Green as grass?

We’d like to be. Especially the lush green grass of the rolling Yorkshire Dales. When you live in a place as breathtaking as this, you realise just why it’s so important to look after the environment. At Paganum we are always looking for new ways to cut our carbon footprint and look after the place we love. Here are just some of the things we do.

On the way home passing Malham Cove, Yorkshire Dales

Keeping it local

Wherever possible we use local suppliers and producers, keeping food miles and business miles to a minimum. All our meat, poultry, game and gourmet produce is sourced from within a 30 mile radius of Paganum here in Kirkby Malham. Meat is butchered just 10 miles away in the bustling market town of Skipton, the Gateway to the Yorkshire Dales and we use local expertise for everything from web design to vehicle servicing.

“I was lucky enough to try the sausages and they are, without exaggeration the best I’ve ever had!” Local Food Advisor

Eco-friendly packaging

OK everyone knows that wool keeps you warm, but it’s also brilliant at keeping things cool because it’s a fantastic insulator. We use this 100% natural product to deliver your order of fresh Dales produce in perfect condition. Our chiller boxes are made from recycled, recyclable and bio-degradable cardboard lined with British Sheep’s Wool insulation sealed in recyclable wrapping. With an ice pack inside they have been rigorously tested to the highest food standard requirements and have been proven to keep produce at the correct temperature of below 5^oC for at least 24 hours. Other packaging is made from recycled and recyclable materials wherever possible. We’re not perfect yet, but improving all the time.

Sheep’s wool insulation – the facts

• Natural – made from 100% natural, British sheep’s wool, washed and carded
• Effective – better insulating properties than polystyrene
• Compostable – helps your plants grow
• Reusable – simply return in the postage paid envelope provided
• Versatile – excellent for lining hanging baskets and good in a wormery!

“No waste – natural sheep’s wool insulation ensures your fresh produce arrives in perfect condition.”

“Thanks again for your wonderful produce and wonderful efficiency in sending them. I’m particularly impressed with the sheep’s wool you used as insulation.” Fiona Kearns

Modern distribution

Aren’t computers wonderful! They mean we can synchronise our home and trade deliveries and plan the most effective delivery route. Plus, because we source and pack locally we are much more efficient than some larger organisations, who trundle animals and meat from one end of the country to butcher, pack and store then back again. All of which means reduced food miles and a lower carbon footprint (or hoofprint if you prefer!).

Traditional farming methods

Of course, our Dales farmers have been looking after the environment for years. Planting trees and hedgerows, keeping rare breeds for biodiversity and using natural methods of rearing animals to avoid the need for fertilisers, antibiotics and growth hormones. It’s these traditional methods that keep our animals happy and which mean that our meat tastes better.

]]> http://paganum.wordpress.com/2009/09/30/sheeps-wool-eco-friendly-packaging/feed/ 1 paganum malhamcovevan1 http://paganum.wordpress.com/2009/07/14/natoora-continental-food/ http://paganum.wordpress.com/2009/07/14/natoora-continental-food/#comments Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:22:37 +0000 paganum http://paganum.wordpress.com/?p=851 ]]>

Natoora, French & Italian food delivered to your door, Natoora describe themselves thus  “A unique range of superlative fresh food and groceries, including fruits and vegetables from the markets of Milan and Paris, delivered to your home”

They were kind enough to offer me a trial selection and this was delivered promptly in chilled packaging wrap and cool blocks, not as eco friendly as the Paganum sheeps wool packaging solution but still very effective.

I tried a selection of cured meats including Jambon de Bayonne, Mortadella Di Bologna Felsineo, Breasola Punta Anca IGP, Prosciutto Cotto and Prosciutto di Parma.  Our favourites were the excellent Mortadella and superb Breasola I must have a go at making my own Breasola!

On the cheese front we tried the classic unpasteurised Brie de Meaux which was particularly smelly and full of natural grass flavours, just how I like it! and a huge piece of Parmigiano Reggiano (0.67kg) which has been superb, buying a bigger lump helps it keep and is a fantastic must have ingredient and keeps for weeks if not months.

Also included were some dry goods including, long spaghetti, our family favourite linguine, Vialone Nano Novello rice, celery crackers perfect with blue cheese and some delicious Fairtrade Alter Eco Organic milk chocolate with hazelnuts.

The meat available is more local coming from Jack O Shea’s, Tuscan Farmers Sausage & Grass Fed Black Angus Burgers were both proper meat and excellent quality, the Tuscan farmers sausage are particularly authentic coarse continental style sausage, you either love em or hate em!

