread.
The silk bag was swiftly replaced with gauze and in 1930 William Hermanson, of the Boston-based Technical Papers Corporation, patented the heat-sealed paper fibre tea bag.
But it took nearly half a century for the tea bag to cross the Atlantic. The American invention was viewed with suspicion by British drinkers who considered the bags to be full of 'sweepings' and thought that the string attached to the bag (which often fell into the pot) had more flavour than the tea itself. There was also a cultural difference in that Americans made (and still make) weak, luke warm tea (from the practice of dunking the bag in a cup of lukewarm water, rather than using boiling water) and this unsatisfactory result was initially blamed on the tea bag rather than the Americans. The prevailing attitude in Britain was, and still is, that loose tea makes a superior 'cuppa' than a tea bag.
Nevertheless it was in 1953 that 'Tetleys' (Britain's largest tea maker at the time), introduced tea bags in Britain, initially to a tepid response. A breakthrough came in with the introduction of the perforated bag which was taken up and developed by other tea companies.
In the early 1960s, tea bags made up less than 3% of the British market, but this has been growing steadily ever since. By 2007 tea bags made up a phenomenal 96% of the British market though recently 'loose' tea has made a bit of a comeback as, once again, tea drinking becomes fashionable.
Tea bags continue to evolve and change shape, and the string comes and goes too. There are even giant catering ones and tea bags with draw cords.

tea caddy

A 'tea caddy' is the name of a container for tea.
Originally tea caddies were valuable items, just like their contents, and some had locks to prevent the tea being stolen, but as the tea became cheaper, and drunk by poorer people, the name survived and was applied to any container designated to hold tea, including old tin cans.
Large versions of tea caddies were sometimes known as tea chests though this is also what the large square boxes, used for transporting tea in ships, were also called.
See also: 'tea drinking'.

tea cosy

Teapots were often accompanied by an insulating 'tea cosy' which is used to keep the pot warm between the first and second cups of tea. Though this practice has fallen into decline it is apparently coming back with the increase in popularity of tea.
The family tea cosy was nearly always home made, originally from disused garments in poor homes, and you could sometimes recognise the fabric from when it was worn by one of the family. These gave way to purpose made sewn or knitted ones and a lot of skill and pride went into the making of them as they were always on show. Grannies seemed particularly skilled at making tea cosies and every family seemed to have one that had been made by granny. No matter what their source they always made fantastic silly hats for kids (until your mam saw you) and pulling one down so that your head was completely covered and then shouting inside was especially good fun (for onlookers too). Early attempts to mimic a robot often involved a tea cosy.

tea dance

An afternoon or early evening dance but more usually afternoon as it evolved from 'afternoon tea'. Tea dances are rare now but were once very popular with the Victorians.

tea drinking

The event or custom of tea drinking requires its own entry due to the special words and rituals which have evolved around it. Offering a 'cup of tea' occurs as a guest steps over your threshold and it would be considered rude not to do so. And inviting a person to 'drop in for a cup of tea' is an informal way to encourage a person to strengthen the relationship between you both. There is much much more to a cup of tea than a hot drink and many friendships, revelations, plans, business deals, plots and conciliatory acts have all been linked to the practice. The British have a reputation for resorting to a nice cup of tea when things get bad (or good).
Tea drinking may also be known as "having a cuppa", "having a pot of tea" (even if you are only having a cup), "having a cup o' char" or as "having a brew".
In many households the practice of getting out the 'best china' is still strong when guests are due (often to the amusement of the other permanent residents of the household who, in some cases, may never has actually seen this 'china' before).
The following words and expressions are associated with tea drinking: 'cuppa' (cup of tea), 'char' (tea), 'stewed' (left in the pot for too long), 'fresh pot/cup' (made with new leaves/bags), and 'dunking' (dipping 'biccies' into one's tea). Leaving the tea to brew may also be known as leaving it to 'draw' or to 'mash' (Yorkshire).
Other words for cups are: 'China', 'mug', 'pot', 'pint pot',
The following questions are also associated with tea drinking: "Do you take tea?", "Shall I be mother?", "Shall I pour?", "Do you take milk/sugar?", "With or without?", "One lump or two?", "Can I freshen that up for you?" (top up your cup),
Milk should always be added before the tea when the tea is poured from a pot (a ritual which evolved from the days when hot tea poured directly into a cup would crack the delicate and expensive 'china'), but its the other way around with tea bags because you need the hot water to ensure that correct infusion does occurs in the cup.
Drinking cooled tea direct from the saucer used to be a common sight, across the classes, but this practice is now considered, by modern society, to be rude.
The habit of tea drinking in offices and factories led to the existence of the 'char lady' a now extinct breed once much valued in the workplace not just for their ability to make and deliver a good cup of tea but also for their internet like ability to carry information between offices and departments, and though the 'char lady' has gone, in a recent study, 80% of staff still claim they find out more about what's going on at work, over a cup of tea, than in any other way.
See also: 'teapot', 'tea cosy', 'tea caddy', 'tea bags', 'tea dance' and 'mote spoon'.

