Food Archives - Page 4 of 4

We are very proud of our Northamptonshire heritage and it’s always wonderful when retailers and other suppliers give their support to local food produce and fly the ‘Made In Northamptonshire’ flag. www.underfinewraps.co.uk is a well-known hand-made hamper and gift company, based overlooking the stunning Rutland Water, and we asked founder Clare Underwood to write a guest blog for us, explaining why she chooses Farrington’s products for her innovative hamper lines. Here’s what she said:

“Our relationship with Farrington’s goes back to the very start, when I launched Under Fine Wraps with a small but carefully selected line of county themed hampers, beginning with our Northamptonshire Hamper.

It is our intention to always create hampers packed only with food, treats, snacks, and cooking produce that we ourselves are happy to eat at home. And our county hampers carry the added dimension of containing produce made in those counties, so when we wanted oils and mayonnaises from Northamptonshire, it simply had to be Farrington’s.

Our Northamptonshire Hamper features Farrington’s Mellow Yellow Rapeseed Oil, Mellow Yellow Balsamic Vinegar Dressing, and Mellow Yellow Mayonnaise – all of which are simply delicious. I cook with the rapeseed oil all the time, whether frying, roasting or baking and it’s exceptional as well as healthy.

And when Summer comes around, there’s barely a salad made in our house that isn’t splashed with the gorgeous Balsamic Vinegar Dressing. Personally, I think the combination of the cold pressed rapeseed oil with Aspall Apple Balsamic vinegar is genius and the added punch of garlic and basil is inspired.

When we started to expand our hamper range with the introduction of the Northamptonshire Food, Beer, and Wine Crate, we included the rapeseed oil and Mellow Yellow Honey and Mustard Dressing and now several of our seasonal Christmas hampers also feature Farrington’s.

Last year we launched our new ‘Manper’ range (hampers unashamedly designed primarily for men and packed with savoury goodies, top quality beers and wines) and I’m certain the Mellow Yellow Chilli Oil will be finding its way into a few of those.

We have a very simple rule at Under Fine Wraps: never put anything into a hamper that we ourselves wouldn’t eat and enjoy and we often put this to the test at food fairs and festivals, where we always offer samples of the produce from our hampers. Farrington’s oils and mayos are always very well received, particularly among keen amateur cooks, who really appreciate the high quality of the cold pressed rapeseed oil.

If you’re reading this and you live or work in Northamptonshire, or you’re originally from the county, then I’d really suggest you try out our Northamptonshire Hamper. It’s a wonderful selection of Northamptonshire-sourced foods from passionate and artisan producers including, the county’s very own wine! Beautifully packed in a quality, hand woven wicker hamper with leather straps and hinges, it makes a lovely gift.

In fact, it’s very popular as a corporate gift and one of our lovely customers uses them in their employee rewards scheme and as staff birthday and wedding gifts. Lucky them, I say!”

To try Farrington’s oils and mayonnaises alongside carefully matched fine wines, whiskies, beers, and ales, why not visit www.UnderFineWraps.co.uk

Weight gain and obesity are a twenty-first-century health issue. With all of this temptation surrounding us, it’s easy to go up a dress size without even noticing it. However, by adopting these simple healthier lifestyle steps shared with us from the British Nutrition Foundation into your daily regime, alongside a careful exercise programme, you can drastically reduce the extra weight you’ve been carrying.

How can I maintain a healthy body weight?
Being overweight increases the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers. In order to maintain a healthy body weight, it is necessary to consume roughly the same amount of energy (calories) as your body uses for normal bodily functions and physical activity. Reducing fat intake can often help cut back on calories but it is also important to reduce your amount of ‘free sugars.’ ‘Free sugars’ are added to foods by manufacturers, cooks and consumers (such as table sugar) as well as sugars naturally present in honey, syrups and fruit juice. It’s worth noting that sugars found in fruits and vegetables and in milk and milk products such as plain yoghurt and cheese are not classed as free sugars. Foods that are often high in fat and/or free sugars include cakes, biscuits, pastries, desserts, deep fried foods, crisps, butter, cream, chocolate, sweets, some cheeses and oils/spreads, so try to eat these foods less often.

Remember the following when selecting and preparing food to help reduce your daily calorie intake and aim to consume a healthy, balanced diet:

Base meals on starchy foods, whole grain and high fibre versions where possible, such as wholemeal bread, wholemeal pasta, brown rice and potatoes with skins and plenty of fruits and vegetables
Remove visible fat from meat, skin from poultry, buy lean cuts wherever possible and try replacing some meat in your diet with pulses
Grill, bake, poach or steam foods instead of frying or roasting them
Choose low-fat, unsweetened dairy products (e.g. skimmed or semi-skimmed milk, reduced-fat cheese and low-fat plain yoghurt)
Use reduced fat spreads where possible and opt for those high in unsaturated fats, see our article Make Sure You Eat the Good Fats for more information on this
Choose tomato-based rather than creamy sauces
Cook from scratch wherever possible
Opt for low-calorie drinks such as unsweetened tea and coffee or plain water rather than sugars-sweetened options
Limit fruit juice to 150ml per day. Try diluting it with water to make it go further.
If you are hungry between meals, snack on fresh fruit and vegetables rather than foods high in fat and/or free sugar
Eat more fibre – adults should be aiming to consume 30 g fibre per day to reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and colon cancer. Fibre-rich foods include wholegrain foods, potatoes with skins, fruit and vegetables, pulses, nuts and seeds.

With the weather getting warmer, people are starting to flock around the barbecue with friends and family enjoying wonderful food, it is the start of BBQ Season. Check out our recipe for barbecued asparagus to kick start your summer season: Barbecued Asparagus

Kate Quilton and the team from Channel 4 Food Unwrapped visited Bottom Farm to see first hand how Duncan produces our brand of cold pressed rapeseed oil. Grown to LEAF Marque standards, our rapeseed is cold pressed on the farm. Cold pressing is a traditional process whereby the seeds are simply pressed and filtered and the oil’s natural properties are retained. Cold pressed rapeseed oil is becoming more and more popular as home cooks and chefs appreciate it’s culinary and health benefits. Duncan first launched Mellow Yellow cold pressed rapeseed oil in 2005 and was Britain’s first ‘seed to bottle’ producer, and today remain’s the only LEAF Marque branded rapeseed oil.

The programme airs Monday 20th April at 8 pm, Channel 4.