While I have been busy of late, I have been keeping an observant eye on food issues. And this media story caught my eye. I personally had not previously heard of the organisation; Consensus Action on Salt and Health but I was well aware of the problems of the over use of salt in processed food.
While it does not surprise me that Soup sold in chain cafés is high in salt as these companies are doing nothing more than reheating a processed product. Yet there are often some wonderful small independent cafés out there that serve real home-made soup. And soup in general is a great healthy option. It is a shame that the manufacturers of soups should need to add so much salt, as extra salt shows that they are using inferior ingredients. Often the pre packaged soups are not cheap and some of the brands tested are premium products.
As you can get a food flask and make your own so easily, why not make your own save money and that way you will know that you are not ingesting more salt than is wise.
Thursday 25 February 2010
Thursday 4 February 2010
Supermarket Ombudsman
For the last couple of years there has been a debate about if a regulator was needed to oversee the way that the supermarkets work. Then in January the government announced that they would create an ombudsman to be an independent arbiter of the relationship between the farmers and growers and these multi billion pound retailers.
For many years now there have been stories seeping out that the supermarkets were manipulating the market in such a way that it was damaging British Agriculture. In its simplistic form the farmer would sell to who ever would offer the highest price, while the retailer would want to pay the least it could. That system worked well when every high street had many retailers selling that food to the consumer. But with food retailing now in the hands of just four major retailers, that system has not been working. Now the retailers dictate what price they will pay.
While this has helped keep food cheap for the consumer, it has also placed massive power over food in the hands of a few people. Via this power and this downward pressure upon price, farmers are forced to compromise on the welfare of the animals that we derive our food from. As the taxpayer, through the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs DEFRA, often have to bare the cost disease outbreaks, and as intensive production combined with the downward cost pressure on welfare standards, and the consumer pays for these costs via taxes while allowing the supermarkets to make greater and greater profits.
However, it is the way that the supermarkets are currently implementing the contracts with farmers that is really damaging British agriculture. All the major players in retail will make the farmers who supply them invest in packaging to suit their needs. Further to guarantee supply to meet the supermarkets needs, the farmers and growers have to grow more than is required to meet that contract. As plants or animals never grow exactly to a timetable, to ensure that enough are ready on time, more is produced than is needed. As these contracts as standard forbid the farmer selling this surpluses, the system generates wasted food. This adds costs to the farmer but not to the supermarkets. Then the most pernicious part is if the supermarkets decide to have a special offer be that an extra fifty percent in the pack for the same price or a two for the price of one, it is the farmer or producer that pays these costs not the supermarket. It is like the supermarket deciding to cut the price they are paying to the farmer and making the farmer pay for the cost of doing this.
Therefore it is not surprising that the supermarkets have resisted the appointment of an ombudsman. They, the major retailers, argue that if the system is so bad why are the farmers willing to supply them? While that would have been a legitimate question perhaps thirty years ago when there were still independent retailers about, but now there are no real alternatives to whom the farmers can sell.
Effectively the major retailers force farmers to supply them, on their terms, knowing that the farmers have nowhere else to sell their produce. Further if the farmers protest or go to the media with their complaints, they get de-listed. The supermarkets stop buying from these farmers, often killing the farmers business.
This also explains why it can be really difficult to find British produce in the shops. The major retailers in tying down the farmers to produce on the supermarkets terms stops the farmers from selling via other markets. While also buying from overseas farmers and growers at the lowest price, often to keep the farmers in their place.
By stopping at least the worse aspects of the major retailers practices, the ombudsman will benefit everyone in the food supply chain. However, the supermarkets are trying to tie up contracts ahead of the service starting. Thus making it look as though the ombudsman was never needed as the ombudsman will only be able to look at new contracts not historic or current ones.
While there are many benefits that the major retailers have brought to food, but equally there have been many seriously adverse aspects to food retailing being controlled by just four chains. While having an ombudsman will not change where people shop nor will it increase the prices consumers pay, it will ensure that the farmers and growers get a fair deal from trading with these giants.
