Food 'n' Drink – Food and Drink news |

The largest retailer in the UK is Tesco, and they’ve recently announced that De Vallois Champagnge is going to be sold in bottles that weigh just over 800grams so that carbon emissions can be reduced and less glass is wasted in consumption.  The New Year is always a time of year when champagne sales increase and it is hoped that this environmentally friendly bottle has contributed to keeping people green during this festive period

The previous weight of the bottle was 900grams and Tesco have announced that they will be introducing a greater number of lightweight bottles during the course of this year. The supermarket have said that they are dedicated to reducing the levels of waste that their food and drink items produced as this not only helps the environment but also reduces their transport costs.

The change to lighter bottles is not something that is just limited to Tesco however and their use has been seen across the industry. Andrew Gale, who is responsible for alcohol at Tesco, has commented, “We are not just working with champagne bottles and wine and beer are also going to now be sold in lightweight bottles.

We are working very closely with those who supply our alcohol so that we get lighter weight bottles. We are sure this is something that our customers are going to appreciate as it is good for the environment and does not affect the product in any way.”

A recent report by the government has shown that the amount of waste being produced by supermarkets has fallen in recent years and waste is being cut at all levels of the supply chain. Tesco is one of the leading supermarkets in waste reduction.

BrewDog have opened a new bar in Camden and continue to expand their craft beer empire.  In order to get a taste for what London can expect from the microbrewery, it is worth investigating what makes their flagship bars north of the Scottish border so popular.

The first BrewDog Scotland bar was launched in Aberdeen, October 2010.  Taking over a venue formerly known as The Marischal, the team renovated the bar ‘in the one way BrewDog knows best – with a sledgehammer’.

By branching out into the public space where they could serve their real ale on draught, BrewDog created an opportunity to share their passion and knowledge directly with their fellow craft beer lovers – a concept that became a major attraction and one which was instilled in all of the satellite bars that followed.

Aberdeen

With real-brick interior walls and open plan seating, BrewDog Aberdeen is definitely one of the coolest looking pubs in North East Scotland.  The steel doors and fittings, together with the overhanging and exposed air conditioning pipes, give the bar an industrial feel which is an apparent homage to their HQ brewery, also based in Aberdeen.

The staff here are as knowledgeable as they are passionate about craft beer but also about everything that goes with BrewDog – music, culture and even what food you should be eating with different beers.

Edinburgh

BrewDog Edinburgh was a step towards UK domination and a step towards new ideas for the business.  Serving home-made pizzas and a wide selection of BrewDog and guest IPA beers from across the world, the venue rapidly became a hotspot for fellow ‘beer revolutionists’.

Incorporating the same factory style decor as Aberdeen, BrewDog Edinburgh has carried the brand southwards and is an awesome bar to stop into when visiting the Scottish capital.

Glasgow

The BrewDog attitude was always destined to marry up with the attitude of the Glaswegian people and in July 2011, the city was chosen to house the third and largest BrewDog bar.

Again, inside is warehouse-themed but this bar has even more of a twist.  All furniture and decoration is second-hand and reborn with the BrewDog edge.  Old, laminate gym flooring has been used as wallpaper on one wall – an example of how contemporarily-artistic the building is on a whole, in beautiful contrast with the historic Kelvingrowe Gallery & Museum, which overlooks the corner venue on Argyle Street.

Seasonal baking with Light Muscovado

Billington’s have teamed up with Eric Lanlard, the master patissiers, to create a specially limited edition of Billington’s Orange and Cranberry mini Christmas Loaf. After adding a festive twist to the pairing of these seasonal flavours, the loaves are available in Lanlard’s South West London luxury cake boutique, Cake Boy.

Topped with glistening orange zest and wisps of leaves in 24 carat gold, these cakes are far from a mere festive fancy. The gluten free Billington’s Orange and Cranberry mini Christmas Loaf  is packed full of such seasonal ingredients as Billington’s glace cherries soaked in amaretto, bitterweet cranberries, juicy oranges, ground almonds, Billington’s unrefined light muscovado sugar and a sprinkling of cinnamon.

