SHELF TALK Preserves producer experiments with barrel-ageing festive chutney By Tom Dale
a stronger boozy flavour from the beer and wine which the barrel previously held.” Founder and director of Ginger Beard’s Preserves Harry Calvert said that this was the first time he had barrel aged chutney, and believes it to be the first product of its kind in the UK. “It’s been a dream of mine since we first started making this chutney in 2015,” he said. “We have always been involved with the local beer scene, so it feels like a natural step forward.” He said that after initial tasting, the product had already begun taking on flavour from the barrel. “There are hints of oak and red wine, as well as a proper boozy tone from the beer the barrel previously held.” It seems Calvert has caught the barrelageing bug as he now plans to make this an annual tradition, as well as barrel-ageing a wholegrain beer mustard in an old imperial stout barrel and a fermented hot sauce in a former sour beer cask. “It’s slow food, but we reckon that, going on the samples from the current chutney, the flavour is going to be bonkers and it will be well worth the wait,” he said. The barrel-aged Christmas chutney is available to pre-order now, as is Ginger Beard’s usual Fig & Sour Cherry Christmas Chutney, and will be ready to ship on 12th November. The barrel-aged chutney will cost £3.29 per 284g pot wholesale and is available in cases of six. Calvert reports that around 30% of the expected 800 jars have already been sold. gingerbeardspreserves.co.uk
Bristol-based Ginger Beard’s Preserves has been using barrel-aged beer in its Christmas chutney since it first launched the product in 2015, but now the producer is taking things a step further. The award-winning brand is barrel ageing 240g of its Fig & Sour Cherry Christmas Chutney in beer barrels from brewery Wiper and True which also provided the beer that went into making the festive chutney. The preserve is now being aged for between two and four months, and the producer said it “expects the chutney to take on a range of complex flavours from the oak barrel as well as
Seasoned Pioneers has refreshed its gift box range with new packaging and branding. The collection of 19 lines includes the new Summer BBQ, Worldwide Salt and Herbal Foot-spa variants. RRPs from £11.95 to £26.95. seasonedpioneers.com Ready-to-bake cookie dough brand Doughlicious has rebranded its Lite Bites range, creating Snackable Cookie Dough in six flavours, including new Chocolate Peppermint. The refreshed range is organic, gluten free and vegan. Pitched as a healthier sweet treat, they come in 56g resealable bags. doughlicious.co.uk Claiming to be the first-to-market alcoholic kombucha is Boozy Boocha. The vodkainfused probiotic drink is aimed at a new type of consumer: “the healthy hedonist”. The 4% ABV drink comes in two flavours – Cheeky Pineapple and Berry Mischievous. boozyboocha.co.uk
Counter points Bread Paley Photography
A new English sparkling wine – Boco by House Coren – is unlike other British bubblies on the market as it is made using the Charmat method. Also known as the Italian method, it is distinguished from Champagnestyle wines as the final fizzinducing fermentation does not happen in-bottle. House Coren wanted to release a Charmat method wine as it believes the style showcases the “bright, fruity freshness” found in English grapes. It also offers a more affordable alternative to the traditional method sparkling wines already on the market. The name for the wine was inspired by Old Sussex regional dialect, ‘boco’ derived from the French ‘beaucoup’ meaning ‘lots of/more.’ housecoren.co.uk
WHAT’S NEW
Food writer and former deli owner Glynn Christian offers up some category-specific conversation starters to sharpen your sales technique.
• Bread made without a raising agent – unleavened – is one of our oldest foods. • To leaven means to aerate dough or batter with yeast or a chemical, like baking soda. • White bread is not ‘bad for you’ in a varied diet. • Never cut a roll, English muffin, croissant or scones, but pull apart. • Most grains contain no gluten and must be mixed with wheat flour to make a yeasted bread. • Soda breads can be made with soft, low-gluten or gluten-free flours, and use baking soda and an acidic
Bread made without a raising agent – unleavened – is one of our oldest foods
liquid, which works from the moment they are mixed. Baking powder works with sweet/non-acidic liquids and does not work until in the heat of an oven. • Do not add salt or sugar directly to fresh yeast as these inhibit it.
This is an extract from Glynn Christian’s book Taste! How to Choose the Best Deli Ingredients, published by Grub Street
Vol.22 Issue 8 | September-October 2021
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