All in all a great selection of continental grub supplied efficiently by mail order, well worth a try. www.natoora.co.uk

The Great Yorkshire Show is the North’s leading agricultural event and takes place from Tuesday 14 to Thursday 16 July 2009 on the 250-acre Great Yorkshire Showground on the edge of the spa town of Harrogate.

Great Yorkshire Show

Lots of foodie events at the show including top chefs Rosemary Shrager, Stephanie Moon & Bruce Elsworth in the Game Cookery theatre, bread making, smoothie making,  a cheese show and cheese making demonstrations and of course the vast food hall containing many of the best local suppliers and producers including stands from the Yorkshire food group – Deliciously Yorkshire.

The Great Yorkshire Show will also see the launch of Yorkshire’s Own Kitchen, an essential guide to the very best of local produce and recipes from local food heroes and celebrity chefs, beautiful photography and food highlights for planning an appetising day out – all in one easy-to-use full colour book.  Available at the show at a special introductory price of £6.50, Yorkshire’s Own Kitchen is available through farm shops, independent delis and local bookshops, as well as online at www.deliciouslyorkshire.co.uk It retails at £9.99.

Yorkshire's Own Kitchen - local produce directory

I have been using Twitter for a while now and it has suddenly gone mainstream with mentions on Radio, TV and national press. I have found it very useful for expanding my Food Blog friends and audience and we have received some great feedback and reviews for our Paganum Mail Order Meat and online Farmers Market site.  We have been quoted as “Meat Dealers” and even had a catchphrase christened by Niamh @EatLikeaGirl  “p-p-p-p-p-p-p-pick up a paganum pork belly! “

Twitter Logo

Thursday the 12th of February is Twestival Day, a Twitter meet up or Tweetup for Charity and will take place in over 175 cities around the world.  Various raffle’s, auctions and even a Gumball style car rally from Newcastle to London (See Paganum on the Gumball Car here) will be taking place more info on the Twestival website.

Twestival Logo

You can follow me on Twitter @cwildman and you can read a selection of our reviews here:-

Hollow Legs – Chickpea & Mint Lamb

Food Stories – Crispy Chinese Roast Pork Belly

Leigh at The Good Stuff – Paganum Online Farmers Market

Rasga at Food By Day – Rib Eye Steak

Rasga at Food By Day -Yorkshire Lamb Chops

Eat Like A Girl – Roast Yorkshire Pork

The WordPress Mag – Yorkshire Dales Food Blog

Thanks to all of the above for the reviews, very much appreciated.

This is my Mum’s recipe and is simply the best Sausagemeat ball recipe, great hot and I suggest you make extra and hide them so you can have some leftover cold on boxing day!  These are so good they should not be restricted to Xmas.

Ingredients:-

• 1lb/500g pork sausagemeat (or just remove skin from some sausages)
• 1 grated carrot
• 1 grated onion
• 1 grated apple
• 2 sticks grated celery
• 1 fresh egg
• small packet Paxo sage & onion stuffing
• salt & pepper
• plain flour if required

Method:-

• make up the paxo stuffing mix with water as directions on packet
• combine all other prepared ingredients with the stuffing and add a little flour if too wet
• make into small balls with an ice cream scoop or just use your hands
• space out on a tray (leave a gap as they will spread out)
• cook in oven for 20 mins or until cooked through, I like to slightly over cook them until a deep brown colour
• keep warm and serve with your Xmas Dinner/Lunch

I would double or treble the recipe at least and reserve some for boxing day, in our house half get eaten as soon as they come out of the oven by various members of the family pinching one as they pass through the kitchen! be warned….

Sausagemeat Balls for Christmas Dinner

Some information regarding Paganum’s use of ethical packaging for shipping mail order meat to customers.  We think this is nearly as important as the quality of our meat and have spent considerable time and effort researching and perfecting this solution.

All our packaging is environmentally friendly and uses insulation produced from pure Sheep’s wool from British Sheep – an innovative use of a truly sustainable resource.  It is completely safe to use and harmless to the environment.  The wool is washed, scoured and blended into insulation felt locally here in Yorkshire and then contained in a perforated wrap to prevent any fibres coming into contact with foodstuffs whilst allowing the natural sheep’s wool to breath.  Ice sheets are then placed within the box to maintain cool temperatures.

We actively encourage the return and reuse of our packaging but people are also finding alternative uses for our packaging including insulating outdoor taps to prevent freezing, loft insulation, pipe lagging, garden kneelong pad, feeding roses, compost, hanging baskets, insulate home brew fermentation buckets, pet baskets, cushion stuffing, keeps picnics cold, keeps takeaways hot, car cool box for shopping, the list is endless if you have an innovative use for our sheep’s wool packaging please let us know.

