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October 05 News
I love this time of year. The leaves are turning, the shop’s full of locally sourced wild mushrooms, the butcher’s counter over the road is full of game, and we’ve taken delivery of some beautiful squashes and gourds, in preparation for Hallowe’en. If you’re trying to eat seasonally, you really don’t have it much easier than in October.
First up for you this month are our Quince Cheeses, hand made in Oxfordshire. These fruity preserves are a traditional accompaniment to Spanish manchego cheese, but they go beautifully with many other cheeses, especially cheddars, blue cheeses and goats’ cheeses. They’re also a great accompaniment to game – either served on the side, or even stirred into the gravy to give it a rich, fruity tang.
While we’re on the subject of game, weÂ’ve got another classic accompaniment to cold meats – Italian mustard fruits, or Mostarda di Voghera. These fantastic sweet/hot treats are mixed candied fruits, preserved in a sweet syrup made spicy with mustard seed oil. The traditional accompaniment to bollito misto, or mixed boiled meats (doesn’t it sound so much better in Italian?). Their piquant flavour is perfect for adding interest to the starchier, blander foods of this time of year. Chopped up with squash, it makes a wonderful filling for ravioli.
And talking of seasonal treats, the first of the season’s Italian black truffles are now in. Bargains they are not, but they’re smelling great and we can send them to you overnight. Best to give us a call for these beauties – there aren’t many, so we’re not offering them for sale via the website.
Finally, I don’t know about you, but I start to feel the need for something sweet at this time of year. Our Bonnat Chocolate fits the bill – single varietal chocolate bars from around the world, expertly blended by a wonderful traditional chocolatier in Voiron, France. The variation in flavour between, say, a Venezuelan Chuao chocolate, and a Sri Lankan ‘Ceylan’ bar, is astonishing – no longer will buying a bar of chocolate be a straightforward exercise. You have been warned.