Lane's Extinction Grading: Very Safe

Culturally exported so globally produced and consumed (i.e. its fate does not rest soley in our hands).

tea urn

A 'tea urn' is a metal container specifically designed for holding and serving large quantities of tea via a small tap at the base of the urn. The word 'urn' describes a container which has a wide pedestal base with a narrow neck above and originally tea urns were this elegant shape but during the last century they became utilitarian and cylindrical, but retained the name.
Once tea urns were small decorative centre pieces, used in private rooms, placed on the 'tea table', marvelled at and admired by visitors, shown off by the host, but today tea urns are large, entirely functional and associated with the workplace and public events.
They can still be found where large quantities of hot drinks have to be served quickly e.g. factories, armed forces, sports functions, church halls, etc., though today you are likely to find one with coffee, and perhaps even drinking chocolate in it.
The origins of the tea urn lay in the 1600's when tea drinking became fashionable, and when the technologies of the day made possible tinned metal vessels.
Tea urns have been displaced by drinks machines and the cheapness of electric kettles but once every workplace canteen relied on them and some larger ones still do.
Originally tea urns were simply dispensers for large quantities of hot water or hot tea whilst 'samovars' were always heated from below but there is some overlap in design and function as some tea urns were also heated and modern electric tea urns may contain a heating element to keep the contents hot.
See also: 'samovar', ‘hay box’, ‘safari jar’ and 'knife urn'.

teacake - Yorkshire

A Yorkshire teacake is simply known in Yorkshire as a 'teacake' and is a small, circular, bread cake, which others may know as a bap, cob, barm, stottie, etc. In Yorkshire a teacake is always plain, not fruited, a difference which generates endless humorous holiday stories for Yorkshire people. The plain teacake can be white or brown and are much favoured by sandwich makers. If you want the other type in Yorkshire then you need to ask for a 'current teacake' or you will end up with something you didn't expect and a humorous story of your own.

teacake / current teacake / fruited teacake

1

A toasted, buttered fruit tea cake is both a favourite breakfast and an afternoon tea accompaniment and is popular throughout Britain. Always made from white bread.
They are known simply as 'tea cakes' throughout Britain except in Yorkshire where 'teacakes' are made of plain bread and where you should always ask for a 'currant tea cake' or a 'fruit tea cake' if you don't want the plain type.
In the north of England tea cakes traditionally had lard in them.
See also 'teacake - Yorkshire'.

Lane's Extinction Grading: Safe

1. Nationally produced and/or consumed
2. Very strong traditions in one village, town, county or region.

teapobs *

Leftover biscuits and/or bread, dropped into tea and eaten for breakfast like a cereal. A Lancashire miners meal.

teapot

A pot in which to infuse (brew or mash) loose tea but these days people will put tea bags into them instead. The teapot is not always made from 'pot' and can often be metal though the originals were ceramic, and they were also very small because tea was so expensive. Although designs have changed over time the teapot remains essentially the same (with handle, lid and spout) regardless of the material it is made from but most people feel the most comfortable when served tea in a ceramic teapot rather than a metal one and especially if its the spherical shaped one, it just feels right (and more so if its brown, but that's just my opinion).
The pot is always warmed with hot water, and the water discarded before the tea and boiling water are added. When making tea the rule is "one spoon each and one for the pot". A tea pot should never be washed, simply rinsed and dried.
Teapot collecting is a hobby to many and collections can be encountered in numerous homes and 'nice' teashops. Many of the items on display will be novelty decorative teapots and will have no practical value, though historically antique novelty teapots have attracted large sums of money at auctions. 'Tea houses' used to design and have made ornate but practical teapots unique to them.
There is a teapot museum in Conwy, north Wales but the largest teapot collection in the world (3,000) is in England at Norwich Castle museum.
Individuals and groups of all ages never seem to tire of singing 'I'm a little teapot short and stout'.
See also 'tea cosy'.
Alt: It is possible for a person, or for a piece of equipment, to be "as much use as a chocolate teapot!"

