Month: January 2017

Superfood supermarketing

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There is no such thing as a superfood. A term that is very overused is superfood. The term superposition is given to a nutrient dense food. Foods labeled as super food are foods usually rich in vitamins. Kale is an example of this. Being extremely high in vitamin A and C. However people think that super foods such as wheat grass and kale will complete their diet. This in turn would allow them to remain in their sedentary lifestyle. Encorperating these foods is great but doesn’t lead to a balanced diet. Any food can be labeled superfood. Whether it’s common carrots rich in vitamin A or avocado that has an abundance of  healthy fats. This term is thrown around losely and can be MIsrepresented on any menu as a simple salad. Grocery stores use this to their advantage. Technically its false advertisement. While these foods can be included in a balanced diet they are not the answer to making up for a bad Diet. However the recognition of these foods and how to prepare them is a good thing. The price at which their sold to extort ordinary people.

By keith

Honeycomb tips #cupcakehour

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use a thermometer and take it to 160C

coat  in chocolate, tastes like home made crunchy!

1 hr- 1 hr 30mins the honeycomb will be hard and ready to crumble or snap into chunks.

Store in an air-tight container

Scrape into the tin immediately but be careful as the mixture will be very hot

tip in the bicarbonate and beat in with a wooden spoon

Once completely melted, turn up the heat a little and simmer until you have an amber coloured caramel

Try not to let the mixture bubble until the sugar grains have disappeared

Mix the caster sugar and syrup in a deep saucepan

Carmel tips #cupcakehour

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1. Thermometer– Pre-test your thermometer for accuracy. A degree or two off can make the difference to how your sugar hardens

To test take a pot of boiling water and completely submerge the thermometer into the water without touching the bottom of the pot

2. Cleanliness– Some recipes call for an absolute grease free environment. Before making candy I rewash all utensils

3. Pure Ingredients– make sure that the sugars you are using are contaminant free

4. Prepare– Making candy is about timing and readiness

5. Patience– Don’t rush the sugar boiling stage. A better caramelization happens with a slow development over time

Eyes on the Prize– Boiling sugar is it’s own animal. It can turn quickly

Don’t Stir– This is a very common mistake for first time candy making. Stirring boiling sugar causes the crystals to become unstable and start to bind

Follow chef noel on twitter @chefnoelk & instagram @chefnoelkeane

Reflective by paul

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Round 2

As many of you know I recently did my second live feed from the sea shore as promised in the 1st feed. This time slightly more confident withy surroundings that I would have better reception and the feed would go uninterrupted. Being honest I prefer the shoreline foraging, something about the sea air I always leave refreshed from the sea breeze whether warm summer or bitterly cold winter.
My 2nd interview with the lovely Avril Allshire-Hawe of caherbeg free range pork and roscarbery recipes, was for me more enjoyable more relaxed I was less nervous about it, I felt better equipped to take on this interview. I discovered this jewel of West cork food a few years ago while on a trip with my college classmates. I thought this would be a great interview to do as it’s an artisan and award winning product. I could be in West Cork at any stage during the year as my fiancée is from there (@wattonarts on Instagram please follow she does some amazing drawings).
Also these products won an award at the Listowel food festival recently and are also developing a new product called billtong it’s a south African snack of of cured meat traditionally beef, it’s something I’m looking forward to its release but i know it wont be until it’s as good as they can get it, and are happy with it. Avril’s and her family’s enthusiasm shines through in all their products, taking these humble products and giving them the time care and dedication to the practice of perfection.  Available in SuperValu Tralee, Listowel, Dingle, with tastings regularly, my advice pick it up try it and you won’t go back.

Follow me @chefpaulc Instagram and Twitter
Like Avril on Facebook :Caherbeg free range pork and follow @RoscarberyReci on Twitter for more information

Sea purslane pickle

Pickling purselane

As I said in the live feed we were going to pickle some of the sea purselane.

Recipe for the pickle.
500ml water
500ml vinegar
250g sugar
20g salt

Optional
2 garlic cloves whole

Now the process is quite simple don’t think because chefs are doing it that is complicated

1: wash the purselane in salted water, pick out any dead leaves or miscoloured leaves, also the seaweeds that grow around them

2: pick through the purselane once washed and discard any heavy stalk as they will sour the pickle.

3: bring the water, vinegar, sugar and salt to a vigorous boil for 1 minute

4: place the picked purselane into glass jars with lids cover with the pickle liquid while still hot

5: leave to cool before putting on the lids.

You can use this recipe to pickle anything you want from carrots to cucumbers and onions.

This will hold indefinitely as long as the pickle is not contaminated use tongs/tweezers or gloves when taking the purselane from the liquid once pickled.

We served this alongside a mix of the other foraged greens with fresh unsmoked haddock.

Tip:
Carrots use a veg peeler and peel to the core
Onions thinly slice on a mandolin (handheld slicer)
Cucumber as above

Follow me @chefpaulc on Twitter and Instagram, and @chefnoelk on Twitter and @chefnoelkeane on Instagram

Dill pickles

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I prefere apple cider vinager for picking but malt vinager works just as well

For these it is equal parts vinager and water and 1/3 of that sugar a little salt

As for the other flavours here im using chilli , black mustard seed and dill

But you can use any flavours you like and play around with differant flavour mixes

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Bring the vinager sugar and water to the boil with mustard seed and cool a little

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You can slice the cucumbers any way you like add the dill and chilli.

Using very clean jars (i steam mine just before using) or place in a pot of boiling water .

Pour the mix into the jars while warm and cover the cucumbers

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Put the lids on but not tighty and leave over night then , seal tightly and place in the fridge . After making these you will never go back to shop bought dill pickles again

Follow chef noel on twitter @chefnoelk & instagram @chefnoelkeane

Kevin on gin

Gin.

 

The revenge of Bertha

After Gin has taken the world by storm I’ve noticed a few brewers are popping up in Ireland. One of my personal favourites to sell at the moment is a local Gin called Bertha’s revenge. Which is a Gin that uses cow’s milk in the brewing process. The gin is brewed on the far side of Cork in Ballyvolane. Everything from the bottle to the wonderful taste of this rare Gin is superb.

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This is a piece from their own website on the thought and care that are put into things by the people that run the company.

THE BEEF

We are using whey alcohol as our base spirit to make a truly unique irish gin

 

(most spirits are made using barley or wheat grain spirit). Milk from Irish dairy farmers is separated into curds and whey (Little Miss Muffet and her scary spider); curds go on to make cheese and the whey has traditionally been regarded as a waste product.

Special yeasts are added to the whey to convert the milk sugars into alcohol, producing a very high quality whey spirit. We are then distilling this by hand with 18 different botanicals (locally foraged and grown where possible) and our own pure natural Irish spring water to produce Bertha’s Revenge gin. We are the first artisan distillery to produce small batch milk gin from whey alcohol.

For me this is what it is to be local, this is what is to be Irish.

Kevin on twitter @parsnip78