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FOOD
View from
the hill
The Hilltop honey producing
brand has been on the go since
2011. It's newly introduced a new
pure 100% Canadian maple syrup
that is completely and Grade A,
the highest quality you can get.
The taste, colour and aroma varies
from season-to-season, the subtle
differences come as the maple
flavour matures over time. Founder
and managing director, Scott
Davies, says, "We've been making
honey so far, but we thought it was
about time we released a range
of maple syrups, as it perfect for
pancakes but can be paired with
savoury, salty foods too, like bacon."
There are two types to choose
from. They get their colour and
flavour from being harvested at
different points in the season.
The Very Dark Maple Syrup has a
strong, powerful flavour from being
harvested late on in the season. The
Amber Maple Syrup has a richness
to it but a lighter colour due to
being harvested slightly earlier.
Back to basics - with a twist
- Hilltop has also unveiled a new
Hot Honey infused with chillies.
Containing just two ingredients,
honey and chilli, Hot Honey is free
from any additives and is naturally
sweet and spicy. Hilltop Amber
Maple Syrup and Dark Maple Syrup
are available in 230g (£3) and 640g
(£7.50). Hot Honey 230g bottle is
£3.50.
www.lovehilltop.com
Clear thinking
Vintage versions
Japanese and organic fine foods
specialist Clearspring has added
two authentic new organic Japanese
misos to its market-leading range;
Clearspring Organic Japanese
Unpasteurised Reduced Salt Miso
and Clearspring Organic Japanese
Unpasteurised White Miso.
The Unpasteurised Reduced Salt
Miso contains 25% less salt than
Clearspring's flagship Organic Brown
Rice Miso, while still delivering an
authentic Japanese 'umami' punch.
The salt content has been reduced
by blending a selection of premium
quality miso pastes to achieve
a rich flavour, whilst naturally
reducing its salt content without the
commonly used ethyl alcohol or other
preservatives. The new Unpasteurised
White Miso is fermented for a shorter
period of time compared to Brown
Rice Miso. This gives it a complex but
balanced sweet-savoury taste.
Both are live, fermented misos,
made using traditional production
methods by family producers in
Japan's Nagano prefecture. Both
are versatile and can be used to
create a variety of dishes including
soups, stews, casseroles, dressings
or used as a seasoning or glaze.
Unpasteurised Reduced Salt Miso
(£4.99) and Japanese Unpasteurised
White Miso (£3.99) come in 270g
glass jars.
www.clearspring.co.uk
Devon-based Sandford Orchards
has launched a collection of vintage
ciders, a finest cask-aged cider,
a Sandford Reserve, a fresh oakfinished
cider, Apple & Oak, and
a mighty vat-aged cider named
The General.
Independent, family-owned
Sandford Orchards is based in the
oldest working cider mill in the UK.
Barny Butterfield, Chief Cidermaker
at Sandford Orchards comments:
"Every apple harvest has a distinct
character. To use the term 'vintage'
a cider must declare the year of
harvest with the age of the cider
providing a strong indication of its
depth of flavour and maturity. A huge
amount of effort went into creating
our new vintage ciders and we are
thrilled with the results. We trialled
more than forty different potential
winners before whittling them down
to these three, each of which boasts
their own unique characteristics."
Apple and Oak is a dry vintage
cider aged in new oak barrel with
ripe, bittersweet apple flavours
with hints of vanilla and toasty oak.
Sandford Reserve is matured in larger
wine casks and drinks like a smooth,
oaky, chardonnay with flavours of
honey, Madeira and dried fruits, a
perfect partner to Asian foods like
a curry.The General is the 'imperial
stout' of this vintage range. A superrich cider,
it's bold with the flavours
of Seville orange, plum and baked
apple. It is a superb complement
to gamey meats or a full-on
Sunday roast.
Sandford Orchards Vintage Range
of cider is available in cases of 12 x
500ml bottles (£32) nationwide from
retail outlets.
www.sandfordorchards.co.uk