For many years now there have been stories seeping out that the supermarkets were manipulating the market in such a way that it was damaging British Agriculture. In its simplistic form the farmer would sell to who ever would offer the highest price, while the retailer would want to pay the least it could. That system worked well when every high street had many retailers selling that food to the consumer. But with food retailing now in the hands of just four major retailers, that system has not been working. Now the retailers dictate what price they will pay.
While this has helped keep food cheap for the consumer, it has also placed massive power over food in the hands of a few people. Via this power and this downward pressure upon price, farmers are forced to compromise on the welfare of the animals that we derive our food from. As the taxpayer, through the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs DEFRA, often have to bare the cost disease outbreaks, and as intensive production combined with the downward cost pressure on welfare standards, and the consumer pays for these costs via taxes while allowing the supermarkets to make greater and greater profits.
However, it is the way that the supermarkets are currently implementing the contracts with farmers that is really damaging British agriculture. All the major players in retail will make the farmers who supply them invest in packaging to suit their needs. Further to guarantee supply to meet the supermarkets needs, the farmers and growers have to grow more than is required to meet that contract. As plants or animals never grow exactly to a timetable, to ensure that enough are ready on time, more is produced than is needed. As these contracts as standard forbid the farmer selling this surpluses, the system generates wasted food. This adds costs to the farmer but not to the supermarkets. Then the most pernicious part is if the supermarkets decide to have a special offer be that an extra fifty percent in the pack for the same price or a two for the price of one, it is the farmer or producer that pays these costs not the supermarket. It is like the supermarket deciding to cut the price they are paying to the farmer and making the farmer pay for the cost of doing this.
Therefore it is not surprising that the supermarkets have resisted the appointment of an ombudsman. They, the major retailers, argue that if the system is so bad why are the farmers willing to supply them? While that would have been a legitimate question perhaps thirty years ago when there were still independent retailers about, but now there are no real alternatives to whom the farmers can sell.
Effectively the major retailers force farmers to supply them, on their terms, knowing that the farmers have nowhere else to sell their produce. Further if the farmers protest or go to the media with their complaints, they get de-listed. The supermarkets stop buying from these farmers, often killing the farmers business.
This also explains why it can be really difficult to find British produce in the shops. The major retailers in tying down the farmers to produce on the supermarkets terms stops the farmers from selling via other markets. While also buying from overseas farmers and growers at the lowest price, often to keep the farmers in their place.
By stopping at least the worse aspects of the major retailers practices, the ombudsman will benefit everyone in the food supply chain. However, the supermarkets are trying to tie up contracts ahead of the service starting. Thus making it look as though the ombudsman was never needed as the ombudsman will only be able to look at new contracts not historic or current ones.
While there are many benefits that the major retailers have brought to food, but equally there have been many seriously adverse aspects to food retailing being controlled by just four chains. While having an ombudsman will not change where people shop nor will it increase the prices consumers pay, it will ensure that the farmers and growers get a fair deal from trading with these giants.
Wednesday 3 February 2010
Cookery on Television
As I was preparing to start this web log, I noticed a real change to the style of of the cookery and food programmes on television. Before the recession the majority of them were “celebrity chefs” cooking restaurant style food that most people would never really cook. Often with ingredients that no one could normally afford. I could never afford to cook a whole Turbot, at £35-£45 each, I would have to be cooking for a really special occasion. It was food as theatre rather than the real cooking that real people do.
While there are many people who do like to cook impressive dishes for friends and family, most people can not afford to cook the food that top end restaurant chefs cook up. There was a gulf between the cooking on television and the food that the majority of people really eat. I suspect that it was highly paid television producers commissioning programmes that reflected what they were eating in restaurants. Well while eating out is great fun, most of the nation does not feast on or in Michelin stared food.
While it may have helped sell advertising, it was not encouraging people to cook at home. As the last time I checked most people live in a house and not a restaurant. Also there were programmes that were trying to tell people what they should eat, all fronted by rich celebrity chefs. Often the tone was rather patronising too; “come on you poor fat people, this is what you should be doing”.
