Butter

Ever wonder why butter is yellow in Ireland?
Many years ago I went to San Francisco to see a friend of mine.  One of the things that surprised me was the colour of Butter, it was white -it never occurred to me that butter would come in different shades.  I have since come to understand that the white butter is made from the cream of corn fed cattle.  Due to the climate in Ireland we have plenty of Omega 3 and Beta Carotene rich grass on which the cattle feed. Beta-Carotene is the good stuff that gives carrots, pumpkins and sweet potatoes their colour and is what gives butter its yellowish tinge.

• Butter - Made by churning cream with salt added for flavour. 
• Unsalted Butter - As above but without the salt
• Spreadable Butter - A little oil is added to make it easier to spread
• Ghee / Clarified Butter -This is butter that has been heated and the impurities and salt taken out.  Unlike regular butter it does not burn.  It is often used in Indian cookery.
• Dairy Spreads - Not suitable for baking
• Margarine

Sugars & Syrups

Sugars

White/Granulated Sugar - White sugar made from sugar cane or sugar beets.  If a recipe in this blog looks for sugar this is the sugar it is referring to unless it states otherwise.

Caster Sugar - A finer ground granulated sugar

Soft Brown Sugar - Fine slightly sticky unrefined sugar with molasses (3.5%)

Muscavado  Sugar - Dark and sticky unrefined sugar with a strong molasses flavour (6.5%) also know as Barbados Sugar

Demerara Sugar - Natural Brown Sugar the crystal are light brown in colour and quite large.  Also know as Turbinado Sugar

Icing Sugar - White Sugar ground down to a powder

Maple Sugar - Sap of a maple tree is reduced down gently until it reaches a crystalline state

Cinnamon Sugar - Equal quantities of cinnamon and demerara sugar

Vanilla Sugar - Vanilla sugar is a scented sugar that can be used anywhere instead of vanilla essence or extract and sugar. It makes a nice present for a foodie friend.  In mainland Europe where a recipe calls for a sachet of vanilla sugar they are referring to an 8g Sachet of Vanilla Sugar which can be replaced with 1tsp of Vanilla Extract and a tsp of caster sugar.

Syrups

Honey - A natural syrup made by Bees which has differing flavours according to age, location and the flowers from which the nectar was gathered to make the honey. 

Maple Syrup - A reduction of the sap of a maple tree which is graded according to when in the season it is tapped

Golden Syrup - A byproduct of the sugar refining process.

Corn Syrup - A sweet syrup derived from corn freely available in the states and a pain to buy in Ireland.  Available in Light and Dark (added molasses and caramel colour) forms.  It's used to prevent crystallisation of sugar

Sugar Syrup - 11/4 Sugar +1/3 syrup as an alternative to Corn Syrup

Salt

Chemically speaking salt as we know it is NaCl (Sodium Chloride) added to which are anti-caking ingredients to stop the salt clumping together.  If you wonder does it make that much difference in terms of baking I would suggest that you make two batches of cake batter one with salted and the other with unsalted butter see for yourself.  Baking with unsalted butter allows you to control the amount of salt.

Sea Salt - Made from evaporated seawater, available as a fine ground or Salt Flakes (Maldon)

Kosher Salt - Large Crystals, the salt itself is not Kosher but it is used to make meat Kosher.

Fleur de Sel - A mild salt made from salt marshes in France it literally means the flower of salt.

Table Salt

Smoked Salt - Salt that has been smoked with a view to adding a smokey flavour to food.

According to the progressivebaker.com 

More than adding flavor, salt begins to affect your baked goods from the moment it's

added to the dough.

Here are some things you should know about what salt does in your baked goods.

• Salt slows down all the chemical reactions that are happening in the dough, including calming fermentation activity to a steadier level.
• Salt also makes the dough a little stronger and tighter.
• Salt impacts the shelf life of baked goods, but its effects depend on weather conditions. Salt is hydroscopic, which means it absorbs water. Consequently, in humid climates, it will trap moisture from the air, making a crisp crust soggy, and therefore shortening shelf life. In dry climates, however, the salt helps hold water in the bread longer, inhibiting staling, and thus extending the bread's shelf life.
• Salt, of course, adds flavor to baked goods. It also potentiates the flavor of other ingredients, including butter and flour.
• Salt comes in several forms, including fine, course, sea salt and Kosher salt. All provide the same effect. In fact, in blind taste tests, people were not able to distinguish a difference in the bread's taste based on the type of salt used.

What is Suet?

Suet is a hard white fat used for; Christmas pudding, certain pastries and mincemeat.  It is found around the kidneys and other offal of beef, pork or lamb.  It has a much higher melting point than other fats which lends certain properties in terms of cooking or baking that cannot be replicated by butter or lard.  There is a brand of Suet called Atora that also provides a vegetarian alternative.

What is Mincemeat?

A preserve of dried fruit, spices, sugar and suet and sometimes alcohol common to Ireland and the UK. It would have originally contained meat as an ingredient as the name suggests but not these days.  Mincemeat is usually used to make mince tarts around Christmas time.  I could give you a recipe for mincemeat, but as I haven't got a tried and tested recipe, I won't post one here.  The truth is that you can buy good quality Mincemeat at a reasonable price.  I have it on good authority that Santa is a fan.

Vanilla

I've found health food shops to be the best source of vanilla pods (Vanilla Beans). The fatter the better.  They dried.
Store vanilla pods in kilner Jars with caster sugar and pop them in the hot press. This makes vanilla sugar.
Vanilla sugar is a scented sugar that can be used anywhere instead of vanilla essence or extract and sugar. It makes a nice present for a foodie friend.  In mainland Europe where a recipe calls for a sachet of vanilla sugar they are referring to an 8g Sachet of Vanilla Sugar which can be replaced with 1tsp of Vanilla Extract and a tsp of caster sugar.
To remove the seeds - Split the vanilla pod down the length of the bean. Open out the pod and scrape the insides out. The Vanilla Seeds themselves will be clumped together as a slightly sticky group of tiny little black dots.
Vanilla essence is an artificial flavouring
Vanilla extract is different to vanilla essence in that its a natural flavouring and you will notice the difference because the scent and flavour is different. You will also be able to see the seed in the extract.