Читать книгу Fortnum & Mason: Christmas & Other Winter Feasts - Tom Bowles Parker - Страница 8

BURFORD BROWNS

Our eggs of choice. The yolks have a deep yellow hue, and are wonderfully creamy, too.

HONEY

Show me the honey. Every variety has its own taste and character, and at Fortnum’s we have not only a range of London honeys (produced in our own hives), but types from all over Britain and around the world.

BUTTER

We have some amazing butter at Fortnum’s, but one we particularly like is Abernethy butter, churned by hand in Ireland.

POTTED STILTON

A perennial Christmas essential, this classic English cheese is rich, creamy, with the most elegant of bites. And if it’s not produced in Leicestershire, Derby or Nottinghamshire, it isn’t the genuine article.

SMOKED SALMON

One of the great fridge fallbacks, this is another Yuletide star. Serve with scrambled eggs for an easy Boxing Day dinner, wedged into a fat sandwich, or simply as it is, with a squeeze of lemon and a liberal dose of black pepper.

GLENARM BEEF

This magnificent beef, produced in Northern Ireland, is sold exclusively at Fortnum’s in the UK. It’s aged in a Himalayan salt chamber, which intensifies the flavour, producing some of the finest beef you’ll ever taste.

SINGLE CASK MADEIRA

This fortified wine is one of the great unsung heroes of the drink world, with hints of caramel, walnut, raisin and coffee. It also has a fresh acidity that balances all that richness.

CAVIAR

For me, the ultimate edible treat – the salted eggs of the sturgeon fish. Eat it on top of baked potatoes, on homemade blinis or simply on its own, with the merest drizzle of lemon.

STEM GINGER

A wonder spice, ginger is said to help everything from morning sickness to muscle pain. It also tastes sublime, especially when kept in sugar syrup. Add to ice cream or crumbles, or simply eat on its own.

DOUBLE CREAM

Slather it over Christmas pudding, drizzle it into coffee, whisk it into thick peaks. No fridge is complete without double cream.

TIPS ON BUYING GAME

Trust your butcher, because they will know how old the bird is (important when it comes to buying grouse, as you want a young bird for roasting), and how long it’s been hung. If it stinks to high heaven, it’s been hung for too long.