Monday 5 December 2011
That's Green: Food waste down
That's Green: Food waste down: Tighter household budgets and soaring house prices mean people in Britain are throwing away 13% less food than three years ago. (EDITOR: A...
Luxury Spelt Producer Sharpham Park Launches New Artisan Dry Spelt Pasta Collection
Sharpham Park, pioneers of growing organic spelt in the UK, have added to their ever-expanding luxury spelt food range with the launch of a new Artisan Dry Spelt Pasta Collection.
Produced in small batches using bronze dies on a traditional Italian pasta machine, the spelt pasta has been made with Sharpham Park's White Spelt Flour, which has been stone ground in the dedicated organic spelt mill on the Sharpham Park farm.
As a result of this process, the spelt pasta has a unique ridged surface and texture, which perfectly compliments and holds sauces in recipes. The pasta is then slowly air-dried for a minimum of 36 hours which helps maintain the nutritional qualities of the ingredients and the distinctive nutty taste of spelt, ensuring a high quality pasta.
The new Artisan Dry Spelt Pasta Collection comes in 3 varieties: Campanelle, made using pasteurised free-range eggs; Conchiglie Tricolore, ribbed spelt pasta shells made with eggs, baby spinach and rich red beetroot to add colour and flavour to the pasta and Rigatoni Triclore, the same ingredients as Conchiglie Tricolore but with ribbed spelt pasta tubes.
Sharpham Park spelt is farmed and milled organically onsite in Somerset using sustainable farming methods. With a unique gluten structure that makes it easier to digest than wheat, spelt is a top super food - slowly releasing sugars and nutrients into the blood stream, making it a superb energy source.
Sharpham Park Artisan Dry Spelt Pasta Collection is available exclusively at Harvey Nichols (Knightsbridge) from September and online at www.sharphampark.com, RRP £3.99 each (300g).
Spelt ideal for people who are not tolerant of wheat, though it is not gluten free.
Recipe idea using Sharpham Park Spelt Conchiglie Tricolore Pasta:
CHICKPEA, FETA AND SHARPHAM PARK CONCHIGLIE (Serves 4-6)
Ingredients
300g Sharpham Park Conchiglie Tricolore
1 tin cherry tomatoes
100ml olive oil
50g chopped mint
50g thinly sliced spring onions
1 small handful chopped coriander
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 can chickpeas, drained and patted dry
200g feta cheese, coarsely crumbled
Method
1) Cook 300g Sharpham Park Conchiglie in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally and drain.
2) Mix tomatoes, olive oil (less a spoonful), chopped mint, spring onions, coriander and garlic together.
3) Heat remaining olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the dried chickpeas and sauté for about 5 minutes, until lightly browned.
4) Add chickpeas and pasta to tomato mixture and toss to coat.
5) Add feta; toss briefly. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
6) Garnish with mint and coriander sprigs.
7) Serve warm or let stand at room temperature up to 2 hours.
FACTFILE:
Sharpham Park was founded in 2005 by entrepreneur Roger Saul, founder of designer label Mulberry.
Ever since its early beginnings, Sharpham Park has been dedicated to growing ancient spelt grain in an organic and eco-friendly way, achieving full organic certification from the Soil Association in September 2006.
With tons of iron, zinc, riboflavin and other vitamins and minerals, spelt is one of today's healthiest grains. In addition, because of its unique gluten structure, it is much easier to digest than its distant cousin wheat.
All Sharpham Park spelt is 100% organic and is grown and milled in a purpose-built on-site mill at Sharpham Park farm in Somerset. It is the only dedicated organic spelt mill in the UK, incorporating the best machinery sourced throughout Europe.
The Sharpham Park food range also includes Spelt Mueslis, Cereal Bars, Puffs, Granolas, Porridge, Sweet and Savoury Biscuits, Pearled Spelt, Wholegrain, White, Artisan and Seeded Flour and Speltottos.
Sharpham Park
Glastonbury
Somerset
BA16 9SA
www.sharphampark.com
(EDITOR: Spelt products should be ni your pantry for Christmas!)
Produced in small batches using bronze dies on a traditional Italian pasta machine, the spelt pasta has been made with Sharpham Park's White Spelt Flour, which has been stone ground in the dedicated organic spelt mill on the Sharpham Park farm.
As a result of this process, the spelt pasta has a unique ridged surface and texture, which perfectly compliments and holds sauces in recipes. The pasta is then slowly air-dried for a minimum of 36 hours which helps maintain the nutritional qualities of the ingredients and the distinctive nutty taste of spelt, ensuring a high quality pasta.
