Taste of the Day that's in it.

Taste of the Day
The Big Red Egg from Skellig Chocolate

Happy Easter Everyone.
We're in the cocoon but so too is this big
red Strawberry and Champagne Egg from
Skellig Chocolate. Don't think it will last too long, the egg that is, not the cocoon.

And, don't forget the real eggs. This East Ferry Farm box came via our local craft butcher Davidson's Montenotte

#buylocal #supportlocal

Taste of the Week. Earl Grey loose tea from Mahers

Taste of the Week

Earl Grey loose tea from Mahers 

In 1991 John and Mary Mackey acquired Mahers Coffee from Dick Maher. At this time the business was purely retail, selling quality beans and ground coffee to its customers in Cork. 

In 1993 they expanded the business establishing the wholesale division supplying restaurants and cafes with their coffee. Due to the exceptional quality of their beans and the personal service provided, the business expanded rapidly.

Today Mahers Pure Coffee customers include top gourmet restaurants, independently owned hotels, local artisan cafes, canteens, schools, and offices. And me. Even in these Covid19 times. They deliver directly to customers all over Munster and provide a courier service nationwide.

My recent order included coffee, of course, and their loose Earl Grey tea, described as “The English Classic with natural bergamot oils on a fine blend of digestible black teas”. It is superb, one of the best Earl Greys I’ve ever tasted and now our Taste of the Week.

And their delivery service is also excellent. Check it out.

Mahers Pure Coffee 

25 Oliver Plunkett Street
Cork

Phone. (021) 427 0008

info@maherspurecoffee.ie

Taste of the Week. Kilmeaden Fully Mature White Cheddar

Taste of the Week

Kilmeaden Fully Mature White Cheddar

An enforced change of shopping habits over the past week or two led to a few different products on the table. One, Kilmeaden’s Fully Mature White Cheddar, was a very tasty surprise and its intense and distinctive flavour went down very well indeed.

This aromatic and rich cheese, made by Glanbia in Waterford, is our Taste of the Week. And, if you’d like to take it a stage further, Kilmeaden have a few recipes on their website, including this Ratatouille & Cheese one here. 

Our Taste of the Week has been typically matured for 10 months and comes in a handy resealable pack. Handy size too at 200g. If it’s this good at 10 months, then the Grader’s Choice (which is matured for 2 years) must be worth a go. I’ll have to keep an eye for that and perhaps take a stab at the recipe above.

Glanbia, Citywest, Dublin 24 

Taste of the Week. Clonakilty Distillery's Minke Gin

Taste of the Week.

Clonakilty Distillery's Minke Gin

Distillery photo shows the gin with Rock Samphire, one of the botanicals.

The Minke Irish gin is our Taste of the Week. It is produced in West Cork by the new-ish Clonakilty Distillery. It is named after the whale, a regular off the coast here, and makes a refreshing and delightful impression on the palate.

Interestingly, two local botanicals (Sea Pink and Rock Samphire), are used.

The Minke is made here in a much smaller set-up compared to the adjacent whiskey stills. No less than five separate distillations are required to ensure that the best is extracted from each botanical. Then all five are blended together. “It’s an expensive way to make it but the best way,” said our guide Paddy who took us around when we visited last year. 

The process ensures that the likes of the Sea Pink (with its two week window) is at its freshest best and the use of fresh citrus (rather than dried) gives the Minke an edge as well. And you'll note that the juniper is not quite as prominent as in more traditional gins. None the worse for that. The aromas are attractive and the mouthfeel is close to velvety. Quite a harmonious and refined gin; our Taste of the Week is a lovely sip indeed.

Clonakilty Distillery

The Waterfront

Clonakilty

Co. Cork

Tel: (023) 887 8020

Taste of the Week. Blacks Brewery KPA

Taste of the Week

Blacks Brewery KPA

I was sipping a Blacks Brewery KPA in the bar at the Celtic Ross Hotel the other night. It is one of my favourite ales. Blacks usually get it right and they have had this spot on from the beginning. It is consistently excellent, the perfect balance.

And it is that balance between malt and hops the I find attractive.Some brewers go too heavy on the malt for their pale ales but this recipe allows the hops, a mix of Cascade and Citra, to shine through, along with the grapefruit and lime and other citrus elements, while the malt too plays its part not least in giving a delicious mouthfeel. And there’s a good crisp finish there as well.

