Fudge Heaven

Most of us have moments when only something sweet will do and Fudge is a brilliant way to resolve that craving whether your preference is for smooth melting sweetness or a crumbly texture that then melts into unctuous, silky satisfaction.

Helen Beveridge (aka 'The Fudge Fairy') is the woman to turn to when those moments strike.

Starting making fudge at home, after a holiday in Cornwall, Helen rapidly moved into selling through Farmers Markets using only Welsh butter in her little blocks of pleasure. The queues at her stall are deep and demand is high.

It was through selling at Undy Farmers Market that Helen spotted a shop in the village, empty and, until a builder cut back huge Leylandii when doing up a bungalow, invisible. Discovering that it had been a Sweet Shop during the 30’s Helen just had to have it and Fudge Fairy HQ came into being.

Though Helen’s hand-made Fudge is the star of the show she also sells a range of retro sweets and cards and celebration items be it for birthdays, weddings or corporate events.

At its simplest fudge is just Milk, Sugar and Butter, but it is the treatment of the ingredients, the flavouring and stirring and beating that really make the outcome. Helen has developed a great technique that ensures perfect Fudge every time and offers a choice of smooth or crumbly though the vast majority go for smooth.

After meeting Helen’s son Adam who was operating the stall at Undy Farmers Market, and buying two or three packs we headed just up the road to the shop for more.

When you enter a lovely smell of warm sugar meets you and the shelves of multi-coloured sweets take you back to childhood.

Helen was just finishing a batch of her newest flavour Cornish Kiss. I have a feeling that Cornwall is important in Helen’s life,she started the business after a holiday there and had just been again where she discovered Cornish Lust. No not a holiday romance but a Strawberry infused liqueur. Added to a smooth, creamy fudge this gives a subtle Strawberry hint and is a great new addition to the range.

It was this new taste that we wanted to try, partially inspired by Helen using Twitter to inform us all of the development of the Fudge over the week since her return from Cornwall.

Excitement mounted as the fresh fudge was removed from the mould and cut in front of us. Tasters of both the Fudge and the Cornish Lust liqueur confirmed that this was a winner.

Our visit was slightly curtailed by the arrival of two people to discuss and select the Wedding Favours that would be on the table for the Wedding Breakfast, all neatly bagged and sealed with satin ribbons. Not wanting to interfere with Helen’s business we made our exit, saying goodbye to younger son James who was helping behind the counter.

No doubt at all the Fudge Fairy makes excellent fudge, you really have to get along and try some and her shop would delight any child, again well worth a visit.

Though the shop open Tuesday to Saturday is the main focus of Helen’s output she will still have a presence at Farmers Markets and at these shows Magor Square May Day Fayre 7th May (Bank Holiday), Penhow Village Diamond Jubilee Celebration - Date to be confirmed summer 2012, Chepstow Country Show, Usk Show, Magor Frost Fayre. Helen also attended the food event in Cardiff last year and hopefully will be back again.

Helen makes exceptional Fudge and inspired me to make a version at home. This is a quick version that uses Condensed Milk so it’s suitable for home bakers but Helen’s Fudge is undoubtedly smoother.

Ingredients

150g Demarara Sugar

150 ml Milk

115g Butter

395g tin of Condensed Milk

1tsp Vanilla Extract

Mix the Sugar, Butter and Milks together in a pan, bring to the boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes stirring all the time and scraping the bottom. (Sugar can stick and burn leaing an unpleasant taste).

Remove from the heat and beat with a spoon for about 10 minutes until it begins to thicken then add the Vanilla and continue to beat for a couple of minutes.

Pour into a greased and lined 9" baking tray and leave to cool, NB cool at room temperature so the sugar does not crystallise

Turn onto a board and cut into squares,

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Country Pub of the Year

A good pub should be at the heart of every community.