The new Artisan Dry Spelt Pasta Collection comes in 3 varieties: Campanelle, made using pasteurised free-range eggs; Conchiglie Tricolore, ribbed spelt pasta shells made with eggs, baby spinach and rich red beetroot to add colour and flavour to the pasta and Rigatoni Triclore, the same ingredients as Conchiglie Tricolore but with ribbed spelt pasta tubes.
Sharpham Park spelt is farmed and milled organically onsite in Somerset using sustainable farming methods. With a unique gluten structure that makes it easier to digest than wheat, spelt is a top super food - slowly releasing sugars and nutrients into the blood stream, making it a superb energy source.
Sharpham Park Artisan Dry Spelt Pasta Collection is available exclusively at Harvey Nichols (Knightsbridge) from September and online at www.sharphampark.com, RRP £3.99 each (300g).
Spelt ideal for people who are not tolerant of wheat, though it is not gluten free.
Recipe idea using Sharpham Park Spelt Conchiglie Tricolore Pasta:
CHICKPEA, FETA AND SHARPHAM PARK CONCHIGLIE (Serves 4-6)
Ingredients
300g Sharpham Park Conchiglie Tricolore
1 tin cherry tomatoes
100ml olive oil
50g chopped mint
50g thinly sliced spring onions
1 small handful chopped coriander
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 can chickpeas, drained and patted dry
200g feta cheese, coarsely crumbled
Method
1) Cook 300g Sharpham Park Conchiglie in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally and drain.
2) Mix tomatoes, olive oil (less a spoonful), chopped mint, spring onions, coriander and garlic together.
3) Heat remaining olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the dried chickpeas and sauté for about 5 minutes, until lightly browned.
4) Add chickpeas and pasta to tomato mixture and toss to coat.
5) Add feta; toss briefly. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
6) Garnish with mint and coriander sprigs.
7) Serve warm or let stand at room temperature up to 2 hours.
FACTFILE:
Sharpham Park was founded in 2005 by entrepreneur Roger Saul, founder of designer label Mulberry.
Ever since its early beginnings, Sharpham Park has been dedicated to growing ancient spelt grain in an organic and eco-friendly way, achieving full organic certification from the Soil Association in September 2006.
With tons of iron, zinc, riboflavin and other vitamins and minerals, spelt is one of today's healthiest grains. In addition, because of its unique gluten structure, it is much easier to digest than its distant cousin wheat.
All Sharpham Park spelt is 100% organic and is grown and milled in a purpose-built on-site mill at Sharpham Park farm in Somerset. It is the only dedicated organic spelt mill in the UK, incorporating the best machinery sourced throughout Europe.
The Sharpham Park food range also includes Spelt Mueslis, Cereal Bars, Puffs, Granolas, Porridge, Sweet and Savoury Biscuits, Pearled Spelt, Wholegrain, White, Artisan and Seeded Flour and Speltottos.
Sharpham Park
Glastonbury
Somerset
BA16 9SA
www.sharphampark.com
(EDITOR: Spelt products should be ni your pantry for Christmas!)
Sunday 4 December 2011
Chestnuts From Porter Foods: Adding Flavour All Year Round
Renowned purveyors of fine food, Porter Foods, bring flavoursome chestnuts that can be used in cooking and baking all year round, not just at Christmas. Unlike other chestnut brands in the UK, many of which source their chestnuts from China, the Porter Foods range is sourced closer to home, from Galicia in Spain, where they are renowned as a nutritious delicacy.
Porter Foods introduce three excellent products ideal for trade (food service and manufacturing):
Whole Organic Chestnuts peeled and cooked 10 x 1kg, Vacuum Packed for added freshness: the Porter Foods new range of chestnuts now boasts an organic variety available in 1 kilo bags (10 bags per case trade sized).
Whole Chestnuts peeled and cooked 10 X 1kg, Vacuum Packed for added freshness: Porter Foods whole chestnuts have a beautiful consistency and are ideal for stuffing and pates where texture is desired. Available in 1 kilo bags (10 bags per case trade sized).
