the foodies handbook

30 July

The Electric Cupcake Maker

What will they think of next, home-made cupcakes without having to turn on an oven? May well sound too good to be true, but the electric cupcake machine from Lakeland does just that. As simple as making cheese toasties and  ready in no time. Simple to use. Prepare your cake mix using one of the included recipes.Plug in and wait for the lights to indicate when it is ready to go.Pour the prepared cake batter into the paper lined moulds and in about 10 minutes your cupcakes are baked to perfection. Fantastic...

Click here to see more of Lakelands electric cupcake maker

 

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06:46 GMT  |  Read comments(0)

28 July

Chefs Warned By FSA Over Use Of Chicken Livers

The Food Standards Agency is reminding caterers to make sure chicken livers are handled hygienically and cooked thoroughly when used in products such as pâté or parfait. This follows a number of outbreaks of campylobacter food poisoning linked with chicken liver products where the livers may have been undercooked. Some recipes indicate that searing chicken liver is enough to kill any bacteria that may be present. However, food safety experts at the Agency advise that chicken liver should not be treated like a piece of steak and must be cooked all the way through. Campylobacter can be present throughout the liver, not just on the surface. The most recent figures suggest that 65% of shop-bought chicken is contaminated with campylobacter. The bug is responsible for more than 300,000 cases of food poisoning and 15,000 hospitalisations a year in England and Wales. The FSA has identified the reduction of human foodborne disease, and in particular tackling campylobacter infections acquired from chicken, as a key priority for the next five years. Data provided by the Health Protection Agency shows that during 2009 the number of outbreaks of campylobacter associated with chicken liver products increased substantially: nine of the 15 outbreaks reported between 2005 and 2009 occurred during 2009. An additional five outbreaks associated with consumption of chicken liver pâté or parfait were reported in the first half of 2010. The majority of the outbreaks between 2005 and 2010 associated with pâté or parfait products have been at catering establishments, like restaurants and hotels, and have involved products that have been prepared on site as opposed to purchased ready-made. The Agency advises that liver, kidneys, and other types of offal should be handled hygienically to avoid cross-contamination and cooked thoroughly until they are steaming hot all the way through, reaching a core temperature of 70°C for two minutes.

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27 July

Best In Season: August
Traditionally the holiday month, August sees the beginning of the fresh game and shooting season. As with July, eating in the open air is common practice. This a fantastic month for both salad vegetables and fruit salads, and the abundance of quality foods make crudités a must. Vegetables in season are: aubergines, beetroot, broccoli, cabbages, carrots, courgettes, cucumbers, fennel, garlic, green beans, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, mangetout, marrows, okra, onions, parsnips, peppers, potatoes, radishes, sweet corn and tomatoes. Fruits in season are: apricots, Asian pears, bilberries, blackberries, blackcurrants, blueberries, cherries, gooseberries, grapes, loganberries, mangos, melons, nectarines, peaches, plumbs, raspberries, redcurrants and strawberries. Seafood’s in season are: Dover sole, grey mullet, haddock, halibut, herring, lobster, pilchards, plaice, prawns, red mullet, salmon, sardines, sea bass, sea bream, shrimps, squid and turbot. Meats in season are: duck, grouse, guinea fowl, quail and rabbit.




11:27 GMT  |  Read comments(0)

26 July

Nuts To: Marmite Oven Baked Cashew Nuts
Marmite may well be an iconic British brand but its Oven Baked Cashew Nuts are just a step to far. Why ruin a perfectly good nut by flavouring it with the distinctly strong savoury tang of our much-loved yeasty extract? No, no and again no. Cashew Nuts (88%), Marmite Yeast Extract (8%), (Yeast Extract, Salt, Vegetable Extract, Niacin, Thiamin, Spice extracts (contain celery), Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12), Marmite Yeast Extract Flavour (Yeast Extract, Lactose (from milk), Salt, Sugar, Citric Acid, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Flavouring)




08:05 GMT  |  Read comments(0)

25 July

Gordon Ramsay Fronts Marsterchef USA
Gordon Ramsay will be fronting the American version of the BBC’s Marsterchef. He will act as presenter and judge together with fellow chef Graham Elliot. The culinary competition series will be broadcast on the Fox Network from Tuesday July 27th  2010.



01:09 GMT  |  Read comments(0)

22 July

I Only Have A Kitchen Because It Came With The House
Purchase I Only Have A Kitchen Because It Came With The House today and save 15% with our special discount coupon.



