5 things you didn't know about tomatoes

Tomatoes

The humble tomato is a member of the nightshade family (along with aubergines, peppers and chillies).

They're actually a fruit, but their affinity for other savoury ingredients means that they are usually classed as a vegetable. That's why you'll find them with the salads.

Confused?

Don't be.


5 things you didn't know about tomatoes

• People used to be afraid to eat tomatoes, thinking them poisonous due to their relation to the belladonna plant (deadly nightshade).
• Tomatoes are the richest source of lycopene which is important for the health of the prostate gland in men.
• There is no mention of tomatoes in either the Bible or in the complete works of Shakespeare.
• There are over 10,000 varieties of tomato coming in a variety of colours including pink, purple, black, yellow and white.
• Tomatoes originally came from Peru and were first brought to Europe in the mid 1500's.

Stokes Tomato Ketchup

Our Award-Winning Tomato Ketchup is one our primary Stokes originals to benefit from the ethos of quality and quantity. Quality ingredients and lots of it.

Tomatoes are the backbone of our core products. Their quality and consistency are paramount. We eventually found what we needed ripening in the Mediterranean sunshine on the hillsides of southern Italy. 

That’s quality, now quantity:  we use a massive 200g of these beauties in every 100g cramming pure deliciousness into every bottle.

To our classic tomato ketchup we added a twist, with a dash of real vodka and a splash of Worcestershire sauce for a touch of Bloody Mary spice in Stokes Bloody Mary Ketchup. Try mixing it with or Real Mayonnaise for a wonderful Bloody Mary Rose Sauce.

Other ketchup twists include:

For the ultimate fish finger batch...

Just add Stokes

Casseroles are the family's central heating. Read here for some flavoursome ideas.

For culinary colonialism and the story of our Brown Sauce, click here.

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

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

Brown Sauce - a very British sauce

Culinary colonialism

The origins of this very British sauce date back to the mid 19th Century. In America they call it English or British sauce though they do have their own version - Steak Sauce.

Brown sauce is a gastronomic reflection of British Colonialism. On the one hand it was a necessary travelling companion to 'neutralise' the varying foods of foreign parts.

On the other and perhaps more romantically it was like a souvenir collection of flavours from across the globe including varying combinations of: tomatoes, molasses, dates, apples, tamarind, spices, vinegar, and sometimes raisins or anchovies.

Stokes Brown Sauce

Stokes Brown Sauce is one of the original three great works of the saucery that were the very foundation of Stokes.

Core travel essentials for 'cor blimey' goodness on the side of your plate.

Ours is a rich and spicy brown sauce with a deliciously fruity finish. It is rich in date purée (9%) and made with black treacle (8%) and our unique blend of spices.

It brings out the best in a bacon sandwich and great with sausages too!



It's more than a dollop on the side of your plate:

• Add it to a Bolognese sauce for a spicier depth of flavour.
• Shake a dash or two into a rich beef casserole.
• Thicken your onion gravy to pour on sausage and mash.
• Pop it on a bacon sandwich and crown it with a runny fried egg too.
• Brush over roast vegetables with a drizzle of honey for their last 10 minutes in the oven.
• Mix a spoonful or two into bubble & squeak. 

Casseroles are the family's central heating. Read here for some flavoursome ideas.


Our award-winning member of the Nightshade family. Learn more here.

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

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

Adding a little je ne c'est quoi to delicious winter casseroles

Je ne c'est quoi?    

...it's Stokes of course

Like many foodie related words, a casserole is derived from the Provençal cassa meaning 'pan'. It is a large, deep dish that can be used both in the oven and as a serving vessel.

Did you know:

The difference between casseroles and stews:
Stewing cooks on direct heat on top of the stove, whereas a casserole is generally baked in an oven.

It doesn't take much to make a big difference.

Even simple casseroles become simply superb with a spoonful of this or a good glug of that. Take this beef and ale casserole ... pretty good became amazing with two desert spoons of our Brown Sauce.


Some simple ideas
 

 Leftover Chicken Mac

This is a simple way to use up leftover chicken. Cook and cool the macaroni then mix into a casserole with torn cooked chicken, turkey or pork (it all works).

In a pestle and mortar roughly grind equal amounts of Fennel and Caraway seeds and fold into the pasta with two tbsp of Stokes Cider & Horseradish Mustard. Add a tin of cream of chicken soup with extra milk if needed.

Cover with grated Cheddar and Gruyère cheese and bake in a moderate oven until the cheese bubbles and browns and the chicken is piping hot.


Sausage Casserole

A nice twist is to use half sausage and half sausage meatballs. Use good butcher's sausages, split the skin and form the meatballs from the sausage meat. Half cook the meat in rapeseed oil with chopped red and green peppers.

