FOOD GLOSSARY - Haggis to Hartshorn

HAGGIS:  Considered the national dish of Scotland, it is a sort of meat pudding made of liver, lungs, and other parts of mutton mixed with oatmeal, onion, suet, and herbs, and cooked in a sheep's stomach. Since the stomach is tripe, the whole pudding is considered edible. American Scots have haggis flown in from Scotland for the feast o' the haggis annually on St. Andrew's Day.

HALVAH or HALVA:  A confection consisting of a paste made with ground sesame seeds and nuts mixed with honey and other ingredients. It is highly favored in Turkey and other countries of the Near East. A variation of it is popular with American Jews.

HAMANTASCHEN:  Triangular cakes filled with honey and poppy seed, or other fillings, and eaten at Purim, a Jewish holiday. The word derives from the Bibical Haman and, possibly, from German taschen (pockets), probably with reference to the manner in which the cakes are filled. The triangular shape of the cakes traditionally recalls the triangular hat Haman is supposed to have worn.

HANGTOWN FRY:  This usually refers to fried oysters and scrambled eggs.

HARD-COOKED:  The correct way of cooking eggs hard in the shell by the use of a temperature just below that of boiling water.

HARD SAUCE:  A sauce made by creaming butter and sugar together, with desired added flavoring: served cold on hot desserts as in plum pudding with hard sauce. It is hard only when cold.

HARD TACK:  Unsalted, hard, dry biscuit: the name given by sailors in early days to the ship's crackers or bread.

HARE:  A form of game, similar to the rabbit but of larger size. The Belgian hare is a large variety of rabbit.

HARICOTS (French):  Beans; haricots verts: green beans.

HARLEQUIN:  Of many colors; colorful. Usually refers to ice cream in several different colors, frozen together to make a ribbon effect when the ice cream is sliced. Also called Neapolitan.

HARTSHORN:  A baking ammonia, used in some old-time recipes, and still occasionally used by bakers in cookies and cream puffs. It may be purchased in drug stores in coarse crystals, and should be completely dissolved in a liquid before it is added to a dough or batter. Hartshorn is a powerful leavening agent and should be used cautiously.