Not just my thoughts but those of CAMRA the Campaign for Real Ale who don’t just champion real ale but also pubs and breweries and aim to ensure that there is a thriving industry and community.

April is their Community Pub month aimed at promoting the role of pubs as part of their local communities, be they in towns, cities or villages. So, once again the Coach and Horses in Chepstow won the Gwent Town Pub award, and the Star Inn Llansoy the Country Pub.

The Star Inn winning this prestigious award is an amazing story, as just a year ago the pub was shut, boarded up and unloved.

Enter John and Julie Davis who took it on, installed a good team and hot young chef, and re-opened with the aim of building a successful local pub that would concentrate on good beers, excellent food and become a key part of the community.

And how well that has worked.

First off there are a good range of beers, the CAMRA endorsement backs this up, and they support local brewers Kingstone – just down the road in Tintern, and Tiny Rebel the new Newport based brewery whom I featured in the earlier blog about the Newport Food Festival.

Locality matters to John and Julie and as well as good beers they want to support local producers and providers.so the restaurant features local food with the meat coming from Abergavennys Neil Powell.

Handling the cooking side is Matt Dawkins a hot young chef who I first met as a 17 year old catering college student in 2009 when we were both members of the Monmouthshire Team in TV show Taste the Nation. Monmouthshire went out in the first round with only Matt winning his head to head – and I didn’t even get to cook!

Matt is producing good local and seasonal food, reasonably priced and well presented so the restaurant was crowded even on a Wednesday evening. As I photographed the Specials Board a diner said “Don’t steal that menu, though I know why you would, the food’s always great”.

As it was we didn’t dine but the small plates of nibbles in the bar –lovely sausage rolls, home- made vegetable crisps, egg mayonnaise on crostini etc., showed Matt’s talent and a meal at the Star is a must.

But back to the award and one of the reasons that the Star was recognised is the way in which the pub is positioned at the heart of the community. Bank holidays are marked by Family Days with bouncy castles and kids’ activities and there is an exciting programme of drink related events as well.

4^th May sees the chance to sample Butcombe Beers and some of Matts Hand Cut Chips, whilst the weekend of 4^th June is the Star Inn Beer Festival with stalls, events, raffles and the opportunity to meet the Head Brewer at Kingstone Brewery. You might just win a case of beer in the raffle but even if you don’t real ales and live music should be reason enough to head out.

Later in the year there will be a Fullers Wine tasting evening and a pub organised trip to Butcombe Brewery in Bristol.

Before that the pub is supporting its local brewery with a trip to Kingstone on 8^th June and one of the raffle prizes the weekend before is a place on the trip.

With loads of activities it is clear why, during Camra Community Pub Month, the Star was awarded Country Pub of the Year 2012.

Only going for a year the Star Inn has come a long way and will undoubtedly continue to develop and ensure that it becomes a major destination pub in both Monmouthshire and South wales.

Though I was there for the Award a return visit and full review is welldesered and I shall return in the very near future.

In the meantime Congratulations are due to John, Julie and the team who have turned around a closed pub and made it an award winner that should go from strength to strength.

Based on that the Star Inn Llansoy is undoubtedly Local and Great.

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Pudding Heaven

Whilst Annascaul is rightly heralded as the birthplace of Antarctic explorer Tom Crean it has another claim to fame in Ashe’s of Annascaul, makers of award winning Black and White Puddings.

For those of you unfamiliar with Irish Puddings they are very different from the UK versions which tend to have either huge chunks of fat or an excess of Pinhead Oats in the Black and, in the case of the White seem to consist largely of Lard and Oatmeal, a claggy consistency and little if any taste. It is hardly surprising that they are, at the very least, an acquired taste.

Boudin, or Blood Puddings, as per the continental makers are however a totally different matter and a taste experience of their own and, in recent years, Irish producers are conquering the continent regularly winning in the competitions for best Boudin held there.

Ashe’s were established in 1916 and have gone from strength to strength.