I could see the benefits of what they were trying to do, but it is patronising to have someone who can afford to always buy the best, telling you that you are not doing the best for your family. While as a foodie and lover of good food and good ingredients, I could see what the aim was, but often these programmes were failing. Often quite simply as these chefs were known for their fancy and indulgent cooking, often expensive too, and they were now telling us that we should be cooking and eating better.
Fancy cooking has its place on television, but having the same chefs then telling us that we should be eating better really is not that useful. While I can go around a supermarket and see preprepared foods that I know I can cook better and cheaper, I realise that not everyone will have that skill. I am critical about the education system that fails to give children the all round skills for life beyond school. Personally I think that all children should be taught about food and cooking in school, boys and girls.
Equally I don't think that it is fair that whenever food is mentioned, obesity is not far behind. While I am a firm believer in the calories in, energy out principal of maintaining a healthy weight, as fully supported by science, there is often a blame culture imposed upon fat people;“Your fat because you eat to much”.
While I will be posting latter about obesity and diets latter, I want to keep on the topic of cookery on television. And while television has concentrated upon using celebrity chefs in recent years, occasionally they have looked for a gimmick that has worked. The first that caught my attention was a series called “Two Fat Ladies”. What actually made this work was the passion they both had for food and cooking.
They were two women put together for television, and given the gimmick of a motorbike and side car. When one of them died, television looked for another gimmick to play with. Thus a series called “The Hairy Bikers” emerged. Again it was the personalities of the two presenters that made the original show work. However, for television they looked like a one trick pony, and unlike other television cooks, they were ignored for a while. Then they reappeared as “The Hairy Bakers”.
These irrepressible Northern Bikers, one of them a local lad, have a passion for good food. Not the fancy restaurant food that has been the mainstay of television for far to long, but the type of food that really gets cooked and eaten. There latest series “Mum knows best” has had them visiting real families and discovering the food and recipes that have been passed down the generations.
I had wanted to see the series from the start, but other commitments meant it was only yesterday that I saw the first episode. Well I found it entertaining and informative. The aspect that makes it worthy of telling the world about this, is that there is a lot of good information and recipes on the website too.
This is not a complete history of cooking on television, but while I am not qualified to give that history, the aspect that stands out from this potted history, is that it is real cooks that have longevity. People like Delia Smith, Rick Stein and not the celebrity chefs that are just showing off what they can do. It is the cooks that genuinely want to share the food and the skills that last.
It would be really interesting to hear who your favourite cook is, so lets share that here too.
While there are many people who do like to cook impressive dishes for friends and family, most people can not afford to cook the food that top end restaurant chefs cook up. There was a gulf between the cooking on television and the food that the majority of people really eat. I suspect that it was highly paid television producers commissioning programmes that reflected what they were eating in restaurants. Well while eating out is great fun, most of the nation does not feast on or in Michelin stared food.
While it may have helped sell advertising, it was not encouraging people to cook at home. As the last time I checked most people live in a house and not a restaurant. Also there were programmes that were trying to tell people what they should eat, all fronted by rich celebrity chefs. Often the tone was rather patronising too; “come on you poor fat people, this is what you should be doing”.
I could see the benefits of what they were trying to do, but it is patronising to have someone who can afford to always buy the best, telling you that you are not doing the best for your family. While as a foodie and lover of good food and good ingredients, I could see what the aim was, but often these programmes were failing. Often quite simply as these chefs were known for their fancy and indulgent cooking, often expensive too, and they were now telling us that we should be cooking and eating better.
Fancy cooking has its place on television, but having the same chefs then telling us that we should be eating better really is not that useful. While I can go around a supermarket and see preprepared foods that I know I can cook better and cheaper, I realise that not everyone will have that skill. I am critical about the education system that fails to give children the all round skills for life beyond school. Personally I think that all children should be taught about food and cooking in school, boys and girls.
Equally I don't think that it is fair that whenever food is mentioned, obesity is not far behind. While I am a firm believer in the calories in, energy out principal of maintaining a healthy weight, as fully supported by science, there is often a blame culture imposed upon fat people;“Your fat because you eat to much”.
