I love junk shop finds. This old jam spoon and pickle fork were languishing in the Oxfam shop in Ilkley and their aged beauty made me gasp. My fantasy is they came from one of the fine, old houses in Ilkley where meals were served with care and attention and the daily rituals around good food were observed. It was love at first sight and I had to have them.
Good quality cutlery is something that catches my eye. I love Sheffield's modern David Mellor cutlery but having talked to Corin, David's son and new Design Director I know some of the old junk shop finds have been made with such care and skill that I rescue interesting pieces like people rescue cats, dogs and hedgehogs.
I know it is not the done thing to eat meringues with a pickle fork and jam spoon but I recycle and 'upcycle' what I can even if it disrupts conventions around the dinner table. I am a real make do and mend type of person. Just like my mother.
I feel a tinge of melancholy as I take on cast offs and hope the reason for being passed on was not too painful. I will treasure these two beautiful pieces of cutlery which look great through the lens of my camera in vintage style shots.
This week I have a feature to write on mother's day and a chocolate tutorial at Betty's in Harrogate for a piece I am writing about making chocolates for Easter. I love events at Bettys Cookery School. Bettys, like David Mellor Design, celebrate age old craft skills which keep traditions, craft skills and beautiful food and household products alive.
Somehow this has made me think about revising my own cake making and confectionery skills which have got a tad rusty. I have to confess I don't make a lot of cakes and sweet things - not because I don't like them but because I get a bit nervous about eating too much on the sweet, fatty side of the fence which I know from my years working in nutrition research at Leeds University is not the best place to graze.
The lovely thing about cakes and hand crafted confectionery is their aesthetic appeal and architectural beauty not their nutritional value. Their colourways arrest the eye, have stature, convey the notion of celebration like no other food and are deeply satisfying to make.
For these reasons every now and again I put my nutrition hat on one side and make way in my kitchen for a baking craft fest.
Rescued plates from a relative's flat
Meringues are great because they can be made small or large and they can be used as building blocks to make structures which takes cooking into the realms of culinary architecture.
This is the first time I have made meringues by beating egg whites and caster sugar over a pan of simmering water. This is the way to make them. It is an easy, quick and reliable method. The meringues are crisp, dry and delicious.
I have made two variations by dividing the meringue mixture in two before cooking. I swirled five drops of natural red food colouring into one batch and one dessertspoon of good quality cocoa powder into the other. The raspberry ripple meringues are filled with whipped cream and a few mashed raspberries and a drop of vanilla essence. The chocolate ones are simply filled with whipped cream but decorated with fresh mint leaves coated in melted dark chocolate. These taste gorgeous.
I really enjoyed making these meringues and I hope you do too. Might be nice for mothers day?
Joan
To make Meringues
Makes 20
Ingredients
- 150g egg whites (about 4 large egg whites)
- 300g caster sugar
Flavours and colours (optional)
- 5 drops natural pink food colouring
and/or
- 1 tsp good quality cocoa powder
Method
Preheat oven to 110C/ gas mark 1/2. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment.
Put the egg whites and sugar into a large bowl over a pan of simmering water. Make sure the base of the bowl does not touch the hot water. Using an electric mixer whisk continuously until the sugar has dissolved. You can test this by dipping two fingers into the mixture and rubbing them together. If you can still feel sugar crystals continue to mix a little longer. When all the sugar crystals have dissolved remove the bowl from the heat and and whisk until the meringue is stiff and glossy. Stir in the food colouring or flavourings at this point.
Take desert spoons of the meringue mixture and drop them onto the baking sheets allowing one centimetre between meringues. Bake for 11/2 hours, then turn off the heat and allow the meringue to cool completely in the oven.
To make the filling for raspberry ripple meringues
Whip 200ml double cream and stir in 1/2 tsp vanilla essence. Gently mash 2 or 3 tablespoons fresh raspberries and stir through the cream. Place a teaspoon of raspberry cream between two meringues and sandwich together. Eat as soon as you can. Unfilled meringues will keep in a tin for a couple of weeks but filled meringues will soften and spoil quickly.
Chocolate mint leaves
The chocolate meringues could be filled with the same cream and raspberry mix. Here I have left out the raspberries but have decorated with chocolate coated mint and bay leaves. Young mint is too fragile to peel from the chocolate so I left the chocolate and mint leaves intact. These tasted delicious. So do try making them by just brushing a coat of chocolate on the mint leaf and leaving to set on parchment paper in the fridge.