teetotal

Teetotalism is complete abstinence from the consumption of alcohol in any form and someone who subscribes to this way of life is known as a 'teetotaler.'
The teetotalism movement was first started in Preston, Lancashire in the early 19th century and was closely linked to the Temperance Movement.
Being '"on the wagon" means the same thing but tends to be applied to a reformed individual who was once a heavy drinker. It is also used in a casual way by individuals who are having a short rest between heavy bouts of drinking, usually because they are still feeling the effects of the previous session.
See also: 'Temperance Movement'.

teisen lap

A welsh fruit cake once very popular in south Wales. Originally baked in a shallow tin in front of an open fire so it can, if necessary, be cooked under a grill, though these days new fangled ovens feature in most recipes. Some Arab restaurants have open fires specifically for cooking split fish called 'masgouf'. The fish are marinated and stood upright on sticks and the sight and smell of them as you enter adds lots to the atmosphere. I would love to enter a Welsh cafe and see 'teisen lap' propped up in front of an open fire, cooking in its traditional way, the affect would be amazing.

Temperance movement

The movement arose from the desire to tackle the problem of chronic alcoholism raging throughout the poor in England during Victorian times. The movement was started by Joseph Livesay in Preston in 1832 and quickly spread throughout Britain though it evolved into different similar organisations such as 'The Band of Hope'.
The movement gave rise to 'temperance bars' and popularity to many non alcoholic drinks (tonics and cordials) some of which survive today (e.g. Vimto originally 'Vim Tonic'). Members had to make a public pledge (usually signed) of total abstinence which obliged them not to drink for the rest of their lives. The term 'teetotal' results from a speech given by a follower of Livesay in 1833.
The movement had hotels, bars and made silent films. The oldest and last surviving temperance bar is in Rawtenstall, Lancashire.

Tewkesbury mustard

Tewkesbury mustard was a combination of mustard and horseradish, formed into a ball of dryish paste which could easily be carried or stored. A small slice of it could then be made into a runnier paste by adding a little of whatever you were drinking with your meal.
The Tewkesbury mustard recipe, invented in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, was once famous throughout the country, especially in the 17th century.
See also: 'mustard'.

tharve cake *

See 'havercake'.

The Glorious 12th

The 'Glorious 12th' is what hunters call the 12th of August, the first day of the grouse shooting season and one of the busiest days in the shooting season.
Though the day is a traditional one it is also enshrined in law, in the 1831 Game Act.
Though the 12th is the traditional start to the season, the grouse shooting season cannot begin on a Sunday and therefore the Glorious 12th sometimes begins on the 13th e.g. in 2001 and in 2007.
The day is eagerly awaited by chefs too as grouse can then legally appear on seasonal menus.

The Great Famine - 1314-1316

Between the years of 1314 and 1316 about 10% of the population died in the famine brought on by successive crop failures and 'pestilence of animals' due to the period of climate change now known as 'The Little Ice Age'. Hard winters, dry summers and floods led to high grain prices and starvation.
Quote: "A great ruin seized the English people" ~ Henry Knighton

The Kitchen Front

A war time BBC morning radio programme for housewives. It gave recipes and tips for making the best use of rationed ingredients.

Thomas Allison

The original advocator of 'roughage'. Dr. Allison established a medical practice in London in 1885 and extolled the virtues of healthy eating. His beliefs led him to write a book called 'The Advantage of Wholemeal Bread' and so strong were his convictions that in 1892 he bought a stone grinding mill in north London (the first of many) and establishes the 'Natural Food Company' with the slogan 'Health without medicine' . He opens his first bakery in the same year producing wholemeal bread and is struck off the medical register for his 'radical thinking'. In 1914 the government accepts his theories and demand for wholemeal increases. The General Medical council offer to reinstate him but he turns them down. He passes away in 1918 leaving a thriving bakery which survives today.
Dr Allison was ahead of his time and our so called modern theories actually came from him.
Dr Allison also believed that flour was healthier when ground the traditional way, between stones, rather than steel rollers, a theory which modern scientists have now proven to be correct.

Thomas Coryat

The man attributed with introducing the fork to England after observing them in use in Italy in 1611. He was given the nickname 'Furcifer' (fork bearer), was widely ridiculed and considered effeminate and affected. The English attitude to poncy Italian ideas has much improved since then.

Thomas Fairchild (1667-1729)

Thomas Fairchild created the worlds first hybrid plant in London in 1716. He was a nurseryman who had a nursery at Shoreditch and he wanted to produce a unique bloom to sell, one which his rivals did not have. So secretly, in his potting shed, he crossed a 'Carnation' and a 'Sweet William' and successfully created a new pink flower which did not exist in nature, and is still preserved as a pressed flower today.
It was 1720 before he presented his work to the Royal Society, opening up a whole new branch of horticulture which thrives today and is practised both in laboratories and in potting sheds. Fairchild was buried in a church yard belonging to the parish of St. Leonard, Shoreditch.