Chestnut Puree (Unsweetened) 475g, Porter Foods Chestnut Puree comes in a convenient tray, and is ideal to use in stuffing and delicious puddings.
www.porterfoods.co.uk
Porter Foods introduce three excellent products ideal for trade (food service and manufacturing):
Whole Organic Chestnuts peeled and cooked 10 x 1kg, Vacuum Packed for added freshness: the Porter Foods new range of chestnuts now boasts an organic variety available in 1 kilo bags (10 bags per case trade sized).
Whole Chestnuts peeled and cooked 10 X 1kg, Vacuum Packed for added freshness: Porter Foods whole chestnuts have a beautiful consistency and are ideal for stuffing and pates where texture is desired. Available in 1 kilo bags (10 bags per case trade sized).
Chestnut Puree (Unsweetened) 475g, Porter Foods Chestnut Puree comes in a convenient tray, and is ideal to use in stuffing and delicious puddings.
www.porterfoods.co.uk
Deadline Extended For The FoodBev.com Awards
"Did you launch a new product in the food and drinks industry in 2011? Have you brought an innovative, exciting product to market? Have you launched a new, dynamic and effective website or media campaign? If any of your answers are yes, then the FoodBev.com Awards 2011 is for you," said a spokesman for the Awards.
"We know you're going to be busy for Christmas and the holiday season in general, so we've extended the deadline for entering the FoodBev.com Awards. You now have more time to gather materials, answer questions and make your entries (and some time for wrapping presents, too).
"You can enter right here, www.foodbevawards.com/Enter_the_Awards.html and the closing date for entries is now 20 January 2012, with judging to take place a week later."
(EDITOR: Well go on then! Get to it. And we will keep out fingers crossed for you!)
-Ends-
"We know you're going to be busy for Christmas and the holiday season in general, so we've extended the deadline for entering the FoodBev.com Awards. You now have more time to gather materials, answer questions and make your entries (and some time for wrapping presents, too).
"You can enter right here, www.foodbevawards.com/Enter_the_Awards.html and the closing date for entries is now 20 January 2012, with judging to take place a week later."
(EDITOR: Well go on then! Get to it. And we will keep out fingers crossed for you!)
-Ends-
Go nuts with Dormen. And fruity and... get all your Festive Flavour From Dormen
This Christmas, The Dormen Food Company has created two special festive fruit and nut blends to help get the holiday season off to a cracking start.
Seasonal Fruit, Nut & Chocolate brings together orange flavoured cranberries, golden raisins, whole sweet and sour cherries, baked cashew & almonds and rich creamy milk chocolate.
Seasonal Fruit & Nut offers sumptuous cinnamon flavoured cranberries, Chilean and crimson raisins, baked cashews, almonds and toasted hazelnuts.
Fran Campbell, Managing Director of The Dormen Food Company, comments: 'Our seasonal blends include a little bit of everyone's favourites and are the ideal snack for the whole family to enjoy. Nuts are an integral part of Christmas celebrations and these special editions offer the perfect festive treat.'
Seasonal Fruit, Nut & Chocolate brings together orange flavoured cranberries, golden raisins, whole sweet and sour cherries, baked cashew & almonds and rich creamy milk chocolate.
Seasonal Fruit & Nut offers sumptuous cinnamon flavoured cranberries, Chilean and crimson raisins, baked cashews, almonds and toasted hazelnuts.
Fran Campbell, Managing Director of The Dormen Food Company, comments: 'Our seasonal blends include a little bit of everyone's favourites and are the ideal snack for the whole family to enjoy. Nuts are an integral part of Christmas celebrations and these special editions offer the perfect festive treat.'
Get a taste of Cornwall to your Christmas table
Banbury's Cornish Turkeys certainly live the rural idyll, raised by three generations of the same farming family outside Padstow on the North Cornish Coast.
And this year for the first time Christmas diners across the land will get to savour the difference between these birds and their intensively reared relatives - via a new national delivery service from www.cornishfoodmarket.co.uk.
"We hand-rear free-range black and traditional white turkeys here at Trembleathe Farm and they grow for much longer than mass produced birds so they develop that lovely deep turkey flavour," says Richard Banbury whose parents Fernley and Nancy, wife Clare and little daughters Gracie Ann and Roseanna all play their part in the nurturing process.
"I think part of it is also that our natural environment is so clean and clear with fresh air off the Atlantic - we're remote from roads and noise and commercial activity and the birds are raised as they should be - stress free."
For nearly fifty years these turkeys have been enjoyed throughout Cornwall at Christmas time but now the Banbury family - like scores of the county's best food and drink producers - are working with the team at cornishfoodmarket.co.uk to spread not just the word but the reality of best Cornish fare to the nation at large.