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21 July

Mise-En-Place: The Ultimate Foodies Handbook
Mise-En-Place is a gastronomic handbook. A kitchen companion. An indispensable guide to culinary terms, cheeses, herbs, spices, equipment, ethnic cuisine, fish, meats, pastries, nutrition, hygiene and much more besides. A reference manual. An alphabetical listing of concise and reliable definitions, a selection of listings intended to help the reader understand and appreciate the culinary art. Mise-En-Place is the essential foodie companion, an invaluable guide containing the terms an experienced chef might use when addressing customers and staff or when preparing menus.



01:50 GMT  |  Read comments(0)

13 July

Goat Herders Lunch
The ploughman’s launch is meal devised in the 1950s by the Cheese Marketing Board, as a way of promoting the use and sale of English cheeses. A cold lunch dish often served as a bar meal and consisting of a selection of cheeses, a pickle or chutney, fruit, salad and a rustic bread roll. The Goat Herders Lunch is a variation of this English classic, a warm cheese based dish with added Mediterranean flavour. To produce take a round of goats cheese, a scoop of ricotta, a wedge of Halumi, some Parmesan shavings, a yellow and green pepper, a red onion, a courgette, vine tomatoes, a clove of garlic, slices of chorizo, rocket, fresh rosemary, a dash of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sea salt. Preheat an oven to a medium heat. Preheat a grill. Crush the garlic. Heat some olive oil in a pan. Slice the peppers, red onion, and courgette. Add to the hot pan along with the garlic and a little sea salt. Cook until just turning brown. Add the vine tomatoes and fresh rosemary. Place in an oven and roast for 20 minutes. Cut the goats cheese into one inch rounds, Drizzle with a little oil and place under the grill. Remove when just beginning to bubble. Place a thin slice of chorizo on top of the cheese and return to the grill. Cook for a few minutes. Remove from the grill and add a small scoop of ricotta, another slice of chorizo and a sliver of Halumi. Return to the grill and cook until golden. Remove the roasted vegetables from the oven. Place the grilled cheese mix onto a plate. Add a spoon of the roasted vegetables. Add some rocket. Add some Parmesan shavings. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Serve.



05:08 GMT  |  Read comments(0)

The Quick Pocket Guide To: Rogan Josh Curry Paste
This curry paste consists of  garlic, ginger, roasted peppers, paprika, garam masala, turmeric, sea salt, red chillies, coriander, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, black peppercorns, groundnut oil and tomato puree. Prepare the garlic and ginger, toast in a dry pan together with the other ingredients. When golden brown remove from the heat and crush in a mortar until a fine powder is obtained. Blend with a the oil and tomato puree to form a smooth paste. Use as required.



02:10 GMT  |  Read comments(0)

12 July

The House Fly
They tend to rest on the upper part of walls or ceiling. They do not fly for very long. They rest their wings slightly spread, this makes them look triangular. They make very little noise when they fly and first appear in early June. The female has dark stripes on the front part of its body, and one of the veins at the end of the wing is bent forwards. House fly’s are a serious threat to health because they are more likely to settle on tables or food. They are agents of cross contamination, they carry food poisoning bacteria and have been known to carry typhoid, viruses and the eggs of parasitic worms. They visit dog dung and are often found in toilets. They visit rotting bodies, food, offal and dustbins. Pathogenic bacteria may be carried on their feet and in the gut. They contaminate food by dribbling saliva onto it when they start to feed. While feeding they deposit faeces from the anus, these fly specks can been seen on the surface of sugar and other foods, a fly will deposit over one hundred specks per day. They are found around pig and chicken farms. The life cycle can take from 4 to 9 days depending on the temperature. It has 4 stages, egg, maggot, pupa and fly. A female will lay about 900 eggs, taking between 8 and 48 hours to hatch. The maggots are a yellowish white, pointed at one end with two small breathing holes often mistaken for eyes. The pupa will look for a place to burrow, it can last upto 3 weeks at this stage, hidden in the soil. The fly will hatch and emerge from the soil, after 2-3 days the female will have mated and be ready to lay its eggs. They breed from June to October, with the greatest numbers found in August and September. It is still unclear what happens to the House Fly in Winter. Infestations of this fly can be prevented. Keep bins covered, and empty frequently. Strand bins on concrete. Clean up all piles of decaying food and vegetable matter. Wash bins out when emptied. Keep windows closed, use fly screens. If necessary use wettable insecticide powder. This is the last resort. Keep electronic fly catchers well serviced.





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