Eric comments, “Every cook will tell you, if you want the best baking results you need to start with the best ingredients.  I use unrefined light Muscovado because it has a richness and depth of flavour unmatched by any other sugar, which is perfect for this particular loaf.  These mini treats are ideal as a dessert, served with fresh redcurrant berries or on their own for afternoon tea and they also make a great gift.”

Not all sugars are the same.  Many are only brown on the outside, underneath, they are really white sugar which has been coated to add colour and some flavour.  Billington’s sugars are different.  They are unrefined so the sugars are very simply produced with the aim of locking in, rather than refining out, the natural molasses of the sugar cane.  It is this difference that gives unrefined sugar its superior flavour and natural colour.

Billington’s unrefined sugars are available in all major supermarkets. For inspirational and festive baking ideas visit www.baking.mad.com, the first port of call for everything to do with baking. Whether you’re an experienced baker or a novice, bakingmad.com offers a one-stop shop for recipes, tips, and advice.

Billington’s Mini Gold Christmas Loaves – serves 6

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Preheat the oven to 180c (fan 160c) 350F/gas mark 4.

Grease and line six mini loaf tins.

Micro brewing is becoming big business, and one Shipton man is hoping that his pints can become a local success.

John Lewis, who lives in Shipton-by-Beningbrough with his artist wife Jane Blackman, has turned his home brewing hobby into a small business and now hopes to see his ales stocked in pubs in the York area. John, who used his scientific background as a medical researcher to good effect when creating the micro brewery Treboom, has developed two drinks for serious drinkers; Drum Beat and Kettle Drum.

Having turned his back on cancer research at the University of York to follow his passion for fine ales, John set up his micro brewery in a brewhouse owned by neighbour Martyn Sellers, and housed in a converted barn.

Thanks to financial help from friends in the business, including the owner of a top London restaurant, as well as a grant from the Rural Development Programme for England, John and his wife are planning to extend their business and develop new beers, based on both the European and American methods of brewing.

John added that Treboom is hoping to expand its range of drinks in the near future and that he is already working on pale ales, traditional bitters, milds and even a porter.

The number of food companies producing items for those with diabetes and other specialist dietary requirements is increasing, but experts in the disease are urging more research into the impact of certain ingredients on the condition, as well as other health problems.

Halo Foods, working with academics at the University of Hull and the Hull York Medical School, has created a new food product which aims to test what effect a new and as yet unnamed ingredient has on consumers with diabetes, as well as other conditions that can be affected by diet such as heart disease and weight problems.

If the results of a current trial are positive, then Halo Foods could end up benefiting from its involvement with the academic study, something which Hilary Hamer, one of the project’s leaders, was quick to point out.

Hamer was surprised that few food manufacturers are showing an interest in developing new ingredients that could help existing medical conditions, when so many people in the country suffer with problems such as obesity and diabetes. The product itself has been designed specially to be easy to eat on the move and consumers would need to have two of the fruit bars a day if they want to get the full health benefits of the mystery ingredient.

The decision taken by Halo Foods to join forces with the University of Hull could end up being very lucrative for the food company if the trials are successful and the newly-developed product actually goes on sale.

The research is part of a larger scheme called the Humber Obesity, Nutrition, Education and Innovation (HONEI) Project which is looking into diet and health across the region. This particular study is rather novel in that the item being used is a marketable food item containing the ingredient under investigation, rather than the usual format in academic studies which involves test groups being administered a new product in tablet form.

It is odd to think about Christmas cake as it seems that the last thing anyone needs is another treat to help expand their waistlines even more, however, it is till traditional that you have some Christmas cake to serve at the table.   A lot of people do not care for the cake or marzipan, but for those who do a few slices can be rich enough to last well into the New Year and everyone knows how important tradition is around Christmas and to start off a new year in the right fashion.

