- Cooking News

The Best of British

This is a celebration of British food at its very best. We reflect on our farmers, fishermen, food producers, butchers – in fact everybody and everything involved in making Britain proud of its industry and the food it brings to our plates. As food lovers, we love British food.


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Passionate about quality

 

We share British Food Fortnight’s simple intentions … to encourage people to discover more of the diverse and delicious food made in Britain and to actively seek it out on menus and in shopping aisles.

In doing so we hope to secure a robust market for seasonal British food that makes it viable for farmers and producers to continue to invest in farming and domestic food production because they feel confident in consumer demand for their product.

This is our passion.

Why buy British

 

British food is produced to the highest environmental and animal welfare standards in the world. With four distinct seasons, a wonderfully varied topography and a vibrant farming community, we have a diverse and delicious range of food. There is much to discover and enjoy!

Some key facts:

  • British food travels less far from farm to shop so has a lower carbon footprint than most imported foods.

  • Eating British fruits and vegetables in season is good for you. Foods in season contain the nutrients, minerals and trace elements that our bodies need at particular times of the year.

  • British meat is produced to some of the highest welfare standards in the world: no growth-promoting hormones are allowed and any antibiotics are administered only under veterinary direction.
  • Britain’s pig farmers operate by UK law to standards of welfare that are some of the highest in the world.
  • Britain’s beef and sheep industries are the envy of the world; breeding livestock and genetics from our native breeds are much sought after by farmers in other countries. Protect our great native livestock industry by buying the real thing, not an imported substitute.
  • Britain’s cattle passport system means that each animal can be uniquely traced to its dam (mother) and place of birth.
  • British chicken is reared to some of the highest standards in the world.
  • You will be supporting the economy; everyone from the farmer, to those who work in food processing and the shops, pubs and restaurants selling the food.
  • You will play your part in protecting our environment as much of Britain’s food is produced in a sustainable way that enhances the countryside.
  • You will have the assurance of knowing what you are eating. Britain has some of the most robust food assurance and traceability systems in the world.
  • No sheep; no cows; no grains: no countryside!

 

From the sea

 

British fish are produced to some of the highest welfare standards and environmental care in the world.

Fish and seafood are low in calories, high in protein and rich in vitamins, minerals and natural oils. Oil-rich fish such as herring and mackerel are rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, which have been shown to have a lowering effect on cholesterol. They are also a great source of vitamins A and D.

When buying fresh fish:

Whenever you buy fish or seafood you should always look for the freshest kind available. Here are a number of tips to help you buy the best:

  •     The fish should never smell ‘fishy’.
  •     Whole fresh fish will have eyes that are bright and skin should have a moist firm appearance.
  •     Flesh should be firm to touch.
  •     Fish should have no brown spots.
  •     Smoked fish should look glossy with a fresh smoky aroma.
  •     Shellfish, like lobster and crab, should be purchased either alive or frozen.
  •     Select shellfish with shells tightly closed and without any gaps or cracks.
  •     Lobsters and crabs should be heavy for their size.

British cheese

 

Did you know that we produce more cheese than France and there are over 700 named cheeses made in the UK.

Cheese flavours depend not just on the process used to make them, but also on whether milking has taken place in the morning or evening and how much grass the cows, goats or sheep have been able to eat.

Dunsyre Blue, Lanark Blue & Orkney Farmhouse from Scotland.

Cheshire Cheese, Delamere Goat from the North West; Elsdon Goat & Nothumberland Gouda from the North East.

Swaledale & Wensleydale from Yorkshire; Capella, Hereford Hops & Lincolnshire Poacher from the Midlands; Rozbert Hard Goats, Suffolk Gold & Walsingham from East Anglia.

Caerphilly, Caws Cerwyn & Gorau Glas from Wales; and Cornish Yarg, Curworthy, Dorset Blue Vinney & Somerset Brie from the rich grasslands of the South West.

And this just scratches the surface, or rind, of local British cheese products.