Smooth smoky oil slips into the AFT Approved list

Over the past few years we've become big fans of cold pressed rapeseed oil and it has become an important staple in the kitchen.

Many British farmers have seen the benefit of growing the crop not only for animal feed but also as a gourmet ingredient for human consumption.

Read the full review

We are pleased to award Yare Valley Oils our 'Artisan Food Trail Approved' status for 

their Oak Smoked Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil .

To find out more about Yare Valley Oils visit their page on The Artisan Food Trail here.

Yare Valley Oils dressings are not just for salads

Photo: © Yare Valley Oils

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Yare Valley Oils  have combined their delicious Norfolk extra virgin cold pressed rapeseed oil with a variety of different, herbs, spices and seasonings to produce a range of dressings.
Currently there are three to choose from, all quite different, to complement a wide range of foods; Norfolk Honey & Mustard, Chilli and Norfolk Vinaigrette.
Yare Valley Oils' wonderfully golden rapeseed oil has a nutty taste with a particularly floral character which makes a pleasing base flavour.

Read full review

We are pleased to award Yare Valley Oils our 'Artisan Food Trail Approved' status for their Norfolk Honey & Mustard Dressing, Chilli Dressing and Norfolk Vinaigrette.

To find out more about Yare Valley Oils visit their page on The Artisan Food Trail here.

NEWS FLASH!: Alan Coxon's Historic Food Range launches in Partridges

News just in that Alan Coxon's Historic Food Range will be launching at Partridges, Sloane Square, London.
This Saturday 23rd February Alan Coxon's unique range of vinegars, including Ale-Gar, Roman Vinaigre, Ancient Greek Vinaigre as well as the new Macadamia Nut Oil will all be available.
So if you're in the area, do drop by for a tasting and to say hello.
It would even be well worth a
special trip.

For more information about 
Alan Coxon visit his page on 
The Artisan Food Trail here

Special Offer from Alan Coxon

Photo: © childsdesign

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To celebrate the launch of Alan Coxon's new Macadamia Nut Oil he’s offering free delivery to all Artisan Food Trail visitors.

Order one or more of his historic vinegars and/or Macadamia Nut Oil and quote the code AC2 to get your FREE delivery.
This offer is available throughout January and February 2013.

To order visit the online store here

Alan Coxon introduces new Macadamia Nut Oil to his range

Photo: ©Alan Coxon

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Alan Coxon has launched a brand new product within the UK in the form of one of the healthiest oils in the world.

Macadamia nut oil has so many wonderful properties including no cholesterol and high in vitamin E and omega 7, and equally as important, it tastes fantastic with a mild clean flavour of the nut itself.

Alan has added the cold pressed extra virgin Macadamia nut oil to his existing historic food range that includes the globally unique and multi award winning Mediaeval Old English Ale-Gar™, Roman Vinaigre™ and Ancient Greek Vinaigre™ because it marries so well with these products.

The nutty flavour, density and golden colour goes hand in hand to create a stunning dip for bread, salad dressing, or marinade.
In addition to the health and flavour benefits, the oil is perfect to cook with and one of the best for roasting, baking and frying, offering a smoke point of up to 210˚C.

For more detailed information on the benefits of Macadamia Nut Oil please visit Alan Coxon’s website here

To find out more about Alan Coxon visit his page on The Artisan Food Trail here

Order directly from foodbyalancoxon.com

Fields of Gold at Yare Valley Oils

Photos: © Yare Valley Oils

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Ever since settling beside the Norfolk Broads in the early 1900’s the Mack family have been farming the rich soil of the Yare Valley.

Oilseed rape has been grown across their fields for many years and the crop has become an important part of farming along with potatoes, sugar beet and cereals. From plough to plate every single seed is grown, pressed and bottled for you to enjoy.

The oil has full traceability from field to table and nothing goes to waste – the pulp from the pressing goes straight back into the biomass boiler to fuel the farm.

The oil seed rape is sown on the farm the first week of September with approximately 2½ Kilos of seed per hectare. Pigeons are often a problem as they love the brassica seed. In March the fields are fertilised and by April and May the rape begins to flower creating a brilliant yellow display. After enjoying the sun and insect pollination, the flowers produce pods which are full of rapeseeds.

The rapeseed plants are left in the field and allowed to mature naturally and dry before harvesting in late July to early August. The seed is collected and then stored before being cold pressed using a mechanical screw and then filtered twice to obtain the highest quality when it reaches your plate.