Most people have someone in their family that traditionally makes the cake in their family whether it is the family patriarch, mother, or perhaps the grandmother.  Of course, the problem is finding the time to make it especially since you do have to ice it just before serving for the best results and then you have to find some people who still have room in their stomachs to actually eat it.  Despite this fact, most people will appreciate at least seeing it on the table even if they do not eat it.

The good news for those that are busy but still want to serve Christmas cake is the fact that you can now actually purchase a Christmas cake it that comes with everything you need without forcing you to actually have to soak, weigh, or waste bags of fruit that go unneeded.  Of course, you will still need to make sure you purchase some lemons, butter, eggs, and icing, but at least when it comes to making the cake you can cut out a few steps and a few ingredients which will give you a little bit more free time during the holiday season.

Tesco has a variety on the market from Mary Berry that offers chopped nuts, soaked fruits, marzipan, bagged spices, and icing which is more of a complete kit then others that are out there.  However, even though it may be ht easiest some people say that it’s a bit tasteless and does not have enough fruit in it, so therefore you may want to consider doing a bit more work and getting a kit that does not offer you so much inside of it.

For instance, the Taste the Difference Christmas cake kit by Sainsbury’s only offers the fruit, nuts, and spices, but by adding in the raisins and a bit more pudding quality the cake turns out a lot moister as the traditional Christmas cake should be.  On the other hand, if you do not like raisins then this is not going to be a great choice for you.

Another option is the complete kit from Harrods that offers icing and the marzipan, but you will have to soak the fruit on your own which means you need fruit and to purchase the booze to soak it in which takes out some of the convenience of the actual product.  In other words, you get a pan and the marzipan mix, but then you have to soak all of the fruit and deal with the bugs the entire operation attracts so while the end result tastes good, you may not actually come out that far ahead.

THE ANTIQUE WINE COMPANY CONDUCTS A UNIQUE EXPERIMENT THAT PROVES A LINK BETWEEN SOUND & TASTE

Find out why sound matters in the wine world

The Antique Wine Company, www.antique-wine.com has carried out a unique experiment to ascertain whether or not sound has a direct influence on how a wine tastes. While corporations and supermarkets have looked into the effects of environmental sounds, this is the first time that it has been so directly explored in its relation to taste.

This project, that includes several experiments that looked at it in different contexts, was the subject of an RTE radio documentary in Irelandon the 9^th of December. It looks at things such as sound affects senses via intonation, subtlety of language and its subtext, and also looked at volume and resonance.

Part of a larger on-going study, the experiment is a fascinating, fun, scientific and well-researched look at exactly how sound impacts on us, thus changing our behaviour. Other interviewees for the documentary include James Sanger, producer of Keane’s hugely successful ‘Hopes & Fears’ album and Ed Bentham, founder of the Atlantic Whale Foundation, looking at how sound is used to change human brain states.

The experiment at The Antique Wine Company looked at key aspects of how sound affects us, cognitively, physiologically and psychologically in relation to wine specifically.

The session was presided over by Stephen Williams, Managing Director of The Antique Wine Company and was held in the company’s bespoke wine-tasting facility in Marylebone, which also houses the AWC Wine Academy.

Participants, who were members of the public with little or no wine knowledge, were asked to give their views on five red wines, while different types of music were played into the room as they drank them. None of the members had any prior knowledge of what the experiment was about, so that views could be unbiased. The wine served was also all red wine, so that it was purely the music that could influence them.

The music, which was all classical, moved from slow and relaxing, to more robust and dramatic. The Results were extraordinary, they showed that 40% of the participants who described wine number one as ‘subtle and refined’ went on to describe the same wine (which was labelled as wine number five), as ‘powerful and heavy’. This very tangible evidence gave us a direct example of how just by the change in tempo and style of the music, the perception of the same thing gave the participants a whole different experience!