While I will be posting latter about obesity and diets latter, I want to keep on the topic of cookery on television. And while television has concentrated upon using celebrity chefs in recent years, occasionally they have looked for a gimmick that has worked. The first that caught my attention was a series called “Two Fat Ladies”. What actually made this work was the passion they both had for food and cooking.
They were two women put together for television, and given the gimmick of a motorbike and side car. When one of them died, television looked for another gimmick to play with. Thus a series called “The Hairy Bikers” emerged. Again it was the personalities of the two presenters that made the original show work. However, for television they looked like a one trick pony, and unlike other television cooks, they were ignored for a while. Then they reappeared as “The Hairy Bakers”.
These irrepressible Northern Bikers, one of them a local lad, have a passion for good food. Not the fancy restaurant food that has been the mainstay of television for far to long, but the type of food that really gets cooked and eaten. There latest series “Mum knows best” has had them visiting real families and discovering the food and recipes that have been passed down the generations.
I had wanted to see the series from the start, but other commitments meant it was only yesterday that I saw the first episode. Well I found it entertaining and informative. The aspect that makes it worthy of telling the world about this, is that there is a lot of good information and recipes on the website too.
This is not a complete history of cooking on television, but while I am not qualified to give that history, the aspect that stands out from this potted history, is that it is real cooks that have longevity. People like Delia Smith, Rick Stein and not the celebrity chefs that are just showing off what they can do. It is the cooks that genuinely want to share the food and the skills that last.
It would be really interesting to hear who your favourite cook is, so lets share that here too.
Tuesday 2 February 2010
Meat in your Mince
Mince or ground beef, can be a really versatile ingredient. However, it can be very variable in quality too. As mince can contain a lot of fat and connective tissue often the budget mince ends up being far less value than it first appears.
While I personally do not have much time for the “cant cook, wont cook brigade”, I genuinely feel for folks that do not have the money to buy, cook and eat the best food available. Thus, I have been experimenting with the mince that the majority of people actually buy. While I wish it were different, the majority of people buy their mince from a supermarket. It took me a while to find a decent local butcher after moving to the village, but I did locate one. There I can buy good mince at a price that is equivalent to the supermarkets, but it is in terms of quality that it genuinely wins out.
While the quality is very good, it is not as good as well hung beef. Hanging beef enables the meat to dry out and the natural enzymes in the meat tenderise and add flavour to the meat as it hangs. While traditionally all beef was handled in this way, most retailers do not do this as it adds costs. It is this change that has enabled the major retailers to reduce the price of beef.
While there is an argument that cheaper food helps the poor afford foods they could not otherwise afford. However, this has had other costs particularly in the context of food and cooking, the flavour of the meat. Further, the constant downward pressure on price for meat means that farmers are forced to reduce the welfare standards to reduce costs. Equally, the downward pressure on the price means that the supermarkets will source the meat they sell from wherever it is cheapest. That can lead to meat that would not pass as fit within Britain (or your nation), can enter the food chain. While I am not going into the details here, there have been examples of this happening. This is why knowing where your food comes from can be so important.
While the supermarkets have abused the labelling regulations to hide the fact that people have been buying imported meat, for the most part you can tell where the meat has come from. The real difficulty arises with processed food and ready meals. Last year when the BBC were asking the largest retailer in the UK where the chicken in just one ready meal came from, they were originally told it was British. Then they said it was European but they could not say exactly what country. Finally they acknowledged it was from Thailand. While the label on the ready meal said it was British.
Now in this example there were no health implications, but if there had been a disease outbreak that effected chickens, consumers would never know that they are eating a suspect food. This is why I personally favour cooking from scratch.
With the cheap mince from the supermarket, I have a special way of cooking the mince. I will chop a couple of onions and over a low heat cover the chopped onions with the mince and cook without adding any extra fat. As the ground beef and the onions cook in the fat that is already in the meat, no extra fat or oil is needed. Further as you are slow cooking the meat, any bits of connective tissue that is in the meat is tenderised too.
