Food and Drink
Eat, drink and be merry taste.blas delivers the verdict on a fabulous range of products available on the market now 1. The Naked Vegan Doughnuts No eggs, no problem for outlandish creations Out of her kitchen in Cardiff, Sarah Powney’s cakes are in high demand. She’s also founded The Naked Vegan to ensure everyone can enjoy her delicacies. With 12 different flavours to choose from that rival any of the big brands, TNV certainly has a lot of fun making its creations, with the Mermaid and Houston We Have Biscoff varieties raising a smile as well as tempting our sweet tooth. The Maple & Kevin Facon offers a salty, savoury contrast, the Chocolate Orange is suitably decadent and Oreo – yes, Oreos are vegan – is as tasty as you’d expect. Though the different flavours offer a host of merriment, it’s the doughnuts themselves that are most important, offering the soft, chewy inside and slightly crispy crust that you’d expect from an expert baker. Buy it from: discoverdelicious.wales Price: 6 doughnuts for £24
2. Mountain Mead Snowdonian bees the keys to these meads Our second batch of meads in as many issues, this time from Gwynedd producers Mike Cooke and Jacob Milner. Focussing on traditional flavours, all the Mountain Meads celebrate either Welsh honey or local ingredients, with each oozing silky sweetness and beautiful flavours. The Gylfinir (which uses Spanish and Mexican honeys) and Melyn Yr Eithin medium dry varieties are solid introductions for mead novices, with the former’s inviting golden colour and latter’s crispness ideal for beer and wine fans respectively. Those looking for more adventure should check out Grugiar Ddu’s clove-infused spice balanced by a hit of lemon, or the sweetness of Telor Y Coed that’s an ideal replacement to a dessert wine on a cosy evening. Buy it from: discoverdelicious.wales Price: £23.99 for a 750ml
3. Merlin Cheeses Fabled characters help inspire cheese legends in their own right Delving into Arthurian myths of the past for inspiration while looking to new horizons for both flavour and expansion, this family-run Carmarthenshire business have legendary status in mind for their products. All cheese producers need a solid cheddar as their centrepiece, and the Merlin Mature and Vintage varieties, matured for six and
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18 months respectively, certainly deliver a wise and creamy result. Meanwhile, those looking to tantalize their taste buds need look no further than the Black Knight’s combination of cheddar with dark chocolate with its seductive twang, and our personal favourite, the nefarious Lady Morgana that packs a punch with garlic and powerful coriander. Buy it from: merlincheeses.com/shop Price: £4.50 per 200g truckle
4. Little Grandma’s Kitchen Homemade preserves perfected over generations Though the family recipes of curds, chutneys and preserves are taken from previous generations who called the New Forest home, Little Grandma’s Kitchen has made a name for itself out of St Clears, Carmarthenshire. A delightful origin story of homemade chutneys being praised at a family wedding certainly bears fruit when sampling the likes of their brand new Cherry, Rhubarb & Ginger and Bramble Preserves. The new Apricot Chutney is also a grand addition to a bountiful larder that impresses at every food fest you’re lucky enough to encounter them, while the luxurious new range of marmalades including Kiwi & Orange and basic Orange prove that there’s no beating homemade produce made to perfection. Buy it from: carmarthenfood.com Price: £4 per 280g
5. Puff Pigs sausages The kings of the Welsh banger Any winner of the red, first-place rosette at the Royal Welsh Show is worthy of our attention, even more so when the victors are part-time. Balancing jobs with rearing rare-breed British Saddleback pigs, the Hayward family of Ynysybwl wowed the Builth Wells judges with their Chilli & Garlic sausages to claim the prize, and it’s easy to see why. Yes, there’s plenty of heat and flavour from the garlic and chilli, but it’s the snap of the skin and the high-quality meat inside that brings home the bacon. Lean, fresh, light and absurdly moreish, the bangers are either champs in their own right or could form the centrepiece of a casserole or pasta dish. www.facebook.com/puffpigsty