Being cold pressed, Yare Valley’s oil is the purest form of rape oil, no other heat or chemical extraction processes are used and it is healthy too with many nutritional benefits.

As well as selling pure rapeseed oil, Yare Valley also produce a range of dressings containing it carefully blended with other ingredients, some locally sourced to retain the true Norfolk taste. Look out for Chilli, Norfolk Honey & Mustard and Norfolk Vinaigrette.

To find out more about Yare Valley Oils visit their page on The Artisan Food Trail here

Oil's Well – why rapeseed oil is good for you

You may have heard about the endless health benefits of olive oil and the Mediterranean Diet, but did you know that Britain produces an oil that equals, and may even rival it?
Intrigued by this information we spoke to our Industry Expert, Priya Tew of Dietitian UK, to find out more about Britain’s golden elixir, that is rapeseed oil.

AFT: Rapeseed oil has been around for a very long time but not as a gourmet culinary ingredient, we’ve even heard that it was quite unpalatable.
PT: It was used in Asia and Europe as a lamp fuel and in WWII as a lubricant for steam engines. Now all these years later we have a version that has been bred to taste better and is actually good for us.

AFT: It is amazing to think that rapeseed oil was not considered a food, so now with it becoming part of our diet, what makes it so special for our health?
PT: Like olive oil, rapeseed oil is low in saturated fat and high in monounsaturated fats, in fact it is made of about 60% Oleic acid (MUFA). This specific fat has been shown to have some significant health benefits.

AFT: Olive oil has become an ubiquitous store cupboard essential and we’d like to see more British people using rapeseed oil as it tastes good and is good for you. You say that rapeseed oil has much in common with olive oil, so how is it better for us?
PT: Back in the 1980’s some landmark research was conducted that looked at the diet and death rate of over 11,000 middle aged men in 7 Countries. They found that the Mediterranean men had a lower death rate from cancer and heart disease which was related to their diet. Eating less saturated fat and more monounsaturated fats (MUFA) was the key and Oleic acid was the main source of the monounsaturated fat that these men were eating (1). This is the main fat in rapeseed oil.

AFT: Obviously in addition to using rapeseed oil we would need to follow a balanced diet to enjoy all the health benefits. What is the Mediterranean diet?
PT: The Mediterranean diet contains plenty of fresh and unprocessed foods. With an emphasis on eating fruit and vegetables, beans and pulses, wholegrains, olive oil and nuts. Dairy foods, fish, poultry and red wine are eaten in moderate amounts. Only a small amount of saturated fats, salt and processed foods are eaten, most meals are cooked from scratch and flavoured with plenty of herbs and spices. Eating this type of diet can reduce death from heart disease by 10% and can also reduce cholesterol levels (2).

AFT: Rapeseed oil is still a fat, so how can it help people looking after their heart?
PT: Some small studies have suggested that using specifically more rapeseed oil could lower total cholesterol levels and more importantly lower the “bad” cholesterol (LDL) levels (3,4), once again supporting the fact that eating rapeseed oil can be good for your heart.
Rapeseed oil is a healthy fat to be choosing to include in your diet on a regular basis. Reducing your intake of saturated fats such as butter, cheese and processed foods and increasing avocados, nuts, seeds and rapeseed oil can help lower your risk of heart disease.

Priya Tew is a registered dietitian who runs her own nutrition consultancy business, Dietitian UK.

As a mum and food lover she is passionate about helping people to discover good quality food and to show them how healthy eating is not just tasty but vitally important.

www.dietitianuk.co.uk

If you haven’t yet tried rapeseed oil, we’d urge you to do so. It is great for cooking – use it for shallow frying and roasting – potatoes turn out wonderfully crisp. It is perfect for making dressings too.

To find out where you can get rapeseed oil from, take a look at our Oils section on The Artisan Food Trail here

For more about rapeseed oil the following articles and recipes should inspire you:
Say hello to yellow or why you should buy extra virgin cold pressed rapeseed oil
Zingy Honey Chilli Chicken recipe
‘A Very British’ Watercress Pesto recipe
Carrot Cake recipe
Roast Potatoes recipe

1. Keys A et al (1986). The diet and 15 year death rate in the Seven Countries Study. Am J Epidemiology 124: 903-15.
2. Sofi F, Abbate R, Gensini GF, Casini A. Accruing evidence on benefits of adherence to the Mediterranean diet on health: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Nov [cited 2011 Oct 24];92(5):1189-96. Abstract available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20810976
3. Gillingham LG et al (2011). High oleic canola and flaxseed oils modulate serum lipids and inflammatory biomarkers in hypercholesterolaemic subjects. Br J Nutrition 105 (3) 417-27
4. Iggman D et al (2011). Replacing dairy fat with rapeseed oil causes rapid improvement of hyperlipidaemia: a randomized controlled study. J Intern Med 270 (4): 356-64.