Once cooked the meat is drained, this removes the excess fat, and this means you end up with less fat than even the lean mince that you will often be charged extra for. Also, as the mince will have been made from meat that has not been hung, this removes the excess moisture from the meat as well. This can be separated and the liquid added back to a dish if needed.
This system of cooking mince can also be used for very lean mince and especially if you are cooking in bulk. My local butcher has a discount for buying five pounds (weight) of mince, and I will cook this all at once and freeze portions ready to add latter. Alternatively I will prepare many dishes and freeze them.
This is why I can not understand why even busy people will waste money on ready meals and processed food. Cooking from scratch is obviously cheaper and more economical. However by cooking in batches like this, it is possible to genuinely save time. As most pre-prepared meals made at home can be cooked straight from the fridge or freezer. Further it allows parents in particular to ensure that there children are getting a balanced diet. Equally it is possible to cook a Chilli con Carne for the adults and one that the children can and will eat.
While this way of cooking mince is a guide to enable folks to cook the budget type ground beef, it is only one of many ways to cook mince. However it is a great starting point and when I have previously shown people how much fat can come off a packet of mince, they have been shocked. I first developed this method when trying to help some friends who wanted to loose weight. It amused them that I as a vegetarian, as I was then, knew more about cooking meat than they did. While you do need some fat to add flavour to meat, any meat, I would suggest trying this and see for yourself just how much fat and how little meat is in your mince.
While I personally do not have much time for the “cant cook, wont cook brigade”, I genuinely feel for folks that do not have the money to buy, cook and eat the best food available. Thus, I have been experimenting with the mince that the majority of people actually buy. While I wish it were different, the majority of people buy their mince from a supermarket. It took me a while to find a decent local butcher after moving to the village, but I did locate one. There I can buy good mince at a price that is equivalent to the supermarkets, but it is in terms of quality that it genuinely wins out.
While the quality is very good, it is not as good as well hung beef. Hanging beef enables the meat to dry out and the natural enzymes in the meat tenderise and add flavour to the meat as it hangs. While traditionally all beef was handled in this way, most retailers do not do this as it adds costs. It is this change that has enabled the major retailers to reduce the price of beef.
While there is an argument that cheaper food helps the poor afford foods they could not otherwise afford. However, this has had other costs particularly in the context of food and cooking, the flavour of the meat. Further, the constant downward pressure on price for meat means that farmers are forced to reduce the welfare standards to reduce costs. Equally, the downward pressure on the price means that the supermarkets will source the meat they sell from wherever it is cheapest. That can lead to meat that would not pass as fit within Britain (or your nation), can enter the food chain. While I am not going into the details here, there have been examples of this happening. This is why knowing where your food comes from can be so important.
While the supermarkets have abused the labelling regulations to hide the fact that people have been buying imported meat, for the most part you can tell where the meat has come from. The real difficulty arises with processed food and ready meals. Last year when the BBC were asking the largest retailer in the UK where the chicken in just one ready meal came from, they were originally told it was British. Then they said it was European but they could not say exactly what country. Finally they acknowledged it was from Thailand. While the label on the ready meal said it was British.
Now in this example there were no health implications, but if there had been a disease outbreak that effected chickens, consumers would never know that they are eating a suspect food. This is why I personally favour cooking from scratch.
With the cheap mince from the supermarket, I have a special way of cooking the mince. I will chop a couple of onions and over a low heat cover the chopped onions with the mince and cook without adding any extra fat. As the ground beef and the onions cook in the fat that is already in the meat, no extra fat or oil is needed. Further as you are slow cooking the meat, any bits of connective tissue that is in the meat is tenderised too.
Once cooked the meat is drained, this removes the excess fat, and this means you end up with less fat than even the lean mince that you will often be charged extra for. Also, as the mince will have been made from meat that has not been hung, this removes the excess moisture from the meat as well. This can be separated and the liquid added back to a dish if needed.
