“Salads are good for us.”

Everyone agrees with this statement as we are encouraged to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables, including salads, every day. Salads provide an essential source of vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and fibre, as well as being a delicious meal or accompaniment to meals. So why are we telling you to never eat a salad naked?

As people become more aware of healthy diets, the desire for low fat, low sugar or low salt meals and ingredients increases. This is especially so with oils, mayonnaises and salad dressings as ‘low fat’ or single calorie sprays become increasingly popular. At Farrington’s Mellow Yellow we often speak to customers who are keen to eat a healthy low-fat diet, to the extent that they don’t like to put salad dressings or mayonnaise on their salad with the aim of reducing their fat intake. The logic and ambition may be good, but a quest to reduce calorie intake by eating a salad un-dressed actually deprives people of the fantastic health promoting nutrition locked up in the salad. Not only is a fat required to absorb the nutrition within a salad, dressing a salad makes it more interesting and delicious to eat, helping you to make it a regular and enjoyable part of your diet. Also consideration should be given to the choice of fat used, but more on that later.

Salads are a wonderful source of vitamins and carotenoids. Vitamins play vital roles in health and body metabolism, along with their interaction with minerals required in the diet. We need to take vitamins in small regular amounts in our diet as the body can not store them and they can even be harmful if taken in excess. Vitamins are either fat soluble or water soluble, with Vitamins A, D, E and K being fat soluble. Salads contain fat soluble vitamins, so unless a salad is dressed with an oil-based dressing or mayonnaise, it is very difficult for the body to absorb these vitamins. By eating a healthy, balanced diet, there is no need for vitamin supplements to be taken.

Carotenoids are the naturally-occurring pigments in foods, with fruits and vegetables providing most of the carotenoids in the human diet. They play important roles in the body as powerful anti-oxidants; from the prevention of various types of cancers and chronic heart disease, to the maintenance of healthy eyesight. Carrots, known to help us see in the dark, get their orange colour from Alpha and Beta-Carotene. While the yellow colour of Mellow Yellow Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil comes from carotenoids called Luteins, containing around five times more than in extra virgin olive oil.*

Carotenoids are fat-soluble compounds so, just like the fat-soluble vitamins, to get the best nutritional benefit from colourful salad ingredients such as peppers, carrots, spinach and tomatoes, dress your salad with a fat to allow your body to absorb the carotenoids. However, research has shown that the type of fat eaten also affects how well we can absorb carotenoids from food. For example, a salad dressing made with an oil rich in mono-unsaturated fats, such as cold pressed rapeseed oil, absorbs more carotenoids compared to a dressing made with oils rich in saturated or poly-unsaturated fats, such as soybean, palm, sunflower or coconut oils for example. So not only should you ensure your salad is dressed with a fat, you should try to ensure the fat is rich in mono-unsaturates.

Why you should never eat a salad naked:

– Adding fat to salad allows your body to process the fat-soluble vitamins

– Using an oil rich in mono-unsaturated, such as cold pressed rapeseed oil, helps the body absorb anti-oxidant caratonoids

– Adding flavour helps motivate you to eat healthy salads regularly by making them more enjoyable

So, whether you are a purest and enjoy your salad simply drizzled with oil, like to pimp up a lettuce leaf creatively with a salad dressing, or if you prefer an indulgent dollop of mayonnaise; remember never eat a salad naked. The best dressed salads not only taste better, but make their nutritional delights all the more enjoyable. And just pause to think if a single calorie spray oil, a low fat salad dressing or mayonnaise really is as healthy as you first thought? Not to mention what actually goes into making some of those so-called healthy options…

But as far as the clothing you chose to wear, or not, while enjoying your favourite salad, we’ll leave that up to you.

* Crude rapeseed oil contains up to 95 mg/kg carotenoids, comprising about 85-90% luteins and 7-10% as carotene (Gunstone 2004). Extra virgin olive oil also contains luteins and carotene, but at levels of up to 20mg/kg only (Bosku, 2009) i.e., it only contains around one fifth the carotenoid antioxidant properties of rapeseed oil.

Bosku D., (2009). Olive oil Minor Constituents and Health CRC press p52.

Gunstone F D., (2004). Rapeseed and Canola Oil; Productrion, Processing, Properties and Uses, Blackwell Publishing

We’re so excited to share our eagerly awaited, wonderful new dressing with you! Introducing Mellow Yellow Chilli and Cumin Dressing …

Aromatic and lively, combining the heat of chilli with the gentle aroma of cumin. A deliciously daring dressing or marvellous marinade.