Thomas Laxton

Thomas Laxton (1830 - 1893), of Tinwell, Lincolnshire, can be considered the 'father' of the modern strawberry. He was a plant breeder who was particularly interested in both strawberries and peas and introduced many new varieties of strawberries. He also worked with Charles Darwin in experiments on peas.
Laxton introduced a total of seventeen new varieties most notably 'King of Earlies' (1888), 'Noble' (1884), and 'Royal Sovereign' (1892).
The Laxton family continued his work and were responsible for a further 47 varieties of strawberries and for many other fruits, notably apples and plums (many named after them e.g. 'Laxton's Peerless' and 'Laxton's Gage').
See also: 'Strawberry' and 'Royal Sovereign'.

Thomas Tusser (1524 - 1580)

Thomas Tusser (1524 - 1580) was an Essex poet and farmer, best known for his long instructional poem, Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry, published in 1557. in rhyming couplets, and recording the country year.

thrawl

A 'thrawl in Yorkshire and Derbyshire is a stone slab or shelf, often found in a larder, and used to keep food cool. Elsewhere it may have been simply know as a 'cold stone'. In large nineteenth century houses the thrawl might be found in the buttery, often in the cellar of the house.
See also: 'larder'.

threshing / thrashing

Threshing or thrashing is the loosening and removal of cereal grain from the stem and from the chaff which surrounds the grain. This is achieved through violent action. Traditional hand threshings using a flail on the floor and were often communal affairs involving rhythmic singing. An alternative to this was to walk animals around on the harvested crop.
The horse powered threshing machine was invented by Scotsman Andrew Meikle in the 1780's and its introduction, along with other machines, caused widespread unemployment within farming and even contributed to riots by farm workers. Today the threshing takes place, as just one of several operations, inside a combine harvester.
See also: 'winnowing'.

tiddy oggy

Cornish name for a 'Cornish pasty' and also for a potato pie.
See also 'hoggan'.

tied cottage / house

A 'tied' cottage or house is a dwelling which is a owned by your employer that you can live in for as long as you are employed in a particular job, and for little or no rent.
Such dwellings were most frequently provided by farmers for farm hands but were also provided by large estate owners for senior members of the staff e.g. game keeper, gardener, etc. Tied house agreements were also used by breweries to ensure exclusive sales of their beers by landlords in pubs owned by the brewery.

tiffin

Lunch or any light meal. An Indian word which was adopted by the British during the Empire days and became synonymous with 'afternoon tea'. The word has fallen from common usage in the English language but still survives in bakery circles where the word is associated with biscuits and cakes, the mainstays of the Empire's 'afternoon tea'.
Apparently in India a tiffin vendor is known is a 'dabba wala' which should not to be confused with the snack vendor who is known as a 'chanachur wala'. You could starve to death trying to find the right bloke.

tin can

A 'tin can' is an air tight metal container used for storing foods (wet and dry) and liquids. Tin cans were steel and coated or 'tinned' with tin, hence the name, but modern tin cans can be steel or aluminium. Invented by English merchant Peter Durand in 1810 and the worlds first commercial canning factory was opened in England in 1813 (London). Canned foods were originally intended for extreme environment use such as would be experienced by the military (especially the Royal Navy who initially were the biggest users) and by explorers, and it took twenty years before canned foods began to be sold to the general public.
Early tin cans were heavier than modern ones, made with thick metal and hand soldered. The food was cooked in the can before a hole in the lid was sealed. They were opened with a chisel, knife or bayonet until the invention of the first can openers (approx. 40 years later). Modern tin cans are manufactured increasingly with ring pulls, doing away with the need to use a can opener, but some retain the charming little key which removes a weakened strip near the lid. The contents of most cans are identified by a paper or a plastic label glued around the tin but technology now allows for colour printing directly onto the metal.
Food found in old tin cans has been found to be edible after decades.
Alternative use: The term 'tin can' can be applied to any mode of transport which doesn't impress you.

tin foil

Made from aluminium, but originally made from tin, the changeover beginning in 1907, but the original name endures
Tin foil, of varying thickness is used in many areas of food production, storage and consumption. Thicker sheets are used for takeaway containers and disposable barbques.
Not just used for cooking but also good, when made into a skull cap, for resisting electromagnetic fields and alien mind probes.

tipsy laird

Scottish name for sherry trifle.

tithe

A tithe is one tenth, usually paid in kind. It was an early form of taxation by the church and by other powerful landowners. Farmers paid one tenth of their production which was often stored in a 'tithe barn'. Tithe could also be paid in labour.
The tithe system was ended with the 'Tithe Commutation Act' of 1863.

