Loving British Food

Britain’s exemplary welfare standards and rolling green grasslands contribute to the very fine qualities of our beef. Highland, Belted Galloway, English Longhorn, Red Poll, White Park, Hereford, British White, Ayrshire, Aberdeen Angus, South Devon are our top ten breeds – and worth remembering for the pub quiz.

The perfect steak. Everyone’s ‘perfect’ is different. In this household, simple is the key to perfection and rump is the cut of value.

The meat should be out of the fridge for at least 2 or 3 hours before sizzle time. Don’t put anything in the pan. No butter, fat or oil. Rub both sides of the steak with a little olive oil – that’s all. When the pan is hot, put it in and leave it alone. Don’t move it for 2 to 3 minutes then flip it over for 1 minute more (for medium rare), or 2 minutes (for medium).

Rest the steak on a warm plate while you dress the accompaniments, then serve with a smile.

Rich Tomato Ketchup and / or Real Mayonnaise for the chips; Creamed Horseradish or Classic English Mustard for the Beef; and perhaps a drizzle of Mango & Orange Dressing for the salad – perfect.

As iconically British as Afternoon Tea, Fish & Chips and our wonderful Sunday Roast (with ‘all the trimmings’) – we have the Pork Pie.

The casing is as (if not more) important than the meat filling or moistening sweet jelly. Lard, flour, salt and boiling water combine to readily hand shape and firmly bake the case – firm enough to protect its incredible contents, yet easy on the jaw.

The aspic jelly  that keeps the filling moist is rendered pig’s fat, ideally from the trotters, poured into the teeny hole that crowns the pie.

The third crucial element – the meat filling – varies considerably from producer to producer. Too salty, and it spoils the whole thing. Grey and tasteless – ditto. It’s the pick of peppered pork that means perfection in the ubiquitous Melton Mowbray pies, made in the town given EU-designated standards and PDO protection … yummy.

Pork Pies MADE BETTER: Mustard, especially our Classic English Mustard on the side of the plate with cold cuts of ham or a lovely pork pie – classic. The sweet jam and gentle chilli heat in our Chilli Jam balances the peppery pork superbly. Our Sticky Pickle is one of those great all rounders – delicious with everything. It is a scrumptiously sticky pickle with our own unique blend of vegetables in a sweet and spicy sauce made with molasses and black treacle.

And as for relishes and chutney – well The Shop has it all.

British Cheese. Did you know that we produce more cheese than France and there are over 700 named cheeses made in the UK.

Cheese flavours depend not just on the process used to make them, but also on whether milking has taken place in the morning or evening and how much grass the cows, goats or sheep have been able to eat.

Dunsyre Blue, Lanark Blue & Orkney Farmhouse from Scotland; Cheshire Cheese, Delamere Goat from the North West; Elsdon Goat & Nothumberland Gouda from the North East; Swaledale & Wensleydale from Yorkshire; Capella, Hereford Hops & Lincolnshire Poacher from the Midlands; Rozbert Hard Goats, Suffolk Gold & Walsingham from East Anglia; Caerphilly, Caws Cerwyn & Gorau Glas from Wales; and Cornish Yarg, Curworthy, Dorset Blue Vinney & Somerset Brie from the rich grasslands of the South West …

… on toast, under the grill, with Stokes Red Onion Marmalade, Fig Relish, earthy Beetroot Relish or with the bite of our Chilli Jam.

Enjoy the Taste of Stokes

– delivered safely to your door – SHOP HERE.