As great Irish butcher Pat Whelan said “Annascaul is special” and many top chefs agree, I had a starter of Annascaul Black Pudding hash in the Chart House in Dingle, which was a mix of finely diced pudding and potato, and loved it.

As with all good foods the secret lies in good ingredients and sensitive handling to present them as intended not processed beyond belief.

A handmade pudding, baked in a steam oven in the cellar of the shop in Annascaul, the hand made as opposed to machinery constructed pudding is one of the few that uses fresh blood, in this case Beef Blood, most are made from reconstituted dried blood. The ingredients are simple: Beef blood, onions, breadcrumbs, suet, milk, oatmeal, flour, salt, pepper, spices, herbs. The secret lies in the exact combination and, whatever was decided back in 1916 nearly 100 years on the combination still works.

White Pudding is a relative newcomer first made in 2005. Again cake baked in the steam oven it is softer than the Black and an essential part of any proper breakfast. This pudding is also popular with chefs and often appears as a starter or even in canapés. White pudding is differentiated from Black in that it does not use blood, rather bacon. The ingredients, as with the Black Pudding are all sourced locally being: Prime back bacon, gammon, pearl barley, rusk, milk, salt, pepper, spices and seasonings. Whatever combination of spices are used the result is a really tasty pudding.

Of course a breakfast would not be breakfast without Bacon and Sausage and I am pleased to report that Ashe’s do both – very well.

The Sausages have a much lower fat content than usually found and the flavour is all the better for that!

The Traditional Pork Sausages are described as “Peppery Pork Perfection” and that is as accurate a description as I have ever heard. The smaller ones are chipolata size and there is a bigger really hungry/barbecue size as well. Unlike most sausages which are mix of lean meat and fat these are made from Pork Belly and the balance of fat to meat is natural, a 75% Pork content ensures a great sausage. Hand Packed into natural Lamb casings they fry beautifully with very little fat left in the pan and give a good meaty bite with loads of spicy flavour.


I cooked mine dry and they coloured well and maintained a great texture. Combined with extra thick cut commercial bread – the only time that I use commercial – they gave a brilliant sausage sandwich and moved Mrs. K to grant her highest accolade “Very Yum!”

Sadly when I called by the shop the Pork and Black Pudding sausages were out of stock “It’s the Easter Weekend, we’ve had a run and we only restarted making them today, can you wait?” I was told. Unfortunately we were heading back to the Ferry and had booked lunch some 150k south so I couldn’t. Try Camp or Blennerville was the suggestion. So keen was I that heading a potential 50k in the wrong direction was not an issue. As the white Pudding was still in the oven as well it made sense. Camp had sold out entirely but I was able to get my White Pudding in Blennerville and was only 35 minutes late for my lunch reservation. Having tried the Sausages and Black pudding I can only imagine the effect of combining the two in a sausage and will definitely be back to get some – perhaps I will have to email a reservation first!

Finally they have Bacon, both varieties Green and Smoked. Dry Cured for ultimate taste and none of that horrid white gunge that emerges from certain proprietary brands, these rashers are simply good!

After nearly a century of making puddings and porcine pleasure Ashe’s have got it just right. The combination of using local ingredients and hand processing really does bring out the very best in all of their products and this undoubtedly makes them Local And Great.

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Antarcticly Cool Lager

After an overnight ferry and the drive to the West Coast of Ireland I fancied relaxing, so I headed to the bar of the Dingle Skellig Hotel for a pint, glad that hotels serve on Good Friday even if the pubs are all shut.

The usual suspects were all on tap, Guinness, Harp, Smithwicks and assorted multinational Lagers and then my eye fell on Tom Creans, a lager from the Dingle Brewing Company. Now I am not usually a huge fan of lager, though a Peroni in Italy is always acceptable but my dedication to Local products meant that this ought to be tasted.

“Not seen that one before” I said to the barman as he pulled my pint, “They have only been going since last Summer” he replied.

