WE'RE ALMOST THERE!

  

  Leech & Sons very much look forward to welcoming you into our newly refurbished Melbourn branch very soon. Meanwhile at Melbourn, we are taking Christmas orders and operating from our temporary shop in our car park.

 Burns Night has come around again!

It's that time again and we've been busy this week making and cooking haggis. Made with only the finest ingredients, to a traditional recipe passed from our Scottish relatives.  - It's so good it regularly come out tops in many local blind tastings

 

Burns night is the 25th Jan, so be adventurous and try some Haggis this year. If you haven't ordered yours yet, now is a good time. Alternatively just come in and pick one up.

 

Please note our Bank Holiday 8th May 2020 opening times:

Melbourn Branch:  8.30am  -  1.00pm

Burwash Branch:  9.30am  - 2.00pm

For more information and to see our latest mailer visit  www.leechandsons.com/xmas

Also why not take this opportunity to sign up for our newsletter in the top right corner of our web page at www.leechandsons.com 

New Range

Introducing Our Range of Stuffed Chicken Breast For something Different.   For a very easy "chef" style meal, why not try one of these. Made from all the finest fresh ingredients, as you would expect from Leech & Sons.  The range is also increasing - so keep a look out .     CHORIZO CHICKEN BREAST. A moist stuffing based on spicy chorizo, onions, leek, garlic and mushrooms. Absolutely delicious and all wrapped in sliced chorizo and caul fat.               CHICKEN BREAST PANCETTA. Chicken Breast Stuffed with garlic and crispy pancetta Butter, wrapped in thin slices of pancetta.                        LEECH & SONS KIEV WITH A DIFFERENCE. A rich garlic butter and double dip pané  ITALIAN STYLE CHICKEN BREAST. Stuffed with fresh homemade Pesto and sun-blushed tomatos, then wrapped in a generous slice of finest Parma Ham.                      These are fresh made Thursday, Friday and Saturdays and are available from the counter - Subject to availability. If you would like to ensure availability please pre-order.

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Why not consider a Leech & Sons Voucher for a Christmas present - These can be bought at any value and do not have to be spent all at once. Our feedback suggests that these have been very much appreciated in the past! Why not pick one up when in the shops or order one via email or telephone and we'll send one via the post with it becoming valid on receipt of payment.

Traceability

Halloween Time

 
 














IT'S HALLOWEEN TIME :-)
The kitchen has been busy making seasonal Pumpkin Fruit Cake and Spicy Toffee Apple Cakes for Halloween. Needless to say they are selling fast - looks like it may be difficult to keep up with demand!  

INTRODUCING CHICKEN & HAM PARCELS
 

 

 A delicious new snack product, inspired by crewing on a racing boat off the East Coast all last season. Ten of us raced every weekend and fed on Leech & Sons pasties with cheese pastry. 'Skippers' wife asked for a chicken based filling as her husband likes chicken.
So here it is....... Savoury Chicken & Ham filling wrapped in a cheese Pastry Parcel.

Thanks Claire - sorry for the wait!!

Happy Easter everyone  

 It's an early one - Where else can you get Local Easter Spring Lamb like this?

Only available at Leech & Sons! 

Leech & Sons move into the Burwash Manor Food Hall

WE ARE MOVING OUR CAMBRIDGE BRANCH NEXT DOOR INTO THE FOOD HALL AT BURWASH MANOR BARNS

• Please note the Burwash branch will be shutting at 3pm on Sunday 13^th 2013

• We will be up and running for full trading in the Burwash Food Hall by Wednesday 16^th 2013

• Our Melbourn Branch will be operating as normal during this period

PLEASE ACCEPT OUR APOLOGIES FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE DURING THIS PERIOD.

David's first effort at Cheese making



As a foodie, aside from understanding the principles and food science of a process, the best way to learn about a food is to experiment and experience it. I've been meaning to have a go a cheese making and finally I have; albeit a basic soft cheese. But it's a start.

Below I outline the steps I took in making my first attempt at a basic soft cheese and show the results I acheived. 

Firstly it is imperative to sterilise everything as cheese is an ideal food source for bacteria and during the process the temperatures used also encourage the bacteria growth. It is therefore important only the required good bacteria is allowed to grow and any unwanted micro-organisms are not introduced. 

 

Step 1: 

This is the milk I used. 2 Litres of Jersey/ Guernsey cow's gold top milk. For cheese this should be unhomogenised.

Much milk these days is homogenised  (process where fat particles broken down in size, this amongst other things eliminates the creamy top that would otherwise form on the milk), so must ensure unhomogenised when purchasing



Step 2: 

A starter culture is carefully weighed for the 2 Ltrs milk. (in this case using 0.05g)

Starter cultures are bacteria that mature the cheese and give off Lactic acid which will help in the clotting and maturing of the cheese.

There are various starter cultures available and I chose Choozit MA400 - a general purpose Mesophilic (prefering luke warm temperatures) starter.

  

 

Step 3: 

The milk is placed in a bain-marie and gently heated to 32°C.

The measured starter culture was then added. This was stired thoroughly to ensure a good even mix and left for around 30 miutes, whilst maintaining the temperature.   

 

Step 4: 



Rennet was then added to coagulate the milk. This being stirred for no more than 3 minutes, then covered and the heat maintained at 32°C. Setting took around 1 hour.

Both  Animal and Vegetarian Rennet are available. I chose Animal Rennet (from Calves stomachs) as it is said to work better. 

