Strawberry and raspberry ripple Eton Mess

There's nothing like a nice Eton Mess. This recipe has a different twist on it, as it uses strawberries and raspberries in the recipe.  

This is how you make it:-

Make up the strawberry swirled meringues and fruit puree the day before, then just layer with whipped cream and extra fruit in recycled jam jars and screw on the lids, take out to the garden in a basket or pack into a cool box for a picnic pud.

Serves 6

Preparation time: 35 minutes

Cooking time: 1¼ -1½ hours

225g (8oz) strawberries, hulled

100g (4oz) raspberries

Meringues

2 egg whites

100g (4oz) caster sugar

To finish

300ml (1/2 pint) double cream

200g (7oz) 0.1% fat fromage frais

225g (8oz) strawberries, hulled, roughly chopped

50g (2oz) raspberries

1      Preheat the oven to 110oC (225oF), Gas Mark ¼. Line a large baking sheet with non-stick baking paper.

2      Puree the strawberries and raspberries in a liquidiser or food processor then press through a sieve.

3      Whisk the egg whites in a large clean dry bowl until they form stiff moist looking peaks and you feel confident that if the bowl was turned upside down the egg whites wouldn’t fall out! Gradually whisk in the sugar a teaspoonful at a time then continue whisking for a minute or two until really thick and glossy.

4      Add 2 tablespoons of the berry puree then very briefly mix until marbled. Spoon into a large piping bag fitted with a 1.5cm (¾ inch) plain piping tube, pipe small rounds on to the lined baking sheet. Bake for 11/4-11/2 hours or until the meringues may be easily lifted off the paper. Leave to cool.

5      To serve, lightly whip the cream until it forms soft swirls then fold in the fromage frais. Crumble the meringues then layer in jam jars or plastic containers with the remaining berry puree and diced strawberries. Decorate with the raspberries.  Add the lids and keep in the fridge until ready to serve or transport to a picnic in a cool bag with a frozen ice block to keep them cold. Serve within 1½ hours or the meringues tend to lose their crunch.

This recipe is courtesy of Love Fresh Berries and you can find more delicious berry recipes here https://www.lovefreshberries.co.uk

Great Strawberry news for Asda customers

Arbroath's D. Geddes Farms, which is one of the biggest growers of strawberries and cereal crops in the whole of Scotland, will supply Asda with in excess of 70 million strawberries this season, including Extra Special Scottish strawberries for the very first time.

Operated by Frank Geddes and his family, D. Geddes Farms has supplied Asda stores across Scotland and the North of England with strawberries for over 14 years, including Just Essentials and Grower Selection strawberries, from its farm which is located on the North Sea coast.

The location of the farm means the strawberry crops benefit from a very helpful coastal temperate climate, with cool nights and lots of natural sunlight during the day.

D. Geddes Farms Soft Fruit Manager, Sergei Kaminski said: “We're really delighted to grow Extra Special Scottish Strawberries for Asda! 

"It's a real testament to the quality of our produce that we now supply five different strawberry products to all of the Asda stores in Scotland and the North of England. What's more, we’re predicting a bumper year, supplying over 70 million strawberries from mid-May to mid-October. The strawberries on our farm are planted directly into the soil and we don’t rely on growing substances or compost bags.

Sergei went on to say: “I've been involved in growing strawberries for over 20 years, and I believe strawberries growing in soil have a lot more flavour than strawberries growing in a compost bag. And we're also committed to improving our sustainability and move towards producing fully recyclable punnets this year.”

In 2021, the farm won Asda’s Sustain and Save Exchange Award in the ‘Working with Nature’ category for exemplary achievements in wildlife-friendly farming including growing hedges, planting trees, not disturbing established woodlands, and using biological control, where possible, instead of using potentially harmful chemicals.

Ashley Connolly, Local Buying Manager for Scotland, added: “It is fantastic to continue our partnership with D. Geddes Farms, which has been so successful over the last 14 years. It's certainly clear that our customers love strawberries and we truly delighted to bring a range of quality locally sourced options to our shelves – all 70 million of them!"

The products are available to buy instore or online at www.asda.com.

Peanut Butter Milk Stouts

This is another of my Home Bargains beer purchases. These beers are brewed by the Tailgate Brewery of Nashville, Tennessee. https://www.tailgatebeer.com.

I love peanut butter. I particularly like peanut butter whiskey, but especially with properly hot Jamaican ginger beer. Not ginger beer, but ginger ale.

But on to the peanut butter milk stout, plain and with strawberry jelly/jam.

Peanut Butter milk stout. There was definitely a strong peanut butter aroma from the beer. And it did have a peanut butter like colouration.

There was a peanut butter taste plus a strong, malty taste and a somewhat bitter aftertaste.

