Gentleman's Relish
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Gentleman's Relish is a type of anchovy paste. It is also known as Patum Peperium.
It was created in 1828 by an Englishman called John Osborn. It tastes very strong, very salty and slightly fishy (a bit like trout) and contains anchovies (minimum 60%), butter, herbs and spices. The exact recipe however has remained a secret and was passed down by word of mouth over the years. Today, only Elsenham Quality Foods in Elsenham, England is licensed to make it.
The traditional way of eating Gentleman's Relish is on thin slices of buttered white bread toast, either on its own, or with cucumber, or mustard and cress.
Gentleman's Relish can also be added to mince for a different-tasting shepherd's pie or to the mixture for fish cakes, potato cakes and croquettes. Alternatively it can be melted into scrambled eggs or be used as a topping for jacket potatoes.
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[edit] What does it taste like?
The recipe is secret, but the following recreation by an author at recipezaar, to give you a sense of the flavor...
Ingredients
- 200 g anchovy, drained & coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh white breadcrumbs
- 150 g butter
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch freshly ground nutmeg
- 1 pinch ground mace
- 1 pinch ground ginger
- 1 dash fresh ground black pepper (good twist)
The recipe is to grind the above ingredients into a smooth paste.
[edit] Other uses
- Gentlemen's Relish is also the name of a play adapted from the novel Kingdom Swann by Miles Gibson. It was adapted for the BBC in 2001, starring Billy Connolly as a Victorian pornographer and photographer.
- The term can also used as a sexual slang for semen.
- There is also a website of the same name specialising in vintidge victorian pornography.
[edit] See also
- relish
- The Poacher's Relish
- garum
- Scotch Woodcock
[edit] References
In Nancy Mitford's Love in a Cold Climate, the character of Linda Radlett asks her mother for Gentleman's Relish. Her mother Sadie offers her some hot toast at tea (to distract her over the loss of a pet,) and Linda pushes it, "Can I have Gentleman's Relish on it?" she said, quick to make capital of Sadie's mood, for Gentleman's Relish was kept strictly for Uncle Matthew and supposed not to be good for children."
