What a treat-filled month for food and drink, says Judith Taylor, our voice of farming from Ludham
When I think of July, village fetes, barbeques, picnics, the seaside, elderflower cordial, berries, ice cream, delicious sweet smelling home grown tomatoes and the corn harvest all come to mind... and hopefully this year there will be some sunshine too.
Elderflower: I love a glass of chilled elderflower cordial – so refreshing on a hot day and very easy to make. Put 900g of Silver Spoon granulated sugar in a bowl and pour over three litres of boiling water. Stir and leave to cool. Add two sliced lemons, 50g of citric acid and 25 freshly gathered rinsed elderflower heads. Cover with a tea towel and leave for 24 hours, stirring every so often. Strain through muslin and pour into sterilised glass bottles.
pork pies: Bray’s Cottage Pork Pies are fantastic for a summer picnic. They are lovingly made by Sarah Pettegree and her team in a converted flint hay barn overlooking the sea, between Cley and Blakeney. Sarah uses only the very best cuts of pork (no off-cuts allowed) from outdoor pigs reared in north Norfolk, with a little quality cured bacon giving each pie a distinctive smoky tone. Then she adds her secret blend of herbs. Bray’s Cottage Pork Pies are available in a range of flavours including onion marmalade (my favourite), chilli, chorizo and the latest award-winner, the naked.
For stockists around the county, see www.perfectpie.com
afternoon tea: If you’ve ever fancied learning more about how to make those amazingly mouth-watering little afternoon tea cakes, such as madelines, chocolate and hazelnut delice, choux pastry cream puffs and lemon and blueberry verrines, book yourself a place on BBC TV Masterchef finalist Tim Kinnaird’s Bake the Perfect Afternoon Tea course. It’s on July 8, 9am-2pm, at his Macarons and More production kitchen on the Hellesdon Hall Industrial Estate in Norwich, which has a dedicated cookery school area.
See Tim’s website for details on this and his other tempting cookery courses; www.macaronsandmore.com
ICE CREAM: Lakenham Creamery in Norwich has been making ice cream since 1921 and has 27 gold medals to boot. Try some of their summery double strawberry or raspberries and cream flavours - definitely ice cream with the wow factor! They also make a range of flavours called Eileen’s Ice Cream which is suitable for diabetics.
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