This 5% American style ale is indeed perfectly balanced just like the guy from the band who is putting in a very athletic solo display of Irish dancing on the bar floor. Don’t think I’d ever had that kind of timing and balance - I've always preferred a different kind of tap. By the way, will we all be dancing solo for the months ahead?

Blacks Brewery and Distillery

Farm Lane,

Kinsale,

Co. Cork, Ireland

Email: info@blacksbrewery.com

Taste of the Week. From the Pig.

Taste of the Week.
From the Pig.

A bit of a problem this week. I had no Taste of the Week for you. Well, nothing that hadn't appeared here before. I did have a few of this list on the plate or in the fridge, so I thought I'd put the best of the pig together for you, a sample of what you can get locally. So take your pick and enjoy! By the way, I'd appreciate it if you can point me in the direction of tasty local Irish produce for next week and the week after and the ..........   It can be meat, fish, vegetable, baked goods, something sweet, something to drink. This is my 6th year (at least) doing this, so I don't want to repeat, well not too much anyhow!

Woodside Farm Shoulder of Pork (slow-cooked)

James Whelan Rack of Roasting Bacon

Gubbeen Hot Smoked Ham. Made by Fingal Ferguson. See all about the Schull farm here.

Pork Steak Wellington (Davidson's Butchers)

Kanturk Pudding  (McCarthy Butchers)

Baltimore Dry Cured Black Bacon. Read more about Nathan and his various Baltimore Bacon products here.

Ummera Smoked Bacon Rashers

Taste of the Week. Eve's Leaves Relishes

Taste of the Week
Eve's Leaves Relishes

Came across these excellent relishes during the Cork & Kerry Food Fair in the City Hall late last year. Nice small pots means the insides doesn't go to waste.

Not that there was much danger of that as these are well-made and well balanced. Take their hugely popular Tomato Chilli Relish for example. Along with juicy tomatoes, you get fresh garlic and a hint of chilli, "just enough to give it a slight kick without being overpowering". Very versatile too.

The Smoky Tomato Relish is another good all-rounder and a perfect match for goats cheese and vegan dishes. The Piccalilli, an old-time favourite, is excellent with cheese, cold meats or just on its own!

All the relishes are free from dairy and gluten and are vegan friendly! Indeed all their veg & salad, handmade relishes, edible flowers and micro greens grown at the foot of Cnoc na dTobar mountain in Kerry, are chemical-free.

Eve's Leaves
Killurley West
Cahersiveen
Co. Kerry
Tel: 085 8110144

Taste of the Week. Knockanore Cheddar with Garlic & Herbs

Taste of the Week

Knockanore Cheddar with Garlic & Herbs

Wheels of fresh cheese, waiting to be stored in the dairy. (Bus Bia Tour 2015)

Eamonn and Patricia Lonergan began making cheese on their farm in the lush rolling countryside of Knockanore (West Waterford) in 1987. The cows graze on quality grass, they’re milked and the Lonergan’s use traditional methods, right on the farm, to make a variety of delicious cheeses.

This one, bought at the shop attached to the Farmgate Restaurant in Midleton (East Cork), has garlic and herbs added. Additions to cheese don’t always click with me but this “blend” is absolutely perfect and our Taste of the Week.

The  cheese is made from raw unpasteurised milk and the rennet used is vegetarian.

Knockanore Farmhouse Cheese 

Ballyneety

Knockanore

Co. Waterford.

Taste of the Week. Maura’s Kitchen Jams

Taste of the Week

Maura’s Kitchen Jams

I should have known better, should have bought more than three pots of jam from Maura’s Kitchen during a recent visit to the Killavullen Farmers Market.

The three (for a tenner) were superb as were previous purchases here and that’s why I should have had known better.  Anyhow, we absolutely enjoyed the three, the Gooseberry, the Blackberry and the absolutely superb Wild Plum and Raspberry combination. The latter was our Taste of the Week, though I don’t think it lasted a week.

Killavullen Farmers Market reopens tomorrow (Feb 8th); see future dates here.

Maura’s Kitchen

Derryvillane

Glanworth

Co. Cork

Taste of the Week. Davidson’s Peppercorn Steak Bombs

Taste of the Week

Davidson’s Peppercorn Steak Bombs

Ready to go. The chips, by the way, are done like wedges in the oven with a little olive oil. Roosters were used.