Say hello to yellow or why you should buy extra virgin cold pressed rapeseed oil

If you’re out in the countryside at the moment it is hard not to notice fields full of vivid yellow flowers. Brighter than a workman’s high visibility vest this humble crop of oilseed rape is gradually becoming more popular as a fine foodstuff.

The oil extracted from the seeds was once used in the 19th century as a lubricant for steam engines and hardly suitable for little else as the high levels of glucosinolates made it too bitter to be palatable for animals let alone humans.
Since then varieties have been bred to reduce the glucosinolates and now it is possible to make an oil which is fast becoming an essential item for the cook.

Although vast amounts of rape are grown commercially for animal feed and margarine production, many farmers are diversifying to add value to their oilseed rape crop. Much of the seed is crushed and mixed with solvents to extract the oil – you will find this as vegetable cooking oil – but many producers have found that by cold pressing and filtering the oil results in a wonderfully superior extra virgin product.

Having less than half the saturated fat of olive oil and being a good source of Omega 3 and 6, it’s a good choice for the health conscious. It's burn point is a lot higher too which means it can be heated to higher temperatures than olive oil making it better for frying and roasting.

There have been discussions in The Artisan Food Trail office about starting a campaign to promote extra virgin rapeseed oil as Britain’s answer to olive oil. Rapeseed oil does not taste the same as olive oil – it is unique and nutty in character – but it is really something quite special. If you buy it not only are you getting all and more of the benefits of olive oil, you will be supporting our British farmers.

The oil is good in all types of cooking 

and can be used in place of olive oil

At present we have two extra virgin cold pressed rapeseed oil producers on The Artisan Food Trail – Yare Valley Oils both of whom grow their own rapeseed and press it on the farm.

Over time we hope to add more rapeseed oil producers to the trail to represent all areas of the UK. Interestingly like olive oil, we have noticed, that depending on where the oilseed is grown, the flavour and aroma varies. It is obvious that terrain, soil, climate etc add certain characteristics to the final product. 

No two are the same. 

Carrot Cake

Photo: © childsdesign

We hope not too many of you are on post festive diets otherwise this cake recipe might be seen as inappropriate for the moment. However, this is a cake with a difference, and we like to think that it contains enough good ingredients to make it wholesome enough to at least indulge in a little.

We added our own twist to Yare Valley Oils’ recipe (which features on their website). Usually carrot cakes use sunflower oil but this recipe uses the liquid gold that is Yare Valley Oils Extra Virgin Coldpressed Rapeseed Oil. The oil has a wonderfully nutty flavour and is packed with omega 3 and vitamin E, so along with the heap of grated carrots, the cake should be (dare we say) quite good for you!

View recipe

To find out more about more about Yare Valley Oils visit their page on
The Artisan Food Trail here

Luxury hampers and gift packs from The Artisan Smokehouse

A new and exciting range of beautiful hampers are available from
The Artisan Smokehouse which have been carefully put together to meet all tastes and budgets. Choose from British, Italian, Vegetarian, Spicy, Award Winners, or Chef's Ingredients hampers, or why not spoil someone (or yourself) with the ultimate Luxury hamper. All products are beautifully presented in an elegant black presentation box and hand tied with ribbon.
Hamper prices start from as little as £18 and Spice & Herb gift packs from just £4.50, so giving a gift of the finest smoked produce couldn't be easier.

Orders required in time for Christmas need to be placed by 19th December (latest dispatch will be 22nd December).

The British Hamper
A classic hamper containing the best British products.
Contains:
Smoked British beef, smoked free-range duck breast, both hot and cold smoked Scottish Freedom Food salmon, smoked Suffolk garlic, smoked Suffolk rapeseed oil, smoked Stilton, smoked Cheddar and accompanying Artisan cheese biscuits.

The Italian Hamper
A delicious selection of finest Italian products. 
Contains: 
Parmesan cheese, smoked Milano salami, smoked Spianata Calabra salami (contains red chillies), smoked Italian olive oil, Italian dried herbs and smoked dried forest mushrooms.

