Do you have a nose for cheese?

Several years ago a German relation of mine mentioned that in Germany English people are known for their big noses. To be honest, from my observations it has never struck me that English people have bigger noses than other nationalities. If it is in fact true, then perhaps we are indeed well-equipped for the appreciation of cheese.

In the UK it is easy to find people who will argue in all seriousness that their cheese is the best in the world – a claim obviously disputed by our European neighbours. Of course, as a matter of personal taste it can always be debated whether a cheese is better or worse than others. Personal and national preferences will always be the deciding factor. Despite this, it is fair to say that British cheeses have as much to offer as those from France, Holland or Italy.

It is a shame that many people aren’t aware of the variety of cheese available beyond the range on their local supermarket shelf and also that it can be hard to find outlets that sell the more unusual varieties.

I asked an English cheese aficionado to sum up in a few words what is so great about British cheese and for his recommendation. Here is what he said:

"British cheese is nothing short of a national treasure. A tradition hewn and honed by generations of artisans and artists, practioners and purveyors, monks and mongers. From the earthy sharpness of a great cheddar, to the balanced tang of a Stilton, to the creaminess of a Cheshire, British Cheese sets the standards. Overall, if pushed, the greatest of all British Cheeses is the Cheddar - so versatile but never losing the capacity to enthral and surprise."

My cheese-making workshop was some three weeks ago now and I still have at least a week to wait before I can taste the fruit of my labours. In the meantime, here is some information on a few native English varieties …

Cheddar

Crumbly cheddar: Photo by Dana Moos licensed
under Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic

The most popular
cheese is Cheddar – it gets its name from Cheddar gorge in Somerset in the South West of England. It is a very egalitarian cheese – everyone enjoys it in one form or another, not just cheese aficionados. A packet of the stuff can be found in almost every fridge in the UK and ranges from a very mild to a strong mature taste.

It’s usually eaten with crackers or in a toasted sandwich with Branston pickle, a vinegary brown pickle sauce, which it goes together with wonderfully!

Cornish Yarg

Cornish Yarg: Photo by Matt Sephton licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic

Like Cheddar, it also comes from the West Country in England, more specifically the county of Cornwall. This hard cheese doesn’t have a strong taste but its novelty factor lies in the fact that it is coated with stinging nettle leaves. When fresh, nettle leaves are the last plant you would want to put in your mouth. However, when used to wrap cheese the leaves are frozen beforehand so that the ‘sting’ is removed and make the cheese look quite decorative.

Stinging nettles: Photo by Howard Walfish
licensed under
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

 If you bring a Yarg to a cheese party, people are immediately interested by the appearance of the cheese but the taste is much more subtle. I have it on good authority that Yarg is a good cheese so you should try it!

For more information on the Yarg, an interesting blog post all about it can be found here. 

The webpage for the dairy that produces the cheese, including an online shop, can be found here.

Barkham Blue  

Barkham Blue: Photo by Jessica Spengler licensed under Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

This is a soft creamy blue cheese and a speciality from Barkham in Berkshire, a town close to my home.  I chose to mention this cheese because it has been very successful, winning several national and international cheese awards. I have yet to taste it myself because it is unfortunately quite difficult to find; its distribution being limited to a few selected outlets in the UK. More information on the cheese and its outlets can be found here.

For more detailed information on all types of British cheese, not just those from England, the British Cheese Board has a fairly comprehensive website, which can be found here.

No crackers, Gromit! We've forgotten the crackers!

Wallace and Gromit cheese: Photo by
Jamison Wieser licensed under
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

These words of blind panic are gasped at a moment in the popular film 'A Grand Day Out', a story about a cheese-enthusiast called Wallace and his dog, Gromit. After discovering they have run out of their beloved Wensleydale cheese, they decide build a rocket to fly to the moon in the mistaken belief that it is made out of cheese. Of course, in the crucial seconds before take-off Wallace realises that he has forgotten the indispensible accompaniment to cheese - crackers! Thankfully, he manages to retrieve the necessary item from the kitchen cupboard before the rocket blasts into space. A good example of the lengths to which a British cheese enthusiast will go in order to enjoy this culinary delight! 


Traditionally for the British and Irish, crackers are to cheese what bread is to butter - having one without the other is unthinkable! Two popular brands of cracker instantly spring to mind - the beloved Irish biscuit manufacturer Jacob's, and British brand Carr's, most famous for their 'Table Water' crackers, a name the meaning of which I have never understood.

