The Times
By Giles Coren
Oh, the modesty of the Swedes. A few weeks into my campaign for table-water sustainability I found myself at Upper Glas (a glorious pun celebrating the removal of the Swedish restaurant Glas from Borough Market to the site of what used to be Lola’s on Upper Street) and demanding, as ever, to know what kind of bottled water they had.
Read more...
Showing posts with label Newspaper: The Times. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Newspaper: The Times. Show all posts
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Foodie at large: Kale the chief. Why, at this time of year, Britons should bring out the brassica
The Times
By Tony Turnbull
Just had your vegetable box delivered? Seen those same familiar curly green leaves poking out? Yes, I’m afraid so. More curly kale, and you’ve still got last week’s to get rid of. It’s not a great time of year for homegrown veg, is it? Winter’s root crops are over, and the first flush of spring, with its promise of tender peas, asparagus and even – oh, what exotic joy – broccoli, is still months away. No wonder they call this the hungry gap.
One person you won’t find complaining, though, is Chris Molyneux, the brassica king of Lancashire. On his farm near Ormskirk he grows green kale, red kale, Russian kale, black kale – anything with a “k” in it, plus spring greens and Brussels sprouts.
To schoolchildren he must seem like the Antichrist, but as we tour his fields, the wind whipping in off the Irish Sea, his passion is infectious. “That’s cavolo nero, or black kale,” he says, pointing to a puckered leaved plant. “It’s got a lovely taste, with a bit of pepperiness to it, but you can see where the frost got to it the other night. That’s the Italians for you – not very hardy. And this,” he says, ripping leaves off another plant, “is red Russian. It doesn’t look so good on the stalk, but it’s the sweetest of the lot.”
Read more...
By Tony Turnbull
Just had your vegetable box delivered? Seen those same familiar curly green leaves poking out? Yes, I’m afraid so. More curly kale, and you’ve still got last week’s to get rid of. It’s not a great time of year for homegrown veg, is it? Winter’s root crops are over, and the first flush of spring, with its promise of tender peas, asparagus and even – oh, what exotic joy – broccoli, is still months away. No wonder they call this the hungry gap.
One person you won’t find complaining, though, is Chris Molyneux, the brassica king of Lancashire. On his farm near Ormskirk he grows green kale, red kale, Russian kale, black kale – anything with a “k” in it, plus spring greens and Brussels sprouts.
To schoolchildren he must seem like the Antichrist, but as we tour his fields, the wind whipping in off the Irish Sea, his passion is infectious. “That’s cavolo nero, or black kale,” he says, pointing to a puckered leaved plant. “It’s got a lovely taste, with a bit of pepperiness to it, but you can see where the frost got to it the other night. That’s the Italians for you – not very hardy. And this,” he says, ripping leaves off another plant, “is red Russian. It doesn’t look so good on the stalk, but it’s the sweetest of the lot.”
Read more...
Prince Charles and the Abu Dhabi burger ban
The Times
By Alan Hamilton
As if the Middle East didn’t have enough conflicts already, a new one erupted yesterday between the Prince of Wales and the burger.
Visiting a medical centre in Abu Dhabi, the Gulf state that has the second highest incidence of diabetes in the world, the Prince suggested that banning McDonald’s could be the key to improving the emirates’ health.
The burger chain, which has six outlets in the largest of the United Arab Emirates, immediately sprung to its own defence, suggesting that the organic and environment-loving Prince was out of touch with current burger thinking, particularly in Britain. He was, the company implied, bordering on the ungrateful.
Accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall on his ten-day tour of friendly Gulf states, the Prince was learning about new initiatives to improve Abu Dhabi’s health as he visited the centre backed and largely staffed by Imperial College, London. The royal couple watched a class of children being taught about food choices when the Prince turned to Nadine Tayara, a nutritionist who had put the children through their well-rehearsed paces, and asked: “Have you got anywhere with McDonald’s? Have you tried getting it banned? That’s the key.”
Read more...
By Alan Hamilton
As if the Middle East didn’t have enough conflicts already, a new one erupted yesterday between the Prince of Wales and the burger.
Visiting a medical centre in Abu Dhabi, the Gulf state that has the second highest incidence of diabetes in the world, the Prince suggested that banning McDonald’s could be the key to improving the emirates’ health.
The burger chain, which has six outlets in the largest of the United Arab Emirates, immediately sprung to its own defence, suggesting that the organic and environment-loving Prince was out of touch with current burger thinking, particularly in Britain. He was, the company implied, bordering on the ungrateful.
Accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall on his ten-day tour of friendly Gulf states, the Prince was learning about new initiatives to improve Abu Dhabi’s health as he visited the centre backed and largely staffed by Imperial College, London. The royal couple watched a class of children being taught about food choices when the Prince turned to Nadine Tayara, a nutritionist who had put the children through their well-rehearsed paces, and asked: “Have you got anywhere with McDonald’s? Have you tried getting it banned? That’s the key.”
Read more...
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Food detective: sugar
The Times
By Sheila Keating
Sugar has come in for its fare share of demonising recently, and it's true most of us eat too much. But beyond the issue of the quantity of sugar we consume, is its quality. Most of the sugar used in the food industry is refined white sugar, which comes from sugar beet, whereas the kind preferred by chefs and aficionados is unrefined, which comes from sugar cane.
How is sugar refined?
