What’s orange and sticky and worth preserving?
This month sees the first ever National Marmalade Week (25th Feb to 3rd Mar). If you really want to celebrate, go to Dalemain Mansion and Gardens in Cumbria, where they will have dozens of samples on offer at a Marmalade Festival, and are even giving out awards.
If you like marmalade, ever wonder where it comes from? One tradition traces it to a storm-damaged Spanish ship which took refuge in Dundee Harbour in 1700. It was full of Seville oranges that the captain was desperate to sell before they went mouldy. A local down-on-luck merchant, one James Keiller, bought the lot. He didn’t know what to do with the oranges either, but fortunately he had a resourceful wife. She set about turning a ship-load of Seville oranges into a preserve, and so the first marmalade factory was born.
Marmalade has been at the heart of British breakfasts for centuries. Winston Churchill fought the Second World War on it (washed down with a flute of Pol Roger each morning). DH Lawrence wrote novels on it. Paddington Bear’s sandwiches were all marmalade. If you want to get your fingers sticky, visit: www.marmaladeawards.com.
Pancake fun for Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday means pancakes, whether you race with them, or just enjoy eating them. Here’s a good fail-safe recipe for a good batter:
Sift 100g of plain flour with a pinch of salt. Make a well in the centre, break in an egg and beat with a wooden spoon. Gradually add 300ml of milk, beating and drawing in the flour from the sides of the bowl until the batter is smooth. Heat a little oil in a heavy-based saucepan and add just enough butter to cover the bottom, running the mixture around the sides. Cook the pancake for one to two minutes, using the spatula to make sure the batter isn’t sticking. Then turn the pancake over, and cook for a couple of more minutes on the other side. Serve immediately, with sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice.