In Season: January

January is typically a time to drag yourself into detox and to adopt some healthy eating habits for the calendar year. Apricots are a fantastic fruit to tuck into on those hot summer days.

A species of apricot grew wild in Northern China some 2,000 years ago, but what we have today is a different variety, adapted to temperate climates and grown widely around the world. They are a relative of the peach and have a similar velvety skin.

Apricots are both sweet and tart, can be eaten raw and are very well suited to preserving. They contain enough pectin to work well in jams and are used extensively in glazes. They add colour and acid to tarts and pies and their inherent acidity marries well with Arabic and North African dishes where they are prized, both fresh and dried, in savoury dishes. ‘Apricot’, has even become the name of a colour, a kind of orange-yellow.

Seasonal Ingredients

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Featured Recipes

Hot Tips

Rare roast beef

Using a meat thermometer helps to determine precisely when the beef is cooked to rare. Simply insert the thermometer into the centre of the thickest part of the beef (avoiding the bone, fat and gristle), it will be cooked to rare when it is 50°C, medium-rare will be 55°C, medium is a little over 60°C.

Glossary

Labneh

Labneh is a type of cheese made from draining the moisture from yoghurt.

 
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The ultimate treat for your favourite foodie friends is a DIY degustation dinner. From James Squire Amber Ale with a traditional lamb roast to James Squire Golden Ale and gruyere, each course will be a discovery of new flavours for an evening of dining heaven.
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