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New Beginnings and Happy Endings:Apple and Mint jelly

07

Apr 2012

There is something wonderful about the start of a season – bringing in the new always feels exciting. Each new point of the year is wonderful in its own way. In June it is wonderful to tip into summer proper, hopeful that the weather might behave as we want it to. However old you are it feels like the school holidays in August, and there is something about that month that feels carefree even if you are at a desk in an office, as if the barefooted timelessness of such a month is forever etched in our collective minds. Continue reading →

All in The Grind: Tarragon mustard

30

Mar 2012

I always look forward to making mustard – its simple yet satisfying. This weeks has a feel of France about it – Tracklements’ Tarragon mustard is the ideal accompaniment to steak or seafood. I still haven’t found a way of grinding the seeds without splatter- gunning the kitchen, and find myself crunching them underfoot as I prepare the mustard. Its worth every annoyance however as there is something uniquely satisfying about having a stock cupboard full of mustard, there are so many  meals, so many delicious meals, waiting for these jars. Continue reading →

A work of art? : Apple and Sage Jelly

22

Mar 2012

 

I haven’t made a jelly for a while, and I had forgotten how satisfying it is to see the little dribble that you have let cool on a saucer wrinkle when you push it with your finger. It must be the feeling that every scientist gets when an experiment goes right, something to do with achieving the result you want with the instructions you have. I am not a scientist by any stretch of the imagination – far too dreamy for such a profession – but I can imagine how satisfying  it must be to have a simple conclusion – succeed or fail – mission accomplished or start again. Continue reading →

Sweating it : Caramelised Red Onion Relish

15

Mar 2012

 

What I love so much about the history of food as we understand it, is that we don’t really understand it at all. We have records and writings, pictures and paintings, receipts and recipes, but there are so many things about food and cooking that we just cannot know.

I’ve been making Tracklements’ Caramelised Red Onion Relish this week, and it got me to thinking about the first time someone caramelised onions. Was it on purpose? Or were they distracted by something and turned around to discover that they had brown, crispy, sweet, tangy onions as opposed to the lightly sweated ones they had been aiming for?

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Perfect Ploughmans: Farmhouse Pickle

06

Mar 2012

Can any of you honestly say that you eat turnip? When did you last cook it and how? In this world of 24 hour shopping and air -freighted tender veg in the winter, our honest, if slightly solid, British root veg (or swollen stalk in the case of the turnip) are often overlooked.

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