Sinking into a deep leather chair I tried my first mouthful. Light, crisp , with a bit of a bite and well chilled it really hit the mark. Making further enquiries I discovered that the brewery was open to the public and determined to get along there to find out more.

“Do you know why it’s called Tom Crean’s” asked the barman as I ordered a second pint, luckily I did. Tom Crean was born on the Dingle peninsular and was a major figure in Antarctic exploration, travelling with both Scott and Shackleton. On Scott’s doomed mission Tom Crean fell ill and was excluded from the final party who died in the snow, but still returned with Shackleton.

When that expedition ran into trouble Tom Crean set off with Shackleton, in a small boat to the whaling station on South Georgia to get relief for the rest of the crew stranded on Elephant Island. Landing on the opposite side of the island he covered 35 miles over mountains in 18 hours, a feat reflected in the lager’s badge – a compass pointing South and the words 18/35.

Tom Crean retired to his home village of Anascaul – a few kilometres from Dingle and took over the local pub which he renamed The South Pole Inn.

Tom rarely, if ever, spoke of his explorations and ran the pub until his death in 1938.

Fittingly the beer was launched in The South Pole at 18:35 on his birthday 21st July 2011.

Finding the brewery is easy, just follow the sign to the Conor Pass and it is the big white building on the edge of town. It used to be the local creamery then stood empty for a number of years before being converted into a brewery and there are some relics from the creamery days inside.

Anyone can visit and be assured of a warm welcome though the full visitor experience is still a work in progress but do not let that put you off.

An explanation of the brewing process is being built and you are free to wander around the brewery with only access to the control panels being roped off as brewing was in progress.

There are a number of connections with South Wales, firstly being the fact that Shackleton set off from Cardiff flying the red dragon flag and, indeed he raised a lot of the capital needed through public appeals in South Wales. Secondly one of the exhibits from the old Creamery days is an Alfa Laval milk separator which would have been built in their Cwmbran factory, now sadly closed.

Another more tenuous link is that on Scott’s fatal expedition one of the crew was a south Walian who intended, like Tom, to run a pub when he returned. Sadly this was not to be as he froze to death. The final link is that the National Museum of Wales has been holding an exhibition of Antarctic Exploration Photography with many images of Tom Crean.

I hoped to take a bottle of the beer back to Wales and sneak a photo of it with the exhibits in Cardiff but was thwarted as bottled Tom Crean's will not be available for another few weeks as the recipe has to be slightly amended for bottling.

But enough of history, back to the present and the story of the new beer.

At its simplest beer is just a combination of Malted Grain, Water, Hops and Yeast, not a lot different to bread though obviously the water : grain proportions are very different! Like bread it is how you combine the elements and the quality of the ingredients that determine the outcome.

Where the multinational beer factories make significant additions and take a purely chemical approach to brewing small breweries such as the Dingle Brewing Company and Tiny Rebel in Wales produce an artisan beer where it is the skill of the brewer not a computer programme that determines the outcome.

The brewing process is clearly demonstrated in explanatory exhibits and you are able to get up close and personal with the brew in a way that a huge factory would never allow.

Obviously having only one beer available at present could be seen as an issue but, start small, get it right and develop a range over time is the way to go. Small or micro-breweries offer something that the chemi-brewers cannot, a quality product developed with much customer feedback and one that reflects local taste.

Dingle Brewing Company fit perfectly into this model and have formed a partnership with a Dingle butcher who is using the lager to add an additional taste element to his sausages. They are as good as the lager itself and beer and pork have a natural affinity which is well documented in the snags.

I am looking forward to my next visit when I hope to try a new beer or two and hopefully bring a few bottles home.

At present Tom Creans is available across Kerry and in limited outlets in Cork and Dublin but the sheer quality of the pint means that it will be demanded elsewhere.

A small, new brewery but one that is undoubtedly local and destined to be great.

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