Living in Holland, the undisputed home of cheese-lovers, has awakened me to the many pleasures of cheese and given me a new appreciation of native British cheeses. Nowadays the health-conscious may avoid cheese because of it's high-fat content. However, cheese in the right quantity is in fact a very healthy foodstuff. For example, the French habit of cheese after meals has the advantage of neutralising the acid in the mouth, helping to protect your teeth from damage. Not to mention the additional calcium and vitamins.

Recently, I was lucky enough to participate in a cheese-making workshop near the Dutch city of Volendam in the North of Holland. Unfortunately, I will not be able to show you the full process as the first-half had been completed for us before arrival but perhaps my photos will give you a taste of the steps involved. For a more comprehensive overview of the cheese-making process, please see here.

Step 1 

First we were given a bucket containing the curds and whey - what remains of the milk once the cream has been skimmed off. A cutting tool was slowly drawn through the whey to cut it into small pieces, seperating the curds from the whey. Around a litre of the whey was drained away.

Step 2


Next hot water was added to the mixture until a temperature of at least 36 degrees celcius was reached. A thermometer was used to ensure an accurate reading of the temperature. The heating solidifies the cheese, which becomes hard and lumpy. Continuing to use the cutting tool I cut the solid mass into smaller pieces. Spices and herbs are added according to taste; my choice was chilli and dried basil.

Step 4


Next, the liquid was drained away and the curd pressed into a plastic mold.

 

Step 5


Finally, the liquid was drained away and the curd pressed into a plastic mold. As you can see in the image below, all of the molds were carefully collected together in a square formation, with layers stacked on top of each other. They were then put under a weighted press to squeeze as much of the liquid out as possible.

After a two hour wait, enough liquid had been extracted from the cheese for it to retain its form and it can be taken out of the mold. Around a teaspoon of salt into the surface of the cheese to draw out the moisture.

Step 6


The newly-formed cheese is left to air for two days, after which it is given a plastic coating to protect the cheese while it matures. My cheese is now one week old and is currently sat on my desk where I keep a dutiful eye on it.  Unfortunately, I forgot to rotate the cheese often enough so now it has an odd flat shape. Not that this will harm the taste of the cheese and thankfully I have only a few weeks to wait before I can enjoy my creation! As the Dutch would say, eet smakelijk!

简单美味的苏格兰烤薄饼

如果你想在品尝美味的同时学习地道的英文表达，那么猛击这里吧！http://foodforyoubc.blogspot.com/2012/02/youll-have-had-your-tea.html


“You'll have had your tea?”

这个标题你看懂了么？其实这就是传说中的英式幽默，意为“你（来访者）已经吃过饭了吧？”，如果有哪个主人在你一进门时就这样“厚脸皮”地问你，相信你一定会永远记得这次拜访了！当然，这只是苏格兰人特有的一种幽默罢了，事实上的他们还是非常热情好客的！

第一篇博文，写点儿什么呢？俗话说，一日之计在于晨，就从早餐开始吧！

我在德国柏林的时候早上经常喜欢喝一碗燕麦粥，仅此而已。我有个德国室友Claudia对此表示十分无法理解，有一天，她终于忍不住了要尝一下我的粥，看看到底有多好喝。结果她很失望，明明就是很普通的粥嘛，我怎么能天天喝还都不腻......其实她不知道，我有秘密武器： 英国人非常喜爱的“金狮糖浆”（Golden syrup）。这个号称味道最好的糖浆被很多咖啡师傅都视为至宝，调制分层次的冰卡布奇诺更是有一层直接就是用金狮糖浆铺底。






今天向大家介绍的是一款苏格兰早餐。苏格兰人向来重视早餐的质量，英语里不是有“像个皇帝一样吃早餐”的说法么，也不知道是不是从苏格兰人这里传出去的...虽然苏格兰人以爱吃甜食而著称，比如著名的油炸火星巧克力棒（Deep-fried Mars bar），但他们还是创造了不少美味又健康的营养早餐的！比如滑蛋烟熏三文鱼（Smoked salmon with scrambled eggs），还有我接下来要向大家介绍的这款苏格兰烤薄饼（Scotch Pancakes或Drop-Scones）：

