Insights
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To eat or heat
The picture above is a shot of unspoilt agricultural land just west of Winchester and adjoining the Farley Mount Country Park. On the other side of the road defining the North of the site is Crab Wood - Semi Ancient woodland, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a local nature reserve. The green field, beyond the snowy ridge, is an area of 44 acres of Grade 2 and 3B agricultural land. If you look really hard you might be able to see it is covered in grazing sheep. In its wisdom, Winchester City Council has just granted planning permission for it to be covered in a Solar Farm.
A few years ago, I produced a Road Map for a Government that wants to stop farming in the UK. Prioritising solar panels over food is another step on that road map. Currently about 50% of our food comes from abroad. This policy will reduce that further, making our dependence on foreign countries even stronger.
It is not, however, just about food security, but there is another consideration which I can express no better than by quoting an extract from Rachel’s (from Beechcroft Farm, an adjacent farm) objection to the planning application…
This is a unique area that has extensive views of open countryside, something very unusual so close to a City Centre and in my opinion should be preserved at all costs. This solar farm development does not offer a unique opportunity to solve the climate crisis, it, in fact, offers a unique opportunity to preserve and protect the very precious countryside and habitats that are enjoyed and treasured by many.
November 2024
Wines with nobility for dessert
It is at Christmas that most people are most likely to drink wines with desserts (and cheese). It is quite common to go for sweet wines made from grapes that have been affected by botrytis or, as it is aften called, “Noble Rot”. This pairing may be totally appropriate but there are other options. Here are a few ideas….
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Type of wine |
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Sweet wines affected by noble rot |
These include several Bordeaux wines, including Sauternes, Barsacs, Graves Supérieures. They also include Loire wines from the Coteau du Layon, including Quarts de Chaumes and Bonnezeaux. Monbazillac is also made from botrytised grapes, as are some Alsace wines. |
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Vin doux naturel |
These are fortified wines where fermentation is stopped by the addition of alcohol. They include Muscat de Baumes de Venise and Rancio wines |
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Sweet wines not affected by noble rot |
These include several wines from South-West France, including Jurançon Doux and Côte du Gascogne sweet wines. They also include Vouvray doux. |
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“Made” wines |
The most famous of these are Pineau des Charentes and Floc de Gascogne. They are made by adding Brandy to unfermented grape juice. |
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Any of the above wines can be drunk with sweet desserts (and, incidentally, they also go with foie gras) but below are some other suggestions to accompany desserts… |
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Fortified wines |
Sweet sherries and Madeiras. |
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Sparkling wines |
Either sweet or even dry ones also work sometimes. |
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Sweet liqueurs |
Particularly the orange flavoured ones such as Cointreau and Grand Marnier. |
A final thought… Is “noble rot” an oxymoron or do we need a new word that covers expressions that sound as though they ought to be oxymorons but, in fact are not? Are they apparent oxymorons or pseudo-oxymorons?
September 2024
You know it don’t come easy
At the New Forest Show in July, I came across and organisation called “Eat Wild.” Their raison d’être is to persuade people to eat all the game that is shot. Currently about half the pheasants that are shot are discarded – apart from anything else, this is a huge waste of food. Eat Wild aim to get more game eaten, in part, by producing game recipes that are, quote, “Easy to cook.” When I heard this, I got thinking about what is difficult to cook. Here are some thoughts that I had…
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Criteria for difficult |
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1. Recipes that have many stages in the preparation and cooking |
Sauce Bordelaise |
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2. Dishes where timing is critical |
Boiled eggs |
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3. Dishes where the temperature of cooking is highly critical |
Hollandaise sauce |
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4. Dishes that contain volatile ingredients such as honey which easily burns |
Honey glazed meat or fish |
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5. Dishes where it is really difficult to source critical ingredients |
Dishes containing morello cherries |
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6. Dishes where a particular skill or experience is needed |
Pastry Raised pies Filleted fish dishes Oysters (opening them) |
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7. Dishes where specialist equipment is required |
Dishes with foam |
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8. Dishes where it is necessary to overcome the Second Law of Thermodynamics. This probably requires a bit of an explanation! The second law of thermodynamics states that in any natural process, the total entropy of an isolated system will always increase over time. Entropy is a measure of the disorder or randomness in a system. In cooking terms, this means it is easier to make scrambled eggs than to make custard or Hollandaise sauce. Incidentally, another example of the Second Law of Thermodynamics is… If you drop a glass bottle on to a concrete floor, you get a pile of broken glass. If you drop a pile of broken glass on to a concrete floor, you never, ever get a bottle. |
Custard Hollandaise sauce Mayonnaise Aspic jelly Jelly |
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All that said, cooking generally is not that difficult.
You know it does come easy
