Trout and Ice cream Great British Food Revival

This is The Great British Food Revival.

We are flying the flag and campaigning...

To save some of our truly unique...

Totally delicious...

Succulent...

Formidable...

Home-grown produce.

Ooh, it's cold!

Many are teetering on the brink of survival.

We need you to help us...

To resurrect these classic heritage ingredients.

I'm loving it. I could stay out here all day.

Join us now before it's too late.

Can you give us a whoop?

Whoo!

Some things are really worth fighting for.

Ah, delicious.

To me, there is nothing like to stand at the river fishing.

I've been catching my fish and of course, cooking it.

We all know now that we have to preserve our fish

and of course to cook it and fish it responsibly.

The most popular five fish in Britain are cod, haddock,

salmon, tuna and prawns.

But they are all under pressure

and to save our seas, we should be eating other fish.

There's one fish, a beautiful fish...

And it is off the hook.

My name is Raymond Blanc and I would like to persuade you to buy

and cook the delicious, formidable, tasty British trout.

80% of the fish we buy is under threat from over-fishing.

But trout's a fantastic, tasty alternative

and we have a plentiful and sustainable supply.

On my campaign to revive the British trout I'll be learning

the ancient art of fishing for sea trout.

I feel like a big snail.

I feel like a big fat escargot.

Reeling in the shoppers to see how much you Brits really

know about this great British fish.

Which is the trout? You got it wrong and you're a fisherman.

Shame on you.

Ten out of ten, here!

And it's not just my tasty trout recipes that I will be revealing.

My first kiss at the age of seven was actually given to a fish.

I was practically born as a hunter-gatherer.

I was given my first fishing rod at the age of seven.

I was not very good. It takes some time to learn.

I was casting my rod and I caught a lovely beautiful brown trout

and I've never seen a fish like that.

Catching the fish. Cooking it. That's what it's all about.

That is an experience which is special.

I'm going on a journey to discover the Great British trout

and of course this journey I hope will inspire you to enjoy that

wonderful fish with your friends and a delicious meal as well.

Now, what you all need to know about trout.

There are three types. Rainbow, brown and sea trout.

The most popular is rainbow and to kick-start my campaign

I want to show you a very special rainbow fish that lives

here at Haddon Hall on the River Wye in Derbyshire.

Got a lot of fly coming off the river.

If you use fish...

This is one of only three places in Britain where you can fish

for wild rainbow trout, and I've been given special

dispensation by Lord Manners himself to catch one.

All these rivers are fed by springs, which is why the water is so clear.

The rivers are so healthy,

and full of fly life and also full of trout.

These rivers you have very rare wild rainbow trout,

how do you manage the population of fish?

Wild is exactly the right word.

We try to keep it as natural as possible.

We don't stock the rivers at all

and we don't allow people to kill any fish.

I'm a Frenchman. If I catch my trout, I want to cook my trout

and I want to eat my trout with a nice glass of Chablis

and obviously if the trout is big enough I will share it with you.

Ah well, maybe Raymond if you can catch a fish today you can eat it.

-Special dispensation.

-Thank you Sir. Shall we go?

Yah.

Rainbow trout are normally found in small freshwater enclosures

before ending up on our supermarket shelves.

So I'm extremely lucky to have been granted permission

to fish for this unique wild trout.

Beautiful little rainbow.

Amazing. That's a real wild fish.

Very special.

Of course what you have here is a good fisherman

but besides that we've got the most rarest of fish.

This is a beautiful wild rainbow trout, and perfectly marked.

That would be perfect for the pot.

I wish it had been a bit like THAT, but you don't choose.

Now, wild fish is a rarity

but you can find farmed rainbow trout almost as tasty.

Trout farms like this one in the Cotswolds use fresh spring water

and fish food made from sustainable ingredients.

This helps to protect the environment.

These trout are delicious to eat especially if you cook them

the Raymond Blanc way.

My first recipe in the revival kitchen is a classic French dish

that's perfect after a long hard day.