"We launched our website a year ago, delivering online orders of all this fantastic produce to homes and businesses in Cornwall and parts of Devon," says Sean Williams, MD of cornishfoodmarket.co.uk and its parent company Westcountry Fruit Sales, which delivers wholesale to restaurants and caterers across the two counties.
"Now we're delivering further afield and the Banbury family's turkeys are a prime example of why we are almost evangelistic about the wonderful products we can supply.
"The big supermarkets have had it their own way for far too long and their deal for customers, communities and their suppliers leaves so much to be desired. We're showing how you can provide a better service all round, with the freshest and best products, but still great value for money."
Alongside the Cornish turkeys cornishfoodmarket.co.uk's online customers can order award-winning wines and ciders, beers and juices, cheeses and pickles, clotted cream, mincemeat, puds and even mistletoe - delivered to doorsteps across the country. Check out their Christmas offerings from the top Cornish producers at www.cornishfoodmarket.co.uk.
FACTFILE:
cornishfoodmarket.co.uk...... was officially launched at the Cornwall Food and Drink Festival 2010, for which it was key sponsor again in September this year. For latest news, to register and to offer product suggestions visit www.cornishfoodmarket.co.uk.
· more than 3000 products, including
· more than 100 top local producers
· more than 1000 other food and non-food grocery and household items
· deliveries across Cornwall and parts of south and west Devon FREE to customers, Monday to Friday, with a minimum order value of just £12.50.
· products include the freshest fruit and veg, organic and non-organic dairy products, fresh Cornish meat and locally landed fresh fish.
· prices that compete with the supermarkets across all categories every day.
· Users can create their own 'Favourites' list of products they frequently purchase and even create and edit their own 'standing orders' for the various weekly food purchases they require.
Westcountry Fruit Sales Ltd
· Family business Westcountry Fruit Sales Ltd was established in 1856 in Falmouth, Cornwall.
· Now has 20,000 sq ft Distribution Centre at Higher Argal, near Falmouth, with a second satellite depot occupying purpose built premises in St Austell.
· In 1999 it established The Essential Food Co to supply the professional catering trade with an expansive range of dairy products and ambient food and non-food products, to complement its range of fresh produce.
· Now the largest Cornish based specialist supplier of foods to the catering trade in Cornwall. See www.thegreengrocery.co.uk.
And this year for the first time Christmas diners across the land will get to savour the difference between these birds and their intensively reared relatives - via a new national delivery service from www.cornishfoodmarket.co.uk.
"We hand-rear free-range black and traditional white turkeys here at Trembleathe Farm and they grow for much longer than mass produced birds so they develop that lovely deep turkey flavour," says Richard Banbury whose parents Fernley and Nancy, wife Clare and little daughters Gracie Ann and Roseanna all play their part in the nurturing process.
"I think part of it is also that our natural environment is so clean and clear with fresh air off the Atlantic - we're remote from roads and noise and commercial activity and the birds are raised as they should be - stress free."
For nearly fifty years these turkeys have been enjoyed throughout Cornwall at Christmas time but now the Banbury family - like scores of the county's best food and drink producers - are working with the team at cornishfoodmarket.co.uk to spread not just the word but the reality of best Cornish fare to the nation at large.
"We launched our website a year ago, delivering online orders of all this fantastic produce to homes and businesses in Cornwall and parts of Devon," says Sean Williams, MD of cornishfoodmarket.co.uk and its parent company Westcountry Fruit Sales, which delivers wholesale to restaurants and caterers across the two counties.
"Now we're delivering further afield and the Banbury family's turkeys are a prime example of why we are almost evangelistic about the wonderful products we can supply.
"The big supermarkets have had it their own way for far too long and their deal for customers, communities and their suppliers leaves so much to be desired. We're showing how you can provide a better service all round, with the freshest and best products, but still great value for money."
Alongside the Cornish turkeys cornishfoodmarket.co.uk's online customers can order award-winning wines and ciders, beers and juices, cheeses and pickles, clotted cream, mincemeat, puds and even mistletoe - delivered to doorsteps across the country. Check out their Christmas offerings from the top Cornish producers at www.cornishfoodmarket.co.uk.
FACTFILE:
cornishfoodmarket.co.uk...... was officially launched at the Cornwall Food and Drink Festival 2010, for which it was key sponsor again in September this year. For latest news, to register and to offer product suggestions visit www.cornishfoodmarket.co.uk.
