November 2009
Big cheese!
Milk Link, which claims to be the UK's largest cheese manufacturer and leading dairy co-operative, has opened a new, £1.4 million speciality cheese packing unit at its Reece's Creamery in Malpas, Cheshire.
The unit specialises in cutting and packing traditional farmhouse cheeses from a wide range of small scale producers. The purpose-built facility combines the expertise of Creamery staff in handling crumbly territorial and farmhouse cheeses with state of the art cutting and packing technology.
Many of the cheeses - ranging from mature cheddars to crumbly Cheshires - are matured in rounds and wrapped in cheesecloth while others arrive in traditional wooden boxes. Milk Link's investment means that it can cut, pack and label these cheeses for major retail customers such as Waitrose whilst supporting Britain's small scale cheese producers.
 | The facility operates in four sections - preparing the cheeses, which involves removing the different types of covering in which they arrive; using specialist equipment to cut the cheeses depending on their shape; packing the cheese once it has been cut; and stacking the finished product ready for distribution. This latest investment is integral to Milk Link's newly created Speciality Cheese Business Unit. Sitting alongside its Cheddar business, Milk Link's Speciality Cheese business produces a variety of crumbly and hard territorial cheeses such as Stilton, Cheshire and Red Leicester. |
Clinging on!
Oysters have been discovered in the Firth of Forth, 50 years after they were declared extinct in the area, opening up possibilities that farming may once again become commercially viable.
Dr Liz Ashton a researcher from the University of Stirling found two of the molluscs 100 metres apart, at low tide, on the south side of the estuary, while investigating the feasibility of restoring native oysters to the river. She says that more are likely to be discovered in deeper water.
 | They were officially declared extinct in the Firth in 1957. In its heyday in the early 19th century the oyster fishery there produced 30 million a year, until over harvesting caused numbers to collapse by the 1920s. The discovery has major implications for the fisheries sector in Scotland as the research being undertaken is looking at the feasibility, technical aspects and regulatory framework to enable oyster farming to become viable in the Firth once again. Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) explains the research is part of its Species Action Framework, a five year programme to restore oyster populations in areas where they were previously abundant. Funding for the work comes from the Scottish Aquaculture Research Forum and the Crown Estate. |
Green label whisky!
Scotch whisky distillers' commitment to environmental sustainability has been recognised recently at a leading business awards ceremony.
The Scottish Council (Development & Industry) Award for Excellence in Environmental Sustainability was presented to The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), following the launch of the whisky industry's environment strategy earlier this year.
The first of its kind in Scotland, and described as 'pioneering' by the Scottish Government, the industry-wide strategy commits Scotch Whisky distillers to cut their use of fossil fuels by 80 per cent, an annual saving of over 750,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2050.
Among other measures, the industry also aims to reduce significantly the average weight of packaging used, eliminate sending waste to landfill sites, source future whisky casks only from sustainable oak forests and to maintain the highest standards of water management.
The Scottish Natural Heritage sponsored award was presented at a Gala Dinner in Edinburgh, and aims to identify the Scottish organisation making the biggest contribution to sustainability and improving environmental performance.
Julie Hesketh-Laird, SWA's Director of operational and technical affairs, said "Scotch whisky is synonymous with the Scottish environment and the industry's reputation is
built on a history of excellence - in our raw materials, our production methods and our brands. This award recognises the commitment and ambition of Scotch whisky distillers to environmental sustainability and demonstrates industry leadership on this issue.
Pizza packs a punch in UK market
The pizza sector in the UK is now worth £2 billion annually and is a model for the way the global market will develop in the future.
A new report from Euromonitor International (info@euromonitor.com) says there is increasing differentiation between the premium or ‘traditional style' products served in Full Service Restaurants (FSR) and the ‘value' pizzas offered by the casual dining, home delivery and takeaway outlets. The latter are coming under increasing pressure from better quality frozen and chilled offerings from supermarkets, as well as independent outlets.
Premium FSR brands, such as PizzaExpress, Ask and Zizzi have recorded steady growth in the past five years, taking share from the market leader Pizza Hut. All three are owned by Gondola Holdings which now accounts for 30 per cent of ‘chained' pizza sales in the UK - £390 million.
As the recession deepened sales of dedicated home delivery and takeaway pizza outlets soared as more people ‘eat in'. Sales grew by 8 per cent in 2008 to £800 million while demand for chilled and frozen products expanded by 4 per cent to £750 million.
Domino's dominates the take home market with 30 per cent share and saw sales grow 11 per cent in 2008, a trend which has continued into 2009 with third quarter sales in 2009 up 10 per cent.
Historic Meaty Mouthfuls
A new recipe booklet, published by EBLEX, the English Beef and Lamb Executive, aims to revive long forgotten English dishes using locally sourced meat and some unfamiliar ingredients.
Food historian Ivan Day has revisited recipes dating back as far as the late mediaeval period in order to revive a range of traditional beef and lamb classics for the booklet.
"English food is the most misunderstood and maligned of all the European culinary traditions. Most chefs and cooks look to other cultures for inspiration and new ideas but our own past is full of gastronomic riches, most of them now forgotten," he says.
| EBLEX has delved into this little known area and developed a series of beef and lamb recipes that show people how to cook these authentic historical dishes for the modern palate. The selected recipes include Beef Braised in Beer and Devonshire Squab Pie, also Orange Roast Beef stuffed with Spinach and Herbs, from the reign of Charles II, and Minted Lamb Chops with Cucumber Relish, which can be traced back to the Georgian period. The research also looked at traditional regional dishes which have survived including Cumberland Tatie Pot, from the North-West of England, and the Autumnal Beef and Chestnut Casserole, which originated in the Southern Counties. For more information, visit http://www.eblex.org.uk/ (215) |  |
