CookeryQ&A Marco answers your queries.

Byline: MARCO PIERRE WHITE 

QWhat exactly is pak choi, Marco? I see it everywhere these days...

Jane Pinker, Truro, Cornwall

APak choi - also known as bok choi - is Chinese white cabbage. It has green leaves, white stems, a crisp texture and a mild taste. It has been cultivated in China for 3,000 years and in Australia for more than 100. It has, in the last four or five years, become very fashionable in certain places over here.

QWhat exactly is osso buco, Marco?

Sally Morgan, Shanklin, Isle of Wight 

AOsso buco - literally, bone with a hole - is a famous Italian stew, originally made in Milan, in which shanks of veal are braised in white wine with onions and leeks.

QPlease settle an argument I am having with my sister. How long have cornflakes been around, Marco?

Joan Preston, Chelmsford, Essex

AWilliam Kellogg first turned toasted maize into flakes in America in 1894. He set up his company Kellogg's in 1906 and has been selling cornflakes ever since.

QWhen and where was the dish chilli con carne dreamed up?

Paul Meredith, Glasgow

AChilli con carne - which, in Spanish, simply means chilli with meat - is one of the bedrocks of Tex-Mex cuisine. Originally a stew, which was made with finely chopped beef, chillis and kidney beans by hungry labourers working on the railroad in Texas, it is now an international fast-food staple.

- If you have a question about cooking and cookery, please write to me at: Marco's Q & A, the Daily Mirror, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5AP.