Category Archives: Food

Did you know wine is mentioned 521 times in the Bible?

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To boost your wine knowledge this May in celebration of National Wine Month here are 15 ‘Did you know?’ facts about wine to impress your friends –

· Wine is mentioned 521 times in the Bible.

* Noah was the first documented planter of vineyards.

* There are over 10,000 different grape varieties.

· Wine grapes are the most widely planted crop in the world.

* The average age of a French oak tree cut down to make a wine barrel is 170 years.

* Early Roman women were forbidden to drink wine, and a husband who found his wife drinking was at liberty to divorce, or even kill her.

* If you pay under £4 for a bottle of wine in a UK shop, nearly two-thirds of this is tax (excise duty and VAT).

* The worst place to store wine is the kitchen because the temperature is too warm and variable.

* Don’t store wine in a refrigerator – even at its warmest setting it will be too cold!

· A wine is “corked” if the bottle has a contaminated cork, which makes the wine smell musty, similar to wet cardboard.

* On average, one bottle of wine contains about 2.8 pounds of grapes.

· It takes the grapes from an entire grapevine to produce a single glass of Chateau d’Yquem – arguably the best sweet wine in the world.

* Plato argued that when a man reached 40, he could drink as much wine as he wanted to cure the “crabbedness of old age”

* The earliest known wine production occurred in Georgia around 8,000 BC

* The most expensive drinkable wine ever sold is reputed to be a Romanee-Conti 1978 which sold for $24,000

Visit www.maketimeforwine.org to find out more.

WHITTARD OF CHELSEA RELEASES PERFECT ‘CUPPA’ GUIDE

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WHITTARD OF CHELSEA RELEASES PERFECT ‘CUPPA’ GUIDE, AHEAD OF BUMPER TEA-MAKING DAY – MOTHERING SUNDAY

The UK Tea Council expects more than 165 million cups of tea to be drunk in the UK this Mothering Sunday. As the annual homage to Mothers approaches, millions of sons and daughters around the country are planning to serve breakfast in bed including the ultimate ‘cuppa’ for the celebrated women in their lives. Tea and coffee specialists Whittard of Chelsea, who have already identified a pre-Mother’s Day tea selling surge, have today released their expert guide to making the perfect cuppa.

Every year, Whittard of Chelsea monitors the Mother’s Day effect, estimated to be one of the biggest tea-making days of the year. Selling over 130 varieties of tea, Whittard last year saw a +32% surge in sales of tea gifts in the run up to Mothering Sunday. So far this year, the firm tea favourites are – unsurprisingly – English Breakfast and Earl Grey. However, sales of speciality flavours such as English Rose and Orange Blossom are also creeping up.

Says Fiona Robinson, of Whittard of Chelsea’s head office in Oxfordshire:

“A cup of tea in bed is one of life’s simple pleasures, and one that children can help

prepare at any age to spoil the lady of the house. Whittard starts to see a real peak in sales about two weeks before Mother’s Day as people come in to buy their favourite teas, along with pretty bone china to make a celebration out of the perfect cuppa. Tea gifts also sell very well for Mother’s Day with year’s best sellers including tea caddies, leaf tea with silver-plated infusers and tea selection boxes.”

Whittard of Chelsea’s Expert Guide to Making the Perfect Cuppa

1. Choose the right blend to suit your mood – Deciding on the right blend – whether loose leaf or a teabag – to suit your mood and individual taste is key. Many people have on average three blends in their cupboard for exactly this reason. Great wake-up teas for Mother’s Day include classic English Breakfast or Assam.
2. Delicate cup and saucer or comforting chunky mug? Many swear that tea tastes better from fine bone china. Fine bone china cups are lighter and more delicate than ceramic mugs and keep the tea hotter for longer. However, nothing will do sometimes but a great big comforting mug of strong tea.
3. Is it a full tea tray moment? Mother’s Day offers the perfect opportunity to produce a proper ‘tea moment’ complete with laden tray, sugar lumps, strainer, tea pot and milk jug.
4. Always use freshly drawn water either from the cold tap or even better, filtered. Pre-heated water loses oxygen and dulls the flavour of the tea.
5. Are you in a Milk Mood? Some teas are considered best without milk but it’s all a matter of taste. For example, Earl Grey has a very delicate flavour so only requires a dash of milk, whilst some prefer it without milk and just a slice of lemon.
6. Boiling is best – Pour the boiling water straight into the cup as soon as it’s boiled. Boiling water brings the tea to life