· more than 3000 products, including
· more than 100 top local producers
· more than 1000 other food and non-food grocery and household items
· deliveries across Cornwall and parts of south and west Devon FREE to customers, Monday to Friday, with a minimum order value of just £12.50.
· products include the freshest fruit and veg, organic and non-organic dairy products, fresh Cornish meat and locally landed fresh fish.
· prices that compete with the supermarkets across all categories every day.
· Users can create their own 'Favourites' list of products they frequently purchase and even create and edit their own 'standing orders' for the various weekly food purchases they require.
Westcountry Fruit Sales Ltd
· Family business Westcountry Fruit Sales Ltd was established in 1856 in Falmouth, Cornwall.
· Now has 20,000 sq ft Distribution Centre at Higher Argal, near Falmouth, with a second satellite depot occupying purpose built premises in St Austell.
· In 1999 it established The Essential Food Co to supply the professional catering trade with an expansive range of dairy products and ambient food and non-food products, to complement its range of fresh produce.
· Now the largest Cornish based specialist supplier of foods to the catering trade in Cornwall. See www.thegreengrocery.co.uk.
Hand-Made Australian Christmas Puddings From Pudding Lane
From an inherited prize-winning family recipe, Pudding Lane award-winning Christmas puddings are proudly hand-made in Australia with the finest quality fruit selected from Australia's pasturelands and well sourced fresh ingredients; fresh free range eggs, fresh butter, fresh breadcrumbs (crumbed by hand), flour, sugar from Australia's tropical north, spices and the finest brandy, matured in American Oak, from the world famous Barossa Valley wine region of South Australia.
Pudding Lane Christmas Fare:
(1) (2) (3)
(1) Classic Christmas - Australia's finest handmade prize-winning Christmas pudding
(2) Date & Toffee Log - a delicious sticky date texture with luxurious toffee
(3) Australian Macadamia Nuts and Barossa Valley Brandy - Organic Macadamia Nuts, finest matured in oak Bandy and some gourmet magic
Available to purchase from: www.porterfoods.co.uk
Food miles and the environment
'In Australia we talk about "paddock to plate", (field to fork) but the meaning is the same, no matter where in the world you are, most people want to know what food companies like Pudding Lane are doing to help and minimize their impact on the natural Environment.
Pudding Lane has a unique handmade method that has been unchanged for 100 years or more. Unlike most other pudding manufacturers, who ship all their many ingredients from the corners of the world, we use only locally sourced ingredients, and so, even though our puddings come from Australia, ours create far fewer food miles and energy waste than a pudding that is made in the UK.
We have based our reputation for quality on the "boiled-in-the-cloth" method. That is, we select the finest ingredients, local, combine these ingredients by hand, including fresh bread (from a local bakery that we hand-crumb) add the "wet-mix" of fresh butter, fresh Free Range eggs (hand cracked), Brandy and then hand-mix the mixture. This pudding mixture is then hand-weighed with spoons into lined boiling cloths. The cloths are actually "squares" of unbleached calico and are reused over and over to make many hundreds of puddings.
If the calico square develops a small hole, then we cut it down neatly to make another (smaller) size of pudding and so the process continues. The puddings are hand-tied with twine, then cooked (boiled) in (gas fired) "coppers" before being hung, again by hand, individually on a line to age and mature in advance for Christmas.
When the puddings have been hung and dried we then take them off the line, cut them out of the cloth, dress them in plain cotton fabric to sell and the only disposable part of our pudding making process is a short piece of cotton twine used to tie the pudding cloth up with prior to cooking. The puddings are packaged in cartons made from 100% recycled material and dispatched.
In this way, we do not use any automated processes, no production lines, no electric steam ovens (in fact we don't even have a conventional oven in our pudding kitchen), we do not use plastic basins, plastic bowls or moulds to shape the puddings, each and every pudding is different, only the same supreme moist taste is the same - but each and every pudding is unique!
Many people who know our method and also who visit our pudding kitchen are amazed at the level of detail, at the hand-made method, the hard work, but also that we can make many many tonnes of puddings every year - but each and every one, without ever changing the method and almost no machinery whatsoever, is made individually by hand.
These days however, we are less accidental in our philosophy of the environment. We have a practical commitment to community involvement and make sure that our ingredients are; fresh and local, that our method is maintained by our strict Haccp controls and that we just make traditional Christmas puddings in the old-fashioned (environmental) way.'
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