Another example of how powerful outside influences are, was that when asked which wine was their favourite, not one person chose wine number one, yet 70% of participants chose wine number five as their favourite, which as you might have guessed, was the same wine !

All participants were surprised when it was revealed to them that the music had been the determining factor in the experiment and 90% of participants increased all four categories in wine rating from wine one to five, as ‘more powerful’ in colour/intensity, nose, fruit and quality – a direct correlation with the music having been increased in tempo and drama.

It was evident by the end of the experiment that different types of music, which ranged from ‘mellow and soft’, to ‘powerful and heavy’, strongly determined the way that they perceived the wine.  This compounds the theory that the environment in which you consume wine is very important, as it has a sway on your feelings towards it and how you actually perceive the ‘taste’ of what you are drinking. The results of the experiment conducted, demonstrated the direct impact and strength of influence that the surrounding environment in which you drink wine, plays. The journey into sound proves unequivocally that sound does matter!

The experiment was the idea of Peter Stone, CEO of the Riviera Media Group. He is one of the world’s leading consultants on Sonic Branding and has an impressive music career that includes conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vienna National Opera, amongst others. In his consultancy role, Peter has also advised The Antique Wine Company on sonic branding.

Commenting on the experiment Stephen Williams, said: “We were delighted to be asked to conduct this experiment, as at The Antique Wine Company we believe in advising our clients, not just on the intrinsic qualities of wine, but also the best way to enjoy it. The environment that you drink wine in makes a huge difference to how you experience and taste wine and this experiment has proved just that.”

Stephen Williams goes on to explain: “This was one of the main reasons for launching the AWC Wine Academy, as many of our clients wanted to not only know more about the wine that they were purchasing, but to understand how and where best to drink it, as well as what to eat with it, in order to really obtain maximum enjoyment from the wine that they acquire.”

AWCWineAcademyoffers a wide range of tasting events that offer the opportunity to taste unique, best-in class wines. Events include everything from instruction on food and wine matching to exceptional verticals and rare tastings with iconic winemakers. All of our events are designed to encourage participation and interaction. Events are always fun and informative, never pretentious or stuffy.

The wines tasted were all very similar (the first and last were purposely repeated to see if a change in music made any difference) – details of the wines tasted are as follows:

Margaux 2004 (which was repeated)

Medium ruby, developing nose, very classy, elegant, cigar box and blackcurrants-fragrant. A classic Margaux in a classicBordeauxvintage. Fine silky tannins, balanced acidity and seamlessly integrated oak. Lovely concentration and very long. 18

Palmer 2004

Medium to deep ruby, ruby rim. Developing meaty and undergrowth, spice, cigar box. On the palate black fruits and hints of aniseed with fresh balancing acidity and silky tannins.  Mouth coating fragrance. Long lingering finish. Good 17.5.

Palmer 2002

Medium crimson, pale rim. Developing nose, ripe blackberries, cassis with a hint of undergrowth and liquorice. Quite intense and fragrant on the nose. On the palate bright acidity, smooth velvety tannins with a lingering finish. Lacks a bit of concentration of the palate, found on the nose. States 13% abv but feels higher. 17

Margaux 2002

Medium crimson, pale ruby hinting on garnet rim. Nose more elegant and restrained than the Palmer 2002 (tasted alongside). More cigar box, hint of dried violets, spice, blackfruits and mouthwatering acidity. Fine concentration on the palate, silky tannins. Finish is long and fragrant. 17.5

Music played during the tasting was as follows:

Clair de Lune, by Claude Debussy, Arabesque by Claude Debussy, Pavane for Dead Princess by Maurice Ravel, Adaggio for Strings by Samuel Barber, Planet Suite Jupiter by Samuel Barber, The Planet Suite Jupiter (half played) by Gustav Holst, Carmina Burana O Fortuna by Carl Orff, Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner.