Shop Watch
Rose Lloyd, an accomplished cookery writer and friend of our website, has agreed to be out and about on our behalf and then inform us what are really good quality items to go for.
This means a great deal to me personally as over the years I have witnessed some truly wonderful ingredients that get delisted because not enough people know about them. Smaller suppliers are often ousted by the big guys who have the marketing match clout but often inferior products.
Rose's Shop Watch: Parmesan Cheese
Parmesan Cheese
Marks and Spencer
Why? The best Parmesan.
A true Parmesan cheese is called Parmigiano Reggiano as other cheeses masquerading as Parmesan are officially known as “grana,” but they do not have the unique coarse, crunchy yet buttery quality of the real thing. The Parmigiano Reggiano sold in a wedge at M&S has been made in the Canossa Valley in Reggio Emilia - one of the most important Italian provinces for the production of the famous cheese. It has been matured for over 24 months, and carries the highest quality standard “Extra” which is an...
Rose's Shop Watch: Herbs
Herbs
Morrisons
Why? The freshest bunches of herbs.
Can you imagine buying big fat bunches of fresh herbs, as if they had just been picked from the garden? Morrisons sell their herbs in bunches, and they are kept like fresh flowers in water with a gentle cool mist being sprayed over them to keep them from wilting. The choice is fantastic: dill, sage, flat leaf and curly parsley, thyme, coriander, mint, chives, basil, rosemary, tarragon, oregano, as well as fresh herb mixes to use as a bouquet garni, and even more surprisingly, samphire. Picking up a really...
Rose's Shop Watch: Flowers
Tesco - a great selection of flowers.
Rose's Shop Watch: Beef Dripping
Beef Dripping - makes the best roast potatoes.