That's Food and Drink

Sunday, 5 April 2015

Hawkshead Relish Company

Cumbria is quite justifiably developing an International reputation as being an area within the UK that is well known for the superbly high quality foods that it produces.

Another example of this is the Hawkshead Relish company of Hawkshead, in Cumbria.

Owned and operated by holders of very well deserved MBEs, Mark and Maria Whitehead, the relishes are cooked in the proper, traditional way, by hand, in real kitchens, in open pans.

The product ranges are wide and cover sweet and savour relishes and products.

From several different types of chilli-based products, to traditional pickles such as pork pie pickle, hand chopped piccalilli to scrumpy apple chutney, via pear and date chutney, to Red Onion Marmalade an Pickeled Damsons.

There's an amazingly full range of mustards from the FHM (Fiendishly hot Mustoard) to Honey Mustard, plus a range of proper jellys such as Daomson and Basil, Chilli, Lime and ginger, Pale Real Ale Jelly and Cranberry Jelly, Nettle Jelly, Hedglrow and Port Jelly and Apple and Lavender Jelly. (Incidentally, my wife makes absolutely delicious lavender scones, so just imagine what a fantastic combination they's make!)

There's also a range of vinegars, table sauces, speciality oils (including Pizza oil!) and marmalades including Leomn and Lime, Five Fruit and jams such as Strawberry and Black Pepper Jam (wow! Just... wow! You would have to be a real genius to create such a wonderful gem of a jam!) Raspberry and Vanilla jam and Lemon Curd. As for the Strawberry Daiquiri Jam, (with white rum, of course!) that's another first rate recipe!

They've also taken the decision to have their Brand and Rum Butters available year round, produce a first rate hot toddy and a range of honeys that are amongst the best you'll ever taste.

Add Lizzies handmade Italian inspired preserves and you will be in culinary heaven.

The That's Food and Drink Taste Test Team have given the range 12 out of 10 for taste.

To learn more, please visit Mark and Maria Whithead MBE www.hawksheadrelish.com.

Thursday, 2 April 2015

Sheppy's make real cider

For many years I was a fan of The Archers on BBC Radio. This was a tradition started by my grandfather as the family had, until the Great War wrecked so many hopes, ambitions and lives, farmed in the area of the English Midlands portrayed in The Archers.

My favourite characters were the Grundy family. They were a proper farming family as they were the only farmers in Ambridge who made thier own scrumpy cider on their farm, Grange Farm.

Which brings me to another farming family, this farming family is, however, a very real farming family, the Sheppy family of Somerset.

The family has farmed and made cider since the 1800s. And that's a heck of a long time to be getting something so utterly right!

My wife -who has strong family connections to the West Country herself (Devon, the other side of the Tamar!) so she is something of a connoisseur of ciders.

We had three bottles of Sheppy's ciders: Sheppy's Vintage Reserve, Sheppy's Kingston black Cider and Sheppy's Falstaff Apple Cider.

At 7.4%, Sheppy's Vintage Reserve is a cider of reassuring strength. This traditional cider is matured on oak vats in the age-old method.

The result is a darker cider with a flavour that is matured and delicious, with a hint of tannin from the oak. "It reminds me of a good quality malt whisky," said my wife as she sipped her glass.

Sheoppy's Kingston Black Cider is only slightly lighter in alcohol content at 7.2%. It's a single variety cider that really hits the spot. It's dry, yet no so dry as to make it unpleasant to drink. It has a pleasant taste that reflects well on the type of apple used and on the family who still make it.

The third Sheppy's cider that we tried was my own personal favourite, Sheppy's Falstaff Apple Cider. Somewhat less alcohol, it comes in at 5.6%. It has a lovely, light colour and it is made with the more modern and utterly delicious desert apple, the Falstaff.

The cider is medium-sweet refreshing to drink and easy to drink.

www.sheppyscider.com

Wednesday, 1 April 2015

Aldi brings you the world's first crowd sourced cake

This is it! This is the cake that British cake lovers want! And it's brought to you exclusively by Aldi, Britain's best kept shopping secret!

