Ford On Food

The beetroot is a root vegetable, which originated in Germany. It made its way to the Mediterranean in the fifteenth century and is now cultivated all over the world. It was originally grown for its leaves that can be cooked like spinach or used fresh in salads. However, the large bulbous root is now used more often. There is several species of beetroot, ranging from a dark purple-red, to a golden or white variety. There is also an Italian beetroot called ‘Chioggio’ with alternating rings of purple and white, like a bull’s eye effect. It takes a little effort to cook beetroot correctly. Don’t peel them before boiling as they will bleed and loose their colour – peel them after they are cooked. Beetroot has many uses; it can be steamed, boiled, roasted, pickled or even eaten raw in salads. There is a very famous Ukrainian soup called ‘borscht’; made from beetroot, cabbage, onions, potatoes, chicken stock, and cream. Beetroot contains no fat, very few calories and is a great source of fibre.Tasty Beetroot Dip1Be

CANNED GOODS: Any canned goods that have bloated to the size or shape of a cricket ball should be disposed of – very carefully!CARROTS: A carrot that you can tie in a knot in is not fresh.DIPS: If you can take it out of its container and bounce it on the floor, it has gone bad.DAIRY: Milk is spoiled when it starts to look like yoghurt. Yoghurt is spoiled when it starts to look like cottage cheese. Cottage cheese is spoiled when it starts to look like regular cheese. Regular cheese is nothing but spoiled milk anyway and can't get any more spoiled than it is already.EGGS: When something starts pecking its way out of the shell, the egg is probably past its prime.FLOUR: Flour is spoiled when it begins to move.GAG TEST: Anything that makes you gag is spoiled (except for your own cooking).LETTUCE: Lettuce is spoiled when you can't get it off the bottom of the vegetable crisper without sandpaper.MAYONNAISE: If your internal organs shut down after you eat it, the mayonnaise is spoiled.MEAT: If opening the refrigerato

I've learnt heaps from my kids various science experiments. My daughter once grew alfalfa. The instructions on the pack of seeds read “Grow your own edible natural sprouts in just 3-6 days”. The seeds went in jar with a little water and covered with cloth. Much like a Harry Potter spell, hey presto we were eating alfalfa four days later. The only home science experiment I ever did as a child was to hide my uneaten school lunch under my bed. A week later, a Jurassic forest of fuzzy mould and an entire civilization of creepy crawlies had spawned. At least my daughter’s alfalfa was edible. Alfalfa is the immature sprouts of a perennial clover-like plant from the pea family. The sprouts are a highly nutritious ingredient, and I reckon they have a pleasant, nutty flavour. However, a lot of people consider them rabbit food. Ironically, I once saw a box of alfalfa seeds in a pet shop with a picture of a rabbit on the front. The plant is often cultivated until mature and sold as Lucerne cattle feed. However, if you’r

It is a fact that people eat with their eyes first. As a chef, I will not get a second opportunity to make a first impression with my customers. A sloppy or badly presented meal will reflect on the customer’s impression of the establishment and will set the mood for the rest of their dining experience. When I’m invited to dinner by friends or family, they regularly apologies for the way they have presented their meals. Personally, I’m just happy someone’s doing the cooking instead of me. Of course, great food presentation is a skill that can take many years to master, but following some simple guidelines can make a difference. It doesn’t involve creating a pretentious looking monument on each plate. Just aim to present the food to the best of its potential. Colour balance is essential. Do not put an arrangement of identical coloured vegetables side-by-side on the plate, steamed carrots would look more effective next to green broccoli, rather than roast pumpkin and sweet potato. Height can make a difference. L

Polenta is made from finely ground cornmeal (dried corn) and is similar to the courser dish Americans refer to as ‘Grits’. It can be purchased in either a yellow or white colour. When slowly cooked in a liquid, such as water, cornmeal becomes a thick porridge-like mixture called polenta. Polenta makes an interesting and healthy substitute for mashed potato or steamed rice. I personally love eating polenta with grilled sausages, or stews.Cheesy PolentaBring 1Lt of milk to the boil. Gradually sprinkle in 180g of polenta, while whisking constantly. Reduce the heat and gently simmer, while stirring for approximately 5 minutes. When the mixture has thickened to a smooth consistency, add 40g of butter, 100g grated parmesan and season with salt and white pepper. Stir until all the ingredients are combined. Note: You can use a combination of milk and/or chicken stock for a more savoury finish. Additional fresh herbs, such as parsley or chives can also be added for flavour. After refrigeration, polenta becomes firm en

