Slow Food UK are to unveil seven new Forgotten Foods around the country during Slow Food Week from the 1st until the 8th of June.
The seven new Forgotten Foods are; Westmorland Pepper Cake, Penclawwd Cockles, Dulse, Carlin / Black Peas, Martock Beans, Cromer Crab and Ulster Corned Beef and now take the overall total of Forgotten Foods to 79.
Richard Corrigan, spokesperson for the Slow Food UK Chef Alliance says: “As ever, it is wonderful to get so much support from all of our chefs within the Alliance and to see so many of them championing Forgotten Foods throughout the week, including Angela Hartnett, Emily Watkins, Ross Lewis and Tom Aikens to name a few.
“And of course their work doesn’t just stop there, they help us to raise awareness of these foods all year round in a bid to save them from extinction along with their centuries of expert knowledge and cultural traditions.”
Here are the latest additions to the list:
- Ulster Corned Beef (Northern Ireland) –
Ulster Corned Beef is very close to Richard Corrigan’s heart and was in fact personally chosen by him. Hailing from close by to where he himself was raised, records show that this beef was eaten as far back as 1100 AD, and then throughout the centuries it was widely consumed across Ireland and also exported to the UK and the British colonies.Today however, with cheaper, canned supermarket versions on offer and a declining market for preserved meat, there are only a few producers left in Northern Ireland who still make this product.
- Westmorland Pepper Cake (Cumbria)
There is currently only one bakery in the whole country that produces this cake, and they only do so on a small scale. Westmorland Pepper Cake is a special fruitcake from Westmorland in Cumbria. It is made using spices such as black pepper, ground cloves and ginger.
- Penclawwd Cockles (Swansea)
These cockles have been harvested from the shores of the Burry Estuary in Wales since Roman times, when very basic methods were used such as a donkey pulling a metal “scrape” to loosen the cockles from the seabed. Nowadays strict legislation ensures that only small-scale producers are licensed to harvest the cockles, using only sustainable practices. They are absolutely delicious, particularly when fried in bacon fat and served laverbread and eggs – a very traditional Welsh breakfast.
- Dulse (Ireland and Scotland)
Dulse is a wild reddish-purple seaweed that has been harvested on the coasts of Ireland and
Scotland for many thousands of years. It is a highly nutritious, diverse and has a deep flavour and can be made into dishes such as broths, stews and soups.
- Carlin / Black Peas (Lancashire)
Black peas are a heritage variety of pea traditional to Northern England, and they date back to the reign of Elizabeth I. They are purple podded peas which come into season in June. Carefully dried and then soaked overnight, they are then cooked to produce a dish similar to pease pudding.
Records of this historic variety of broad bean go as far back as the 13th Century. The plants from which they are grown produce mauve coloured flowers and, typically, there are two beans to a pod. They are an excellent source of protein and can be enjoyed fresh, although traditionally they are dried and used in stews.
- Cromer Crab (East Anglia)
Cromer crabs are famous for their tender, fragrant meat and their high proportion of white meat to dark, attributed to the pure and nutrient-rich waters off the coast of Norfolk in which they are reared. Traditionally the crab industry was a large part of Cromer, however numbers have declined and now there are only around 35 boats left in service, which is why Slow Food have entitled it a Forgotten Food.
What is Slow Food?
Slow Food is all about helping people think differently about food. In the UK, we work to reconnect people with where their food comes from so they can better understand the implications of the
choices they make about the food they put on their plates. We encourage people to choose nutritious food, from sustainable, local sources, and which tastes great, through our education programmes.
What is Forgotten Foods about?
Our way of protecting Britain's edible bio-diversity: Slow Food UK’s Forgotten Foods is part of the International Ark of Taste network, which counts more than 1500 products from over 60 countries. Slow Food UK has contributed and saved 79 Forgotten Foods, which are often at risk of extinction. We aim to raise awareness about the products and traditional production methods so that they may be rediscovered and returned to the market.