This dish is truly simple

and the Rainbow Trout is the champion of this dish.

It is called the Rainbow Trout Grenobloise.

The first thing you should be looking for is a fresh fish

because an older fish will not smell very nice.

Will not taste very nice.

So you look for the eyes, you look for the firm body

and here you can feel it's quite springy, nice fresh fish.

I grew up eating this dish.

The beauty of it is its simplicity in both the cooking

and the flavours.

To begin with, I trim and lightly season my trout before

pan-frying it in some foaming butter.

Voila. About 30 grams of butter.

OK, what's happening here is a little miracle

that you need to understand.

Pan-frying is a fantastic technique

and when you know how to pan-fry rainbow trout

you can pan-fry anything.

The butter is foaming, it's browning.

That's perfect - that's when it's ready,

and my trout is ready to be cooked.

So very, very simple.

I know I'm using lots of butter

but don't forget trout is fantastically good for you.

Here you have a very special nutrient called omega-3.

That's what we are missing in our diet.

We have got plenty of omega-6, plenty of omega-9 everywhere

but omega-3 you can only find it in certain places.

Nuts and mostly fish. All the fish.

Beautiful, look at that.

The flesh is totally gold.

OK, amazing smells are coming.

The butter is beautifully hazelnut. You can see it's foaming quietly.

It's not a violent heat. It's not too much noise.

You can hear its lovely song. Gentle sizzling. Very, very quiet.

Not forceful, because that would burn your butter

and also burn the trout and overcook the trout.

So, gentle heat so it permeates through. Four minutes on each side.

Parfait. So, I'm preparing my sauce.

Sauce Grenobloise originated in the beautiful town of Grenoble.

Its ingredients are herbs, butter and thinly sliced lemon.

C'est tout. So the sauce is simple.

It's very much Maman Blanc food.

My mum's food. Very, very much so.

We've got our fish, which smells absolutely heavenly.

Really heavenly.

The juices start to run, really, it's absolutely amazing.

Ha ha! She's playing with me. Typical. Voila.

I might have a slippery fish

but I've got a top tip to show you how to remove the bones.

I know carving is usually the preserve of the man

but I think ladies are just as crafted in the art.

Head, so cut it here.

If you want to cut a little bit here.

Then for trout following the central bone here and then - voila.

Then, I'm pushing that flesh here, look. How easy.

I'm pushing the flesh away from the bone.

Cut here and lift the central bone.

If your trout is well-cooked, that's where the real test is

because if it's undercooked it will stick to the flesh

and of course if it's over-cooked

you will know it, because it's all crumbly and horrible.

Break it here and lift it out.

Voila. A deboned fish.

Now, back to my sauce Grenobloise.

Here is a very simple miracle, water.

You can do a fantastic jus with just water.

So you create an emulsion here. See.

To complete the dish I add lemon, some parsley, capers

and of course croutons.

And then you have the most incredible, simple little dish.

And we've got some lovely emulsion on the top. A delicious jus.

There you have it.

My rainbow trout Grenobloise from pan to plate in five minutes.

A totally delicious and healthy supper. C'est formidable.

OK, let's taste this trout. OK, let's taste how good it is.

It is lovely. It's almost - that's why the lemon is here.

That's why the crouton is here. You can hear them.

Listen to them.

You're going to be jealous, I know.

And so it is a supermarket fish.

It's a very good fish and it still remind me

of the flavours of my childhood.

If I'm going to convince you to swap your salmon for trout

I need to get you excited about this fish.

There's another magnificent species of trout

that you can get in Britain, which I absolutely adore

but it doesn't seem widely known.

It's the sea trout, or sewin, as they call it in Wales.

It is a sustainable fish.

In Wales it is caught in estuaries and rivers.

Here on the River Towy, Malcolm Rees has a historic way

of fishing for them.

One I've never seen before.

I heard here that you fish in a very special way.

We are coracle fisherman.

