Great Taste Awards

We are seeing stars, GOLD STARS!

Following some very helpful feedback from all of you, we have been spending a lot of time over the past few months adjusting our recipes so that they are all more fruity and less sweet. We have reduced the sugar we add by around a quarter. It was these recipes that we entered into the Great Taste Awards this year with the intention of getting feedback BEFORE going into full production. We hope to have our whole range available in these new recipes before the end of the year so that you can indulge yourself in time for Christmas!

Here is a little video that BBC Radio 2's resident food expert, Nigel Barden, has made about the Golden Raspberry and Apache Chilli Vinegar:

With remarks from the judges such as those below, it seems we are thinking along the right lines!

Golden Raspberry & Apache Chilli Vinegar won Gold***

Top 50 Foods

The Nigel Barden Heritage Award

 Golden Fork Award 

"Crystal clear vinegar aroma of both raspberry and chilli. Good sweetness level. A perfect balance of raspberry and chilli allowing the the vinegar flavour to come through as well."

"This vinegar has a wonderful aroma. You can smell the raspberries and chilli. The vinegar is light in colour. This vinegar has a wonderful flavour. The raspberry is on the front of the palate followed by the warmth of the chilli which is gentle but builds nicely. We loved this product..." 

Raspberry Vinegar won Gold***

"A beautiful coloured vinegar with a lovely clarity. The raspberry aroma is incredible. The raspberry flavour and sweetness come through beautifully at the front of the palate before the acidity of the vinegar kicks in. The balance of this vinegar between sweetness and acidity is just perfect. The judges were all very excited about this product."

Orange & Mace won Gold*

"We like this - good balance of acidity from the vinegar and a freshness from the orange. The mace nips in at the finish in a very pleasant way."

 

Christmas and New Year, Food and Family

Happy New Year!

Well, Christmas is well and truly over, now, and we even have some frost on the ground, at last. The Yorkshire forced rhubarb growers will be pleased with this, since the rhubarb needs that cold ground temperature to make it grow.
Our Christmas tree was decorated very tastefully, of course, and enhanced no end by a beautiful flower arrangement a friend sent us (thank you Katie!)

Following her emigration to Brisbane, this year was the first time for ages that the aforementioned Katie had not joined us on Christmas Day, so we had to find an alternative to the joint of ham she would traditionally bring with her. We found a honey glazed Gammon and, after some excellent ideas from a few Tweets, I decided to stick a few cloves in it and make up a glaze of more honey and some of our Orange & Mace vinegar. I'm delighted to say that it turned out really well! The ham was really succulent and the mixture of the Orange, honey and spices added well to the flavour of the meat.

Honey with Orange & Mace vinegar glazed Gammon

We also opted for a Turkey Butt(erfly) joint for our Christmas dinner again this year. Turkey can be dry if you don't take good care about the way it is cooked, so I decided to wrap it in foil until 30 minutes from the end of the cooking time, and I also glazed it with a liberal helping of our Lemon, Basil, Bay & Juniper before putting it in the oven. WOW! Amazingly, the flavour and texture was perfect; so much so, that even the frozen slices are still making for delicious sandwich fillings.

I have to admit we are not great ones for going overboard on decoration at Christmas time, but these twig reindeer adorn our kitchen windowsill. These are very special to us, being a farewell gift from Katie and her husband, Stephen.

 

Some tasty treats we got for Christmas included these divine chocolates from Stow-on-the-Wold chocolatiers, Miette. They are made by Katherine Abel in a shop which used to be the baker's on Digbeth Street, just off the Market Place. Last year, Silvana de Soissons visited and wrote a lovely article on her beautiful blog site, The Foodie Bugle.

Miette chocolates

Of course, NO Christmas would be complete without my fix of Kiwi goodies, so many thanks to my darling mother-in-law and father-in-law for these two staples. Peanut slabs may be shrinking over the years, but they still taste as good as ever. Want to try for yourself? You can buy them from SANZA online, along with lots of other tasty Antipodean treats.

Lastly, my darling wife, Jani, does make a really good Christmas cake (laced with Brandy) and this year our daughter, Laura, did the festive decoration: it has all gone now!

 

Festive Recipes with Orange & Mace

Following the huge success of Sarah Finn's Cinder Toffee Recipe recently, Sarah visited us at BBC Good Food Show and went away armed with a bottle of our newest flavour, Orange and Mace. And this is the result of her enthusiasm, two new recipes for you. Sarah has lots more really lovely recipes and it is well worth checking her site for more.

If you would like to try using our Orange & Mace yourself, give us a call on 01132 865 855 to place an order and Sue or Wendy will help you.

Roast Stuffed Pork Loin with Orange & Mace

This recipe can be used on any white meat used within a joint of ham, gammon, pork or turkey.

Ingredients:

●       2 tbsp plain flour

●       1 tsp caraway seeds

●       1 tsp ground mustard

●       3/4 tsp salt

●       1/2 tsp sugar

●       2 tsp of Womersley Orange & Mace Dressing

●       1/4 tsp pepper

●       3 lbs boneless pork loin roast

Method:

1.      Spread stuffing mixture over surface of the pork (see recipe below).

2.      Starting with the smallest side of the meat (which should be in the shape of a rectangle).

3.      Roll up tightly and secure with kitchen string.

At this point you can wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate if you are making ahead.

4.      In a small bowl, combine the first six ingredients; rub over roast. In a large pan, heat oil; brown roast on all sides.

5.      Place on a rack in a shallow roasting tray.Sprinkle over Orange & Mace dressing.

6.      Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees F for 1-1/2 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees F.

7.      Let it stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

Walnut, Cranberry and Clementine Stuffing

A really gorgeous stuffing, baked on its own ( as a vegetarian option with cooked rice or quinoa instead of bread) or used within a joint of ham, gammon, pork or turkey.

Ingredients :

●       50g butter

●       2 parsnips, peeled and diced

●       1/4 tsp of grated nutmeg

●       1 tbsp of chopped fresh rosemary

●       100g cranberries (stoned & chopped) use dried if not available

●       Minced peel of one lemon

●       Minced peel of one clementine

●       3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

●       300g bread, cubed (or try wholemeal, sourdough) always take off crusts and preferably a day old

●       1/4 tsp each salt and pepper or to taste

●       230g walnut pieces,

●       3 eggs

●       250 ml apple sauce

●       2 tsp of Womersley Orange & Mace Dressing

Method :

1.      Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.

2.      Add the parsnips and nutmeg and cook until they are tender and browned, which should take about 8 minutes.

3.      Transfer them to a large bowl and add the rosemary, cranberries, parsley, clementines and bread.

4.      Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the Orange & Mace Dressing.

5.      Beat the eggs and apple sauce together and toss in with the bread mixture and walnuts.

6.      Bake covered with foil, for 20 minutes then remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes.