Oils
Rapeseed Oil
Chili Oil
Dressings
Classic Vinaigrette
Balsamic Dressing
Honey & Mustard
Chili & CuminDid you know that cold pressed rapeseed oil is a great, heart-happy oil? Are you looking to improve your health? Well we have one simple change for you that will help you with this goal. Mellow Yellow Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil is a brilliantly healthy, British cooking oil that is grown, pressed and bottled in Northamptonshire. Read on to find out more about all the fantastic health benefits of cold pressed rapeseed oil…
Top 4 Health Benefits of Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil
Low saturated fat
A balance of Omega 3 and Omega 6
Contains Vitamin E
Naturally occurring plant sterols
Low saturated fat
Saturated fat is usually found in high levels in fatty meats, full fat dairy products, coconut oil and lard. For many years, health professionals have advised against consuming high amounts of saturated fat as they have been shown to raise your LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein) levels. LDL is known as ‘bad’ cholesterol as high levels of LDL blood cholesterol increases the risk of heart disease by building up in our arteries and causing them to narrow. Cold pressed rapeseed oil, however, has very low levels of saturated fat. This is one of the major health benefits of cold pressed rapeseed oil! For more information from the British Heart Foundation, click here.
A balance of Omega 3 & Omega 6
Mellow Yellow Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil contains both Omega 3 and Omega 6. These are essential fatty acids that the body is unable to produce itself so we need to ensure that we consume these in our diet. These two essential fatty acids contribute to brain development, growth and maintaining a healthy immune system. It is important that we consume these two fatty acids in the correct ratio as found in cold pressed rapeseed oil. It is this ratio that makes this one of our top health benefits of cold pressed rapeseed oil. We have more information on Omega 3 and 6 on our Health and Nutrition page.
Contains Vitamin E
Another of the health benefits of cold pressed rapeseed oil is that it contains vitamin E. Vitamin E occurs naturally in cold pressed rapeseed oil and is needed for a strong immune system and healthy eyes and skin.
Naturally occurring plant sterols
Last but not least in our top health benefits of cold pressed rapeseed oil are the naturally occurring plant sterols found in this brilliant oil. Plant sterols are fat-soluble compounds found in some vegetables, nuts and seeds, including rapeseed. They are similar in structure to cholesterol therefore when eaten, plant sterols compete with cholesterol for absorption into the bloodstream. Our bodies find it easier to absorb plant sterols as they block the cholesterol from being absorbed. This results in the cholesterol passing through and out of the body via the stool. Find more information here.
Comparison of oils:
With these brilliant health benefits of cold pressed rapeseed oil, it’s easy to see why so many people are swapping to Mellow Yellow Rapeseed Oil! Find out where to buy here.
If you want to know more about cold pressed rapeseed oil, how we produce it, how it grows, the simple way we press the seeds to produce our cold pressed rapeseed oil and more on what is so special about cold pressed rapeseed oil, have a look at this article!
For recipe inspiration on what to cook with cold pressed rapeseed oil, visit our Recipe page here.
Christmas is just around the corner so now is the perfect time to share with you some of our favourite recipes, hints and tips for festive cooking! The Mellow Yellow team has all contributed a recipe or a favourite tip to help you ensure this is the best Christmas yet.
Tips For Roasties…
Roast potatoes – Make sure you use Farrington’s Mellow Yellow Rapeseed Oil. Thanks to its high smoke point, it helps you achieve extra crispy roast potatoes as it performs brilliantly at high temperatures. Take a look at Joanna’s freezer tip below if you want to save time on your roasties.
To save time on the big day, parboil and freeze your potatoes a few days earlier. Then once your meat is out of the oven, heat up Farrington’s Mellow Yellow Rapeseed Oil in a roasting dish until nice and hot, then put in your parboiled potatoes from frozen. This will make EVEN crispier roast potatoes, and save you a bit of space on the hob. (As heard by Joanna on Radio 2.)
Mince Pies
Mince Pies – Homemade mince pies really are so much better than shop bought ones, plus our recipe has a secret addition of chopped apple in the mincemeat that elevates the flavour!
A different way to eat a mince pie – Heat it up and take the lid off, pop a slice of stilton inside while it’s still hot then put the lid back on. Enjoy your sweet and savoury treat! (Rachel promises us this is delicious.)
Any other tips?
Use roasting bags for a juicy turkey and start with a clean oven to make the clean up easier! If you’re not feeding the five thousand, buy a turkey crown as it’s solid meat, takes less time and fits in a roasting bag perfectly! (Jo’s top tips for a stress-free Christmas!)
Leftover Christmas Cake? Don’t waste it, instead cut into large chunks, cover with clingfilm then foil, and freeze. (Gina’s favourite way to keep Christmas going until Spring)
Chestnut Stuffing – Emily’s Christmas dinner highlight
Ingredients:
100g bacon
50ml Mellow Yellow Rapeseed Oil, plus extra for greasing tin
1 onion peeled and chopped finely
150g sliced mushrooms
250g chestnut puree
250g tin whole chestnuts ground like breadcrumbs
Small tin or tube of liver pate
3 large cloves of garlic chopped finely
1 tablespoon (15ml) dried oregano
50g fresh breadcrumbs
1 lightly whisked egg
Salt and black pepper to taste
Method:
Cut any rind off the bacon and chop into small cubes. Put Mellow Yellow Rapeseed Oil into pan and fry bacon and onion for about 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl with all the fat and stir in well with all the other ingredients and check seasoning. Grease baking tin with Mellow Yellow oil and cook in a preheated oven at 180c for 45 minutes.
Boozy Cranberry sauce – Richard’s way to add a kick to lunch time
This is one to start this year ready for next Christmas as it needs 10-12 months to infuse. But its a great thing to start during any time off you have this Christmas!
Firstly make cranberry Gin as you would sloe gin:
Ingredients:
450g/1lb Cranberries, frozen will work
225g/8oz caster sugar
1 litre/1¾ pint gin
Method:
Prick the skin of the cranberries all over with a clean needle and put in a large sterilised jar. Pour in the sugar and the gin, seal tightly and shake well. Store in a cool, dark cupboard and shake every other day for a week. Then shake once a week for at least two months. After 10-12 months strain the cranberry gin through muslin into a sterilised bottle . Once you have strained the gin, cook the soaked cranberries down to a jam like consistency adding a little salt and or sugar to taste. And there you go, delicious homemade boozy cranberry sauce, plus cranberry gin for a festive G&T!
Find more recipes here.
Some days, events in the news or experiences of friends near to us, remind us how lucky we are. I am fortunate to have the support of a loving and healthy family around me, great friends, a stable and exciting career, with some great people who help make Farrington’s Mellow Yellow the success it is. Of course, there are days when life is a bit of a struggle and, as Eli will testify, I can get a bit grumpy and stressed on occasion. However, compared to some people in the world, we have a pretty good lot.
I originally looked at starting Farrington Oils as a farm diversification. The aim was to try and create a more sustainable income so Eli and I could continue to live and work at Bottom Farm where our (at the time) young children could grow up. With the support of both of our parents, not to mention years of hard work, Farrington’s Mellow Yellow has become a great success, far exceeding what I originally envisaged. I am very proud of what we have achieved, not only providing Eli and I with a stable income, but also a livelihood for the small, dedicated team that work with us.
Our success is very much thanks to the many loyal customers who buy our products, some of whom have supported us since I first started making Britain’s original farm to bottle cold pressed rapeseed oil back in 2005. If I think about it too much, it is rather humbling and, perhaps because of this, I am keen that we should share some of our success with the community around us. Over the years, we have been proud to support several good causes.
I have always been keen to support young people, to try and inspire them in a small way, so they will have the confidence to ‘have a go’ and possibly stretch themselves to reach for goals they may not have thought they could achieve. This comes to life in some of the LEAF talks I hold at the farm or in schools. I love it when I talk about some of my experiences, the challenges and successes in starting and running your own business. I remember on one school visit, a girl asking if I was famous because there was a picture of my face was on our bottle of oil, and the excitement in the classroom that with a bit of hard work and passion they too might start something successful one day.
We have supported some charities close to our hearts over the years. The Faraway Children’s Charity is named after one of Enid Blyton’s children’s books: ‘The Faraway Tree’ which tells the story of a group of children who discover a magical tree where they are safe and happy. This great local charity came to our attention as Eli and I were shocked by the amount of absolute poverty all around us, in our supposed modern, developed economy. Volunteers help young vulnerable people in Northamptonshire to “survive, thrive and smile”. The charity was set up to support children, to give them simple things such as toiletries and clothing for example, or an Easter egg at Easter; to show them love and hopefully put a smile on their faces.
Another charity we have supported over the years is the Batten Disease Family Association (BDFA). This cause is incredibly close to our hearts; Batten Disease is a very rare and cruel neurological disease with very little known about it. There are only around 150 sufferers in the UK, including our close family friend Laura. Laura is a fantastic eighteen year old, crippled by the disease, but cared for with the love and help of her family. The BDFA helps support such families and to try and raise awareness for research into Battens.
We have also supported Children in Need by attending CarFest at Laverstoke Park each year and supplying the oil for their Foodie Workshops, which are always good fun. More generally, we always try to support local charity fundraisers and events when a request comes through for some Mellow Yellow products as a raffle prize, for example. Recently Farrington’s Mellow Yellow supported the Hargrave Music Festival. For four days in September, our sleepy little village played host to a series of classical concerts, opera performances and cabarets performed by world class acts. Not something you would expect in Hargrave, but a great weekend to put our community on the map. I even read on one of the performer’s credits that she had performed in Sydney, New York, London and Hargrave!
Finally, we are very proud to support our local Premiership rugby team, Northampton Saints. The club’s chef, Gavin Austin, has always been a great supporter of Mellow Yellow and when he moved to the Saints, he wanted to take his trusted oil with him. Our healthy range of oil, mayonnaise and salad dressings are now an integral part of these elite athletes’ diets.
Whatever you like to support, I greatly enjoy being in a position to be able to help others. In the past people have helped, inspired and supported me over the years. Besides, as well as giving you that warm fuzzy feeling when you support a cause you believe in, we have also had a bit of fun in doing so. Have a look at our Oilslide Challenge to see what I mean.
As the UK’s first seed to bottle producer of rapeseed oil, our British heritage is incredibly important to us! From 24th September to 8th October, the UK has been celebrating British Food Fortnight with the hashtag #BritishFoodFortnight. To show our passion for British food, we’ve been sharing our favourite recipes on Twitter each day. In case you missed these recipes, we’ve collated them all here for you. So take a look through and let us know which ones you’ll be trying next.
No self-respecting roast dinner would ever be seen without these by its side. Using our British cold pressed rapeseed oil on your Sunday roasties ensures you the crispiest potatoes. Thanks to the high smoke point of the oil, your potatoes can get nice and hot, helping them get that crispy coating.
A quintessentially British fruit, the humble plum sings in this Plum Cake recipe. With ground almonds to add a nutty flavour, this cake is fantastic for a Sunday afternoon tea, or even just to whip up mid-week for a surprise guest!
Using British beef, this recipe will always go down well when brought to the table. Simple, perfectly seasoned and deliciously succulent, it truly is a classic dish. We love our steak served with potato wedges and garlic mushrooms, but there are so many other options you could choose from.
Almond and rhubarb make perfect partners in our Rhubarb Cake, which is an easy yet impressive bake. This is a fantastic way to use any seasonal rhubarb you have, as well as impressing your family with a delicious treat for them to tuck into!
One Pot Honey & Mustard Parsnip Chicken
This recipe uses our Honey & Mustard dressing as a delicious cooking sauce. Simply pour the sauce over your chicken thighs and British parsnips, pop it in the oven and there you go, a tasty one pot dish that’s perfect to warm you up during the colder weather that British Food Fortnight signals.
Usually eaten at Easter time, British lamb can also be sourced later on in the year with a stronger, more developed flavour. Our recipe for Roast Lamb uses garlic, rosemary, lemon and plenty of seasoning to bring out the most flavour possible from your lamb.
A true British favourite, we couldn’t talk about British Food Fortnight without including these. In our opinion, no matter what meat you’re having, no Sunday roast is complete without a Yorkshire pudding brimming with gravy. Get your oil nice and hot, ours has a high smoke point which really helps, to get those puddings rising nice and high!
Blueberry & White Chocolate Muffins
The delicate flavour of Mellow Yellow lends itself perfectly to cake baking and is particularly good in these marvellous muffins. Blueberry and White Chocolate Muffins fresh from the oven will attract the entire household, so make sure to grab one for yourself before everyone else descends!
Such a simple side to make, and goes with so many different things. We like using British rooster potatoes in our Potato Wedges, but you can use any type of potato. A drizzling of Mellow Yellow and a good pinch of salt is all you need to create the most delicious wedges to be enjoyed by the whole family.