The Peanut Butter and Strawberry milk stout had a similar colouration. It tasted very similar to the peanut butter milk stout, but there was also a slightly sweet undertone that I attributed to the strawberry jelly content. 

However, tin my opinion, the strawberry flavour was not strong enough to make any real headway through the stronger peanut butter flavour. If I were brewing this stout I'd certainly consider adding more strawberry jelly to the recipe because of this.

I'd have to point out that, although these beers are interesting and well worth seeking out, that they are not really to be considered as milk stouts, to be completely honest.

However, they are intriguing enough that I'll certainly be looking out for beers from Tailgate Brewery in the future.  

To check out the beer range at Home Bargains use their store locator service https://storelocator.homebargains.co.uk

Or you can visit your website at https://home.bargains

From memory I think I paid about £1.49 a can.

Make sure your strawberries are Good Natured!

Did you know about 27,000 kilos of strawberries are eaten during the Wimbledon Tennis Championships every year?

The Wimbledon Tennis Grand Slam Tournament has become almost as well known for the strawberries as for the tennis.

Here at Good Natured they have been very busy preparing their pesticide residue free Succulent Strawberries (grown as Mother Nature intended) using an environmentally friendly production system to keep the produce healthy and free of bugs, like greenfly and aphids, which spoil the fruit . Their Succulent Strawberries taste delicious whether you’re at Wimbledon on centre court or in your home.

Strawberries feature in some of Britain’s favourite summer dishes from Eton Mess, Trifle, and Pimm’s to, of course, strawberries and cream. Tempted, yet? Their strawberries are available nationwide in selected ASDA and Morrisons stores, and you'll also find them in Tescos in Scotland, in their funky and fully recyclable, biodegradable and compostable punnets.

If you’re after hints and tips on how to recycle, build a compost heap, and even start your own worm farm, find out more at http://eco.goodnaturedfruit.co.uk

For more good news about Good Natured Fruit please visit: www.goodnaturedfruit.co.uk
For information about recycling and their packaging visit http://eco.goodnaturedfruit.co.uk
Follow them @Good_Natured on Twitter and Good-Natured on Facebook.

Tesco Real Food says we have the biggest and best English strawberry crop in twenty years

Tesco Real Food has announced Britain's spring heat wave (EDITOR: I can remember that! Just!) has led to the biggest and best quality English strawberry crop for two decades.

The glut of English strawberries – considered by experts to be the best in the world – will result in an estimated 50 per cent reduction in UK retailers bringing in imports.

Experts point out Britain's warmer than usual March and April heat wave produced perfect growing conditions resulting in the crop being at least two weeks earlier than usual and the extra sunshine has also increased sugar levels making the current crop much sweeter and juicier than normal.

Tesco strawberry buyer Paul Jones said: "The unexpected great weather means an abundance of top quality, sweeter than normal English strawberries - of the standard normally associated with Wimbledon fortnight.

"As the quality is so high we've taken far more of the English crop than we usually do at this time of year.

"From the start of May we will be predominantly selling just English strawberries and the need not to import Spanish imports allows us to keep the price down.

"This is fantastic news for the English strawberry industry and should see them getting an unexpected windfall from increased orders from UK retailers."

One of England's largest strawberry growers, R and V Emery, based near Southampton, Hampshire, said it was the earliest start to the English strawberry season for about 20 years.

Vernon Emery, who runs the business with his brother Richard, said: "Our production yield is up by 150 per cent on recent years and if the good weather continues and we get some rain too we could be heading for a record year.

"The extra warmth helped boost sugar levels but equally important have been good levels of light which have helped the fruit set and encouraged bees to pollinate the plants.

"The great weather has also been consistent without dips in temperature which would have hampered the quality."

Since the start of the English strawberry season Tesco has sold 50 per cent more home grown strawberries than it did over the same period last year.

(EDITOR: It's market day, today! I'll be off to the fruit stalls to check on the strawberries!)

Have a Strawberry fizz this Summer!

Fresita is a delicious Chilean sparkling wine infused with hand-picked fresh strawberries from Patagonia - ideal for sipping in the sun.

Strawberries - or 'fresita' in Spanish - were first discovered in Patagonia in the South of Chile in the seventeenth century. Sparkling wine lovers have long been accessorising their fizz with fresh strawberries and now the winemakers at Fresita have found the perfect combination: a blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Moscatel grapes for the wine with the addition of puréed strawberries from their homeland.

Crisp, light and full of bright red strawberry flavours, Fresita is available from Whole Foods (Kensington), RRP £8.99; Nisa and Costcutter, RRP £8.49; drinksdirect.co.uk, RRP £7.99; formulawine.co.uk, RRP £7.49

www.fresita.com