toad in the hole

An attempt to make a Yorkshire pudding sound exotic. Fried sausages are thrown into the baking tray before the pudding batter is poured in, and the cooked dish is served, with lies, to small children.
Old recipes for 'toad in the hole' describe cooked meat, often beef, simply cooked in batter and there is no mention of sausages or Yorkshire pudding. How it became the familiar sausage in Yorkshire pudding is not clear and in the past even the Yorkshire pudding version could contain a variety of cooked meats, even pigeon. An old recipe from the Yorkshire Observer, 1935, uses kidneys not sausages.
The sausage type may have become popular, and eventually standard, through usage by people who couldn't afford the more expensive ingredients.
In the past 'toad in the hole' was once known as 'toad in a hole' (confusing I know).

toast

A slice of bread which has been grilled on both sides resulting in:
a) darker colouration ranging from light brown to black
b) greater ability to maintain structural integrity during contact with wet things.
c) rigidity allowing more confident manipulation than with bread.
d) a great taste
e) a great way to use stale bread

The list of things you can put on toast is endless and the British are especially keen on this practice, perhaps a legacy of once eating everything from 'tenchers'.
Common folk do it as well as pretentious restaurant eaters, and toast with butter is universal to every breakfast regardless of class or occupation. I'm surprised the communists never spotted that one. See also 'wassail', 'welsh rarebit' and 'soldiers'.
Q: "It isn't only fictional heroes to whom toast means home and comfort. It is related of the Duke of Wellington - I believe by Lord Ellesmere - that when he landed at Dover in 1814, after six years' absence from England, the first order he gave at the Ship Inn was for an unlimited supply of buttered toast." ~ Elizabeth David - 'English Bread and Yeast Cookery' (1977)

Lane's Extinction Grading: Very Safe

Culturally exported so globally produced and consumed (i.e. its fate does not rest soley in our hands).

toffee

Made by boiling sugar or molasses with butter. There are many different recipes and some towns or regions have their favourite. See 'bonfire toffee'.
In parts of Lancashire any confectionary is referred to as 'toffee' regardless of whether it is actually a toffee or not, somewhat confusing for a visiting Yorkshireman who was offered a toffee and then didn't get one.

toffee apple

An apple on a wooden stick is dipped in molten toffee and stood on its end to cool, which leaves it with a flat top. Traditional bonfire night food for kids (and for big kids). Some toffee apples are impregnable, and could be used as weapons, depending on who made the toffee. It is good fun to watch kids trying to get into a toffee apple of this kind and, if they are very lucky, a helpful adult will eventually show them how to crack the surface on the edge of a table or corner of a wall, much to the amazement of other onlooking, and less enlightened adults who suddenly realise that, in their formative years they missed this crucial piece of learning, and suddenly start to wonder about what else they missed (and why). Others apples may shatter at the first attack resulting in an apple on a stick, a pile of toffee fragments on the floor, and a crying kid. And yet another kind has toffee so leathery that nobody can penetrate it without a knife. Tricky things toffee apples!

toffee hammer

Nobody makes their own toffee any more so toffee hammers, miniature hammers with chisel shaped striking points, are no longer around, but you can occasionally see them for sale at flea markets and car boot sales. Toffee was traditionally brittle but toffee, like us, has gone soft.

ton

The ton is a unit of weight equal to 20 hundredweight, or 2240 pounds (1,016kg). The water ton is defined as 224 gallons.
Though officially withdrawn from use in 1985 its name continues in the metric tonne which is defined as a cubic metre of water which weighs 1,000 kg (2,200 lbs), almost the same as the British ton.
A ships displacement is still stated in tons and the axle weight of trucks are also measured in tons. Things still "weigh a ton" and possession of lots of something is still described as "having tons".
Alt: Ton is also slang for one hundred pounds stirling.

tongue / pressed tongue

The tongues of various animals can be boiled, peeled and eaten cold, either whole, or pressed, with jelly, into a circular mould. Tongue is mainly bought in slices as a sandwich filling or to use as you would any other 'cold cut' of meat. Its lovely with pickles. The most common are 'ox tongue and 'pork tongue' (sometimes known as 'ham tongue' or 'lunch tongue', though officially you are allowed to eat it at any time.)

toothsome

An old expression meaning tasty or delicious.