苏格兰烤薄饼做起来十分简单，这也是我为什么选它的原因！


你所需要的原料有：

• 110g不含酸酵粉的面粉
• 1小勺塔塔粉（或奶油）*
• 1/2小勺苏打粉*
• 25g白糖
• 1个鸡蛋
• 120ml牛奶

* （我手边没有找到塔塔粉和苏打粉，所以我用了泡打粉和少量的盐代替，做出来的效果也很好呦！）


步骤1：

所以原料放入碗内，打入一颗鸡蛋

步骤2：

缓慢倒入牛奶，搅至均匀

步骤3：

平底煎锅内加入少许植物油或黄油，稍热后即可倒入一汤勺蛋液，做成圆形

步骤4：

待蛋饼上出现一个一个的小气泡时，翻面，重复至两面都呈金黄色 （如果颜色不够金黄，大概是火太小了）

步骤5：

耶！其实这个时候我们的苏格兰烤薄饼已经做好了！ 不过，苏格兰人民在吃这个的时候可不是只单单吃这个饼哦，通常他们会再配上黄油，果酱和浆果。今天我配的是crème fraîche （一种法式鲜奶油）和红红的覆盆子（raspberry），看起来好友食欲啊！:-)

You'll have had your tea?

中文步骤请猛击这里！http://foodforyoubc.blogspot.com/2012/02/blog-post.html


This is a famous Scottish greeting that cheekily implies a visitor has eaten already and the host won't have to feed you! It is however no reflection on the true warmth of Scottish hospitality and there are all kinds of culinary delights that those who have never ventured north of the English border can enjoy.

Brilliant Breakfasts

As this is one of the first posts for the blog, it seems appropriate to begin with the first (and most important) meal of the day - breakfast! Scotland lends itself especially well as source of inspiration for this meal. Infamous for their sweet tooth and inventive culinary creations, such as deep-fried chocolate bars, it may surprise some to discover that Scots claim credit for some of the tastiest and healthiest breakfasts. 

Good examples of these are the humble bowl of porridge and the more extravagent smoked salmon with scrambled eggs. These are both simple breakfasts created from ingredients that Scotland is famed for. Oats have traditionally been a popular staple food in a country where the climate and soil made growing wheat more difficult and is a common ingredient in many Scottish dishes. 

 When living in Berlin I regularly started the day with a bowl of porridge, made with oats, water - and nothing else. My German flatmate, Claudia, watching with curiousity one day asked to taste some of the grey-slop I consumed every morning and was not overly impressed. It is perhaps true to say that pure porridge is an acquired taste but in my opinion it can be customised in such a way that almost everyone will find delicious.

One of my favourite additions is a spoonful of another very-British ingredient - Golden Syrup. The taste of this is quite unique and it is in many countries widely-available. Unfortunately, in my experience this ingredient isn't readily available in mainland Europe but could be substituted with any molasses-type syrup. Another favourite flavouring of mine is a sprinkle of cinnamon in the porridge - topped with apples cooked for a couple of minutes in the microwave, or any other fruit for that matter - creates another breakfast heaven. 

The fact that porridge is very nutritious, high in soluble fibre, low in fat and calories and a low-GI food, that keeps you feeling full-up for hours, means that it represents the holy grail in the search of healthy breakfasts.   

Scotch Pancakes 

The recipe I would like to share is perhaps not a typical breakfast recipe but, in the tradition of American pancakes, I think it is one that can easily be adapted into a breakfast dish. The main reason I chose it, however, is because it is very easy to make. Scotch pancakes, also known as Drop-Scones, are a type of pancake traditionally made on a girdle (Scots for griddle), although a frying pan will do just fine. They are a little thicker than crepes and much smaller with a diameter of around 10cm.

Ingredients

• 110g plain flour
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 25g sugar
• 1 egg
• 120ml milk

Note: I wasn't able to find cream of tartar or bicarbonate of soda in my local shop so substituted with a sprinkle of baking powder and dash of salt and it seemed to work ok!

Step 1

Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl.

Step 2

Make a well in the centre of the bowl and add an egg.

Step 3

Slowly pour in the milk, stirring the mixture until it forms a smooth batter.

Step 4

Heat a frying pan with a little vegetable oil or butter. As soon as the pan is hot, drop tablespoon size portions of the mixture into the pan to form small circles of batter. As the pancakes begin to cook through you will see small bubbles appear which tell you to flip the pancakes to cook the other side.

The pancakes should have a nice golden colour. If they are too pale, the pan is probably not hot enough.Once you flip the pancake, the other side will cook through in a couple of minutes.

Step 5

Voila - the pancakes are ready! Serve them hot with the topping of your choice. Scotch pancakes are traditionally topped with some butter and jam. Scotland is famous for it's berries and it's jams; the cold weather means that the sugar in the berries crystalises, making them particularly sweet. To make them even more appetising, top with crème fraîche and raspberries!