The Luxury Hamper
A stunning hamper, which would greatly impress even the most committed foodie! 
Contains: 
Smoked British beef, smoked free-range duck breast, both hot and cold smoked Scottish Freedom Food salmon, smoked Milano salami, smoked Spianata Calabra salami (contains red chillies), smoked Suffolk garlic, smoked Italian olive oil, Parmesan cheese, smoked Stilton, smoked Cheddar, smoked goat’s cheese, Membrillo (quince paste to accompany cheese), Artisan cheese biscuits, smoked dried forest mushrooms, smoked coarse sea salt and smoked paprika.

The Vegetarian Hamper
A delicious selection of vegetarian friendly foods. 
Contains: 
Smoked goat’s cheese, smoked Stilton, smoked Suffolk rapeseed oil, smoked Suffolk garlic, smoked dried forest mushrooms, Membrillo (quince paste to accompany cheese) and Artisan cheese biscuits.

The Award Winners Hamper
A lovely selection of The Artisan Smokehouse's award winning products. 
Contains: 
Smoked British beef, smoked free-range duck breast, both hot and cold smoked Scottish Freedom Food salmon and smoked Suffolk rapeseed oil.

The Chef's Ingredients Hamper
For those budding chefs out there who like to experiment. 
Contains: 
Smoked dried forest mushrooms, smoked Italian olive oil, smoked coarse sea salt, smoked black peppercorns, smoked dried garlic, smoked chilli flakes and smoked paprika.

The Spicy Hamper
A hamper aimed at those who like the spicier side of life. 
Contains: 
Smoked Spianata Calabra salami (contains red chillies), smoked Habanero chillies, smoked Chipotle Morita chillies, hot paprika and cayenne pepper.

Spice and Herb Gift Packs
A beautiful selection of herb and spice gift packs. The perfect present for all those foodies out there. 
Choose from:
Smoked Sea Salt and Black Peppercorns – contains maple smoked sea salt and black peppercorns

Italian Herbs and Smoked Garlic – contains dried Italian herbs and maple smoked dried garlic

Smoked Chilli and Paprika – contains maple smoked chilli flakes and smoked paprika

Smoked Spice Selection – contains maple smoked black peppercorns, sea salt, paprika and dried garlic
Sweet Spice Selection – contains ground cinnamon, mixed spice, ginger and allspice berries

Fiery Spice Selection – contains hot paprika, cayenne pepper, black peppercorns & maple smoked chilli flakes

Mulled Wine Spice Kit – contains cinnamon sticks, allspice berries, ground ginger, cloves, a reusable muslin bag and a recipe card (contains several servings)

To find out more about The Artisan Smokehouse please visit their page on The Artisan Food Trail here where you will find links to their website to place your order.

Holy Smoke: The Artisan Smokehouse

Based on the beautiful Suffolk coast, The Artisan Smokehouse is a small family-run business producing award-winning smoked delicacies. Passionate about food and aiming to create the highest quality smoked products, using ethically sourced ingredients prioritising British producers.

Husband and wife, Tim and Gillian Matthews make and sell a range of gourmet foods including Smoked British Beef Fillet, both hot and cold smoked Scottish Salmon, Smoked Salami, Hot Smoked Duck Breast, smoked cheeses such as Cropwell Bishop Stilton, Westcombe Cheddar and goats cheese. There’s also a selection of smoked ingredients to inspire the cook with Smoked Dried Mushrooms, Garlic and Italian Olive Oil.

The Smoking Process
All of The Artisan Smokehouse’s fish and meat products are dry cured for between 24 and 72 hours, using a mixture of sugar and salt. By keeping the curing mix simple a superior and purer taste is obtained.

Before smoking, the fish and beef are first dried for a period of 12 hours in order to assist the smoking process, enhance the flavour and aid preservation.

The majority of products are cold smoked. Cold smoking smokes but does not cook the product and is a very effective way of controlling the flavour of the food being smoked. It is during this process that the food changes both in colour and flavour.

The Artisan Smokehouse uses natural hardwood chippings that contain no additives. producing a cleaner smoke. The majority of food is smoked using maple wood, which gives a rich and distinctive flavour.

Tim is constantly experimenting with a variety of different foods and has even added the infusion of smoke to cinnamon. A visit to any of the shows or farmers’ markets they attend will usually reveal an unusual find or something that is not readily available through their website.

Visit The Artisan Smokehouse on The Artisan Food Trail here

Oil Essential

Most foodies will no doubt have a selection of never to-be-without items in their kitchen store cupboards, a variety of condiments that add essential flavours to their cooking that have the ability to take a dish to another level. We have now added another item to those core essentials, smoked olive oil from The Artisan Smokehouse.

Read full review
Photo: ©childsdesign 2011