top bar hive

A 'top bar hive' is any bee hive in which the bees suspend their comb from removable, horizontal, wooden bars placed at a suitable distance from one another. There are many types of top bar hive, some of them ancient.
The alternative to placing the 'top bar' in a hive is to use the wooden 'frame' much favoured by modern and commercial bee keepers. The frame is usually pre-loaded with wax foundation, a wax card imprinted with the hexagonal cell shapes. In top bar hives the bars may have a 'starter strip' of wax attached to its underside but after that the bees are left to 'draw' their comb naturally, which they sometimes choose to do the wrong way, across all the bars, ignoring all your nice little wax strips.
See also: 'bee hive', 'Kenyan top bar hive' and 'Warre hive'.

tot

See 'rum ration'.

transport caff

A larger version of the 'greasy spoon' and always with good, dedicated, free parking capable of accommodating HGV's. They originally catered particularly for professional drivers (though not exclusively). They will have large dedicated car parks, large portions, large customers, and may also offer shower facilities. The bigger 'caffs' serve food on an industrial scale and their food is hearty, good value and traditional. They are found mainly, but not exclusively besides, or close to busy 'A' roads, and suffered decline with the introduction of motorway service stations, the travel food equivalent of a supermarket.

trap

A category of pie rather than a food. The traditional term for an open topped pie that has no lid. These days the word 'tart' may be used to describe the same thing but usually only by people skilled in suppressing sniggers.

treacle / black treacle

May also be known as 'black treacle'. Many people refer to 'golden syrup' as 'treacle' and the darker strong stuff is then known as 'black treacle', but technically speaking 'treacle' is the darker variety used in cakes and toffee, whereas the lighter stuff is excellent on pancakes. Treacle sandwiches are made from the lighter coloured stuff.

Nursery rhyme:
Half a pound of tuppenny rice,
Half a pound of treacle.
That's the way the money goes,
Pop! goes the weasel.
(don't forget to make the popping noise with your finger in your cheek)

Treacle is a word which was also once used for 'molasses'.
A spider coated in treacle and swallowed was a cure, during Elizabethan times, for pregnant women in pain.
See also 'golden syrup' and 'treacle sandwich'.

treacle mines

Due to unique geology treacle mines can only be found in England and there are myths and legends concerning ancient treacle mines throughout the country. Evidence of them can be uncovered in Maidstone, Tudeley and Frittenden in Kent, Pudsey near Leeds (Yorkshire), Dartmoor in Devon, Halton near Lancaster, and in Buxted in Sussex. In Tadley (Hampshire) a Treacle Fair is held each year. In Lancashire there is still a company called 'Sabden Treacle Mines Ltd. '
The folk singer and story teller Kenneth Dodd makes reference to treacle wells in his works.

treacle sandwich / butty / sarnie

The treacle sandwich is made with the lighter coloured golden syrup variety, not the black treacle. Eating one without getting sticky is almost impossible and no matter how hard you try a blob will drop onto your shirt or jumper, which you will invariably try to wipe off, making the situation worse. It's fun watching small boys trying to eat one, twisting and contorting to eat the sandwich before a blob forms. Some crane their necks back and eat the sandwich from below, like a giraffe browsing on a high tree, in a heroic attempt to catch runaway blobs in their mouths. Very few things make a small boy stickier than treacle and yet mothers persisted in feeding them to kids and then complained how mucky they were.
See also: 'jam sandwich'.

Lane's Extinction Grading: Very Safe

Culturally exported so globally produced and consumed (i.e. its fate does not rest soley in our hands).

tree flour

Tree flour is also known as sawdust.
Whilst some genuine types of flour can be extracted from trees (e.g. sago) the term was actually used to describe the use of fine sawdust to bulk out bread recipes, honestly in times of austerity, but also by unscrupulous food manufacturers at other times.

trencher

5a

Slices of four day old bread used as plates in the middle ages. The practice of eating food on hard bread has survived in the form of ‘things on toast’.
In the north east of England housewives of the older generation still call a bread board a 'trencher board' or just a 'trencher'.

Lane's Extinction Grading: Extinct

Extinct but a useable recipe, knowledge or appropriate experience exists.

trifle

1

A very British pudding made from layers of fruited jelly, sponge, custard and cream with optional sherry. Although the list of ingredients are small the combination differences allow for family recipes to abound. Traditionally served in a glass bowl to show off the layers and eaten at times of celebration and at special Sunday teas.
Apparently a dessert similar to trifle is eaten in Italy and is called 'zuppa Inglese' (English soup) but it is nothing like our trifle and is apparently based on an English Elizabethan trifle made from layers of firm ingredients stacked into a cake shape.
See also: 'whim wham' and 'tipsy laird'.

