Two Unique New Brown Rice Crackers from Clearspring

Japanese and organic fine foods specialist Clearspring has added two exciting new gluten free, authentic, vegan and organic Japanese Brown Rice Cracker flavours to its award-winning snacks range: Black Pepper & Tamari and Green Nori & Tamari.

The new Organic Japanese Brown Rice Crackers are made using only the finest quality organic wholefood ingredients. The Organic Black Pepper & Tamari is perfectly balanced with tamari and a hint of black sesame seeds. The Organic Green Nori & Tamari is enhanced with the umami found in tamari, the unique taste of green nori, one of the most popular sea vegetables, and an added hint of black sesame seeds.

Maria Dawson, Director at Clearspring said about the new additions: “The majority of Japanese and Asian rice crackers are made using white rice and usually contain fish stock, added sugar and MSG. It took over a year to perfect these two new and unique recipes, which deliver on wholegrain crunch and taste whilst being minimally processed using organic wholefood ingredients.

“Our Organic Brown Rice Crackers offer consumers a delicious way to enjoy the benefits of organic wholegrain brown rice and are a wholesome plant-based food perfect for any occasion.”

Clearspring's Organic Japanese Brown Rice Crackers are made by third-generation family producers in Japan's Hyogo prefecture, where they have been perfecting the art of rice cracker production since 1952. They are truly artisanal in their approach, employing only traditional methods and expertise to ensure each batch is perfectly baked.

Alongside the two new flavour additions, Clearspring's Organic Japanese Brown Rice Cracker range includes two original flavours: award-winning Organic Black Sesame and Organic Whole Sesame.

All four Clearspring's Organic Japanese Brown Rice Crackers are:

Organic

Vegan

Gluten Free

A source of Fibre

MSG-free

Non-GMO

Made in Japan

Available in 40g pack size

A Must have foodie stocking filler! Some real hot sauces!

Stuck for ideas for male stocking fillers this year? – Well, here’s a ‘must have’ for every woman to give to a man, and every food loving male to add to his Xmas wish list.
So, add a bit of a kick to Xmas with a unique connoisseur chilli sauce specially chosen by Hot-Headz!, stockists of the largest selection of all things chilli in the UK (www.hot-headz.com). It’s quirky, original, has fantastic novelty value and is something that will be used! In fact we believe a bottle of chilli sauce is THE perfect stocking filler for any discerning male foodie of the species, guaranteed to bring Yuletide cheer and warmth! A perfect ‘secret santa’ gift for the office Xmas party too!

We all know there is a love hate relationship between men and chillies. They can’t resist the temptation of tingling taste buds and yet when they indulge they end up asking themselves ‘why on earth did I do that?’ whilst swilling down gallons of water to kill the heat (big mistake by the way; see the FACTFILE for details!)- and then they go and do it again! It’s all down to the endorphins that chillies make us produce by creating a sense of euphoria, along with a pinch of male bravado no doubt!

And with a bottle of superb provenance chilli sauce from Hot-Headz! typically costing from £3.99 to £6.99, it won’t make a dent in the old wallet. So why not buy a bottle or even a few.

Here are our top five ‘connoisseurs’ recommendations to choose from, gradually moving up the heat scale from ‘beginners mild’ to ‘it’ll blow your head off’ (In addition to the heat, the range of flavours, colours and textures are genuinely quite remarkable and varied, just like with wines, so why not try a few and do a tasting):

1. Tapatio Hot Sauce - This year marks the 40th Anniversary of this Mexican inspired sauce that's found on every table top in bars and restaurants across the USA. A robust cayenne pepper sauce with great flavour and a sweet citrusy tang that's good for all round use. A perfect ‘easy on the heat’ sauce for the chilli novice! Hot-Headz heat rating: 3/10. £3.99 (EDITOR Makes the perfect genuine Mexican/American foods)

2. Brother Bru-Bru's Mild African Pepper Sauce - a mouth watering blend of chilli peppers, garlic and Brother Bru Bru’s rare African spices. Brother Bru Bru is in fact no other than session musician Bruce Langhorne who used to play with Bob Dylan. It's a fact that Dylan wrote Mr.Tambourine Man about Bruce. Yes that's him on the label! Splash it on or in everything! Hot-Headz heat rating: 5/10. £3.99

3. Pyromania! Wanna play with Fire? Made with habanero peppers and chipotle "Chee-Poht-Lay" (smoked jalapeno) peppers for a wonderful rich and smoky hot sauce that's great on everything from eggs and vegetables to fish, meat, rice, pasta and tofu. Getting warmer. Hot-Headz heat rating: 7/10. £3.99

4. Hot-Headz own ‘Who Dares Burns! Crushed Naga Hot Sauce’ - Now we're getting serious! A whopping 65% chilli pepper content gives this all natural sauce a killer heat with fresh, fresh flavour! The Naga Bhut Jolokia is the Guinness Book of World Records holder of the Hottest Chilli in the World. We've skilfully blended these deadly hot chilli peppers with select ingredients to make the tastiest Naga sauce on the market. In skiing parlance, this is definitely black run. Hot-Headz heat rating: 9/10. £3.99

5. Mad Dog 357 - Claiming to be the ‘World's Hottest Sauce’ this is about as hot as you can go without being classed as a food additive. This ‘not for the faint of heart’ sauce has a blend of 160,000 scoville super hot cayenne peppers, fiery hot red habanero peppers and finally a whopping 2,000,000 scoville pepper extract. Totally off-piste! A tongue scorching 357,000 Scoville unit sauce. Hot-Headz heat rating: 11/10.
£7.49 (EDITOR: Ouch, ouch, OUCH!!! This really did burn my tongue and I am not a chilli novice!)

(Collectors Edition with bullet key chain containing tiny tasting spoon! 600,000 Scoville units - £9.95)

To purchase: Go to www.hot-headz.com to order on-line OR Call: 01453 731052. P&P (UK Mainland): £2.00 - £6.75 depending on no of items ordered. Free delivery on orders over £100. Some products in the selection may need to be altered due to availability.

FACTFILE: Best to avoid water or beer if you can, to calm your poor tongue and mouth. Milk is the best method to cool them down.)

Encona perfect for your Barbecue

Encona is a range of cooking sauces and condiments with flavours from all over the world – Caribbean, Far East, Asia and the Americas.

Encona is the still the UK’s number 1 hot pepper sauce brand but has different heat levels to suit both chilli lovers and chilli novices! The range is wonderfully versatile – the perfect condiment for meat, chicken, fish, seafoods and vegetables, also drizzled into stir-fries, rice dishes, dips and salad dressings.

Great too as a marinade brushed onto food during grilling or barbecuing, stirred into soups and stews or simply as a delicious, everyday table sauces.

(EDITOR: I first came across Encona hot pepper sauce many years ago. It has been a long and fruitful relationship consisting of many meals shared with friends and family. To find out more about Encona and to see why it is so popular, visit www.enconasauces.co.uk)