Transfer to a casserole dish with a tin of chopped tomatoes and half a tin of water and a rich beef stock bouillon. Add two tsps of Stokes Chilli Jam and two tbsp of Stokes Chipotle Ketchup for smoky chilli depth. Now bake in a moderate oven until the sausages are cooked through.


Classic Chicken Casserole

Using bone-in chicken thighs for maximum flavour, brown the meat off in a pan with rapeseed oil and set aside. In the juices fry chopped celery, fennel, leek and carrot, just cover with water and boil for 5 minutes to soften.

Pour the vegetables and all their juice into a casserole with a chicken stock bouillon, lots of fresh thyme, a tin of chopped tomatoes, two good glugs of Stokes Award-Winning Tomato Ketchup and a good tbsp of Stokes Classic English Mustard.

The flavours are amazing. Place the chicken on top (skin up) and cook in a moderate oven until the chicken juices run clear and the skin is crisp.



For culinary colonialism and the story of our Brown Sauce, click here.

Our award-winning member of the Nightshade family. Learn more here.

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

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

Who puts the jam in your Bake Off

Is there a secret to making great jams?

Yes - more fruit, more time, more  love.

Traditional jam recipes are simple but often time consuming, using equal quantities of fruit and sugar. Commercial producers can use as little as 350g of fruit per kilo with some jams using even less fruits and more additives and flavouring. Water and extra sugar are added to create the ‘jam effect’. 

‘Extra’ jam has a legal minimum requirement of 450g of fruit per kilo.

Stokes meets the minimum and more with our Strawberry, Raspberry and Blackcurrant extra jams. The blackcurrant jam has 510g per kilo – 51% delicious fruit as traditionally our grandparents would have made it.

In the Old Stables at Rendlesham, knowing eyes watch over slow cooking blackcurrants, as they simmer, waiting for that very fine line between ‘perfect’ and ‘oops’. 

The staff in the kitchens here have an enviable expertise and are as passionate about their jams, preserves, relishes and sauces as we all are.

But it’s not just the amount of fruit. Use 50% poor quality blackcurrants and you can only create poor jam. 

We go to uncompromising lengths to make sure the blackcurrants we use have that signature juicy sweet / tart flavour; the raspberries are rich, sweet and luscious; and the strawberries’ succulent essence have keynotes of Wimbledon.

Stokes use unrefined cane sugar, which is a typical artisan sugar. Produced in smaller batches, it is less processed and retains all or most of the cane molasses around the sugar crystals. This natural sweetness and additional depth of flavour cook well with the extra fruit to give the deeply flavoursome jams we love to deliver.

For recipes for appreciative gravy and leftover lamb, please read more here.

Discover Forest Holidays and save 10%, just because you love Stokes - here.

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

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

The versatility of leftover lamb

Add love to your lamb

For value for money, we love to buy a joint of lamb at the weekend. Sometimes it's a leg plugged with rosemary and garlic, cooked pink with gorgeous gravy and roast winter veg.

The absolute favourite is a slow cooked shoulder, tenderising over four or five hours on a trivet of vegetables into which its juices slowly drizzle, steaming under a foil top which is removed  to crisp up the juicy fat for the last half hour on a higher heat.

A special piece of meat deserves a loving gravy to honour it. Here's a suggestion. Make your gravy as you would normally then add Stokes:

• For a fruity sweetness - stir in a spoonful of  Stokes Redcurrant Jelly to taste
• For a minty compliment - stir in a spoonful of our special Mint Sauce
• For a deep flavour with zesty chilli warmth - stir in a spoonful of Chilli Jam
• Try a spoonful of Mint Sauce and Redcurrant Sauce together - simply superb.

Butterless gravy without a roux

To cut down on butter (sad but true) we came up with this easy, quick and mouth-watering alternative.
You need a hand blender, pan and imagination.

Roughly chop an onion, a couple of sticks of celery, as much fennel as you like and a couple of pointed sweet red peppers (which are great value on the market at the moment). Add boiling water to only just cover the vegetables.

Pop a beef stock bouillon into the pan and simmer for just 3 or 4 minutes then blend to a smooth 'gravy' consistency. If you need to thicken it, blend in a cooked potato or two, or add more water to thin.

You're serving fresh, healthy vegetables as a sauce or gravy.

Again, by adding a spoonful of Stokes, you can intensify and move the flavours in whichever direction you want.


Lovely leftover lamb

Lamb is probably the most versatile of leftover meats. Its texture and flavour can take just about anything you throw at it - sweetly spicing it Persian style;  currying it Indian style; or refreshing it Mediterranean style.