TEAPOTS & TEALEAVES

7. Warm the pot with a dash of water. It creates a better brewing temperature
8. Measure your tea leaves carefully
* Very strong dark type of teas; 3 or 4 teaspoons per 6 cup pot
* Medium strength teas, possibly drunk black. 2 teaspoons
* Lighter teas, enjoyed without milk. Use 1 teaspoon of leaves
9. Optimum brewing time for tea leaves is 3 to 5 minutes – Less does not extract the full flavour, more and it can become bitter.
10. Stop what you’re doing, pour and enjoy!

Food and Wine To Make Mother's Day Special

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All mums deserve a treat, like relaxing with a glass of wine from this fabulous range whilst you prepare her one of the expertly chosen complimentary dishes.

Fish Hoek Shiraz

This juicy red wine is a delicious addition to a number of meals. It’s a good, strong, superb wine. It’s not too tangy. Full of flavour and with not much after taste. You can taste berries. Try it with a hearty cottage pie, lasagne, or roast beef. Even better how about a delicious classic bistro Mother’s Day feast of steak, green beans and potato dauphinoise.

Banrock Station Sparkling Rose

This sparkling rose works perfectly as a standalone aperitif before a meal, or as an interesting desert choice. Best served with a light, red fruit desert such as pavlova or fruit tart. It is a good, light and refreshing wine. Perfectly fruity and with just the right amount of sweetness. One of the best Rose’s I have ever tasted.

Mother’s day is on April the 3rd. So treat her with these superb wines and some good food.

Complimentary dishes suggested by Constellation’s in-house wine expert, Sam Caporn.

The nation’s favourite meal

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A survey of favourite meals commissioned by The Fat Panel revealed that Sunday Roast with all the trimmings was the nation’s favourite, showing that traditional English fare is top choice.

Over 35 per cent of men and women in the UK enjoy tucking into a traditional Sunday roast more than any other meal and more than one in three polish off the meal with a helping a chocolate fudge cake and cream for dessert, a survey of favourite meals commissioned by The Fat Panel, can exclusively reveal.

Second place in the nation’s food hot-list is occupied by steak and chips with 11% of the vote. The British steak and kidney pie and toad in the hole came last. For desserts, apple pie and ice cream is the second favourite choice (20%).

The research also shows that cooking from scratch is not greatly popular, with only 20 per cent managing it every day. Nearly half of people say that the biggest obstacle to cooking more often is that it takes too long. Another reason given by 13 per cent of people is that buying ingredients for home cooking is too expensive.

Chinese food is the takeaway of choice for 30 per cent of people, followed by twenty nine per cent favouring an Indian.

Fat Panel expert and nutritionist, Sarah Schenker, says it comes as no surprise that the Sunday roast comes out on top and as for takeaways, it is the easier option that comes at a price.

“This research shows that takeaways are very popular, however we need to be careful not to eat meals high in saturated fat too often. It’s much easier to stay in control of what we are eating when we cook ourselves. Being aware of what’s in the food we buy, using sensible cooking methods, such as grilling, and opting for common sense swaps like using 1% milk instead of full-fat or margarine and spread instead of butter will all have a positive effect on the amount of saturated fat we eat.

The nation’s favourite main meals

1.Sunday Roast with all the trimmings
35.6.%

2.Steak and Chips
11.85%

3.Lasagne
11.75%

4.Fish & Chips
10.55%

5.Chicken Tikka Masala
7.4%

6.Spaghetti Bolognaise
6.15%

7.Shepherd’s/Cottage Pie
5.3%

8.Sausages and Mash
4.8%

9.Toad in the Hole
3.8%

10.Steak and Kidney Pie
2.8%

Sex & The Chippy

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The truth about why women think a man’s chips are hers

The biggest ever survey of the nation’s chip-eating habits, conducted to coincide with National Chip Week (21-27 February), reveals a fascinating insight into our enduring love affair with the humble fried potato.