It’s one of those things. Either you love or loathe anchovies. Many a disagreement has erupted over the inclusion (or exclusion) of anchovies on a pizza. I love anchovies, and I can’t put it any more bluntly – I LOOOOVE them! For me, pizza is an excuse to eat anchovies. Caesar salad is an excuse to eat anchovies. And, anchovies are an excuse to eat anchovies. When I bite into a fishy, salty anchovy fillet, it’s as close as I can get to gastronomic heaven. There are some important things that you need to know about anchovies. First of all, they’re not born in tins of oil. Anchovies are a small silver fish mainly found around the Mediterranean and Southern European coastlines. After being caught in fine mess nets, they’re filleted, cured in salt and preserved in oil. Sometimes they’re rolled up, and sometimes canned flat. However, they can be purchased without oil (just coated in salt). Anchovies can also be purchased as a fresh fish. Usually the more expensive anchovies from Morocco are bigger, plumper and tas

As I promised in my last podcast, here’s some brief advice on how to achieve the perfect steak:1.Don’t cook a cold steak. Take it out of the fridge 20 minutes before cooking to remove some of the chill. You are more likely to achieve the right degree of cooking if the steak is closer to room temperature to begin with, but always consider hygiene.2.The steak must be placed on a very hot surface (pan or grill) that begins to sizzle immediately on contact. If the heat is too low, the steak will not hold in its juices and will begin to stew.3.Before cooking, brush the steak with olive oil and season with sea salt flakes and freshly milled black pepper, this will enhance the flavour.4.Seal the steak for at least one minute on each side, the remaining cooking time will depend on how far you want the steak to be cooked. If a steak is really thick, you may have to adjust the temperature down during the cooking process.5.Allow the cooked steak, to rest for approximately half the amount of time it took to cook, before

I’ve had customers describe the degree they’d like their steaks cooked in countless ways, including ‘Still Mooing’ and ‘Cremated’. I’ll always oblige the request of a customer, because the customer pays my wage. However, there are some widely held misconceptions about the ‘degree of doneness’ in steaks. To start with, the red liquid that flows from a cooking steak is ‘sarcoplasm’ (not blood), and the pink colour of cooked meat is the remaining pigmentation. Blood is drained from the animal at slaughter, and any residual blood coagulates during storage or the early stages of cooking. It’s a simple fact that the only way to remove the pink colour is to cook the steak long enough to render out all the juicy fat, contracting the muscle fibre so tightly that any remaining moisture takes the colour with it. Obviously this leaves you with a grey coloured steak as tough and dry as a worn out shoe. The truth is that you only really have the option of raw, rare, medium or well-done. You can’t have a well-done steak whi

When I was a youngster, I swiped a watermelon from a neighbor’s property. I stealthily crawled under his barbed wire fencing behind his chook shed, and with military precision pinched the biggest melon I could roll back to my yard. With great difficulty, I hoisted the melon into my tree house and greedily ate my prize. This was soon followed by a monster belly ache from Hell, and the following day my neighbor warned me that if he ever saw me pilfer one of his melons again, he’d set the dogs on me. Obviously, Watermelons are from the melon family. They are grown in both tropical and subtropical climates. The biggest producers are China, Turkey, Iran, Brazil and parts of the US. Watermelon is often a large round or oval shape, with dark green skin and deep-pink flesh and black seeds. However, some varieties have pale green skin, some have yellow or white flesh, and many contemporary varieties are seedless. The inside texture should be firm and very juicy, as per its namesake. The flesh should be sweet and perfu

1kgsmall pickling onions, peeled50gsalt1Ltwhite vinegar10black peppercorns10small red chilies5bay leaves200gwhite sugar(1)Place the onions and salt in a bowl and stir until onions are thoroughly coated. Cover and place in the refrigerator overnight.(2)Wash the salt off the onions and dry with paper towel.(3)In a saucepan, heat the vinegar, spices and sugar until sugar is completely dissolved, no need to boil.(4)Tightly pack sterilized jars to the top with onions and pour over the vinegar and spice mixture until jars are almost full. Seal with sterilized lids and allow to cool.(5)Let the pickles stand for 3-4 weeks before opening.Note: The longer the onions sit with the salt, the softer they get. You can use whatever spices you prefer, such as juniper berries or mustard seeds. Brown vinegar and brown sugar can also be used.

As a kid, I grew up with an abundance of homemade pickles, preserves, jams, marmalades, curds and chutneys. In my parent’s country of origin (Britain), pickles are an institution. Virtually all cultures have developed processes for food preservation. Indians have spicy chutneys; Spanish have salsas and Europeans have glazed fruits. Most of the techniques where developed prior to refrigeration, in an attempt to slow down food spoilage and allow fruit and vegetables to be stored for longer, because once fresh produce is harvested it very quickly deteriorates. Furthermore, due to climatic conditions some produce won’t be available again until the seasons turn full circle. With modern day availability of year-round fresh produce and advanced refrigeration technology, it could be argued that the preservation techniques of old are now obsolete. Besides, you can also buy mass produces pickles etc. The problem with that argument is that homemade preserves just taste so much better than factory-made. My Dad recently g