Recipe ideas - Please write to us!
Below, we have outlined some of the ways you can use our products. However, our customers occasionally tell us about different uses they have found for them. Customers also tell us about products they think we should add to our range as well as changes they think we could make to our existing products. All these comments are most welcome. We are also very pleased to answer queries about how to use our products and will reply as quickly as we are able. Our e-mail address is mail at (@) berkeleyfinefoods.com and we look forward to hearing from you.

Ginger and red pepper relish

Winner of a gold award in the 2009 Great Taste Awards, our customers tell us that this is one of the most versatile food products they have come across.

A couple of teaspoonsful can be added to a casserole or sauce to give a delightful flavour burst. It can be used like a chutney and served as an accompaniment to curries, cheese and wherever else one uses chutneys and pickles. It is equally at home being used as a ginger confit, or as a garnish for chicken and pork dishes. It is marvellous by itself, spread on an oatcake as a cocktail snack. Added during the cooking, it gives the most amazing flavour lift to Indian, Chinese and Thai dishes.

Some of our customers rub it into beef before roasting, or into corn on the cob before wrapping in tinfoil and roasting.

Ginger, apricot and armagnac relish

We introduced this recipe in October 2006 and originally intended it only as a Christmas relish - however, our customers decided they wanted it throughout the year and it is now one of our four top selling products. We think it goes best served on oatcakes, although several customers tell us they eat it straight from the jar. Either way, it is practically as versatile as our ginger and red pepper relish and is specially suited to those dishes where a light apricot note would add to the flavour - chcken, lamb and pork dishes spring immediately to mind.

Red pepper, ginger and tomato sauce

Although we call this product a sauce, think of it more as a grown up ketchup - however, it bears no resemblance to commercial sweetened tomato ketchups. We simmer chopped root ginger, red peppers and tomatoes with white wine vinegar, cane sugar, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, fresh lemon juice, sea salt and spices. We then blend this mixture to produce a ketchup that is just perfect with all those dishes where tomato ketchup is commonly used. This is a savoury ketchup with a truly marvellous flavour.

Date, fig and prune chutney

Many of our customers appear to become addicted to this unusual chutney - it goes extremely well with hard cheeses of all sorts, particularly English cheeses. It is one of those chutneys which has multiple layers of flavour - a feature much appreciated by our customers

Pear chutney

A super, mild chutney which will admirably enhance any blue cheese. Although it was designed specifically to accompany such cheeses, it will work very well with roast lamb or chicken. The mild flavour of pears shines through in our chutney, as it is not padded with apple or other fruit - whilst this undoubtedly makes for an excellent chutney, it does not make it an inexpensive one!

London Pride chutney

Winner of the Fuller's 2009 chutney challenge! We made several traditional chutneys to accompany English cheeses, using a variety of fine English ales as part of the process - we decided that Fuller's London Pride Ale produced the finest condiment and so that is what we use - in keeping with our philosphy, we have aimed at a quality product rather than an inexpensive one. We think you'll agree. Superb with English hard cheeses.

Somerset cider chutney

Another example of a fine, traditional English chutney - this time using Gaymer's Blackthorn cider, which we found to be the best for this particular type of condiment. Not unlike our Kentish ale chutney, this chutney is slightly sharper - it's just a question of personal preference!

Black olive tapenade

We blend black olives and capers with extra virgin olive oil to produce a coarse textured puree – our customers tell us that this slightly rough cut texture adds immensely to its appeal. To this blend we add Dijon mustard, fresh lemon juice, garlic, sea salt, herbs and cognac. The result is the best tapenade we and our customers have tasted. We leave out the anchovies in our product as many of our customers tell us they do not like them. It is superb served with goats' cheese and makes the easiest and tastiest imaginable starter for a lunch or supper, served on oatcakes or with oatmeal crackers or toast – indeed, many of our customers tell us they enjoy our tapenade at almost any time of day as a quick snack. Under these circumstances, you may find that one jar will not last long at all!

Harissa

We make this slightly less fierce and more spicy than the usual Moroccan chilli paste. It is added to any dish during cooking to give chilli heat - but a little goes a long way, so it is economical in use. It should be used with a degree of caution by those who are unused to spicy hot food! If it is used in casseroles or other slow cooked dishes, the chilli heat will be significantly dissipated

Tomato and chilli relish

This is a slightly sweet relish, not unlike a jam, but with a light chilli bite. Like a number of our other products, it is a versatile condiment which can be spread on oatcakes as a cocktail snack, served with cheese like a chutney, or served with pasta. It can also be added to savoury sauces or indeed used as a sauce base

Prunes in Armagnac

Two, or possibly three, of these prunes make a delicious dessert served with vanilla ice cream - very simple, but very good. They also make a modern and very unusual accompaniment to roast pork, duck or goose - one per person would possibly be enough - two for total decadence!

Apricot and thyme mustard

We make our mustard from brown and yellow mustard seeds which we grind ourselves, just sufficiently to leave a slight texture in the finished product, which our customers prefer. This is a full and distinctively flavoured mustard - the apricot and thyme content giving it a delightful, slightly sweet note; it is also not hot, so can be enjoyed by those who normally do not appreciate the fiery bite in most commercial mustard products. It can be added during cooking to improve the flavour of casseroles and sauces and is a particularly good accompaniment to grilled sausages and hard cheeses.

 

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