“These are our Peppercorn Steak Bombs, minced chuck beef with a creamy pepper filling, lightly seasoned and rolled in a peppery crumb. Delicious.”

Before

When our award-winning local butcher Chris posts something like this on social media, we are first in the queue and are at the Davidson’s door in  Montenotte in no time at all. 

We’ve never been disappointed and this latest offering is up there with the best of them, a bit of medium heat from the pepper taking the top notch meat to a new level, a new Taste of the Week!

Davidson’s Craft Butcher 

7 St Christopher’s Drive

Montenotte

Cork City

(021) 451 8184

Taste of the Week. Wicklow Blue

Taste of the Week

Wicklow Blue

I’ve highlighted this delicious Wicklow cheese here a few years back and it’s well due another run as Taste of the Week. It is delicate and mild, no extreme tang here.

This beautiful cheese is also fresh and flavoursome and has won a string of awards, both at home and abroad, and is used by top chefs. Be sure and check out their other cheeses as well, particularly the companion Wicklow Bán.

I bought my Wicklow Blue in Bradley’s but Wicklow Farmhouse Cheeses are widely available, including in the main supermarkets. Check stockists here.  

Wicklow Farmhouse Cheese

Curranstown,

Arklow,

Co. Wicklow

GPS Coordinates:

52.779588, -6.196921

Phone: +353 (0) 402 91713
Mobile: +353 (0) 872515980

Email: wfcheese@eircom.net
Web: www.wicklowfarmhousecheese.ie

Taste of the Week. Kanturk Pudding from McCarthy Butchers

Taste of the Week

Kanturk Pudding from McCarthy Butchers

The McCarthy family of Kanturk have been making blackpudding for generations. For the past decade or so, they’ve been picking up awards for it, including gold from the La Confrérie des Chevaliers du Goûte Boudin in 2010 and 2013.

It’s a regular here and so I knew I was on a good thing when I picked up a pack in Bradley’s (North Main Street, Cork) just before Christmas. One of those “just in case” purchases I made at the time - just in case we got fed up of the turkey.

The turkey, truth to tell, went down well but still the pudding was a welcome alternative when it made its appearance. Full of flavour as always and our Taste of the Week. 

Ingredients for this rich and smooth pudding include Bacon trim, spices, seasoning, rusk, blood, oatmeal, water, onion and pearl barley. We used it with a couple of fried eggs as a snack but you’ll see lots of variation in the restaurants. 

If you’d like something more adventurous at home, then check out this recipe on McCarthy’s website for BLACK PUDDING WITH PEARS FLAMBÉ AND ROSEMARY CINNAMON CARROTS

McCarthys of Kanturk
Main Street
Kanturk
Co. Cork

Taste of the Week. Skeaghanore Confit Duck Legs

Taste of the Week

Skeaghanore Confit Duck Legs

I’m sure most of you had lots of good food over the Christmas and New Year. And so did we. But one dish stood out and the basis for it was a pair of succulent Skeaghanore Irish Confit Duck Legs, bought in Bradley’s, North Main Street, Cork, as a “just in case” filler, just in case we didn’t have enough already!

These multi-award winning Skeaghanore Confit duck legs have taken the hassle out of cooking duck. The Hickey family have slow cooked the generously meaty legs for 5 hours and all you need to do is reheat! See Skeaghanore.ie for stockists.

We kept it simple, roasted it for 15 minutes and served with “Sweetheart” cabbage, roasted potatoes (cut at angles and coated with duck fat), and the jus from the duck itself. A magnificent Taste of the Week and one that will soon be repeated here.

Hickey's breed the Pekin duck "... because we live so close to Roaring Water bay, the salt air effects adds to the texture of the duck giving a salt marsh flavour. Our duck is succulent, tender and has a high meat yield."

Skeaghanore Duck

Skeaghanore East,

Ballydehob, West Cork,

Ireland

 Phone: (028) 37428

 Mobile: (087) 2333184

 Email: info@skeaghnore.ie

Taste of the Week. Union Hall Smoked Salmon Paté

Taste of the Week

Union Hall Smoked Salmon Paté

Quite a selection of products from the Union Hall smokery in Bradley’s when I called to the North Main Street shop (established 1850) a day or two before Christmas.

