h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Spice is nice, but there's nothing like a good view.

Why is it that when I mistype something, I end up saying the opposite of what I intended? I meant to say "without the hot of chilli" rather than "with the hot of chilli".

And I've often seen people typing "now" when they mean "not" - "I'm now happy".

Chives, surely, are a herb, not a spice. But I'm willing to try a mix of the two - maybe with something eggy?

Cumin seed, corianda seed, mustard seed, fennel seed, cardamon and casier (or cinnamon ) sticks OK... damnit, now I@ve got to make a biriani tonight

That's funny, Gnomon, because I left out coriander since my daughter can't stand it after living many moons in Southeast Asia where she swears they put coriander into *every*thing

When is a herb not a spice and/or vice versa? Surely chives, coriander and oregano can pass as both?

It's a herb if it is leaves, and a spice if it is seeds or any of the hard bits such as roots or bark.

Coriander leaves are a herb. Coriander seeds are a spice.

"Coriander leaves are a herb. Coriander seeds are a spice" [Gnomon]

Correct. However, recipe writers can be inconsistent. It's not uncommon to see directions for adding several teaspoons of "coriander," when it's highly probable that they mean "cilantro," which is the leaves of the coriander plant. Cilantro has to be among the least popular herbs. Some people avoid it completely, but many chilis and curries taste incomplete without it. The burrito place where I sometimes eat puts cilantro and lime into some of the salsas.

The word 'cilantro' is unknown in the UK and Ireland. It's always called coriander.

And I would have thought that coriander leaves were one of the most common herbs, since they're put on top of just about every indian meal.

I believe the UK has the highest concentration of 'ethnic' or 'exotic' restaurants on the globe. At first I was surprised by this. Then I put it down to many decades of colonization and subsequent migration. But then an Englishman asked me: "Er - have you ever tried British cuisine?"

To be fair: Yes, I have - and it was excellent. (Well, maybe not all of it - but then the same goes for the German and Danish food I grew up with.)

I've always loved fresh Coriander... Used to use it as a garnish, in sandwichs...

Its often hard, in the UK, to find somewhere doing UK/British food! Within a minutes walk of my house I've got
2 kebab shops.
2 Chinese takeaway/resturants.
1 pizza/fried chicken, plus a KFC).
err,5 Indian takeaways.
about 10 places doing sandwichs.
and, not one single fish n chip shop!

Which is, why, of course, I set William the challange, of saying 'I want Fish and chips for my birthday', Saturday afternoon

And, not a pie and mash, or pie n mushy pea, shop in the place either A couple pubs here used to do decent winter British stuff, stews and the like, but they'd charge so* much for them, you'd be better off goign for the Chinese or Indian anyhow

We've a fish and chip shop just 10 minutes walk from my house. Chippers in Ireland were traditionally run by Italians, so much so that the best chippers are all in the ITICA Irish Traditional Italian Chipper Association www.itica.ie.

Friend of mine actually found a very traditional Danish restaurant serving very traditional Danish meals - and traditional Danish meals only

- Where's this, I asked

- Las Palmas de Gran Canaria...

The first time I ate coriander was about 2 years ago when we tried a recipe from one of our cookbooks. I've never seen it in any restaurant. And as Lanza says, we don't have so many exotic restaurants here.

I think the English don't have a cuisine they have food. However some years ago I was in Amsterdam and tried a traditional Dutch ( not Indonesian, which is great) restaurant. I will never decry English food again.

So, what was the Dutch food you ate? Don't know what they have there apart from a couple of sweets that I tried.

Starter was pickled herrings. I like stuff like herrings, sardines, pilchards, but this was a very odd pickle. My mind has blanked out any recollection of the taste. The main course was a stew? Meat and potato. I called it a stew but it appeared to be meat, potato and perhaps onion, (my brain is still working hard to protect me from the memory) in hot water. Thankfully I have no recollection of the dessert.

Everything else about the Netherlands was fantastic, fabulous people, great Indonesian retaurants and amusing tastes in cigarettes.

Pickled herrings from the Netherlands are nothing compared to the Danish variety which in turn is nothing compared to the Norwegian and Swedish varieties (lutefisk and surströmming)

And then there is the rotting s they eat in Iceland, of course

Apart from these atrocities (and a few other specialties like perhaps haggis and sauerkraut) there isn't really that much difference between traditional food on the British isles and the northern part of mainland Europe: It really is potatoes, meat and gravy all over the place, isn't it?

Ikea pickled herrings!