Lane's Extinction Grading: Safe

1. Nationally produced and/or consumed
2. Very strong traditions in one village, town, county or region.

tripe

3

The world of tripe, and tripe like products is a fascinating one, and made up of mainly bits of a cow's digestive systems, though in Yorkshire they have a variety made from a windpipe ('weason') and another from cow's udder ('elder'), but stomach linings and intestines are the universal favourite nationally. Similar products from pigs have their own names (e.g. 'chitterling', 'hodge bag', 'morse' etc.)
Though tripe was eaten nationally (an indeed internationally) it seems to have found a place in the 'northern' stereotype.
A cow has four stomach chambers and tripe can be made from all of them. Smooth tripe ('smooth', 'flat', 'thin seam', 'blanket') comes from the cow's first stomach (the 'rumen') and the honeycombed tripe ('honeycombe', 'pocket', 'thick seam'') , considered to be superior, comes from its second (the reticulum) . The third chamber (amosum) yields 'leaf', 'book' or 'bible' tripe whilst the fourth (abomasum) gives us 'reed' tripe. If a butcher only sells one type of tripe it will nearly always be 'honeycombe'.
Different regions, or markets have their own local names for each variety. Tripe is often sold alongside 'cow heels' and 'sheep trotters'. As I say, fascinating!
Tripe is made by boiling (for hours), scraping, scrubbing and bleaching.
Tripe may also be referred to as 'white tripe' or 'dark tripe' (known as 'black' or 'green' tripe) depending on whether it has had the grass staining washed and bleached out of it. 'Green' tripe is still sold by some butchers but usually as dog food.
Tripe is traditionally boiled in milk and onions or just eaten cold with salt, vinegar and pepper however some gastro pubs in the north of England are now creating new ways to serve it. Modern tripe sellers will often still have vinegar and pepper behind the counter for regular customers who like to eat it cold, in the traditional way, in the street, from the hand.
Tripe shops were once common in the north of England and in Lancashire they even had a chain of tripe restaurants (UCP) but these have all gone now and tripe is now only obtainable form old established butchers who enjoy a loyal clientele, and often these butchers are found in markets or close to them. Over the last couple of years I've noticed a slight increase the appearance of tripe.
People who make tripe, and once supplied the tripe shops, are known as 'tripe dressers'.
Alternative: If someone considers that you are talking nonsense they might suggest that your rhetoric is a 'load of old tripe', (politicians are famous for "talking tripe").
To be described as a "tripe hound" is an old, but affectionate, Lancashire insult which may once have been more widely used (not so affectionately).
See also 'reed and jot', 'honeycombe - tripe' and 'chitterlings'.

Lane's Extinction Grading: Unsafe/Decline

1. Still enjoyed by the older generation in one area.
2. Enjoyed by dwindling numbers (shunned by pretentious people and kids).
3. Sucessfully revived in small pockets for a few families.

trout

The trout is a wonderful fresh water fish favoured by anglers and chefs however there are three types of trout in British water and one of them spends only part of its life in fresh water. The three types are Brown trout, Rainbow trout and Sea trout.
Brown trout is the native British species but fish farms favour rainbow trout which was originally an introduction from the US but has found its way into wild waters.
Sea trout is a relative of the salmon.
See also: 'pickled trout'.

truckle

A cylindrical 'wheel' of cheese which is taller than it is wide, and often barrel shaped or at least has rounded edges. Truckles have no standard size or weight and can vary greatly in size from small shop sold portions to huge examples requiring heavy lifting equipment to move.
Alt: Truckle was, and still is, the name given to a small wheel or castor, or to a trolley which runs on four wheels or castors. Small beds mounted on castors which could be stored under a proper bed were, and still are known as 'truckle beds' and their common usage by servants gave the word a subservient association. Origin of the word 'truck' (trolley or lorry).
It is thought that the word was adopted by cheese makers due to the resemblance of a wheel of cheese to an actual wooden wheel.

trug / trog

3

A 'trug' is a long (up to 2ft), shallow basket made from overlapping wooden slats, clinker built, like a boat, which is where their name comes from, 'trog', the old English for boat. The widest slat, along the bottom, is known as the 'keel'. The slats can be made from a variety of woods and the trug is secured with copper nails.
Trugs were used for the harvesting and transporting foods and were once made to hold a bushel, half bushel, etc. but these days they are found in gardens and allotments, where they are used for the same purpose, and for carrying cut flowers.
Looked after a trug will last for 80 years and can then be repaired. Handmade trugs can be ordered online so you have no need to use plastic again.
See also: 'swill basket'.