Our delivery boxes and insulation are Biodegradable, Sustainable, Recyclable and Compostable….

With many Chef’s favouring traditional cuts of meat and recipes and in the midst of a downturn or as the media insist on calling it at every opportunity the “Credit Crunch” now is perfect timing for Delia Smith to relaunch her Frugal Food recipe book.  Originally first published in the seventies Frugal Food is a collection of low cost recipes utilising economy and budget foods and less popular cuts of meat such as shin, stewing steak, breast of lamb, oxtail, offal, liver, etc.

You can win a copy of Frugal Food by Delia Smith by subscribing to the Paganum email newsletter here http://www.paganum.co.uk/delia_competition.cfm

paganum steak

A few short sharp steak cooking tips :-

• Make sure you start with good quality steak, preferably with a nice bit of fat and well hung for a minimum of 21 to 28 days.
• The Pan. Make sure you use a heavy pan and get it really hot so that you can brown and caramelize the steak when sealing it.
• Don’t mess with the steak, just leave it and let it brown and sizzle don’t keep prodding or turning it, the less messing the better.
• Brush with oil before dropping into the pan.
• Marco Pierre White suggests mixing a Knorr beef stock cube with a little olive oil into a paste and coat the steak with that before frying.  He swears by it.
• Season steak with good quality sea salt like Maldon Sea Salt before frying.
• For a medium cut steak, that is, not cut very thick, 2 to 3 minutes per side should give you a medium rare steak, increase timings for medium and medium to well, if you want it well done reconsider !!  go on try it medium or medium to well.
• The steak touch or poke test, people use various systems but here are the main two I am aware of! Compare the softness in the fleshy muscle part of your thumb when you poke it with your finger to the feel when you prod the steak with the same finger!!  so for rare steak it should feel like your thumb touching your index finger, for medium rare - thumb touching your middle finger, medium – thumb to ring finger and medium to well done your little finger.  After you’ve tried this method you’ll get the idea, how it should feel follows.
• Very Rare Steak – feels soft and squishy
  Rare Steak – soft to the touch
  Medium-Rare Steak – yields gently to the touch
  Medium Steak – yields only slightly to the touch, beginning to firm up
  Medium-Well Steak – firm to the touch
  Well-Done Steak – hard to the touch
• Link to a video of Jonny Gilmore cooking the Perfect Steak at the Devonshire Arms Bolton Abbey
• Let me know your own top steak tips….

Farmers markets take place throughout the Yorkshire Dales, here are listed a few of them:-

• Grassington Farmers Market – Village Centre – 3rd Sunday 9.30am-3pm
• Leyburn Farmers Market – Market Place – 4th Saturday 8am-3pm
• Ripon Farmers Market – Market Square – 3rd Sunday 8am-3pm
• Settle Farmers Market – Town Square – 2nd Sunday 9.30 – 3pm
• Skipton Farmers Market - Coach Street – 1st Sunday 9.30am-3pm
• Thirsk Farmers Market - Town Square – 2nd Monday 8am-3pm
• York Auction Mart – 1st and 3rd Saturday 9am-1pm

Bolton Abbey Well Hung Beef

The finest Beef and Lamb from Bolton Abbey in the Yorkshire Dales.   ‘The quality of our beef is second to none’  says Steve Crabtree of Bolton Abbey Foods.  Over the years a suckler herd has been established, using the best of both native British breeds and continental breeds.  These animals are ideally suited to the high Dales grassland and rich lower parkland.

The Beef animals are reared naturally, suckling their mothers from birth and graze at least two seasons at grass.  A purpose designed feeding regime has been formulated with the help of an animal nutritionist, this enhances the texture, taste, consistency and overall quality of the meat.  As a direct result, the animals are both healthier and happier.  The meat is tasty, tender and succulent because it is hung and fully matured ensuring the quality of the beef is second to none.

Bolton Abbey Really Tasty Lamb

The sheep flock on Steve Crabtree’s farm in Bolton Abbey graze over the heather moors and lower parklands. The breeding sheep have been established over the past 50 years and are indigenous to the Wharfedale valley.  They are farmed in a natural way utilising the diverse grazing which is available on the farm.

The lambs are Spring born to their home-bred mothers and suckle during the Autumn.  The lambs are finished purely on grass, which ensures only the best quality of lamb is produced.  This farming practice creates a wholesome, natural and unique product.

The farm is registered as farm assured and is subject to rigorous annual inspections, ensuring all aspects of animal welfare and environmental care are kept to a paramount.

Steven Crabtree’s Bolton Abbey Beef and Lamb is now available on the Paganum Farmers Market Website  here www.paganum.co.uk.