Author: footloose

Real bread offers a flavour and freshness you don’t get when it is store bought. Straight out of the oven when its crisp, still hot and eaten with salty farm butter.

All the reasons one needs to learn how to bake traditional country fresh loaves in the comfort of your home kitchen. All it takes is a simple course such as those run by Stepping Stones in Lymington.

Their courses are taught in a domestic kitchen with a maximum of two people so its one on one, a hands on experience. Alan is a classically trained chef who takes the mystique out of bread making introducing you to some of the shortcuts and ‘tricks of the trade’.

On the third Saturday of each month twenty six farmers and producers set up their stalls at the Surbiton Farmers Market.

Selling wholesome fresh meat, fish, farm produce and speciality foods. From locally grown fruit and vegetables to home baked bakery products and local artisan foods.

Such as Sarah McCloud’s gourmet Sussex Pies which is a family business producing delicious handmade savoury pies and pastries from Hooe in East Sussex. Ranging from rabbit and game to steak and kidney as well as sausage rolls and their black pudding scotch eggs.

And the Home of Savoury which specialise in Saffins. Bite sized oven-baked savoury muffins. Hand made by Elena Weafer, each carefully crafted recipe inspired by her Mediterranean origins. Most are vegetarian and there are at least three wheat-and-gluten-free variants. Flavours change constantly but particularly popular are spinach and roast sweet potatoes, chorizo and caramelised red onion, as well as black olive and coriander. She also bakes Halloumi Tubes, Kimchini and Sweet Potato Bread Buns.

Food curing has been practiced for thousands of years. Originally to preserve and store meat, fish and vegetables but also to prevent disease.

Whereas today it is more about taste, experience and the value of traditional artisan foods and food making. Whilst parma ham and some authentic Spanish chorizo and Italian salamis are still cured with salt, more often a mixture of salt and potassium nitrate and sodium nitrite are used for curing.

The Hampshire Salami Company is an artisan maker of Salumi.

The Italian collective for salami and cured meats. All their products are based on Italian recipes, which have been developed over many hundreds of years. They cure it, they sell it, they eat it, teach it and write about artisan salumi and salami making.

Salumi include bresaola, which is made from beef, and also cooked products such as mortadella and prosciutto cotto (cooked), with salami being a specific type of salumi. Salumi can be broadly split into three groups:

The whole cured muscle – such as Pancetta, Prosciutto Crudo (Parma ham), Lonza (cured loin of pork), Capocollo or Coppa (cured collar muscle) and other smaller cuts.

Insaccato – anything that is chopped and stuffed into a skin, such as a natural casing or a synthetic casing which is then cured, dry aged and becomes what we call salami.

Cotto – any combination of the two above which is then cooked, such as Mortadella or Prosciutto Cotto (baked ham)

I did a search for a traditional breakfast fry-up which took me to Mumms in Southsea. But it was the carrot cake which caught my eye.

I wouldn’t normally order it with a traditional builders breakfast. But this cake was all wrong. The wrong colour and it had that unmistakeable homemade look to it. It didn’t disappoint.

Next time forget the full English fry-up. I will settle for a slice of cake and coffee.

The chilli was first brought to Europe from South America by Christopher Columbus. From there it spread rapidly around the world and is now found and grown extensively in Africa, Asia and Europe. Having become the most universally popular spice used by millions of people on a daily basis. It’s popularity rooted in exotic accounts of adventure, destinations, travel and comfort foods.

Which is where Blackfire Artisan Food got started. The result of 30 years of travel and tasting by Belfast native, street artist, grower, sauce alchemist, and chilli fanatic Tim McCarthy.

Having eaten street food in Central and North America, Africa, the Far East and the Middle East as well as most of Europe and the Indian subcontinent Tim founded Blackfire in 2014 to satiate his appetite for fiery food.

It’s a small Belfast based company specialising in the creation of unique, handmade, fresh chili sauces. Which are all vegan-friendly, allergen and gluten-free as well as being low in calories. They contain only natural ingredients and are free from added sugar and salt as well as artificial colours or preservatives.

Handmade artisan sausages in Hailsham East Sussex

The Sussex Larder is a traditional craft and family butcher offering a wide selection of gourmet sausages in addition to their Long Man Brewery signature sausage. Pork blended with seasonings and Sussex Best Bitter with Kentish hops.

Pastry Products; steak & chicken pies, sausage rolls.

Pasties and traditional suet puddings.

A Quality Food Company offering Farm Assured prime beef, free-range pork, lamb & fresh poultry from English farms delivered on a daily basis.

Over The Last 20 Years The Sussex Larder Has Built An Enviable Reputation For Producing Additive & Gluten Free Products Including Quiches, Pies, Sausage Rolls, Flour, Easy Roll Pastry, Pastry Shells, all low in salt and sodium

countrylife.co.uk/food-drink/praise-great-british-sausage-pick-five-best-bangers-can-buy-191235
qguild.co.uk