A beautifully light and fluffy lemon cake with a zesty lemon drizzle icing. Quick and easy for an everyday treat for the family but makes an impressive afternoon tea centerpiece if you’re planning a party.
Fresh Asparagus and Mellow Yellow Mayonnaise
British asparagus has to be one of our highlights of June, especially when combined with our delicious Mellow Yellow Mayonnaise. Our favourite way to serve this is by BBQ’ing the asparagus then serving it in a big pile with plenty of mayo ready for dipping!
This recipe produces a really easy, moist fruity apple cake. A perfect way to use up any seasonal British apples (cookers or eating apples) whichever you have in the garden or the fruit bowl. Served with creme fraiche, or even ice cream if the weather is warm enough, this cake is sure to be a hit!
A wonderfully unusual way to use courgettes when in season. This fluffy courgette cake with its delicious lime cream cheese filling is a coffee morning or afternoon tea show stopper!
Pastry no longer needs butter! Using our incredibly simple recipe, you can make a quick and delicious pastry with Farrington’s Mellow Yellow Rapeseed Oil. This recipe is for a fruity Blackberry and Apple Galette, perfect with a hearty pouring of custard or double cream.
British Food Fortnight has been a great way for us to shout about all the amazing food produced in Britain, but just remember to keep buying British! Tweet us and let us know which recipe is your favourite!
We are over the moon to have won not one, not two, not even three, but SIX stars at the 2017 Great Taste Awards for our Farrington’s Mellow Yellow products this year. The judges have awarded a 1 star Great Taste award to each of our Classic Vinaigrette, Honey & Mustard Dressing, Balsamic Vinegar Dressing, Chilli Oil, Mayonnaise and Garlic Mayonnaise. For most products, this is their second, or even third Great Taste award but for our Chilli Oil, this is the first time it has been awarded a Great Taste star and we couldn’t be happier!
The Great Taste awards are the world’s largest and most trusted food and drink awards, with a panel of over 500 experts judging each product, being described as the ‘Oscars of the food world’. This year, 12,366 food and drink products entered into these prestigious awards, with only the very best products being awarded the coveted stars.
Here’s what the judges had to say about our products:
Chilli Oil: A wonderful colour and clarity. The nuttiness of the oil is retained and a subtle hint of chilli makes a wonderful condiment for cooking.
Balsamic Dressing: Lovely fruity sweetness that lifted the palette.
Classic Vinaigrette: Herbs add to the complexity of flour with all the ingredients working in harmony.
Honey & Mustard Dressing: The honey flavour balances well with the mustard. Love the ‘pop’ of the mustard seeds too.
Mayonnaise: A very good colour, and the rapeseed oil really works well here. It’s light and creamy textured, and well seasoned with a light hand.
Garlic Mayonnaise: Good clean creamy mayo with a well-judged hint of garlic. Lovely richness and mouthfeel.
We’re so proud of all our brilliant products, so if you haven’t tried them all, head over to our Where to Buy page and find your local stockist!
Do you love finding new local food producers, farm shops, restaurants and pubs? Well we do too, so we’re proud to now be part of Great Food Club. Great Food Club is an independent website that selects and recommends local food and drink independents. Based purely on merit, Great Food Club checks all its members before allowing them to be listed on the site. They use the simple criteria of ‘would we recommend this to our foodie friends?’ The great news is, they would happily recommend us!
One of our favourite things about the Great Food Club it’s perfect for finding great food in your local area. We’re incredibly proud of the fact that we are a Northamptonshire producer and so this guide is great for other Northamptonians to hear about us. By simply entering your post code, you can discover a world of fantastic foodie finds, right on your doorstep!
It is free to join the Great Food Club. Simply head over to www.greatfoodclub.co.uk and sign up. It is a fantastic way for foodies to find local producers, restaurants and shops in their local area. They will send you a membership card, which you can use in certain establishments to claim a discount.
You can find us on Great Food Club at http://www.greatfoodclub.co.uk/business/farringtons-oils/. If you love our products, which we hope you do, please feel free to leave a review and let everyone know!
Not only available in shops, we also sell our oil to various pubs, restaurants and cafes across the UK for use in their kitchens. Many of these businesses use our oil in interesting and innovative ways, and The Mermaid at Ellington is no exception!
