July A Year of Seasonal Cookery
Kathy Cockcroft – The Learning Place
A Year of Seasonal Cookery - July We hope you are enjoying reading our e-books. This time we are going to be looking at the month of July. As well as simply reading the content, there will also be links to web sites and videos for you to watch. We hope you enjoy working through this book; hopefully the sun is shining, tennis fans will be able to watch uninterrupted play at Wimbledon and even those of you who are not tennis fans can enjoy strawberries and cream. July July is full of fresh summer tastes. At this time of year the vegetables and fruit require little or no cooking so new methods of cookery are what we are looking at most. There is also the urge to reproduce those recipes from different countries such as Spain with their wonderful chorizo, Italy's perfect pasta dishes, Moroccan dishes seeped in spices and served with couscous right back to the taste of the great British strawberry in a classical Eton Mess. Seasonal Vegetables During July you can enjoy most of the vegetables that we have already considered in the first half of the year. In the second half of the year we are going to consider vegetables which are at their peak. Cucumber Cucumbers are juicy, cooling and perfect in salads or simply added to a cheese sandwich. Cucumbers are the fourth most cultivated vegetable in the world and known to be one of the best foods for your body's overall health, often referred to as a superfood. Cucumbers are often sprayed with pesticides so it is important to buy organic or even better, grow them yourself. Why not try a recipe that is packed with seasonal vegetables – Cucumber, Broad Bean, Tuna and Spinach Salad (this can be found in the July recipe folder).
Curly Lettuce This wavy lettuce adds body, flavour and decorative appeal to any salad that needs to make a statement. Try making a very simple salad with soft herbs like chervil, basil and parsley and dressing with a perfect vinaigrette.
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Broad Beans Fresh broad beans are sweet and delicious pod beans with a smooth creamy texture. They only have a short natural season during the summer, so are often dried, canned or frozen to preserve them. Fresh beans are more popular than the dried variety, which tend to be quite floury. Young thin beans are eaten pods and all, but larger, older broad beans need to have the tough pods removed. Broad beans are also called fava beans, particularly in the US. If you would like to have a go at growing your own broad beans, watch the video How to grow Broad Beans which can be found in the July video showcase. Beetroot Cooked beetroot is full to bursting with nutrients and health benefits and is so easy to cook with, to add to salads, make soups with and, best of all, to bake indulgent cakes with – while still being a little bit healthy! Deliciously versatile, and adding a delightful splash of colour to a wide variety of recipes – even chocolate cake! Have a look at our recipe for Chocolate Beetroot Cake (which can be found in the July recipe folder).
Pork Due to changes in pig breeding and butchery techniques over the past 30 years the fat content of lean pork meat has reduced from 30% to just 4% on average. In additional, approximately 50% of the fat it does contain is heart-healthy unsaturated fat. Therefore eating pork meat is definitely a healthy option, especially if you’re watching your weight. Pork belly is the perfect joint when cooking on a budget. Check out the video How to make a roast belly of pork which can be found in the July video showcase. Seasonal Fruit The use of British fruits is still quite restricted in May as the exciting soft summer fruits still need to absorb the beautiful British sunshine to improve their texture and sweet tastes. However strawberries are making their debut and the tart taste of the gooseberry is also at its best. Bramley Apples Look for firm fruit, with no blemishes, bruising or wrinkles. Don't be fooled by a very shiny skin - many apples are waxed to make them look good. And don't discard an apple with dry brown patches ('scald') - it's just the result of overexposure to sunlight and won't affect the quality.
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Apricots An apricot's colour is not always a reliable guide to flavour, but steer clear of very pale varieties, and always avoid wrinkled or blemished skins. The flesh should feel moderately firm with some give. Gooseberries Early in the season they are bright green, with a veined effect on the skin, and quite hard and tart - they are best for cooking with, in particular to make the classic English pudding, gooseberry fool. Strawberries To enjoy strawberries at their fragrant, juicy and flavourful best it's worth holding out for the British season - if you want to eat them super-ripe, pick-your-own is best. Raspberries As raspberries are very delicate, try not to wash them unless absolutely necessary. Just pick off any bits of stalk or leaf. If they must be washed don't put them directly under the flow of the tap, as they'll disintegrate. Gently pat them dry with kitchen paper. Blackcurrants Look for plump, firm currants with shiny, unbroken skins
Blueberries Look for plump, indigo blueberries of a fairly uniform size, with a slight silvery bloom. If you're buying a punnet, check that the underside isn't stained - that means the lower level of berries have been crushed. See recipe for Bursting Berry Muffins (situated in the July recipe folder). Cherries Buy plump, shiny cherries that have their stalks attached and look for fruit that is dark red, firm but not hard. Store cherries in an aerated plastic bag for 2-3 days. See recipe for English Cherry Cobbler (situated in the July recipe folder) and watch the video on How To Pit Cherries Without A Cherry Pitter – this can be found in the July video showcase. Peach A ripe peach will have a fragrant aroma, and will be yellow around the stem. It should feel firm but will yield slightly when it's gently squeezed. Avoid any peaches that feel hard, or that have bruising or mould. 30/06/2013
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Fish and Seafood in season during July This month you can continue to buy many of this fish mentioned earlier in the year. This month we are going to have a look at making Kipper Pate. Sea bream A firm-fleshed white fish, it has succulent flesh that's ideal for grilling, baking and frying. Red snapper or sea bass make good substitutes
Herring Herring is perhaps best cooked in white wine or light vinegar - the acid flavours suit the rich flesh. Also good scored, brushed with butter and grilled.
Kippers These are smoked herrings that have been split and put into brine before smoking. See recipe for Kipper Pate (which can be found in the July recipe folder)
Hake Hake are deep-sea members of the cod family and are popular throughout Europe and America. Hake is quite a mild fish, having a more subtle flavour than cod. Mullet
Reddish grey in colour with quite a strong taste.
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Spices and their uses Spices have always been valued for their ability to add flavour, colour and aroma to dishes, but before the age of refrigeration they were also an important means of food preservation, and in some cultures their medicinal and antiseptic characteristics are thought of highly. Chilli Fresh chillies are a wonderful ingredient but if you want a deeper, more intense heat to your dish than only dried chillies will do. Chillies are perfect for Mexican dishes, curries and anything you want to add a kick to. Please be careful when using chillies, whether fresh or dried they are very strong so either wear plastic gloves while preparing or wash your hands thoroughly after preparing, because if you touch your eyes or face after using chillies they will burn. Cinnamon A fragrant spice which comes from the inner bark of a tropical tree. You can buy this either ground into a fine powder or as sticks. This has a rich musky flavour can be added to meat curries and stews., however cinnamon is more commonly used in sweet dishes such as cookies and apple pie. Cardamom This spice comes in the form of small green pods with little black seeds inside. They have quite a strong flavour and are used to perfume rice. They are also used crushed in curries and are very popular in desserts. Cloves This is a versatile spice that can be used in drinks and in sweet and savoury dishes. The pungent, sweet flavour works brilliantly with meats such as beef or venison, as well as fruits such as apples, oranges and plums and pickled vegetables. It gives its lovely flavour to baked ham when the ham has been spiked with the cloves. This is available as ground cloves which will lose their flavour quicker or in its full form which will just be called cloves. Coriander Seeds
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The small, creamy brown seeds of the coriander plant give dishes a warm, aromatic and slightly citrus flavour totally different to fresh coriander leaves. They are commonly used in Indian cooking as well as featuring in Asian, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dishes. These seeds love to be roasted in a pan before they are crushed. Coriander seeds are also available as ground coriander. 5
Cumin Seeds These seeds are small and brown with a mild, sweet, aromatic flavour which is often used in curries. Like the coriander seeds their flavour becomes stronger when toasted. Fennel Seeds A dried seed that comes from the fennel herb, fennel seeds look like cumin seeds, only greener, and have an aniseed flavour and a warm, sweet aroma. They are also used in spice mixes such as Chinese five spice. Fennel seeds work very well with roast pork, tomato sauces and even pastries and biscuits. People in India use them after dinner as a mouth freshener and a stomach settler. Five Spice Five Spice is a blend of fennel, star anise, cloves, cinnamon, and pepper that the Chinese use to flavour dishes like Peking duck and spare ribs. Great rubbed on any meat.
Mustard Seeds These seeds are small and round, they come in black, brown and yellow. They are often dropped into hot oil at the beginning of making a curry to give it a pungent, nutty flavour. They are really good for pickles and spicy chutneys. Nutmeg Nutmeg is the 'nut', while mace is the surrounding lacy 'aril'. Nutmeg has a warm, spicy aroma and flavour. It is great with cream, cheese and spinach. Grate a bit in to make your Bolognese taste great. It is used widely in sweet dishes such as cakes, biscuits and Christmas puddings. This can be bought ground or in its full form.
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Saffron Saffron is found on the stigma of a type of crocus, saffron threads have a pungent and distinctive aroma and flavour - slightly bitter, a little musty, and with a suggestion of something floral. Its strong yellow colour and aromatic flavour are strong which means you don’t need much of it which is just as well because it is very expensive. It is used in a lot of Middle Eastern cookery and risottos. Paprika Paprika is the ground bright red powder from sweet and hot dried peppers. It's a favourite ingredient in European cookery:
In Austria and Hungary paprika is a main flavouring in meat stews such as goulash. Eastern Europeans use it to flavour venison stews and soured cabbage and other vegetable dishes. In Spain, Portugal and Mexico paprika is used to flavour chorizo. Portuguese cooks use paprika to flavour fish stews.
Spanish smoked paprika, which adds a delicious smoky note to meat or vegetable dishes, is available in supermarkets in the UK. Star Anise Star anise is one of the central spices in Chinese cooking. It has a strong anise flavour, with a liquorice-like aroma. The dominant flavour in Chinese five-spice powder, star anise is also used to flavour alcoholic drinks such as Pastis. The whole spice is an attractive eight-pointed star. When ground, star anise is used in baking or with duckling, or the whole spice in a slow-cooking casserole. Vanilla The sun-dried seed pod of a type of climbing orchid, vanilla has an inimitable soft, sweet fragrance and flavour. Long, black, thin and wrinkled, vanilla pods contain thousands of tiny black seeds, which are used to flavour mainly sweet dishes, and go particularly well with chocolate. In this form vanilla can be expensive, but well worth it and once you have tasted vanilla used in this way there is no comparison to cheaper essences. The presence of tiny black specks in a vanilla-flavoured dish is confirmation that real vanilla has been used.
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This month’s video showcase Make sure you have some headphones handy and watch some of the experts in July’s video showcase.
Gardening Tip
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Sow salads little and often - in short runs every fortnight is ideal to ensure a continuous crop.
Sow main crop carrots, peas, spring cabbages, turnips, chicory.
Plant out brassicas such as Brussels sprouts, winter cabbages and sprouting broccoli and grow short term crops such as lettuces and radishes between them to maximise the space.
Plant leeks for winter harvesting - buy them as plantlets from the centre if you haven't grown your own.
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