Taste of the Week
On the double
Once the sun comes out, you don't have that long to enjoy, so best to be prepared.
I took my own advice and bought a bottle of Kriek, a Belgian cherry-infused lambic beer, from Bradley's in North Main Street, a few weeks back. The weeks went by, no real sign of summer.
But it turned up last
Taste of the Week.
Steam Cooked Chicken fillet by the Chicken Inn
Our lettuce plants didn't get off to a great start this year but now they are flourishing with a second lot rapidly catching up. As a result, salads are regularly on the
Taste of the Week.
Choice of three.
Choose one, or all three!
I've been enjoying some superb Irish-made cheese in recent weeks. It is tough to pick one as Taste of the Week so I'll highlight all
Taste of the Week
Wexford Strawberries
It's that time of year again when strawberries appear and the rush begins. You know they are in season when you see the roadside huts with the Wexford strawberry signs appear on roads many well outside the county.
I have been
Taste of the Week.
Carraig Beag cheese from Carrigaline
Mild and Silky from the O'Farrell family in Carrigaline.
Knockanore Vintage Cheddar
Taste of the Week
Homemade Rosewater Marshmallows
by Ballymaloe Cookery School
Rosewater is used to flavour many foods, including drinks, around the world, especially in Asian countries. Did you know that 90% of it comes from Iran where they hold a major Rosewater festival every spring? It is a by-product of the production of rose oil for use in perfume.
So, it is used to enhance aromas and flavours. Look out for this excellent example at Midleton Farmers Market every Saturday where it is well priced at four euro.
Taste of the Week
Mella's Salted Caramel Fudge
(or any fudge by Mella!)
When it comes to fudge, West Cork's Mella is the one for me. I recently bought a pack of her Salted Caramel at The Pantry in Bakestone (Fota Retail Park) and it is our Taste of the Week. But I know from past experience that any other fudge by Mella, including her Vanilla, her Rum and Raisin or Dark Chocolate, would be just as welcome by the taste buds.
Taste of the Week
On the double: Raw honeycomb and Berliner Brot
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| Just one little slice of Berliner Brot will bring you to sweet heaven. |
Raw honeycomb is a real delicacy of nature and our joint Taste of the Week. It is also one of the most efficient ways of storing the honey and I picked up my current honeycomb from Galtee Honey at the recent Ballymaloe Craft Fair. It is delicious plus any superlative you’d like to add.
Aoife runs the Galtee Honey Farm, just off the R639 north east of Mitchelstown. The honey is 100% fresh floral honey from the Galtees. It is seasonal and you won't find too many more this year but no harm in trying!
The short "season" for Berliner Brot lasts from the first day of advent until these beautiful sweet snacks run out probably, unless you hide them away, before Christmas. Addicts (and that is what will happen to you!) have waited patiently the past 11 months for the comeback of the most delicious Christmas German biscuit.
I got a little bagful from Ryes and Shine at the regular Saturday morning stall (10.00am to 12.00pm) at St Lukes Cross . Baker Angela says: This is my German family’s secret recipe. .. These biscuits are so heavenly delicious - they are a little soft, gooey on the inside, and are packed with cocoa and walnuts.
Ryes and Shine (086/3565036) is a German microbakery in Cork, a member of #realbreadireland, specialising in organic artisan sourdough breads, especially rye.
These "biscuits" are amazing. As Angela says: A perfect little gift - if not to someone else, then to yourself!
* By the way, in honour of the location and of the help she has received from Henchy's, Angela has produced a superb St Luke's loaf. Watch out for that also!
Taste of the Week.
Salted Rye Cookies by Ryes and Shine
"Salty. Sweet. Buttery. Crunchy. Wholemeal. Rye. Heaven."
Circles of Contentment at St Luke's Cross
Our Taste of the Week comes from a modest stall just outside Henchy's in St Luke's, Cork City, alongside the old toll booth. Here, every Saturday morning between 10.00am and 12 noon approximately, Mayfield based Angela Nöthlings of Ryes and Shine, sells her range of sourdough breads and treats.
It took us a while to get around to her cookies. They are salted rye cookies made with organic wholemeal rye, sugar, organic sea salt, egg, butter (milk) and vanilla essence. They are absolutely out of this world, probably taste of the year.