          Lamb Tagine                                           Lamb Curry                                        Moussaka Boats

Lamb Tagine - as a shepherd's pie.

This works best with leftover shoulder, shredded as small as you can. Put the meat in a pan with a tin of chickpeas (washed) and any cooked, sliced carrots you may also have left over.

Make a 'butterless gravy' (as above) to which you add a teaspoon of Ras El Hanout (Moroccan spice mix) and a spoonful each of Stokes Spiced Apricot Chutney and Chilli Jam - all adjusted to taste. Pour the sauce into the pan and cook warm the meat thoroughly.

For the shepherd's pie version, spoon the tagine into a casserole and cool while mashing potatoes. Try oilseed rape instead of butter and mash with frozen petit pois and a good spoonful of Stokes Creamed Horseradish Sauce. Spoon this over the cooled meat and bake on a medium heat for half an hour or until the meat bubbles and the mash browns.

Lamb Curry

Leg meat suits this as it holds together more whilst cooking.  Cut the meat into mouth size pieces and toss thoroughly in a couple of spoonfuls of Curry Powder and set aside to make a 'butterless gravy'. This time, add a tin of chopped tomatoes and blitz. You will need to thicken it with a couple of cooked potatoes.

Add a tablespoon of Stokes Brown Sauce and two of Curry Ketchup. Pour the sauce over the meat and simmer at least until the meat is piping hot. The longer you leave it the more the flavours will marry. Serve it with chopped coriander on a bed of fluffy basmati rice.

Moussaka Boats

The softer sweeter shoulder cuts work in this fun take on a moussaka. For a snack or starter use one aubergine between two. Brush them with oil and bake on a medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are tender when pricked with a fork. Set them aside to cool, halve and scoop out half the flesh to create aubergine boats.

Make a butterless gravy (as above) adding Chilli Jam and our Award-Winning Tomato Ketchup and half the aubergine flesh that was scooped and set aside earlier and blitz.

Chop a couple of tomatoes adding them to the meat in a pan and pour over the sauce. Warm through until piping hot and spoon into the boats. Sprinkle grated Cheddar and torn strips of Mozzarella on top and grill until the boats have warmed and the cheese has melted. It's impressive.

 Enjoy !


Learn more about Stokes Extra Jams here.


Discover Forest Holidays and save 10%, just because you love Stokes - here. 

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

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

Stokes 10% discount with Forest Holidays

10% OFF luxury cabins in idyllic locations

With time well spent in one of Forest Holidays' luxurious cabins, you have every opportunity to relax and revitalise or just have family fun.

Charming locations across Britain include: Sherwood Forest, Keldy, Blackwood Forest, Cropton, Deerpark, Thorpe Forest, Ardgartan Argyll, Strathyre, Beddgelert and the Forest of Dean.

You will have plenty of time to spend days relaxing in the cabin and hot tub, taking walks in the forest and getting active with one of their outdoor activities such as archery, cycling, canoeing or Go Ape.

With an abundance of attractions near all of their locations you will be spoilt for choice for days out. Whatever you decide to do the choice is yours.

 Stokes special offer - save 10%

Our friends at Forest Holidays have given Stokes Sauces a 10% saving at Forest Holidays. Escape to one of ten idyllic locations, choose from luxurious cabins set deep in woodlands, on the edge of mighty lochs, or in bright forest meadows and make your holiday your own.

Take an uplifting break in the forest. Enjoy invigorating woodland walks as the forest awakens around you.

When the slowly lengthening days drop into dusk, head back to your cabin for a cosy fireside meal, then the thrill of the hot tub in the cold night air.


To get your discount

When you have chosen your holiday, enter STOKES to save 10% at forestholidays.co.uk. You must book and holiday by 30th August 2018.

The 10% discount can be taken at any time of the year including school holidays and Bank Holidays and can be taken across all Forest Holidays' cabin types, from the great value Copper Beech to the ultimate luxury of a Golden Oak Tree House.

Terms

• Discount code applies cabin price only and not any extras.
• Discount code may not be used in conjunction with any other offer and cannot be applied retrospectively.
• Forest Holidays reserve the right to withdraw this offer at any time.

Don't forget your sachets !

Learn more about Stokes Extra Jams here.


For recipes for appreciative gravy and leftover lamb, please read more here.

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

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

Happy peaceful yummy January

Back to basics

After the energetic culinary juggling of the festive season, it's good to get back to basics.

You can't beat a good ole' sausage sandwich. Well in fact, yes you can. Just add Stokes Red Onion Marmalade for a 'posh' sausage sandwich - delicious. 