Lane's Extinction Grading: Unsafe/Decline

1. Still enjoyed by the older generation in one area.
2. Enjoyed by dwindling numbers (shunned by pretentious people and kids).
3. Sucessfully revived in small pockets for a few families.

tumshie

Scots word for turnip or swede. Also known as a turmit.
See also: 'swede'.

tuns

Or 'coppers' the vessels used for brewing beer. Once made of copper but modern ones are made from stainless steel.

turbary

A commoners right to take fuel from common land, in the form of peat or turf .

turkey

We've been eating turkey for Christmas since the 1500's though goose was still the favoured bird until the emergence of the railways, and a mention in Charles Dickens 'Christmas Carol'.
Only the females are eaten (hens), the males (stags) are kept for breeding purposes only.
Norfolk, with its proximity to London, has been famous for turkey rearing since its introduction in the 1500's and is still famous for them currently producing 8 million turkeys a year which represents half of UK turkey production. The turkeys used to be walked ('driven') to London in huge flocks before the advent of the railways.
A likeable Norfolk man, Bernard Mathews, became famous for turkey production when he appeared in his own advert talking in a Norfolk accent ("Bootiful, really bootiful!").
The oldest turkey breed in Britain is the Norfolk Black, which resembles a giant pheasant, and which almost became extinct in the 1930's, replaced by faster growing varieties, but was saved by one man (Frank Peele). Today there are a few farms rearing the tasty Norfolk Black in the traditional way and its survival now seems assured.
In Turkey a turkey is known as 'the American bird' though it does in fact originate from Mexico.
In Goose Eye, a place in Yorkshire, there is a pub called the Turkey Inn.
Dialect: Old Scottish highland name: 'bubbly-jock'.
See also: 'goose', 'Christmas dinner' and 'murkey'.

turmit / turmut / turmot

'Turmit' is still in use in parts of Scotland and 'turmut' and 'turmot' are Cornish dialect words for turnip, but I have found 'turmit' in use in an English 'Marling' song, popular about 300 years ago so perhaps it once had wider usage and somewhere along the line 'turmit' evolved into 'turnip'.
See also 'turnip'.

turnip

The turnip (Brassica Napus) is a brassica, but a root vegetable with a white, bulbous taproot. The flesh may have different variations of white and the old woody varieties have been replaced with more palatable ones.
Turnips grow faster than swedes making them attractive to farmers but, unlike the swede, they also loose flavour with age so tend to be grown mainly for consumption by livestock (who pay little attention to food critics).
Turnips tend to be harvested before winter.
In the 1300's literature a turnip was referred to as 'rape' or 'rapus'.
Dialect: The older word 'turmit' is still in use in some parts of Scotland and 'turmut' and 'turmot' are Cornish dialect words for turnip, and I have found 'turmit' in use in an English 'Marling' song, popular about 300 years ago. Somewhere along the line 'turmit' evolved into 'turnip' in many places. Other words for turnip are 'tumshie' (Scotland), 'snaggers' (NE England), 'neep' (Scotland), 'hibbal', 'ervinan', 'heap' and 'neap' (Cornwall).
See also: 'swede', 'neeps' 'raw fry' and 'potato and turnip pie'

Lane's Extinction Grading: Very Safe

Culturally exported so globally produced and consumed (i.e. its fate does not rest soley in our hands).

turnspit dog / turn cur

The 'turnspit dog' is an animal which comes under the category of 'cooking equipment' and was a long bodied, short legged terrier type dog which was bred (by the Tudors) to run inside a wheel which in turn rotated the fireside spit. It was also known as the 'kitchen dog', 'cooking dog' or 'turn cur'. The breed began to disappear with the invention of mechanically driven turnspits ('roasting jacks') and the growing popularity of the oven saw off the last of them. They were not viewed as noble dogs, hence its alternative name of turn cur (mixed breed or stray) but instead were considered rather lowly, and ugly, so there was no desire to keep the breed going, and consequently it faded from history about 150 years ago.
The last turnspit of this kind can be seen at the George Inn in Wiltshire where the original, and still working, turnspit wheel and mechanism is still in place.
I would imagine that the 'turnspit' dog would have been the fittest and most well fed dog around at the time.

twankay tea / twankey tea / tuxni / tunlu

Twankay tea was an early Chinese green tea, popular in England, and though the tea is virtually unknown now its name lives on in the pantomime character of 'Widow Twankey', a pantomime dame, first played by James Rogers, in 1861, in a performance of Aladdin.
Originally 'Twankay' meant tea which came from a particular part of China (Tuon Ky) but it later gave its name to a type of tea which is now known as Tunxi or Tunlu.

two and two

Manual workers, who frequent pie and mash shops, in the south east of England, will sometimes order a 'two and two', which means two portions of mash and two pies, on the same plate. I quite like this idea, it saves on washing up. (Crow Pie health warning: Never eat anything bigger than your head!).