The Mermaid can be found in the idyllic Cambridgeshire village of Ellington in a beautiful 14th Century public house. The name comes from the old ships timber used in its construction many years ago. The owner and head chef, Nick Marriott, is a Michelin star-trained chef who is passionate about bringing vibrant and refreshingly new ideas to a characteristic and historic country pub.
Having used our oil for a while, Nick recently contacted us with an idea. He wanted to use our rapeseed before it was pressed, and instead, germinate the seeds for an exciting new dish.
Here’s what Nick had to say about this innovative new way of using rapeseed:
“Here at The Mermaid at Ellington, Mellow Yellow Rapeseed Oil has fast become our go to quality oil of choice. With it being high in mono-unsaturated fat, it ensures us cooking at high temperatures without corrupting its lovely nutty character & flavour.
We now also use rapeseeds to bring to life our ‘Snail Garden.’ We germinate the rapeseeds and grow them into small sprouts by soaking the seeds and keeping them in a warm area to do their work. This process usually takes around 5 days but is definitely worth the wait. The germinated rapeseed add a beautiful image and perfect texture of a real life soil, as well as adding an earthy flavour to the dish. Combining the rapeseed with puffed wild rice & quinoa, caramelised chicory & sesame, the ideal soil is created for the garden. Hidden underneath sits a smoked garlic yoghurt and finished with salsify bark, baby vegetables and rosemary branches with flowers from the Mermaid garden.
Mellow Yellow Rapeseed Oil is also a perfect option for dressings and creating flavoured oil in which we make a lemon grass & ginger oil for all our Asian style cooking. We very much recommend this high quality product.”
Thanks Nick!
For more information on The Mermaid at Ellington, head over to their website: http://www.themermaidellington.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.
Although sugars have been stealing a lot of media coverage recently, it is still important to think about the amount and type of fats in your diet in relation to weight gain and health.
The following article by the British Nutrition Foundation explains why Mellow Yellow is a great source of the ideal type of fat we should be including in our diet.
What is fat?
Fat is a macronutrient (like protein and carbohydrate) and is made up of fatty acids. Fatty acids can be classified as saturated or unsaturated depending on their chemical structure. Unsaturated fatty acids include monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids. All fats provide 9 calories (kcal) per gram, which is more than double the number of calories provided by each gram of protein and carbohydrate that we eat (4 kcal per gram each). A high fat diet can, therefore, lead to weight gain over time.
Why do we need it?
Fat is a good source of energy and we need some of it in our diets to help our bodies to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Within the body, fatty acids form an integral part of our cell membranes, helping to insulate and protect our internal organs, maintaining our body temperature and is involved in lots of body processes such as the development of our brains and the communications which occur between different cells. Cholesterol is needed to produce bile acids, which help us to digest food, and also some of our hormones.
We are able to synthesise most of the specific fatty acids we need apart from two polyunsaturated fatty acids – alpha linolenic acid (an omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acid) and linoleic acid (an omega 6 polyunsaturated fatty acid). Your body needs these for brain development, growth and for a healthy immune system. They are described as ‘essential fatty acids’ as we need to obtain small amounts from our diet. Alpha-linolenic acid is found in rapeseed, walnut and soya oils and spreads made from these. Linoleic acid is also found in plant-based oils such as sunflower, corn, peanut, rapeseed, olive, safflower, sesame, walnut and soya oil and spreads made from these. Both of the essential fatty acids are present in smaller amounts in foods such as meat, eggs and oily fish.
How much fat should we be eating?
UK dietary guidelines recommend that adults consume no more than 35% of the energy from their foods from fat. This equates to roughly 90g of fat per day for men and 70g for women. Our fat intake in the UK has been falling since the 1960s and, on average, we are now eating around these amounts. While low-fat diets were promoted in previous years, diets containing a moderate amount of fat can be easier to adhere to. So while it is important to try to cut down your total fat consumption, if you are struggling to do this, focus on choosing healthier types of fat.
Saturated fat intake should be restricted to no more than 11% of food energy, which equates to roughly 30g for men and 20g for women, per day. This is because a high intake of saturated fat has been linked to high blood cholesterol, which is a well-known risk factor for heart disease. Aim to replace saturated fat in your diet with small amounts of unsaturated fats by opting for foods rich in unsaturated fats or complex carbohydrates such as wholegrain foods.
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.