In the case of beet, which is grown in the UK and Europe, the beet is sliced, cleaned and soaked to produce juice, which is filtered and boiled to form a syrup and crystallise. The crystals — always white, though they may be coloured brown later — are separated from the liquid, which is known as molasses. Beet molasses is too bitter for human consumption.
Read more...
By Sheila Keating
Sugar has come in for its fare share of demonising recently, and it's true most of us eat too much. But beyond the issue of the quantity of sugar we consume, is its quality. Most of the sugar used in the food industry is refined white sugar, which comes from sugar beet, whereas the kind preferred by chefs and aficionados is unrefined, which comes from sugar cane.
How is sugar refined?
In the case of beet, which is grown in the UK and Europe, the beet is sliced, cleaned and soaked to produce juice, which is filtered and boiled to form a syrup and crystallise. The crystals — always white, though they may be coloured brown later — are separated from the liquid, which is known as molasses. Beet molasses is too bitter for human consumption.
Read more...
Friday, February 23, 2007
TV’s new junk food rules allow chips with everything
The Times
By Valerie Elliott, Consumer Editor
Anomalies contained in new rules limiting junk food advertisements during children’s programmes mean that cheese and porridge cannot be promoted during Bob the Builder but fast-food restaurants have free rein to advertise during Dancing on Ice or The X Factor.
The rules, published yesterday by Ofcom, the broadcast regulator, have left parents, health campaigners, food manufacturers and the advertising industry all unhappy.
The consumer watchdog Which? predicted a rush of advertisements for oven chips, chicken nuggets and sugary breakfast cereals during early-evening family viewing.
There is concern that while characters such as Shrek or Postman Pat cannot be used to endorse food products on TV, companies can continue to use brand characters, such as Tony the Tiger on Kellogg’s Frosties.
Read more...
By Valerie Elliott, Consumer Editor
Anomalies contained in new rules limiting junk food advertisements during children’s programmes mean that cheese and porridge cannot be promoted during Bob the Builder but fast-food restaurants have free rein to advertise during Dancing on Ice or The X Factor.
The rules, published yesterday by Ofcom, the broadcast regulator, have left parents, health campaigners, food manufacturers and the advertising industry all unhappy.
The consumer watchdog Which? predicted a rush of advertisements for oven chips, chicken nuggets and sugary breakfast cereals during early-evening family viewing.
There is concern that while characters such as Shrek or Postman Pat cannot be used to endorse food products on TV, companies can continue to use brand characters, such as Tony the Tiger on Kellogg’s Frosties.
Read more...
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Buying organic food ‘can harm the planet'
The Times
By Lewis Smith, Environment Reporter
Buying organic food grown locally may sometimes be more damaging to the environment than nipping down to the supermarket for produce that has been driven hundreds of miles across the country, a new study suggests.
Research looking at the environmental impact of food from farm to the plate and beyond suggests that locally-grown food may not be as environmentally friendly as it’s said to be.
Similarly, long-distance transportation may not deserve the demonisation it has received for the emissions of carbon dioxide it generates. However, scientists questioned the growing use of aircraft to carry foods around the world.
The findings, from a study commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to guide policy on which types of food production and consumption to encourage, prompted a furious response from the Soil Association, which promotes and certifies organic food.
The report concludes that so little is known about the overall environmental impact of any food produce that it is impossible to say which are the most environmentally friendly.
But while the merits of some organic products were recognised by the study, researchers pointed out that others cause more damage than non-organic items.
Read more...
By Lewis Smith, Environment Reporter
Buying organic food grown locally may sometimes be more damaging to the environment than nipping down to the supermarket for produce that has been driven hundreds of miles across the country, a new study suggests.
Research looking at the environmental impact of food from farm to the plate and beyond suggests that locally-grown food may not be as environmentally friendly as it’s said to be.
Similarly, long-distance transportation may not deserve the demonisation it has received for the emissions of carbon dioxide it generates. However, scientists questioned the growing use of aircraft to carry foods around the world.
The findings, from a study commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to guide policy on which types of food production and consumption to encourage, prompted a furious response from the Soil Association, which promotes and certifies organic food.
The report concludes that so little is known about the overall environmental impact of any food produce that it is impossible to say which are the most environmentally friendly.
But while the merits of some organic products were recognised by the study, researchers pointed out that others cause more damage than non-organic items.
Read more...
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Hell's Kitchen's Marco Pierre White criticises fellow chefs
The Times
Marco Pierre White was unveiled as the new star of TV show Hell's Kitchen today - and immediately laid into fellow chef Jamie Oliver.
White dismissed Oliver's school dinners campaign as a "cynical" publicity stunt which has failed to improve children's food.
He also stoked up his simmering feud with Gordon Ramsay, saying: "He doesn't enrich my life in any way."
And he slammed celebrity chefs who put their names to expensive restaurants but never cook there.
White will put 10 celebrities through their paces in the new series of ITV1 reality show Hell's Kitchen, to be broadcast later in the year.
Read more...
Marco Pierre White was unveiled as the new star of TV show Hell's Kitchen today - and immediately laid into fellow chef Jamie Oliver.
White dismissed Oliver's school dinners campaign as a "cynical" publicity stunt which has failed to improve children's food.
He also stoked up his simmering feud with Gordon Ramsay, saying: "He doesn't enrich my life in any way."
And he slammed celebrity chefs who put their names to expensive restaurants but never cook there.
White will put 10 celebrities through their paces in the new series of ITV1 reality show Hell's Kitchen, to be broadcast later in the year.
Read more...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
