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Cheese of the Week – Valentines

This cheese is made by a tiny family owned fromagerie Les Cateliers in Buchy, in the Seine-Maritime region in Normandy.

Neufchâtel is a soft, slightly crumbly, mold-ripened cheese made in the Neufachatel-en-Bray. One of the oldest kinds of cheese in France, its production is believed to date back to the 6th century. It looks similar to Camembert, with a dry, white, edible rind, but the taste is saltier and sharper. It has the aroma and taste of mushrooms. Unlike other soft-white-rinded cheeses, Neufchâtel has a grainy texture. It is most usually sold in heart shapes. It wasn’t originally heart shaped, however, the heart-shaped design wasn’t invented for St. Valentine’s Day, it did come about through love…During the Hundred Years’ War (1337 – 1453), the French dairymaids of Neufchatel naturally fell for their English occupiers.

Consequently they started to mould the cheese into a heart shape to give as gifts. It is typically matured for 8–10 weeks.  £6.25

Godminster heart shaped smooth and creamy organic cheese, this Vintage Bruton Beauty is a multi-award-winning cheddar covered in burgundy wax. The cheddar is made to a traditional 90-year-old recipe and matured for up to 12 months.  It has a rich depth of flavour with a wonderfully smooth texture. £8.50

Selection of Winter Tomatoes

This beautiful selection of winter tomatoes are perfect for adding to salads, their colour and shape make a very impressive tomato platter.

Mar Azul (Marazul) a delicious variety of tomato with delicate blue, purple and pink tones with a fruity flavour, juicy with a scent of plum and green tomato.

Black Plum tomatoes with a rich, smoky-sweet flavour, ideal for making tomato sauce, however they are juicy enough to be eaten fresh. These tomatoes are very sweet with a meaty texture with few seeds.

Marmande tomatoes – a ribbed tomato, fleshy and juicy. Slightly tart, but sweet and fragrant. They will arrive with a green-ting, don’t wait for them to turn completely red; Marmande tomatoes ripen from the inside out, so some will remain slightly green on the outside even at their ripest.

Seville Oranges

We are coming to the end of the season so if you want to make one more batch of this delicious Marmalade you need to come in this week or better yet just ring and we can put them away for you.

Did you know you can freeze them whole for up to a year. So stock up whilst you can. We have put together a bag including recipe, oranges and lemons you will just need to add sugar and jam jars. Enough to make approx 5 jars.

Seville oranges are a bitter variety that are a cross between a pomelo and a mandarin, Seville oranges earned their name from Seville, Spain, where they were introduced from Asia during the 12th century and became a symbol for the city. There are more than 14,000 bitter orange trees that line the streets of Seville.

We have to say nothing beats homemade marmalade, if you haven’t tried it please have a go you will be a convert.

Fancy entering a marmalade completion Check out the British marmalade awards, this prestigious competition has entries from all over the world.

https://www.dalemain.com/competition-entry

Antipasti

If you love a pickle onion you must try these extra special Italian Borettane onions in balsamic vinegar, they are so moreish. £3.50 per pot

Chickpeas are a rich source of fibre, along with vitamins and minerals like manganese, copper, folate, and iron, which makes our houmous perfect for snacking on or adding to sandwiches. It took lots of tasting to find our perfect houmous, our suppliers based in Lancashire, a family run business since 1900, are suppliers of fine food and cheeses, their houmous is a simple blend of chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Our customers agree with us that this is definitely the best tasting houmous, great for dipping and layering on sandwiches £3.30 per pot 330g 

Roscoff Onion

We have new season Roscoff onions this week, full of flavour and slightly sweet,

You’ve heard of rosé wine, but this is a rosé vegetable! Totally versatile, the Roscoff Onion can be used as a vegetable, a side-dish or as a condiment, raw or cooked. They are celebrated not just for their colour, but also for their unique flavour, their high vitamin C content and their long shelf-life. They won’t be around long you can add them to your box for £7.50, they come in a 1kg rope and will keep really well hung in a cool location.

Potted shrimp

Potted shrimps is a traditional English dish made with brown shrimp flavored with nutmeg and baked in butter. The butter acts as a preservative.  Regarded as a delicacy, it is traditionally eaten with bread. £5.50 per pot

We also have our usual fresh fare of Salmon, Cod, Plaice, Sea Bass, Tuna, Scallops, Smoked Haddock, Manx Kippers and Dressed Crab on our Seafood counter this week. To order go to our Fresh Fish section or ring the shop on 01457 852456.

This week’s Fruit

Navel oranges are in both boxes this week, Navel are a winter orange with thick, bright orange skin and sweet, juicy flesh. They are perfect for this time of year for an extra boost of vitamin C.

English Braeburn apples have been exceptionally good this year, probably one of the best looking apples, half green and half reddish. They have a deep apple flavour with sweetness, good background acidity and a slightly spicy taste.