It is important not to overdose on rennet and a small amount goes a long way. For my 2 litres of milk I used just ten drops.  This needs to be mixed with cooled boiled water at a ratio of roughly 10:1  Water:Rennet allowing a better mix into the milk.

 

  

 Step 5: 

When the curd will split cleanly when a knife is inserted, it is ready to cut. If it cuts unevenly or in a layered form leave it for longer.

The curd is cut to release and allow the whey (liquid) to drain off, leaving the milk protein (Casein) which then forms the cheese.

Larger cuts alow less moisture to escape from the curd and smaller cuts enable more to escape. So for soft cheeses the cuts tend to be larger and for hard cheeses they are smaller.

The curd for this cheese was cut into about 15mm cubes as can be seen in the picture (right) to make a soft cheese.  It is quite important to keep the cubes as regular as possible as this allows consistent results in the future. ie moisture removal better regulated.

It can also be seen towards the bottom of the picure (right)  that the whey is coming out of the curd (where the cubes are not so well defined) 

Initial cutting and draining stage takes about 15 minutes, the curd is stirred a little and checked for any large lumps which are cut if necessary and left for another 15 minutes. Finally the curd was stired again and turned out, shown in the next stage.

Step 6: 

The curd is then transfered to a draining tray to further allow the removal of the whey. This can be seen in the collection tray beneath.

Step 7: 

The curd is then transfered to moulds.

This will shrink back as more moisture drains off. For around a further hour  I added some more curd as this happened.

Step 8: 

After a further hour I turned the curds in their molds and then again 2-3 hours later. They were then left overnight to further drain.

The cheese can be seen following this - the pimples are formed by the drain holes of the mold. Note how the cheeses have shrunk back into the molds.

During all these stages the cheese is kept at warm room temperatures ( above 20°C is good)

Step 9: 

The following morning 1% salt 4.78g was sprinkled evenly over the surface of the cheeses. The cheeses where then left for 4-5 hours to drain further.

(Two litres of milk produced 478g of cheese)

Step 10: 

One of the four finished cheeses. These where then wrapped in a waxed parchment to avoid too much drying and stored in the fridge. This type of cheese as is should keep for around two weeks.

During the two weeks the cheeses were sampled for flavour. The flavour is quite subtle but does improve with age and best after maturing for one week.

My next experiments will involve flavouring the cheese with herbs etc, also I will experiment with mould ripening, giving a white mould rind to the cheese. This is developed through the use of Penecillium candidum.

Leech & Sons New Product of the Moment - Beetroot and Pine nut Cake with Orange Drizzle Icing.



Beetroot Cake Mix - The colour gives it away!



This is one of our latest additions to our range of popular cakes. You really wouldn't think it had all the beetroot in it that it does! Each 600g ish loaf cake starts off with around 300g of beetroot.

 The colour of the cake mix starts off with a really reddish beetroot tinge as expected, but this changes dramatically on cooking to a normal cake colour!

Following sample tastings in our Melbourn branch this has become our 'hot seller cake' of the moment.

It's fantastic you really must try it.

 

  



Beetroot Cake Finished Product - ready to eat.

  

Happy New Year to Everyone.

Don't forget to visit our website for our post Christmas Special Offers.

Currently there are some really good Beef offers, including:

• Mince,
• various Stewing and Braising Steaks,
• Topside and  Silverside roasting joints.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Happy Christmas to all our customers

Leech & Sons would like to wish a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our customers.

Thank you so very much for your custom. This enables us to continue to provide you with the very best that we can in "REAL FOOD" and to also pass on the skills that enable this to continue to the next generation of quality food producers that work at Leech & Sons.

We look forward to seeing you very soon.

Turkey cooking tips

For Turkey cooking instructions http://www.appledoreturkeys.co.uk/cooking-tips/ gives great advice to ensure a perfectly cooked turkey.
For Three Bird Roasts and Turkey Rolls we would recommend:
Ensuring any bird is fully thawed if frozen prior to cooking.
Cover with tin foil and place in oven at 160ºC. Cook for about 30mins/500g (1 hour /Kg) removing tin foil for last 30 minutes until golden. Ensure bird roast is fully cooked with juices running clear.
For Turkey Breast Roll - Rest for a minimum of 30 minutes prior to eating.
For Three Bird Roast - Rest for a minimum of 30 minutes prior to eating.
Enjoy.

Please note these are given as guidelines and all ovens vary.

Leech & Sons Voucher

Why not consider a Leech & Sons Voucher for a Christmas present - These can be bought at any value and do not have to be spent all at once. Our feedback suggests that these have been very much appreciated in the past! Why not pick one up when in the shops or order one via email or telephone and we'll send one via the post with it becoming valid on receipt of payment.

Winning sausage initial development sampling

We have have been busy developing the new winning Chorizo & Balsamic Onion recipe this week and at Melbourn today we will have first stage sampling for your initial feedback. - if you are around pop in and try some!

Thanks to everyone who entered our Sausage Competition.

Leech and Sons would like to thank everyone who participated in their Sausage competition and congratulations to Natalie for the winning recipe. Please everyone keep looking our website and facebook page as the winning recipe, Chorizo and Balsamic Onion, will be on sale soon and some of the other suggestions may well be made and on sale at Leech and Sons in due course.

Sausage Competition winner to be announced

Tonight on Star Radio 7pm Foodie Show we announce the winner of our Sausage Competition and a £40.00 Leech and Sons voucher!