So has fish had its chips?

So just when we were getting over the idea that meat products which claimed to be beef might actually be horse, along comes a report saying that some of the fish which is sold as cod or haddock is actually something else. In many cases a cheaper fish.

While that got me wondering about how much we can ever really know about the food we buy, particularly processed and pre-prepared food, it also made me think about the demise of the fishmonger.

Now, I'm happy to buy fresh fish, gut and clean it and cook dishes from scratch but I suspect that puts me in the minority. And the real challenge is finding a good fishmonger. The supermarkets make a stab at offering fresh fish but if you want something beyond  haddock, cod and farmed salmon, the options are limited. And the real problem is that fishmongers have disappeared from the high street.

Having been brought-up near North Shields, in the north east, when it had a thriving fishing fleet and fish was a plentiful and, relatively cheap, product, fishmongers where a thriving business. Today, fish seems to have become a confusing product which people are reluctant to handle and confused about how to cook it, unless it comes ready battered or in a bag. So, sales of fresh fish fall and fishmongers are on the decline.

I doubt if our little village could support a fishmonger but even several of the larger towns around us are fishmonger free. There is a good one in Windsor but you can trawl a wide area to find good fresh fish on the high street. The option, which we use from time-to-time, is to buy in bulk from a supplier and have it delivered, frozen to your door.

Still, I think the decline of fishmongers is sad and if the latest report about cod being something else turns into a scare story then people may be further put off from wanting to try fresh fish.

You know you are getting old when you worry about your buns!

Hot cross buns. This is the way they look and they taste good

There are lots of things that are said to show you are getting old; police officers look younger, chicken doesn't taste like chicken, being unable to get out of a chair or bend over to pick up the post without making groaning sounds. However, at this time of year I think the big test is around hot cross buns.

I decided this having bought a few packets of HCB's from local supermarkets in the run up to Easter. As a chewed on a bun a few thoughts struck me.

1) The buns were just not bun shape. They were so flat they could have been doing an impression of a pancake. 

2) They are soft and a bit spongy.

3) Has the traditional spice disappeared from the recipe?

The answer, of course, is to make your own and I realised that despite having made lots of bread and lots of cakes over the years I've never made HCBs. So while a lot of people, us included, invest a lot of time, effort and money into making Christmas cakes, do to many of us depend on shop bought HCB?

A trawl of our shelves of cookery books failed to produce a recipe for HCB's, a surprise in itself. So we turned to the web and found a few recipes. Never one to ignore a passing bandwagon we jumped on board the Paul Hollywood baking bandwagon which is prompting a revolution in (some) kitchens, and used his recipe from the BBC website. First time round the buns were OK, though a bit hard. Though that may have been because we had baked bread in the oven just before putting the buns in so the oven may have been too hot.

A few days later the aforementioned Mr. Hollywood was back on TV doing an Easter themed programme with the doyen of baking Mary Berry and HCBs were on the agenda. He used a slightly amended method so we headed back to the kitchen and gave this version a try, also lowering the temp in the oven. We also replaced the currants with cranberries, but this was a personal thing.

Pleased to say this recipe worked out great and we ended up with HCBs that were 

1) Bun shaped

2) Good texture

3) Nicely spiced.

So, as the baking revolution sweeps the UK will we see the return of the home baked HCB or have the bland supermarket versions altered the nations taste-buds?

Marmalade making - spread the love!

I see Winnie the Pooh is winning the battle of the breakfast spreads over his bear chum Paddington! Or, as retailers would put it, sales of honey are outstripping those of marmalade. That seems to be the case according to a recent report.

Now I like a bit of marmalade on my toast or bagel in the morning but do feel a bit let down by the average supermarket offerings. So having had some success with jam (plum) over the last few years we decided to venture into the world of marmalade. It was a bit of a spur of the moment decision when I saw that Seville oranges, the bitter, bumpy skinned variety that are at the heart of a good marmalade had arrived in our local farm shop.

As "marmalade virgins" we decided to stick to a simple orange marmalade to begin with and looked through a few cook books and on the web for a good recipe. As with most things you want a recipe which looks straightforward and is fool-proof. Marmalade seems to have a variety recipes. Some recommend boiling the fruit whole in water and then taking the pith and pips out and slicing up the skins to give you shreds of peel. Other say simply squeeze the juice from the fruit into the water, then take out the pips and pith, this is where the pectin comes from, slice up the peel and then boil the lot together. Other recipes say split the marmalade making process over two days!

In the end we went for a Delia Smith recipe and produced a nice dark Oxford cut type marmalade. Flush with success we went back for another go and this time decided to try an orange, grapefruit and lemon variety. Again methods and quantities varied a lot and we simply decided to go with a mix and quantity of fruit which seemed sensible and used the Delia method. Boiling it to the correct setting point was a bit trial and error but having sampled the first batch this morning I can deem it a success. 

Both varieties have a nice clear taste and with the quantities we have I can avoid the marmalade shelves in the supermarket for some time.

So, fingers crossed for a good summer and we will hopefully have marmalade to add to the jam and chutneys in our Christmas hampers for friends and family.