For our first new dressing in four years, we wanted to create something bold and full of flavour. The flavours of chilli and cumin fit the bill perfectly! The chilli flavour is subtle enough to add a pleasant heat to your cooking with a delicious aromatic base from the cumin seeds. Not just for salads, use this dressing as a marinade for salmon, BBQ’s prawns, roasted vegetables or even in a simple butter bean hummus! We absolutely love the combination of spice and fragrance, adding a fantastic flavour to even the simplest of salads.

Just like every product in the Mellow Yellow range, our Chilli and Cumin Dressing is made with the finest ingredients. With no additives or preservatives, it is also vegan and gluten free. Thanks to our Mellow Yellow cold pressed rapeseed oil, the dressing is rich in Omega 3 and low in saturated fat so you know you are using a good quality dressing that’s also good for your health.

How can I get a bottle?

Available now from farm shops, delis and food halls. Make sure to ask your local farm shop to stock Mellow Yellow Chilli and Cumin Dressing if they don’t already! Once you’ve picked up your bottle, we’d love to know your favourite recipe, so make sure to tag us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Take a look at our other salad dressings too: Honey & Mustard, Classic Vinaigrette & Balsamic Dressing

We’ve been playing around with this for some time, eggs, oil and tears have literally gone into it. Eli’s been busy mixing, whilst Duncan and the rest of the team have been busy tasting. We’ve tried it on salads (of course); in sandwiches; on chips; and dipped many a spoon in. At last we now have a new mayonnaise to be proud of, and something your customers will want to buy!

This classic Mayonnaise is uncompromising on health, taste, and quality. Using Farrington’s award winning MELLOW YELLOW® cold pressed rapeseed oil as the base; which is naturally low in saturated fat, full of Omega 3 and combining British free range eggs, a hint of Dijon mustard, and a lemony sharpness, this additive free mayonnaise will brilliantly complement any food.

To celebrate the launch, we are delighted to have to have 20 FREE entrance tickets available (worth £25 each!) for the first 20 people who email us (One ticket per organisation). If you wish to book tickets online, you can get 20% off the entrance price by entering the code PH4KK. For more information on the festival please visit www.realfoodfestival.co.uk

To stock our mayonnaise or for more information, please email info@farrington-oils.co.uk or call 01933 622809

Spring has certainly sprung and having had a “proper” winter, we are full of the joys and bursting with enthusiasm! To get you all going we are delighted to announce our new classic vinaigrette

Inspired by the desire to have an innovative British take on the ever-popular French dressing, Eli has been busy again with her trusted jam jar in our farmhouse kitchen to create this ultimate salad dressing. The ‘Classic Vinaigrette’ has a sharp, tangy taste, is extremely versatile and has been carefully crafted to complement any salad. The result is a perfectly balanced combination of FARRINGTON’S MELLOW YELLOW® cold pressed rapeseed oil, Aspalls’ white wine vinegar and just the right amount of herbs and spices.

We will launch this at IFE in London from 15^th to 18^th March, come and see us on stand N3131. Already getting high acclaim from food writers and journalists, we know this dressing will become a national favourite in demand by consumers – get ready to order your stock now.

In the Media ……….

We are busy in the press and are delighted to have been featured in Delicious, Good Food, Fine Food Digest, Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph, The Grocer and The Caterer this month alone! With Celia Brooks Brown from The Times Online, and cookery demonstrator, Rosemary Moon to name two, both raving about the Classic Vinaigrette, the noise can only get louder.

Duncan presses for higher standards….

Along with representatives of other like-minded cold-pressing oil companies, Duncan is a founding member of a new industry-wide body for promoting the benefits of cold pressed oils, ensuring quality and maintaining standards. Although still to find a name, Duncan is delighted to have been elected joint Vice Chairman.

Further Information

For orders and further information, please contact us on 01933 622809 or by email info@farrington-oils.co.uk ; or one of our brilliant wholesale suppliers, who are always happy to hear from you: Berryhill Merchants Ltd (Ireland); Hider Food Imports; Goodness Foods; Michael Bance (Leicestershire), Richards Catering Supplies (Cornwall), T & J Fine Foods (Lincolnshire).