The Science of Ice Cream
Is cookery an Art or a Science? Ice cream making is very much at the Science end of the spectrum as a new generation of gelato makers attest.
Eating for Pleasure
As someone who lives to eat rather than the other way around, I am rather shocked by the rapid rise in serious eating disorders. Summer presents numerous opportunities for making a meal an occasion to remember so lets enjoy them!
Endangered Foods
Many “endangered” foods are still being grown in people’s gardens, however the commercial sources have become extremely scarce. The summer months provide an abundance of examples.
Hospitality
Barbequing is the one form of entertaining that seems to be growing in popularity rather than declining. Hospitality seems to come less naturally to us than the Greeks. But can you learn to be a good host?
Maximum Variety
“Plenty of Plants, Not Much Meat, and Maximum Variety” is Colin’s maxim for a healthy diet. What does Maximum Variety look like and why does it matter?
Easter Spices
Our homogenized food distribution network shows no respect for our food culture or regional specialities. Throw out your mixed spice and flavour your Easter baking with care.
Rotten Tomatoes
The parlous state of the British food system was laid bare for all to see, or rather not see, from the empty shelves in supermarkets this February. The loudest complaint concerned lack of tomatoes, but other salad ingredients such as cucumbers and peppers were absent. Why were people expecting to find these things in February?
50 Years of British Fish
When the UK joined the European Common Market in 1973, the UK’s fishing fleet was vast, and supported numerous coastal towns and cities. During our time in the European Union the size of our fishing fleet dwindled to almost nothing and yet it became a focal point of the Brexit debate. Despite being an island nation, we eat fewer fish than many European countries, and 80% of the fish landed here continues to be exported. How has the place of fish in our food culture changed over the last 50 years and what needs to change in the future?
What role could wild food play in feeding our nation? (Feedback from ORFC)
This was the discussion that took place during the Oxford Real Farming Conference when a panel, consisting of myself, Mo Wilde and Lynn Cassells, responded to questions posed by Dan Saladino, After an hour, we had barely begun to scratch the surface and a further half hour of questions from the attendees highlighted some other issues. Mo Wilde posseted that perhaps we should adjourn to the pub for the rest of the day, but other sessions beckoned, so this blog aims to summarise key points and provide a forum for further discussion.
What role could wild food play in feeding our nation?
On a scale of 0-10, how do you rate as a hunter-gatherer? Foraging is enjoying a period of popularity at the moment, but when considering the potential scope that wild food could play within our diets, ask yourself whether in 2022, a mast year for acorns, you ground them to make flour? No – me neither!
If you had to survive solely on wild food, how would you cope? One person who did live entirely on wild food for a year is Mo Wilde, who will be joining our panel at the Oxford Real Farming Conference on 6th January as we debate its role in our diet.