Chorizo always refers to a pork sausage. The most common type is Spanish chorizo, a firm, red-colored pork sausage. Usually spiced with paprika and garlic, Spanish chorizo is cured and therefore doesn't need to be cooked (though it often still is). Sometimes, it's a little on the spicy side, but sometimes it's not. Like most types of sausages, there are as many variations of Spanish chorizo as there are people who eat it.
Mexican chorizo differs from Spanish chorizo in that it's an encased fresh sausage that must be cooked before eating. It also tends to be spicier (due to the addition of chile peppers) and fattier than its European counterpart.
Recipe: Chorizo And Eggs (Simply Recipes)
Reference: A Common Sense Guide to Chorizo and Spanish Sausages (La Tienda)
Reference: What is andouille? (Cookthink)
Salt cod -- which is salted and dried and must be rehydrated by soaking for 24 hours before cooking -- was invented hundreds of years ago as a method of preserving fish (and boosting its flavor). Dried salt cod can be safely stored in a refrigerator for 2 to 3 years in its original packaging, protected from heat and light.
If you purchase frozen salt cod -- which is salt cod that has been rehydrated and then frozen -- it can be held in the freezer for up to 1 year.
The word sardine is an imprecise term referring to any number of small, silvery saltwater fish related to the herring and found throughout the world. Fish labeled as "sardines" include sprats, brisling and pilchards.
Frequently caught off the Mediterranean coast and eaten in abundance in Spain, Greece, Portugal, Italy and Morocco, you can also find sardines from the Atlantic, the Pacific, the East Coast of South Africa and beyond.
Sardines tend to travel in large schools close to the water's surface and are harvested fresh in the summer. The name sardine may be a reference to the Sardinian coast, where pilchards were one of the first fish to be packed in oil.
Reference: What's the difference between an anchovy and a sardine? (Cookthink)
Recipe: Bucatini With Sardines, Fennel And Tomatoes (Cookthink)
A very stingy bishop indeed.
Traditional British port-drinking etiquette requires that the host pour for the person on his right, then pass the bottle to the person on his left (port side), and so on around the table. When your glass runs out, it's bad form to ask for more, and a thirsty drinker gets around this awkward moment by asking the person in the nearest vicinity of the bottle, "Do you know the Bishop of Norwich?"
Those who are aware of this quaint rhetorical custom will realize their error and merrily hand over the bottle. For the clueless who may answer no, the questioner gets to say, "He's an awfully nice fellow, but he never remembers to pass the port."
Place the pomegranate down on its stem end; the blossom end with have a small opening.
Cut firmly down along one of the 6 hexagonal ribs; hitting the rib cuts the flesh and not the seeds.
Hold the fruit down firmly and move your fingers away from the bottom; the juice is very dark red and stains almost everything.
Remove the split fruit to a bowl of water immediately to prevent staining of fingers and cutting boards.
Holding the cut side down over the bowl of water, tap it firmly with a spoon. The seeds will fall out and sink to the bottom; the inedible pith will float to the surface.
Alternatively, peel the skin off the fruit in the bowl of water. Either method works well to extract the sweet, juicy kernels.
Empanadas are named after the Spanish verb empanar, which means to coat or wrap in bread.
Baked or fried turnovers that are made with pastry dough and stuffed with endless combinations of meat and/or vegetables or fruit, empanadas are usually shaped like half-moons and range in size from bite-sized to family-sized.
Many countries around the world claim the empanada as one of their own, including Mexico, Argentina, Portugal, the Caribbean, the Philippines and Spain, where empanadas are thought to have been born in Galicia. Indian samosas are one example of similar preparations found elsewhere in the world.
Salt cod is the term for salted and dried cod.
Caught in cold, northern waters such as those around Newfoundland and Norway, the fish are immediately filleted and salted onboard the fishing boats and air or sun-dried once on land -- a method of food preservation that has been around for hundreds of years. Salt cod is considered a staple food in many parts of the world including Spain and Portugal.
Overfishing has decimated the cod populations off the coast of Newfoundland, where other species of whitefish (such as whiting, haddock, hake and pollack) are now prepared in the same manner and called stockfish or saltfish.
The Portuguese dish, bolinhos de bacalhau, mixes salt cod with potatoes, egg and parsley. The French dish, brandade de morue, is a mixture of salt cod, potatoes, cream, garlic and olive oil that is served with toast points or crudités.
Related: How to prep salt cod (Cookthink)
Salt cod is salted and dried cod, a method of food preservation that has been around for hundreds of years.
To bring salt cod back to life and purge it of excess salt, you need to soak the fish in cool water for 24 hours, changing the water 4 to 5 times. Many chefs also swear by the slow running water method whereby cod is submerged in a dish of cold water and left in the sink under a slow-dripping faucet, so that the salty water is constantly replaced with fresh water.
Once the cod has finished soaking, you can pre-cook the fish for various recipes by placing it in a pan deep enough to hold the salt cod fillets and covering with 1 inch of water. Bring this to a simmer, remove from the heat, cover and let stand 20 minutes until the fish is tender and easily flaked. Once the fish is cooked, you can easily remove the skin and bones.
what you should know
A thousand years ago, the Basques were catching cod off the shores of North America, then drying and salting it to preserve the fish for market.
The salt cod's lean flesh lasted remarkably long when cured. And when soaked, the fish became flaky and had more flavor--more character--than freshly caught cod.
cod case The basic technique of drying cod has remained unchanged over the centuries. To rehydrate salt cod, soak it in cool water for 24 hours and then gently cook it.
scarce The appetite for cod--both fresh and salted--has decimated Atlantic cod populations over the years. Atlantic cod was once so bountiful that one English explorer named a cape after it and another reported that cod could be scooped out of the water with buckets. Today, the Canadian government considers the fish endangered.
classics Salt cod is the foundation for many classic dishes, including the French brandade de morue (a creamy fish spread), the Portuguese Bacalhau de Consoada (a composed salad served on Christmas Eve), and the Brazilian bolinhos de bacalhau (deep-fried croquettes of salt cod, potatoes and parsley).
what you need
Mark Kurlansky's troika of intertwined microhistories will give you the most complete picture of salt cod's impact on the world. Start with The Basque History of the World, then move on to Cod and finish up with Salt.
A skillet/griddle hybrid, Le Creuset's oval fish frying pan easily holds one whole fish or several fillets.
For frying salt cod fritters (and hush puppies), we prefer Lodge's deep 8-inch cast iron skillet.
what you do
This salt cod, tomato and chickpea salad makes a filling and protein-rich Mediterranean dinner. The tomatoes are key: Use the freshest, sweetest ones you can find.
Speaking of sweetness, it's the predominant taste in this light but flavorful salt cod, green bean, red pepper and tomato salad.
For a more powerful and complex salad, layer salt cod with oranges, red onion, black olives and parsley.
The world needs more dishes like brandade de morue, a potent southern French dip/spread starring salt cod, garlic and cream.
Featured recipe: The glories of deep frying are on full display in these salt cod and potato croquettes, which taste best when washed down with a cold beer.
