reLAKSation 81.
Let
them eat cake!: Mrs Anne Coates of Thirsk in North Yorkshire wrote the
following to the letters page of the Daily Mail. “When I was younger, I often
made fishcakes using cod, potato, a little milk, salt and pepper and parsley –
with enough flour to coat them. Last week, I bought a pack of fishcakes from
Tesco. They were very tasty but a glance at the ingredients (below) persuaded me
that my recipe was lacking. As the cod and potato account for 52% of the
product. I am now trying to decipher what makes up the other 48%?”
‘Two
fishcakes made with cod fillet and potato in a crispy breadcrumb coating.
Ingredients: Cod (34%), Batter (Water; Wheat flour; Potato Starch; Wheat Starch;
Wheat gluten; Modified maize starch; Salt; Dextrose; Raising agents: Disodium
diphosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate; Whey Powder; Colours: Paprika extract, Curcumin;
Vegetable oil), Potato (18%), Breadcrumbs (Wheat flour; Yeast; Salt;
Preservative: Calcium propionate; Emusifier: Mono- and Di-acetyltartric esters
of Mono- and Di-glycerides of fatty acids; Flour treatment agent: Ascorbic
acid), Hydrogenated vegetable oil (contains salt; Flavouring; Emulsifier:
lecithins; Vitamin A; Colour: Beta-carotene; Vitamin D), Dehydrated potato
flake, Seasoning (contains Dried skimmed milk powder; Dried cream; Stabiliser:
Guar Gum; Lactose: Antioxidant: Ascorbic acid; Cod powder; Crab powder; Fish
powder) Onion, Salt, Lemon juice (with preservative: Sulphur Dioxide), Black
pepper.’
What
is most interesting about this letter is not the long list of ingredients, but
the fact that Mrs Coates would rather write a letter to a National newspaper
about some relatively low cost fishcakes she bought from a major supermarket,
than actually bother to make her own fishcakes instead. This is yet further
indication that consumers are less inclined to cook their own meals and buy
ready-made products instead. Of course, the answer to Mrs Coates question is
that the Tesco fishcakes are coated in breadcrumb and these and the batter used
to stick them on contribute to the overall make up of the finished product.
That’s
entertainment!: Food writer, Jonathan Meades, is currently taking a
tongue in cheek look at British food in his new BBC TV series ‘Meades Eats’.
In his latest programme he considered the British Gastronomic Revolution and
made the following observation:
He
reports that each year there are about 900 books written on food and drink.
There are about 25 million words written in magazines and newspapers on food and
drink. In addition, TV devotes about 4000 hours of broadcasts to food and drink.
He concludes that with such extensive coverage, there must have been a
Gastronomic Revolution in British food and drink. However, he believes that this
revolution is not about the food and drink itself, but more about public’s
perception to it.
Mr
Meades suggests that the more we read about food and drink; the more we watch
the preparation of food and drink as a form of entertainment, the less that we
are actually inclined to actually cook it and the more that we have come to rely
on takeaways and ready meals, although this is something we are loathe to admit.
The
reality is that whilst the British public demonstrates an avid interest in high
quality, specialist foods, 90% of people live on food prepared in an industrial
way. Only 10% are willing to spend their money on artisan produced product and
as a result, small specialist food producers from no other country in Europe
have as hard a time than in Britain.
The
Scottish salmon industry would recognise this attitude, for whilst many
consumers readily state that they would not only prefer to buy Scottish salmon,
but they would also be willing to pay more for it, when faced with a decision in
store, most opt to buy the salmon which represents the best value for money. Any
attempt at maintaining an ideal is thrown right out of the window.
Mr
Meades is left to conclude that Britain has suffered a Gastronomic Revolution,
but he is not sure if it is one which should be welcomed. The question for
salmon producers is should they fight the revolution or try to prosper from it?
Unseasoned
shoppers: Supermarket chain Safeway, the subject of a take-over bid, has
been busy quizzing its customers. It has found that eighty six percent of
shoppers have no idea when foods should be at their best. This is the result of
supermarkets ensuring that their customers can buy produce all year round. The
concept of seasonality is being lost.
The
food industry in Scotland is keen to promote its produce as being high quality,
capitalising on the Scottish label. Yet, only 3% of Scots knew that turnips,
part of the traditional dish of haggis, neeps and tatties are first harvested in
January. Many did not know that fish could also be seasonal with January also
being the month for lobsters, March for sardines and June for both crab and
salmon. Trout should come into season in July.
Safeway
have said that with improved transportation, we now have a uni-season in which
any food, whether from the earth or sea is available 365 days of the year. They
acknowledge that this means that the anticipation of seasonal treats has now
disappeared. However, the food industry cannot have it both ways. Much could be
made of the seasonality of foods to promote home produced products, but at the
same time, production needs to be year round to satisfy an increasingly global
oriented consumer demand.
The
Scottish industry has always claimed a premium market position for their salmon.
Seasonality could be a way to further enhance this image, however, would
consumers be able to sufficiently differentiate Scottish from other salmon
during the remainder of the year?