The texture is super, almost like the very best shortbread you've ever enjoyed in the centre with a little more crunch at the rim where you also notice the salt more. Flavours range from the sweetness of the sugar and butter to the tang of the salt. That pack of ten doesn't last that long - better get two packs while you're at it!
Angela tells us: All my bread is real bread, meaning it contains the ingredients flour-water-salt (and a fair amount of time and passion). No additives, conservatives or improvers. All loaves are naturally fermented and don’t contain commercial yeast. I use the best flours only, either organic and/or Irish grown and milled. Everything I sell is handmade by me in my HSE registered microbakery at home.
Check her out on Instagram at ryes.and.shine.cork
Latest from Angela:
Taste of the Week
Sage Condiments
Struck it lucky when I visited the Sage Stall on Midleton's busy street during the final day of the recent food festival FEAST. I ordered the Ballinrostig Burger (with Ballin halloumi, cauliflower pickle and beetroot relish). What a marvellous flavoursome combination! And I was immediately hooked by the condiments!
It's a Cork thing.
I wanted bagels on a Saturday morning! Not any old bagels but the Jerusalem Bagels (with their pomegranate molasses and sesame topping) by Bread & Roses of Ballincollig. Knew they'd be at their stall in the Coal Quay Farmers Market and headed down. On the way, I picked up a pack of coffee at Roughty Foodie in the English Market. A few more bits and pieces as well of course.
Back home, I unpacked the bagels. Pulled a jar of Paul's Honey from the cupboard and slathered it on to the bagels, nothing else whatsoever. Coffee, called the Morning Growler, by Cork Coffee Roasters, was ready. Put the three together and I had a very satisfactory Taste of the Week indeed.
Not all from Cork of course but that coffee is roasted locally by John Gowan down the Marina. The honey was bought at O'Keeffe's in St Lukes and is produced at sustainable apiaries in Cork city and county and packaged by beekeeper Paul Collins who operates in the northside of the city.
Bread and Roses here
Cork Coffee Roasters here
Paul's Honey 085 283 1540
Taste of the Week
Cooleeney Farm Brie, Cashel Blue, Gourmet Haven, Warm Loganberry Jam
"What will we have for lunch?" "What have we got?"
"Well, we have cheese and we have chutney."
Bertha Summer Cup
Last one in my basket!
The Bertha here is, of course, the famous Bertha of Bertha's Revenge Gin produced in Castlelyons, Co. Cork. And with her brand new can, she's in her element, out in the countryside (or a suburban garden) with a host of summer "friends".
The famous gin is in the mix, along with carbonated water, natural flavourings and apple concentrate. A really refreshing drink with unmistakable notes of fresh mint and cool cucumber. Enjoy our current Taste of the Week al fresco with friends, four-legged or otherwise, and laughter.
Best enjoyed chilled and over ice if you have it but that may not be readily available if you're walking around the countryside with your new friend in a 250 ml ready-to-drink can. After all, they do encourage you to enjoy it "on the hoof".
This summer cup, along with its companion can Bertha & Tonic, is produced in a tiny distillery by Ballyvolane Spirits
Bertha Summer Cup 5.2%, 250ml can
Taste of the Week
Jack McCarthy's Ham and Outregious Lettuce
We doubled up for this Taste of the Week. Well more than just two elements, but Jack McCarthy's cooked ham via On the Pig's Back in Neighbourfood and the well named Outregious Lettuce from Brown Envelope Seeds (via the Roof Top Farm Shop) were the stars on the plate.
Jack's ham is free range. The Kanturk butcher then delivers to On the Pig's Back in Douglas and there it is "cooked in our kitchen with onions, peppers, cloves and bay and finished off with a honey and whole-grain Dijon mustard". It is a lovely ham and can be enjoyed on its own.
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| Jack's Ham! |
But we made up a salad with various leaves from the garden, tomatoes and hard-boiled eggs. One of the lettuces was the Outregious, described by Brown Envelope as "an upright salad variety which forms a loose head. An outrage of red in the salad bed". And very nice on the plate and palate as well. It certainly grew well for us.
Lots of variety in our Taste of the Week!
