Coren Selecta chestnut fed shoulder

Acorn fed ham is widely known but did you know you can also get chestnut fed ham by Selecta.
Available in shoulder cut as well which is softer.
I found the taste moreish and it was not too salty.
It is always good having different options of cut and not just the leg because you can experience different textures just like chicken breast and chicken thigh.

The pairing of the shoulder went really well with melon.

The Chinese ham have a preserved ham called Jinhua ham which they cook with Chinese cabbage so I experimented Coren Selecta with Chinese cabbage as a starter and the taste was surprisingly good together.

Blackthorn salt

Discovered these beautiful Pyramid salt which are formed by sea water trickling through blackthorn twigs.
As the sea water seeps along the Blackthorn twigs, exposure to Scotland's west coast winds evaporate the salt water, concentrating the resultant brine. 

In the final stages the Blackthorn Salters combine skill and alchemy to create the perfect salt.

At the Specialty food fair, there was a mini model of the blacktorn salter in action and there were paper models which you could take home and make as well as salt samples which come in a nicely designed box.

The taste of the salt was really good with the usual saltiness but the best is the shape of these salt crystals which lovely pyramids.

Video of the mini blackthorn salter in action:

Video of the mini paper blackthorn salter model:

Video of sample blackthorn salt in this intricate box:

Decadent chocolate tea by Callysthe

Tea is just my favourite drink and there are so many different blends about.

My ultimate blend is chocolate so whenever there is chocolate tea I have to get my hands on it.

Callysthe a French brand has a chocolate blend called The Noir Cacao which is a black tea base with cacao.

Looking at the ingredients, I knew I was going to like this because it was 37.7% black tea and 36% cacao beans which meants at least a third in that tin was cacao hence the chocolate taste is going to be strong.

To my delight, you can see these big pieces of cacao shell amongst the black tea.

I only used small amount to steep a cup of tea and it was simply heaven so next time I will add a bit more for a full on stronger taste.

The cacao was just heavenly and dominates the flavour as well as the black tea so this is now my favourite chocolate tea.

The paper bag that it came in had a great design, if you turn it upside down you will see something different.

Avec meaning with and sans meaning without.

As well as cheese, the French have done really well with the tea.

Ginmayo by celebrate what you eat

Discovered these gin infused mayonnaises and ketchups at the Specialty Food Fair.

As well as ginmayo and ginchup they had hot sauces which were really tasty.

There was a new hot sauce which was really nice but I forgot the name.

Anyway, tried the ginmayo which is almost like a Marie Rose sauce hence it goes well with seafood.

The vegan version is just as good if not better but it turns out the vegan version costs more to manufacture.

The ginchup was quite savoury and not too sweet which is good and you can really taste the tomato.

I paired the gin mayo with tempura prawn maki which went surprisingly well together like prawn cocktail.

The possibilities are endless, will be trying the gin mayo with other stuff soon.

Both the ginmayo and ginchup have been awarded the great taste award.

Liquid Herbs

Liquid herbs are the best invention ever as you don't have to wash or chop herbs and there is no waste involved.
The taste of these herbs was fantastic but then they are to my liking as they contain vinegar.
I like the way they do not have to be refrigerated once opened since there is too much stuff in the fridge.
The dill is so moreish while the tarragon has a saltier kick to it.
Both were simply delicious with some bread.

I got these from the Specialty Food Fair.

Cakegasm from Cakesmiths

I discovered Cakesmiths at the Caffe Culture show and tried a range of their sweet and savouries which were so good that I feel that every cafe should be supplying them to go with tea and coffee.
Cakesmiths are a Bristol based bakery where they handmake their orders.

They do online orders with next day deliveries supplying wholesale cakes, traybakes and flapjacks.

At the show, they had savoury scones and muffins which were really tasty if you don't have a sweet tooth.

I loved the cheesy marmite scones as well as the cheddar muffins.

Moving on to the sweets, the traybakes and slices were so bang on in taste.

Smashing pumpkins slice:

Unbelievably this was vegan, the cake itself was just as good as regular cake you wouldn't be able to tell and the frosting was so good.

Dark cherries and marzipan (vegan):

Described as a moist almond sponge is enriched with grated marzipan and dotted with juicy bursts of whole pitted dark cherries.

The taste of this was similar to Cherry bakewell so it was really pleasing to eat.

SIR CHOC-A-LOT (vegan):

Described as a Rich, moist chocolate sponge topped with decadent dark chocolate ganache and dark chocolate flakes and gold-dusted cocoa nibs.

This is a must for chocolate lovers or non chocolate lovers because the chocolate sponge is so moist and moreish without being too overly rich and the ganache literally melts in your mouth.

Morello Cherry blonde brownie: 

Described as fudgy white chocolate blondie with super-size chunks of white chocolate, laced with whole morello sour cherries throughout and crushed freeze-dried sour cherries.

I was bowled over by this blonde brownie because white chocolate is usually too sickly but the it worked. The sour cherries and the white chocolate pieces went well together.

the Fix (very low gluten):

Described as Jam-packed full of fruit, nuts and seeds, and topped with date caramel.

A chewy little bar is totally vegan.

Last but not least, I liked the Fix because it was really colourful as well as tasty.

I loved the chewiness wihout being too sweet.

Taking the PEA crunchy coated snacks

I love crunchy peas but wasabi flavoured peas are getting really boring.

Taking the Pea specializes in crunchy coated snacks made with marrow fat peas which the Japanese having been using all along for their wasabi pea snacks.

Anyway, the flavours at Taking the Pea are more to my liking especially the Ham which reminds me of ham and pea soup.

The cheese and onion is also good and it is great having a change from chickpea snacks.