Turmeric - healing powers or sensational Piccalilli ?

Turmeric 

Turmeric is the gentle, earthy spice that gives a wonderfully golden glow to just about anything it touches or in which it is mixed.

It has been used in India for many thousands of years as both a spice and medicinal herb. In the streets of the Punjab if a child falls and scrapes their knee, mum will reach for the turmeric to rub onto the wound.

Recently, science has started to back up what Asia has long known. To some degree, it really does contain compounds with medicinal properties.

These compounds are called curcuminoids, the most important of which is curcumin which is the main active ingredient in turmeric. It has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a very strong antioxidant.

It's powers have been linked to reflecting benefits in research studies associated with Cancer, Diabetes, Liver Damage and Alzheimer's Disease.

Whilst heralding great news on the health front it would be very difficult to reach sufficient levels of curcumin just using the turmeric spice in your foods.

Piccalilli 

This is a wonderful old English preservation of fresh, crunchy vegetables in a thick mustard and turmeric pickle.

The word 'piccalilli' dates back to the mid-seventeen hundreds reflecting Indian picked vegetables.

The Oxford English Dictionary traces the word to the middle of the 18th century when, in 1758, Hannah Glasse described how "to make Paco-Lilla, or India Pickle".

The more familiar form of the word appears in 1769, in Elizabeth Raffald's 'The Experienced English Housekeeper' as: "To make Indian pickle, or Piccalillo".

James Herriot's book Vet In Harness includes an amusing experience in which Herriot uses a particularly spicy piccalilli to make an unsavoury meal more palatable and avoid offending his well-meaning hosts.

Stokes Piccalilli 

Offers crunchy garden vegetables in a sweet, tangy, mustard sauce spiced with turmeric. A traditional favourite with cold meats and fantastic with cheese.

Our vegetables are Individually Quick Frozen (IQF)  immediately after harvest to retain their freshness, taste and crunchy texture.

Our Piccalilli is packed with crunchy vegetables and other key ingredients including Cider Vinegar, Cauliflower (16%), Onions (14%), Unrefined Raw Cane Sugar, Courgette (8%), Dijon Mustard (7%), Green Pepper (4%), Red Pepper (4%), Cornflour, Gherkins (3%), Yellow Mustard Seeds, Turmeric and other specially blended spices.

Piccalilli is a particular friend of pork in all of its culinary guises. One of it's best buddies is the Ham Hock or Ham Hock Terrine. The particular sweetness of the slow cooked meat is offset deliciously by the tart spicy pickle.

Try this delicious Ham Hock

Relax the meat with a comfortable slow cook which releases its juices for a full round flavour and mouthwatering texture. Boil the hock for an hour to an hour and a half, then remove and skin it - it will just peel off.

Now the extra Stokes effect - rub the meat well with a mixture of runny honey and Stokes Cider & Horseradish Mustard. Put the smothered joint in a roasting tray, sitting in about an inch of dry cider. Roast on a medium low heat for another hour until the skin crisps and the meat is tender. it should just fall off the bone.

Use the juices to make a gravy and serve with horseradish mashed potatoes and Stokes Piccalilli.

Piccalilli - it's great in a sandwich too...




Simple suppers with fantastic flavours. Read here for some tasty ideas including Smashed Avocado from Australia.

For Burns Night celebrations and a Tomato & Whisky sauce, click here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150