CorkBilly Cherry Brandy 2019
This limited edition Cherry Brandy, of which I'm very fond, started life in August 2019 and three years later was named (with extreme bias) as Taste of the Week.
I was following the recipe in Booze by John Wright, No. 12 in the excellent River Cottage series of Handbooks. They advised not leaving the cherries there for too long as "the almond flavour is extracted from the stone" and your cherry brandy "could taste inescapably like..disgusting, pink medicine.."
So forewarned, I separated the cherries and bottled the liquid just after the minimum two months on October 18th 2019. Then the Cherry Brandy was put away and patience reigned. I could have started drinking it after 12 months but it was just about two weeks back, (nearer to three years), that I started.
The result was excellent. Well worth a try. By the way that River Cottage Booze book has tons of recipes for similar infusions such as Blackberry Whiskey (mine is still unopened) and Raspberry Vodka (very easy to make and easier to drink!). Also some wine recipes including Strawberry and Elderberry. Some ales too!
Skelligs Milk Chocolate Rose & Pistachio Bar
You immediately think Turkish delight as this gorgeous bar begins to melt in your mouth. And you are correct as this is a delicious blend of the creaminess of milk chocolate and the irresistible aromas of rose, not forgetting the gentle crunch of the pistachio nuts.
"An exotic Turkish delight inspired seduction," according to the Kerry makers. Well we know they have poets and writers in the Kingdom who can get carried away by the magic of words. This time though, I have to agree and the little bar (€2.95 at Bradleys of Cork's North Main Street) is our Taste of the Week.
They will last ten months, I read on the packaging. Very unlikely, methinks, ten minutes more likely!
I see they also have a Gin & Tonic bar available, that could be next on my list! See the range of flavoured bars here.
Taste of the Week.
Fermented Lemonade
Popular across cultures, fermenting food has made a comeback as a provider of 'good' bacteria that contributes to a healthy digestive system. BBC Good Food continues: Fermentation is an ancient technique for preserving food and drinks that has been practiced since long before the days of refrigeration.
Read more here. Or visit the Midleton Farmers Market on a Saturday morning.
I visited Midleton Farmers Market recently and spotted some fermented drinks on the Ballymaloe Cookery School stall. I started asking questions and Aoife told me all about them.
Most of you are probably familiar with sourdough where a starter is used to kickstart the fermentation. There were quite a few varieties of liquids on the BCS stall but I played it safe and bought the Lemonade one. Here a "ginger bug" is used to convert "sugar into friendly probiotic compounds".
My little 250ml bottle is finished by now. I enjoyed a shot glass of it for a few mornings in a row. It is slightly sour, nothing major, and easy to swallow; indeed, it is similar to a very good quality lemonade. No miracles to report on the gut front but I'm open to trying more of our Taste of the Week and even some of those more far-out ones!
Not surprised that BCS is doing these drinks as fermentation guro Sandor Katz made a huge impression here during those marvellous Literary Fest years.
Taste of the Week.
Tofu by OTOFU from Kilbrittain
Siolra Foods tells us that their OTOFU organic tofus, are handmade in Kilbrittain, West Cork, using an age-old process and recipe. "Our tofu has a beany, fresh flavour with a firm texture and is for those who want to add more protein to their diet or for those who want to eat less meat like myself, my partner and our toddler. Our marinated options, Korean Chilli Tofu and Miso Sesame Tofu are great for an extra kick of flavour."
By the way, the dish at Vikki's was Roasted Aubergine and this came with crispy tofu, baby onions, confit tomato and rocket salad. This expertly executed plateful was rich and satisfying.
The Siolra website is very clear and concise. It introduces you to the couple behind the venture, gives the expanding lists of stockists and also quite a few recipes.
We went with a vegetable stir-fry (ingredients bought from our local butcher Davidsons) and paired that with our Tofu purchase. They have three choices at present on Neighbourfood and we picked the Miso Sesame Marinated Firm Organic one, a rectangular "slab" weighing 250 grams. We followed the cooking instructions on the label, rather than any of 1000s on the internet (confusing!), and added the Tofu to the stir-fry for what turned out to be a very enjoyable plateful. Well worth a try.
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| Chef Pat Kiely's Aubergine with tofu at Vikki's. |
