Ketjap Manis is a totally slept on condiment that’ll change your fried rice, dip and marinade game for the better. Also spelt “Kecap Manis” (it’s the same product, this is just the original spelling rather than the Dutch one), and it’s a salty, sweet, umami-filled sauce that’s commonly used in Indonesian cooking.
No, blonde chocolate has nothing to do with the hair colour, and no, it’s not just caramel-flavoured white chocolate. It’s something totally different and it’s becoming wildly popular. Blonde chocolate’s rise to the top of trendiness all began with a mistake. Back in the early 2010s, while the rest of us were just discovering flat whites and avocado on toast, pastry chef Frédéric Bau accidentally left some white chocolate in a bain marie (a heated bath used to cook things gently) for a few...
In the cheesemaking world, there's been a shift towards traditional methods that were lost during the 1970s factory boom. While cheeses like Cheddar, Red Leicester and Wensleydale were once relegated to dull sandwich filler status, producers are now reviving farmhouse versions of these cheeses using old recipes often passed down through families - some even discovered handwritten and hidden in farmhouse drawers.
While mezcal might not be your current go-to with a meal, the drink's food-pairing potential is rapidly gaining ground in London. Traditionally enjoyed neat, alongside orange slices and sal de gusano (a finely ground powder of chilli, sea salt, and dried agave worm), or even with chapulines (toasted, seasoned grasshoppers) in its native Mexico, the spirit is now becoming the main event on drinks lists at some of London's best restaurants.
Most distilleries will say that flavour is a key priority when developing products, so when Copenhagen-based distillery Empirical describes itself as a 'flavour company', you'd be forgiven for thinking: well, what else would it be?
Louella writes a creative non-fiction about the magic of markets; how cities reveal themselves through food and the energy of the locals. She reminds us of the excitement of exploring markets, returning with a blue plastic bag of fresh food. She visits markets in Brixton's Nour, Copenhagen's Torrvehalle, Valencia and Santiago de Cuba, enjoying the comfort of strangers.
Beyond the scattering of colourful houses and fishing boats that make up the remote fishing port of Ilulissat, on Greenland’s west coast, lies an apparent alien metropolis: the Ilulissat Icefjord. Dotted with icebergs that range in size from bungalow to apartment block, it fills a 40km swathe of Disko Bay. In winter, it’s as inhospitable as Pluto. The icefjord ends at Jakobshavn, the ominous glacier said to have spawned
There are people out there who do not like pastry. This fact always seems bizarre to me - how could someone not like something that usually encases other delicious things? As you’ve probably guessed, I am not one of these people. I love pastry. I love the reliable snap of a shortcrust, the robust girth of a hot-water crust and the inevitable snowfall of crispy flakes on your t-shirt after chowing down on a puff pastry delicacy.
The Art Deco revival The historic-hotel scene hots up in Miami Beach with two new beautiful ’30s pads opening their doors. The Lennox comes with nature-infused, pine-and-leaf-green rooms, plus a private pool terrace (lennoxhotels.com;
It’s been a gin-filled year for the spirits industry. Over 51 million bottles were sold in the UK in 2017, but it’s time for gin to move over. Rum is making waves in Wales and beyond. Whiskey needs to watch out too - Glasgow opened its first rum distillery in early November.