Curly or straight, open or wrapped, salt and vinegar or ketchup, The Chip Report, commissioned by Potato Council, maps our chip-eating habits and answers enduring questions such as why do women think it’s OK to ‘share’ their man’s chips? And how many of us really eat chips in bed. Key findings include:

To share or not to share? When it comes to sharing our chips, it clearly depends who’s asking. While most of us are happy to share with a friend or partner if asked (94% and 90%), this falls to 55% if it’s the boss doing the asking. It also seems that women are a bit more charitable, with more women than men thinking it’s OK to share, whoever asks. The exception appears to be on a first date…

Dating dilemmas: The Chip Report reveals an interest divide when it comes to first date etiquette: While 61% of men think it’s acceptable for their date to ‘share’ their chips uninvited, this only applies to 46% of women.

Psychological and dating expert, Phillip Hodson explains the logic of chip-sharing: “Whether they are aware of it or not, many women take a ‘hair shirt’ approach to eating out whilst on a date and don’t order what they want. They believe that punishing themselves and not ordering what really takes their fancy makes them a better person. However, when this does happen, they are likely to just pinch chips from their date’s plate anyway!

“Women are also falling into the trap of believing that men prefer women who don’t have a big appetite. This is simply not true as most men prefer women with whom they can enjoy the simple pleasures in life, including eating food – particularly at a time of economic uncertainty such as the one we are in currently.”

Other findings of The Chip report include:

We have a low ‘chip rustling’ tolerance: We all know that some women would rather pinch chips from their man’s plate than order their own, but just how many do we think is an acceptable number? Half of us (51%) will only tolerate one or two to be pinched from our plates, but when the boot is on the other foot, two-thirds (65%) think it’s OK to pinch a couple from someone else’s. The vast majority of us though (87.5%) will tolerate no more than a handful of chips being ‘liberated’.

The chippy is still king of the take-aways: Despite the many contenders on our high streets – the chip shop is still considered king of the take-aways by most people (73%).

Younger people don’t give a fork: While almost half of us (47%) prefer to eat chips with a knife and fork, this drops to 24% among 16-24 year-olds, who like to get stuck in with their fingers (38% vs 25% for the total population).

We’re going Continental (well, some of us are): While salt and vinegar remain the people’s preferred condiment overall (37%), this appears to be on the wane, with younger generations preferring ketchup or mayonnaise. One in five 25-34 year-olds say mayonnaise is their favourite, while a whopping 40% of 16-24 year-olds plump for tomato ketchup as their first choice. Mayo is also more popular among women, with 15% saying it is their preferred condiment (vs 8% men).

Things are different in London: When it comes to toppings, Londoners buck the national trend as the only region in Britain to prefer ketchup to salt and vinegar.

Anything goes for the youngsters: For 16-24 year olds, it’s a case of anytime, anywhere when it comes to chip eating. This age group is most likely eat them ‘on-the-go’ with 55% regularly eating them while walking down the street and nearly a quarter (22%) enjoying them on their way home from a night out.

Frying tonight: While chip shop chips emerge as the nation’s favourite type overall (a quarter of us like these best), there is clearly a generational divide: Younger people are the most likely to cite long, thin fries as their favourite type of chip, matching chip shop chips in popularity. If you’re 55 or over, however, you are just as likely to enjoy home-made chips as chip shop chips.

Chips under cover: While our love of chips is without question, some of us clearly take it to extremes, with a minority of us (7%) enjoying chips in bed.

Potato Council’s Caroline Evans says: “Each year we eat around 1.7 million tonnes of chips a year in various forms, and thanks to The Chip Report now have a clearer picture of the different ways in which they are enjoyed by different age groups, genders and parts of the country.

“It’s no surprise that we as a nation love chips – they come in so many different forms: from oven chips that are easy straight from the freezer and less than five per cent fat; to homemade; to the nations’ favourite take-away. National Chip Week is a chance to celebrate this great British tradition.”

