When is 'British cider' not British at all?

Right, I am going to get this off my chest now...

I HATE KEYBOARD WARRIORS!

Yes you know the ones, the idiots that put a snarky comment on something you have said either on Facebook, Twitter or a million and one online forums. And I had one try to attack me on Monday.

You see I dared to post a link on my Twitter feed to a page from 'The Grocer' magazine which has a bit of a go at Molson Coors for portraying Carling cider as 'British'.

If you want to read it click the link http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/fmcg/drinks/carling-defends-british-cider-branding/342755.article

As I said earlier I posted the link and then got this shitty reply ( you will need to read from bottom to top): -

1. 1. Felix ‏@FelixWaters22 Jul

      @hewhocookseats shut up an get a real job you mug!

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   2. Daniel ‏@hewhocookseats22 Jul

      @FelixWaters ah, the first keyboard warrior of the day. If you want to drink fermented Chinese apple juice (as that is what it is) go ahead.

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      5:38 PM - 22 Jul 13 · Details
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2. 1. Daniel ‏@hewhocookseats22 Jul

      More info on Carling 'British' cider rip-off here http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/fmcg/drinks/carling-defends-british-cider-branding/342755.article …

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      5:31 PM - 22 Jul 13 · Details
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3. Daniel ‏@hewhocookseats22 Jul

   Hate the way that Carling are trying to pass off their cider as British. The only thing British about it is the fact that it is sold here!

   
   

   
   

   
   

   Now I am in now way trying to tell you what to drink (and nor would I). But it just goes to show what a f'ing huge marketing campaign can do in order to get people to drink said product.

   
   

   The fact is that Molson Coors refuse to deny the rumour that their 'British' cider contains less than 10% British apples.

   
   

   So where does the rest come from? That would be China! I would suspect that the ingredients list would go like below:

   
   

   white sugar, synthetic apple flavouring, water, wine yeast and a bit of real apple juice

   
   

   This finished product is certainly no cheaper than cider made with apples from here but is enabled for much much higher profit margins.

   
   

   This afternoon I bought a bottle of Thatchers 'Katy' cider. Now this comes in at a higher alcoholic content at 7.4% and is a single variety cider from Somerset.

   
   

   Carling cider on the other hand is 4.5% (so less money to the taxman) and was £1.99 a bottle.

   
   

   Perhaps it is our palettes that are becoming less refined. Or it may be that I am simply not their target market. 

   
   

   One thing I do know is this. The reason it is served over ice is not to make it taste better, but to mask the 'flavour' of products such as Carling & Magners. I have had some so-called 'ciders' without ice and they taste bloody horrible!

   
   

   So where am I going with this? Well here it is (yes the point!)

   
   

   Try something different every now and then. I know if you are out in a pub you can be fairly restricted but decent cider is out there when you are out. Stowford Press is made by Westons and if you are in a Wetherspoons, they also have a decent bottled selection.

   
   

   If you are in the supermarket, don't just look for the stuff that is on offer. Go out of your comfort zone. But some stuff from the following: -

   
   

   Thatchers 

   Sheppys

   Westons

   Aspall

   & Sheppys

   
   

   I am sure you wont be dissapointed. As for me, well I am off to open my bottle of Thatchers Katy!

   
   

   Dan

I'm back!

So I got thinking yesterday after reading the latest Observer Food Monthly that it was really about time that I started to write about food again.

I know the last attempt was not exactly a success but this was as I simply did not have time to do it. However there are a few things that have made me want to put a effort with this.

The first is that we, as a nation and globally are seeing more and more people in food poverty. That is to say that people simply do not have enough money to feed themselves or their family. This led me to a great website from Jack Monroe @MsJackMonroe

She has found herself in a situation that I hope I never get to experience, that of not having enough money to keep herself and her little boy running on a day to day basis.

The other issue was finding out that on the eve of a new slogan and marketing campaign, Tesco had been found out to have shoved prices of their own branded bottled water up last week.

It got me thinking about food. I and my partner are by no means poor, but neither are we rich beyond our wildest dreams. We eat nice food and we don't worry about bills. But not everyone is this fortunate and I am more than aware of this having being brought up in a family where money was tight at times.

So I am going to write more. But not just recipes this time, but about food issues and how the supermarkets screw us all over. It may be 15+ years since I worked for one of the big supermarkets, but I still recognise a trick when I see it.

When I do write recipes, I am going to make an effort to make a meal that not just serves one purpose, but that can be used as a base for the next days meal. That or I will be trying to adapt an expensive costing meal into one that isn't.

Let me know what you think. Either on here or on my twitter page.

Have a great day!

Dan

Wednesday night is Ribs Night!

So after 8 hours in the slow cooker yesterday followed by leaving them to rest in the fridge overnight and until this afternoon we are now nearly there to a very good meal.