Experts took 31 hours to bake and assemble the ‘ultimate’ Easter cake, featuring five layers and 39 different ingredients, following research revealing the nation’s favourite fillings and flavours.

The country's first ever 'crowd sourced' cake revealed for the first time here on That's Food and Drink, was based on the findings of a study of over 2,000 people commissioned by supermarket Aldi, resulting in a monumental sweet treat, featuring 352 mini chocolate eggs.

Over a third (36%) of folks asked said chocolate sponge was the most likely to get their taste buds tingling, followed by cheesecake (33%), fruit cake (30%), carrot cake (29%) and Victoria sponge (24%) – which is reflected in the intricate creation.

And when it comes to filling, cream came up trumps with over half of those surveyed (53%), followed by chocolate (37%), strawberry jam (25%), and raspberry jam (23%), and almost half preferred their cake embellished with chocolate eggs (48%).

Decoration scored highly on the cake wish list with more than 1 in 10 (12%) wanting to see edible decorations adorn their perfect cake.

The crowd-sourced Easter cake was created using the Aldi Specialbuys kitchen range and crafted by Great British Bake Off finalist and cookery book writer Miranda Gore Browne.

Miranda said: “Cake is engrained in British culture; it’s part of family life, so I’m not surprised that we’re so pernickety when it comes to the ideal slice. To capture the tastes of the nation in one brilliant cake is quite a feat.

“Of course, not everyone can create something so ambitious – stacking five different layers proved a particular challenge to say the least. My biggest worry was how I was going to cut an enormous slice of the cake, so I was thrilled and very relieved when it came out perfectly! This is certainly a showstopper of a cake but it does show how you can create your favourite things with low cost kitchen essentials.”

Giles Hurley, MD for buying at Aldi says; “There’s no better way to celebrate Easter than with what is possibly one of the nation’s favourite things…Cake. We were keen to find out how the nation would vote when it comes to flavours and fillings, and hope the impressive creation inspires people to create their very own treats, using their favourite ingredients.

“We pride ourselves on opening up often costly hobbies to our shoppers at a fraction of their normal price. Our Specialbuys offer customers a fantastic saving on outstanding quality products and our baking range is no exception”

Aldi Specialbuys are available in store on selected dates throughout the year, while stocks last.

(EDITOR: But don't forget, there's probably another Aldi store not too far away, and you might find an ingredient still available in one Aldi when it's ran out in another.)

Tuesday, 24 March 2015

Dairy Free No Muu sent me to chocolate Heaven. They can send you there, too!

Years ago, you could get some dairy free chocolates. They were by-and-large, inedible.

But thanks to a couple and their children, all that has changed, because now if you need to buy chocolates for anyone who needs a dairy free diet, you can feed them No Muu!

Anna and Euan realised that their children had certain intolerances, one being to dairy milk.

Rather than just shrugging and saying: "Oh, well, there's nothing we can do!" they actually decided that there was something they could do. They could develop their own dairy-free chocolates and they decided to name the brand No Muu! (See what Anna and Euan did, there? No milk = No Muu? Well, it tickled me, any way!)

But their chocolates are more than just dairy free, they're also gluten free, too!

But what about the tradition taste of this type of product? You do not need to worry, as they taste absolutely delicious.

But there's more to chocolate than just the taste. There's what those in the know in the world of chocolate call "mouthfeel" which is to say, somewhat unsurprisingly, how the chocolate feels whilst you are chewing it.

Anna and Euan have got the taste and the mouthfeel absolutely perfect.

They produce a wide range of equally delicious products from a white chocolate Easter egg to white chocolate and raspberry bunnies, to milk chocolate bunnies and chocolate orange bunnies.

The white chocolate bunnies were exquisite, like white chocolate used to taste when I was a child and the orange chocolate equals or, actually, betters more established brands of orange chocolate. That'll be something to do with the organic and fair trade ethos of Anna and Euan and their company, No Muu, I expect!

I'd have loved to have tried the Easter Egg, but my wife Anni assures me that it was delicious! And as her dairy and gluten intolerances were not triggered in even the slightest way, I'd have to say that this makes the whole No Muu experience very worthwhile indeed!

