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August 05 News
Well, if July didn’t quite deliver the hot spell we’re all craving, here’s hoping August will come up with the goods. And while we’re still supposedly in the salad season, here’s a couple of new products that might help lubricate your leaves.
Rapeseed oil is fast becoming the new favourite oil of today’s eating classes. It’s light, delicate, and really useful for those dishes that olive oil might overpower, like mayonnaise. Best news of all, though, is that it’s fantastically good for you. It’s even lower in saturated fats than olive oil (6% compared to 12% for olive oil), and it has high levels of omega 3 and 6 (the same oils that are found in oily fish, and help to lower cholesterol). Unlike olive oil, it also keeps most of these properties when it’s heated, too.
Our rapeseed oil comes from the Count Hardegg estate, near Vienna, Austria. The vineyard and farm are set in the lush green (and yellow – well, it is rapeseed) Thayatal valley. The surrounding fields are certified organic, and are full of wild flowers, from which the estate’s bees make their fabulously creamy honey, which is also available online.
Another alternative to a firm favourite in the shop this week is Arrope. This is a rich, syrupy reduction of the must of sweet Pedro Ximenez grapes, and makes a fascinating change from balsamic vinegar. It’s so syrupy it can be used as a sauce for ice cream, and is often used in biscuits and cakes in Southern Spain. Like balsamic, itÂ’s good for savoury uses, too – try it as a marinade for duck, or use it drizzled over leaves, or just with bread, as a snack with aperitifs.
Course, we still sell the olive oils and the balsamic vinegar, and you can buy them, too. We don’t mind. They’re nice.
Have a good month,
Dan