At that stage, most of the shopping had been done but I thought to myself that their Smoked Salmon Paté would come in handy over the Christmas. It didn’t last that long, more or less demolished that very lunchtime. 

Ready to eat it says on the pack and I, having come back from the city and a call to Davidson’s, our local butchers, to collect the festival order, was ready to eat it. 

The Nolan family have been producing good quality smoked fish products in the small fishing village for the past 30 years and Missus Nolan’s delicious paté has its own unique flavour, mainly salmon of course but with a nicely judged element of a peppery spice along with citrus notes. Excellent on fresh Arbutus sourdough and our Taste of the Week. Taste of the Day more like it! It comes in a 100 gram pack and retails for €3.29.

Union Hall Smoked Fish

Union Hall

West Cork

028 33125

Taste of the Week. El Door’s Wholemeal Sourdough

Taste of the Week

El Door’s Wholemeal Sourdough

MacCurtain Street’s El Door is now a reasonably regular call for us, usually on our way home from town. The Polish owned bakery has been there for about two years, their breads also available at farmers markets in Killavullen and Ballincollig

We usually get the regular sourdough but this time we threw in a wholemeal sourdough as well. I was just into my first slice of the wholemeal when I found myself concentrating on a beautiful experience of flavour and texture. Everything else faded away for a moment or two before I said to myself that’s my Taste of the Week. Well worth a try if you happen to be passing that way.

They do quite a range of bread types here and also offer a slicing service (not at the markets). I generally prefer mine unsliced though!

They also do a range of doughnuts and, more recently, Cornish pasties. And it’s not all take-out. They have a limited number of tables in MacCurtain Street and you can order a coffee with your cake.

El Door Bakery

MacCurtain Street

Cork

089 961 0998

Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/eldoorbakery/ 

Taste of the Week. Clare’s Homemade Hummus Moroccan Spice

Taste of the Week

Clare’s Homemade Hummus Moroccan Spice

Picked up a tub (200g) of Clare’s Homemade Hummus Moroccan Spice during a recent visit to Bradley’s in North Main Street, Cork. Not the first time. These pots (she produces a variety of different flavours) have been around for the past six or seven years now. So they are quite popular and this Moroccan Spice version is our current Taste of the Week.

No additives or preservatives are used and it is of course based on chick peas (69%). Tahini paste, fresh lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil garlic and spices are also blended in. 

The spices that make the difference in this case are cumin seeds, turmeric, cinnamon and cayenne pepper. Well you know the texture, nice and creamy, there’s a decent bit of acidity from the lemon juice; it’s full of flavour while the well-judged spice element lifts it out of the ordinary.

Clare’s Homemade Hummus

Cahergal

Union Hall

Co. Cork

086 3573865

ClaresHomemadeHummus@gmail.com 

Taste of the Week from Kilbrack Farm. Buy local, fresh and fair.

Taste of the Week

from Kilbrack Farm

I found my current Taste of the Week in the superb kale on sale at the Kilbrack Farm stall in the Coal Quay Farmers Market last Saturday. They have other amazing organic vegetables, as does Caroline Robinson a few stalls away. It doesn't have to be just at the Coal Quay. Midleton or Douglas Markets may be more convenient for you. I plan to go to Killavullen next Saturday morning. If Saturday doesn't suit, head to Mahon Point on Thursday. There's a couple of excellent farmers stalls there and don't tell me the markets are expensive. Last week, I got five or six superb carrots in Mahon for one euro!

After the Coal Quay last Saturday, I called to the English Market. Eoin O'Mahony had a lovely piece of porchetta* to go with the kale. There was bread from ABC and paté from On the Pig's Back. As you know, there's lots of other stalls in both markets so no shortage of choice. The point I'm making is support local, buy fresh and fair and you'll end up with a taste of the week that suits your tastes and your budget and, more than likely, your health. The longer my food's journey, the less I trust in it (anyone been watching Rotten on Netflix?). So buy local and from a trusted source. The more we pull together, the further we will go.

* Speaking of pork, we got a delicious shoulder from Woodside Farm at Mahon Thursday; cooked low and slow with seasonal root vegetables, it gave us a very satisfactory dinner on Sunday, as it regularly does.

