Action Cook Book. Len Deighton

are a soft juicy fruit with a flavour of roses. Discard the parchment-like outer skin, eat the soft flesh uncooked.

      Mandarins. Just like tangerines. You either like them, or you don’t. (See Oranges.)

      Mangoes. Wildly expensive, but eaten fresh a sensation. Not to be confused with the tinned variety which is not sensational at all.

      Marrow. A tough, tasteless vegetable that wins prizes at garden shows.

      Medlars. Strange, stunted, apple-like fruit eaten when soft and seeming over-ripe. Worth trying, if only as a curiosity.

       Melons

      Cantaloupe. Go for those with thick, closely woven ‘netting’ with yellow or yellow/green between netting pattern. Tender orange inside. It should have a rich smell. Imported—expensive until summer. Don’t cut more than a few minutes before serving, even to cool.

      Tiger Melon. Is very similar, but with a smooth skin. A real Tiger Melon is even better than a Net Cantaloupe.

      Honeydew. White rind is immature, it should be cream-colour. Flesh is more like that of a watermelon and so they are cheaper than the above varieties. Go for the ones from Spain, sometimes marked ‘Elche’. On South African honeydews, ‘Geest’ is the label to search for. ‘Prince of Wales’ is another superb mark.

      Charentais. Sent from France, are the kings of the melon world, although some gourmets go for Afghan ones. They are almost never cheap, but they are worth paying for—highly scented, sweet and pungent.

      Watermelon. Very watery flesh. Beware of damaged ones as they rapidly deteriorate.

      Mushrooms. Sensational whatever their size, shape or colour. The very light underside shows a very young mushroom, but gigantic plate-sized mushrooms have their place in cooking too. Try them all, and keep some in a dark place in the kitchen, but never in the refrigerator—they hate cold. Cultivated mushrooms do not need peeling. Sometimes wild mushrooms appear in the shops, but the real gourmet will stalk the choicest varieties with a good textbook in one hand.

      Mustard and Cress is a mass of tiny green leaves on thin stalks, that looks like something out of a science-fiction film. It is really rape, and is useful for decorating hot or cold dishes, e.g. roast poultry, sliced galantine, or baked sole.

      Nectarines. A superb type of plum. You must try one. South African ones in winter (see Food in Season section).

      Onions. See pages 254-5.

      Oranges. There are three different types of orange. There is the China or sweet orange—that’s the ordinary orange as we know it. There is the Seville, which is a bitter orange for cooking with duck, pork, etc., and for making marmalade. Lastly, there is the mandarin, which is a small, flattened, loose-skinned type of orange that originated in China thousands of years ago. There are several varieties of mandarin—tangerine, satsuma and clementine—some of them have no pips. When buying ordinary oranges, choose the thin-skinned, smooth ones. Heaviest are best. Israel oranges are exceptionally good, particularly the real Jaffa. Outspan is a selection from the South African crop, and Navel is the choicest variety when the Spanish crop takes the stage. In January and February both Seville oranges and Aylesbury ducks are in the shops. Like all citrus fruits, oranges will give you more juice if heated before squeezing.