This system of cooking mince can also be used for very lean mince and especially if you are cooking in bulk. My local butcher has a discount for buying five pounds (weight) of mince, and I will cook this all at once and freeze portions ready to add latter. Alternatively I will prepare many dishes and freeze them.
This is why I can not understand why even busy people will waste money on ready meals and processed food. Cooking from scratch is obviously cheaper and more economical. However by cooking in batches like this, it is possible to genuinely save time. As most pre-prepared meals made at home can be cooked straight from the fridge or freezer. Further it allows parents in particular to ensure that there children are getting a balanced diet. Equally it is possible to cook a Chilli con Carne for the adults and one that the children can and will eat.
While this way of cooking mince is a guide to enable folks to cook the budget type ground beef, it is only one of many ways to cook mince. However it is a great starting point and when I have previously shown people how much fat can come off a packet of mince, they have been shocked. I first developed this method when trying to help some friends who wanted to loose weight. It amused them that I as a vegetarian, as I was then, knew more about cooking meat than they did. While you do need some fat to add flavour to meat, any meat, I would suggest trying this and see for yourself just how much fat and how little meat is in your mince.
Cottage Pie Recipe
Recipe
Two Medium Onions Roughly chopped
500g 1lb 2oz Mince (Ground Beef)
1 or 2 cloves of Garlic, Optional
5ml 1 tspn dried mixed herbs
One large carrot, grated.
600g 1lb 4oz floury potatoes
A knob of butter
145ml ¼ pint Milk
Salt & Pepper
Method
Chop a couple of onions and cover the bottom of a thick based pan, set over a low heat. A simmering setting.
Crumble the mince (ground beef) over the onions.
Place the garlic on top of the mince.
Sprinkle the dried herbs over the mince, do not stir and cover the pan with a lid.
After fifteen to twenty minutes give the mince a stir. The meat at the base of the pan will be starting to cook and releasing its fat. Cover and continue cooking for 15 to 20 minutes
Drain the mince through a colander, reserving the cooking liquids. If the cooking liquids are stored in the fridge, the fat will solidify and can be removed leaving the stock behind for use latter.
Peel and cut the potatoes into even sized pieces and boil until cooked and soft.
Add the grated carrot to the mince and half fill a baking dish.
Mash the potatoes adding the milk and butter. Add salt to the mash.
Season the mince with salt and pepper, and cover the mince with the mashed potato.
Into a pre heated oven at 130°C/250°F/Gas mark ½ and cook for one hour. This slow cooking will release the moisture from the carrot and slow cook the meat breaking down the tougher parts of the meat too.
Finish off by grilling the top for 5 to 10 minutes until golden brown.
Two Medium Onions Roughly chopped
500g 1lb 2oz Mince (Ground Beef)
1 or 2 cloves of Garlic, Optional
5ml 1 tspn dried mixed herbs
One large carrot, grated.
600g 1lb 4oz floury potatoes
A knob of butter
145ml ¼ pint Milk
Salt & Pepper
Method
Chop a couple of onions and cover the bottom of a thick based pan, set over a low heat. A simmering setting.
Crumble the mince (ground beef) over the onions.
Place the garlic on top of the mince.
Sprinkle the dried herbs over the mince, do not stir and cover the pan with a lid.
After fifteen to twenty minutes give the mince a stir. The meat at the base of the pan will be starting to cook and releasing its fat. Cover and continue cooking for 15 to 20 minutes
Drain the mince through a colander, reserving the cooking liquids. If the cooking liquids are stored in the fridge, the fat will solidify and can be removed leaving the stock behind for use latter.
Peel and cut the potatoes into even sized pieces and boil until cooked and soft.
Add the grated carrot to the mince and half fill a baking dish.
Mash the potatoes adding the milk and butter. Add salt to the mash.
Season the mince with salt and pepper, and cover the mince with the mashed potato.
Into a pre heated oven at 130°C/250°F/Gas mark ½ and cook for one hour. This slow cooking will release the moisture from the carrot and slow cook the meat breaking down the tougher parts of the meat too.
Finish off by grilling the top for 5 to 10 minutes until golden brown.
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