Taste of the Week. Galtee Honey Farm Honeycomb

Taste of the Week

Galtee Honey Farm Honeycomb 

No problem finding a subject this week. Quite a few good things to be found in the food emporium of the Ballymaloe Craft Fair last week. And I was delighted to find this honeycomb from Galtee Irish Honey, our current and delicious Taste of the Week. Local and seasonal. “That is more or less the last of them, they are running out,” Aoife Mac Giolla Coda told. Their honey is 100% fresh floral honey from the Galtees.

Aoife runs the the Galtee Honey Farm, just off the R639 north east of Mitchelstown along with her father and founder Micheál who was also on duty in Ballymaloe. Bothe are both certified lecturers in beekeeping. Micheál is also a qualified honey judge, having judged in honey competitions and shows both nationally and internationally. Their honey is 100% fresh floral honey from the Galtees.

The farm, established in 1970, has some 170 hives in the Galtee Vee Valley stretching across Tipperary, Limerick and Cork. The bees collect from a variety of  fauna including blackberry blossom and clover. By the way, no need to keep your honey in the fridge; room temperature is fine and, by the way, while honey has many health-giving benefits, please note that is not suitable for children under 12 months.

Aoife and Micheál plan to have farm tours up and running next year and we’ll update you on that as soon as details are available.

Galtee Irish Honey Farm 

Burncourt

Cahir

Co. Tipperary

Taste of the Week. Bó Rua Farm Original Farmhouse Cheddar

Taste of the Week

Bó Rua Farm Original Farmhouse Cheddar

The multi-award winning Original Irish Farm Cheddar from the Bó Rua farm in East Cork is our Taste of the Week. Tom and Norma Dinneen are the couple behind this delicious product which this year won the coveted Gold at the Blas Irish Food Awards in Dingle. It is our current Cheese of the Week and, aside from the superb flavour, what I love about it is its extra creaminess.

That is probably down to their Montbéliarde (the red cattle after which the farm is named) and Friesians who all graze outside for most of the year. Indeed, I see on Facebook that they about to go in for the winter around now. Montbéliarde by the way produce the milk from which the famous Comté is produced.

I’ve met Tom a few times over recent years and had a chat with him at the Cork Kerry Food Fair in the City Hall where I bought my wedge of the cheddar. A week or so later, the Dinneens added to their honours list when, at the Irish Cheese Awards 2019 in the Metropole, they were awarded silver in Class 19, best New Cheesemaker since 2016. 

So well done to Tom and cheesemaker Norma (loving the new dairy). Look out for the cheese - it is fairly widely available.

Bó Rua Farm 

Ballynoe

Fermoy

Co. Cork

Taste of the Week. Perfect G&T - Alcohol Free

Taste of the Week

Perfect G&T - Alcohol Free

I was an early bird visitor to the Cork Kerry Food Market in the City Hall last Saturday morning. When I was offered a G&T, I wasn’t all that keen as breakfast had just been finished. But it was a small sample so I indulged, expecting to get a load of tonic and little gin. I was surprised though, thinking to myself that they hadn’t drowned the spirit. “It’s non alcoholic”, said Cyril Walsh who had offered the sample. I was surprised as were a few others.

Cyril, who you probably know through his work with St Patrick’s Distillery, is involved with All Natural Drinks who are distributing the gin. It was launched just before the weekend and some of Saturday’s tasters were thinking of it in terms of the festival celebrations coming up, a solution to the question what to drink when you’re not drinking.

I checked the website and saw that Henrik Facile, a Swedish master blender, with French and Finnish heritage and now living in Florida, is the creator. Not an easy task. "We found it difficult to get to Perfect with so many options available…..We use natural quinine and just enough carbonation for refreshment and enjoyment.”

So there you are. I had been "ambushed" by the soft Italian juniper nose with hints of coriander and citrus followed by what seemed like the clean classic gin taste, with citrus freshness and of course the slight bitterness from the quinine. The "gin" element didn't seem as strong at a second tasting later in the day - but by then of course I had been forewarned! Nonetheless, a handy alternative to some of the more or less tasteless zero drinks around at the moment.

All Natural Drinks Ltd 

Unit 105, St Patrick’s Mills,

Douglas

Cork

To see a mid-summer article on some available non alcoholic drinks, check here.
Since then, I've come across a few more, including the superb organic Drivers Cider from Highbank Orchards.