Fridge Soup

I emptied the fridge of the last of the vegetables last week to make 'fridge soup'. Half a dozen carrots, a lonely onion, celery hearts and a couple of rather droopy parsnips were boiled in a light chicken stock with a few straggly herbs.

The hand blender made light work of the softened combination which were drained through a colander into another pan. A good spoonful of Stokes Chilli Jam, another of Stokes Chipotle Ketchup adding a rich smokiness to the soup with a subtle chilli heat coming through.


 Competition

And with just 3 more weeks left before entries close (1st February 2018) for the competition for a holiday of three nights in Crete - if you haven't entered, now's the time to do so.

You'll meet the grower, taste the oil at its source and have £500 spending money to help soak up the atmosphere of this wonderful Mediterranean island.

Click the image left for details and to enter.



Not going out - with Cheese on Toast

On dark winter nights we prefer to stay in at the weekend. After chores and a pub lunch we bolt the doors and relax.

When the stomach rumbles a little later on we slice some bread, grab a strong cheddar and reach for the relish for cheese on toast. Stokes relishes with the cheese grilling on top, lift a simple cheese on toast supper to new mouth-watering heights - like the melted brie and Red Onion Marmalade in the image above..

With any of these relishes you can create taste combinations from chilli kicks to the sweet back tastes of Bramley apples. The horseradish or our English Mustard add a subtle lingering heat.

For a tangy fruit lift spread Stokes Red Onion Marmalade or Burger Relish on the bread then grate the cheese on top - please let us know and share your favourites on Tweet here or Post here.

Leftovers as an Omelette

Just about anything you have leftover or lurking about at the back of the fridge can be warmed up, chopped up, mixed up, added to and served in the fluffy embrace of an omelette.

There's the obvious:

• Peppers, spring onions, tomatoes - delicious with Burger Relish
• Ham & cheese - elevated with Red Onion Marmalade
• Bacon, baked beans and cooked potatoes - breakfast omelette ... Brown Sauce or Ketchup? 
• Mushrooms & thyme - a classic made better with Curry Ketchup
• Ham and spinach - for a Florentine add Real Mayonnaise at the last minute

The specials:

• Shredded Brussels fried with bacon and ginger - add Chilli Jam and lime juice for zing
• Poached and smoked salmon with red onion - spoon on Mustard & Dill Sauce
• Turkey (chicken, pheasant etc) and avocado - with Cranberry Sauce
• Shredded duck leftovers with spring onions and cucumber - add our Hoisin Sauce
• Basil, tomato, mozzarella and salami - with a spoonful of Chilli Jam
• Feta cheese, olives, tomato, onion and green peppers - with Fig Relish for Grecian delight

What else have we got in the larder for January?

The first big foodie occasion is on 25th January as we celebrate the life and works of Rabbie Burns - Burns Night.

Haggis neeps and tatties are not everybody's cup of tea but personally - we love it, particularly with a wonderful Scottish gravy - a glass of single malt.

Here's an idea from Mr @StokesSauces (as Rick Sheepshanks is now known on @StokesSauces) for a veritable cocktail of a gravy to go with your haggis. First, from a nice rich beef stock, build your gravy.

Then whilst it is simmering, reduce to intensify the flavour, add a desert spoon of Stokes Chilli Jam and the same amount of Stokes Cranberry Sauce and blend them into the gravy with a wee (though not insignificant) dram of whisky.

Finally, grate a cube of dark, high cocoa content chocolate into the gravy to further enrich the flavours.

Thank you Rabbie for this reason to eat and thank you too for your words - what a treat.


It's the olive oil that makes Stokes Mayonnaise so ...  Real

The majority of the oil we use is British, from British Oilseed Rape, which paints the fields with a glorious sunshine yellow in May and June.

Great though this is, on its own it wasn't enough. It made a really good mayonnaise ... just not a great one.

We needed more. We needed to add extra virgin olive oil (or EVOO). Another huge challenge because there are so many of them. Spanish? Italian? Greek? And within all of these - which?

Which olives? 

Which olives? Which island? Which hillside? Which producer?

We quickly decided on Greece, tried over 30 different EVOOs in hundreds of different ratio permutations of extra virgin to rapeseed oil.

After m any trials, we got it right: Koroneiki extra virgin olive oil.

3,000 years of history and its abundance on the hillsides of Crete can't be wrong - and nor were we.

Finally - adding 5% Cretan Koroneiki extra virgin olive oil to the mayonnaise made it good enough and us proud enough to call it Stokes Real Mayonnaise.

Koroneiki olive trees produce a small olive but in abundance. It creates an intense, rich green oil with a uniquely exquisite flavour. They have some of the highest polyphenol content possible, boasting powerful health benefits - and it tastes great too !

Crete - it's full of surprises:

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

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150