By the way, the chocolates from No Muu taste absolutely wonderful, so you don't have to have food intolerances to enjoy these delicious tasty treats!

How can you purchase your very own supply of No Muu Chocolates?

Please visit https://www.facebook.com/uknomuu to learn more.

And when you do, please mention That's Food and Drink!

Saturday, 21 March 2015

Oh, Hoppy Days! Real ale fans in for a Wetherspoon ale treat!

Beer drinkers can enjoy a wide range of real ales from around the UK and the rest of the world at their nearest Wetherspoon pub!

Each of the beers (some specially produced for the festival) are brewed using only with British-grown hop varieties; an amazing total of 24 different varieties of hops are featured amongst the festival beers, including established varieties (Fuggles and Goldings) and newer varieties (Boadicea and Jester).

The ale festival runs through to 29 March with all festival ales at a price tag of an amazingly modest price of £2.10 a pint.

The overseas beers on offer have been sourced from brewers in Brazil, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, USA, Spain, Ireland and Australia.

Each of the overseas brewers have brewed their individual beer at a carefully selected UK brewery.

These beers will complement 40 beers from across the UK also being served in the pub during the festival.

The overseas beers are; Spider Bite (Devils Backbone Brewing Company, USA), Shipwreck IPA (Lighthouse Brewing Company, Canada), Wee Heavy (Bodebrown Brewery, Brazil), Durban Pale Ale (Shongweni Brewery, South Africa), Hightail Ale (Mountain Goat Beer, Australia), California Breakfast Ale (Golden Road Brewing, USA), 0′ Dwyer’s Irish Stout (Dungarvan Brewing Company, Ireland), JCIPA (Townshend Brewery, New Zealand), English IPA (Cerveceria Fort Brewery, Spain) and ESA (Barley Brown’s Beer, USA).

The UK beers include; Play it Again Sam (Phoenix), Monty Python’s Holy Grail (Black Sheep), Puffin Ale (Orkney), Lazy Dog (Wolf), Pocket Full of Rye (Brains), Mojo (Robinsons), New Moon (Hanlons) and New Dawn Ale (Daleside).

Customers will be able to sample any three of the real ales before they make their choice, plus they can have three ales in special third-of-a-pint glasses for the price of a pint.

Tasting notes for all of the beers will be available.

Wetherspoon have also added Mexican Monday to their growing specials menu. So you can enjoy real ale made with British hops and eat Mexican foods. A match made in Heaven!

Where is your nearest Wetherspoon pub? Find out at http://www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/.

Teatulia. They have real tea for you to enjoy

Teatulia provide tea lovers with real tea. That's those of you who are not merely tea drinkers, but genuine tea lovers.

Aand you know how different you are from those people who just slurp any old tea down or really only need a cup of warm, brownish liquid to dunk their biscuits in!

Teatulia is for you. Teatulia provide organic teas that are sourced from single tea gardens.

They want to do all the right things. Yes, they want to provide you with tea of the highest possible quality, with tea that you will enjoy drinking, a noble aim in the view of your author, but more than that they want to make certain that they do the right thing by not only the people who tend the land and grow the tea crops, but also the very land the tea bushes grow on, themselves.

The Teatulia tea garden is established on good, virgin soil and they make certain that only non-harmful, natural farming methods are employed within their tea gardens.

They are justifiably proud that theirs is the first Bangladesh tea garden that is USDA-certified as organic. As far as they are aware, they're the only tea growers who have introduced this approach to tea cultivation.

The teas and herbal infusions they produce are direct from their tea garden to you. Nobody steps in the way to demand a cut from the profits, no third-party blenders and the subsequent risk of contamination with lesser types of tea, no languishing around in long-term warehouses, losing a little bit more flavour, every day.

Just the highest quality tea brought to your teapot as quickly as they can.

There's Tealulia Black Tea, Earl of Bengal, Tulsi Infusion Tea, Teatulia Green Tea, Lemongrass Herbal Infusion,

Taste them. Tastes different, don't they? Better isn't it? Now, that's how good tea should taste!

To learn more please visit www.teatulia.com.