Onken Vanilla with Chocolate Flakes Yoghurt Reviewed {Food}

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What I’m snacking on today… Onken’s Vanilla yogurt with chocolate flakes. So January’s over and new year’s resolutions to get fit have been dropped for another 11 months. It doesn’t mean we can’t mix a little healthy food in with our naughty treats does it? That’s what I’m aiming to do.

Onken has launched its latest flavour – Limited Edition Creamy Vanilla with Chocolate Flakes. It’s only on sale for a short period of time and hopes to be an alternative to the big-pot-of-fruit-yoghurt market.

So dessert style yoghurts are nothing new, with cheesecakes and fudge dessert style yoghurts floating around, so vanilla with chocolate flakes doesn’t seem all that adventurous. However, this product has something the others don’t…it comes in an enormous pot.

Apart from eating it on its own, you can pour it over fruit or mix it with muesli or granola. I would be tempted to eat it with chocolate fudge cake. Yep, diet definitely over.

The Onken Limited Edition Creamy Vanilla with Chocolate Flakes yogurt comes in a 450g big pot and is available from Sainsbury’s, Waitrose & Morrison’s in the UK, RSP £1.25.

Perfect Wine For Valentine's Day.

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What better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day with that special loved one, or with your best friends, than with a selection of fabulous wines. Here our some of Frost’s favourite.

– Hardys Crest Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir

This is a sparkling wine. Youthful, It’s citrus and very refreshing. A wine loved by people who don’t even like wine.

– Hardys Crest Sparkling Rose

This is a light, refreshing, yummy wine. The colour is the most gorgeous, peachy pink. Very fruity.One of the best rose I have ever tasted. Clean and crisp.


– Hardys VR rose

This has characters of strawberry and rose. It’s cheap but it doesn’t taste it.  Sweet but not sickly.

– Fish Hoek rose.

This is original, you can taste peach and pineapple. It’s refreshing, the perfect colour. A highly enjoyably wine.

What are you waiting for? Treat the one you love (or yourself) now.

The Finest Rump In The UK

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Nope. It’s not time for The Rear of the Year awards yet. Fiona Bruce and Ricky Whittle can still rest easy in their denim.

Instead, a new online delivery concept has been launched by acclaimed chef Richard Turner and butcher James George. Their new venture, The East London Steak Co., offers the finest naturally-reared beef from selected rare breeds to customers within the M25 area.

Turner and George source the highest quality beef from British farms. Every animal is hand-picked and selected using a strict criteria, which ensures all cattle are grass fed, have been traditionally farmed and reared in an environment which meets the highest standards of welfare.

The East London Steak Co. only use five main rare breeds of beef, including Dexter, Galloway, Longhorn, Shorthorn. The beef is dry-aged on the bone for a minimum of 28 days – or longer on request – which matures the beef, creating a greater concentration and strength of both flavour and taste.

The company prides itself on giving a bespoke service to its customer by cutting each steak to their exact specifications, which is then hand-wrapped, boxed and delivered within 24-hours. Every order has an accompanying provenance card, outlining the breed, the exact farm location and the butcher who cut it.

Turner is a restaurateur and chef who has worked with renowned chefs including Michel Roux Jnr, Pierre Koffman and Marco Pierre White, while George has worked as a butcher for over 10 years. Their professional background brings a unique partnership to the business, as they both understand first-hand the necessary components needed to enhance the quality and taste of the beef.

Turner says: “There is a huge demand for high-end beef. Consumers are extremely quality aware and like to know where their meat is from and how it is reared, and one thing’s for sure, great beef only comes from cattle that have been well bred and well looked after.”

George added: “We’re dedicated to fulfilling our customer’s requirements by offering much more than a delivery service. We feel it’s our duty to champion quality meat, not only because of our respect for the British farming industry, but also because the consumer wants it.”

The East London Steak Co. offers a range of selection boxes that include a choice of seasonal based cuts. A growing variety of wine, beers and condiments – including dripping and preserved bone marrow – are also available, making the ideal accompaniment for their unrivalled steaks.