However when taking them out of the fridge I had a slight shock as I had discovered that they were now sat in the most delicious jellied stock. Being someone who is keen to throw as little as possible I have since strained this and stuck the stock in the freezer for future use.


So after cutting up and taking out the only bone out we have this:

Again many thanks to Buntings the butchers as there is a hell of a lot of meat here for about two quid!

So once sliced up they are now placed in a very hot griddle pan to be seared until crispy and the meat is melt in the mouth.

I did put them in the oven for 15 mins as well just to make sure that they were hot. They then looked like this:

They went down a storm and I will be back to Buntings for more ribs in the near future!

Cooking like a demon haha

So this afternoon I decided to visit  W Bunting & Son in Castle Market. It has been a few years since I have been in but I have decided to make much more of an effort and to use those people that are around or near to me rather than the supermarkets whose quality has been on the wane yet prices have risen.


So I bought some massive beef ribs, some belly pork and some oxtail for me to cook a few meals in advance as well as trying something I haven't done before, curing bacon!


So lets start with the bacon that I have prepared to cure.


To cure 1kg of Pork belly you will need:

50g fine sea salt
25g caster sugar or soft brown sugar
3 bay leaves, finely shredded
12-16 juniper berries, crushed
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper


I only used 1/2 kg so halved it and cut the pork into 4 slices.

Once I have rubbed the cure into the pork I then put it into an airtight container to cure for 48 hours. If you to this you will need to drain the liquid whenever it collects in the bottom of the container.


So now it's ready to go into the fridge!

Dinner for Wednesday is also marinating. We are going to be having beef ribs with sticky rice.
In their marinade they look like this:

I can't get over how big these are! They were about 3 quid which is a bargain for the amount of meat on them.


These are marinating in:
100ml Oyster Sauce
2tbsp Soy
1tbsp Fish sauce
1tbsp Chili flakes
1tbsp Garlic chopped
50ml Sherry/white wine
2tsp Chinese five spice
1 Cinnamon stick
2 Star Anise
1tbsp Soft brown sugar
3 Bay leaves


These will marinade for 24 hours. I will then put in slow cooker for 8 hours while I am at work then take out and leave to cool. We will then griddle them on a high heat on Wednesday to have with rice.


I have no idea how this will turn out as I have made this marinade up. Guess we will find out soon.


Last but not least tomorrows dinner:


Decided to nick a recipe from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall so am doing Oxtail and Chorizo stew.

Now I know that Oxtail is something that is probably treated with suspicion by most people younger than me but frankly Oxtail has been the base of some of my most memorable meals my mother made me when I was a child.


His recipe serves six so I think my version may be a bit more manageable as its just for two (and hopefully some left over for me to take to work!)


I used:


600G Oxtail
1 1/2tbsp Plain seasoned flour
1tbsp oil
125G Chorizo
1 Small diced onion
1 Peeled and diced carrot
1 1/2 Garlic cloves, minced
1tbsp Tomato puree
70ml White wine
400ml Beef stock
1 1/2tbsp Oregano
1 Bouquet GArni
1/2 Cinnamon stick
Salt+Pepper


I dusted the Oxtail in the seasoned flour and browned off so it had a wonderful brown crust. After taking the Oxtail out I then drained a little of the oil away and then cooked the chorizo until crisp on the outside.  


Set these aside and cook the onion until soft on a lowish heat followed by the carrot for 5 minutes. After this stir in the garlic and tomato puree. Hugh says to cook out for only 1 min but I hate the taste of tomato puree that has not been cooked out so I did it for 4 mins.


Then add the wine and reduce by a third.


Finally add the stock, oregano, bouquet garni and cinnamon. If the oxtail is not covered by liquid then do so.


Bring it to the boil and then simmer for 3 hours. I have put mine in the oven at 190 C and stir it from time to time.


I will then reheat this tomorrow and have with crusty bread.


Enjoy and if you do cook these, let me know how it goes and what you think.


Dan

In for a penny!

Morning all!

It's a fine Monday and for once I have pretty much the day to myself. I have been saying that I would set up a blog for what seems like an eternity now and after reading other blogs (mainly Claires at http://love-to-live-to-eat.blogspot.com) I thought today would be the time to do it.

So who am I?

I'm Dan and I'm nearing the wrong side of 30! I have had a love for food pretty much since I got onto solid food as a baby and it has been gaining momentum ever since. I loved Home Economics but it never really went any further than that when I lived at home.

However when I left home I had to fend for myself and others so threw myself into it and to phrase Jamie Oliver "I haven't looked back."

Anyway back to today. As today is Monday and there is not really that much in the fridge I am off shopping. So I am off into Sheffield later on to see Dean @ W Bunting and Son in Castle Market.

The market is not in the best place and to the uninitiated it seems a bit daunting but have no fear, I'm off for some quality produce.

But first my jobs and maybe a trip to Noodle Inn on London Road for lunch!

See you soon

Dan