And a coracle is basically a keel-less boat.

-It's not very big is it?

-No, it's not. It's about 5.5 foot.

My family has been fishing using this method for, I think, 250 years.

-That is experience.

-Yeah, it is.

That is serious experience.

Malcolm's family began coracle fishing on the River Towy in 1710

and since then the men of each generation have followed suit.

What is your passion about it?

I can't describe how beautiful it is late at night

when there's no sound and it's just you and the river

and your partner and a net in between you.

You feel alive.

Coracles date back to the Bronze Age.

Nets are handmade

and the technique of fishing in pairs is centuries old.

This is effectively a single-wall trammel net and the idea

is that the lead line travels along the floor of the river bed.

The fish hit through the front of the net and get tangled in the back.

It's quite large. It's good.

-All the juvenile fish can escape, yeah?

-All the juvenile fish can go through.

It's time for a hunter-gatherer like me

to experience the old Welsh ways with a practice paddle.

-OK?

-Yeah.

Onto your shoulder.

You've got it.

-OK?

-Yeah.

And then turn to face the camera.

Oh, ah... I feel like a big snail.

I feel like a big fat escargot.

-OK?

-Hey, that's heavy eh?

Just keep it...

Leave the paddle go, for now.

Oh! You're going to break my back. Oh, tres bien. Voila.

-OK?

-Oh easy. Ha ha!

You nearly killed me.

Coracles were traditionally made from ash, willow and animal skin.

It takes years of practice to master the skill of handling them,

so I'm starting in a fibreglass version,

which is apparently more stable.

Ooh. Feels a bit dodgy.

With one hand...a figure of eight.

That's it, you've got it.

-Sit forward a bit.

-Yeah.

That's it. You're a natural. Don't go too far!

I'll have to come and get you.

I think...you know, that's why it takes centuries of learning, OK,

and you've got to accept

that sometimes you cannot learn it in five minutes.

It's easy, isn't it? It looks very easy.

But it's hellishly difficult!

Fortunately, there are some professionals on hand

to show how it's really done.

So they're ready to launch now.

In the past, coraclers fished the River Towy full time

but it's become much harder to make a living from it.

So, to keep the heritage alive they now only fish from March

until July when the sewin return to spawn.

How likely are we going to get a fish?

-Um...

-What's the chances?

It's 50/50 really.

This is the place that they're more likely to catch anything

if there's a fish about.

Andrew, as you can look at now, is actually pulling the net in.

It doesn't look as if he's caught anything

because he's not getting excited.

That's the tale of a fisherman. You know.

-It's the one that got away.

-It's the one that got away.

-The boys are coming back to their start-point again.

-Yeah.

And they will continue several times until they catch a fish.

20 years ago, the coraclers caught a significantly higher number

of fish than they do today

but no-one can pinpoint exactly why numbers have reduced.

The numbers have definitely dwindled and it's not down to us.

There's lots of factors.

It's farming, then, intensive farming?

The nitrates coming in and the pesticides,

the fertilisers - or is it factories polluting?

Is it toxic waste?

I think it's a little bit of that.

I think what these guys are doing is simply marvellous

because they keep a tradition alive.

But there's a big problem here

because fish stocks are very, very low

and I want to find out why they're so low.

The sewin, or sea trout, begin life in our rivers as brown trout,

but very little is known about this fish after it leaves the river.

Dr Carys Davies is from the Celtic Sea Trout Project

which is carrying out a multi-million pound study

and is hoping to find some answers.

We know so little about the lifestyle of the trout.

In order to manage them effectively,

we have to build upon what little knowledge we have

and get as much information, so it all can be fed back into

the conservation and the management of this beautiful species.

So, we're asking anglers and commercial fisherman to send us

the lengths, the weights and a scale sample of the fish

so we can ascertain what their life history is.

A fisherman delivers some of his catch, so Dr Davies can show me

exactly what the fishermen are being asked to do.

Oh, la la. For a chef, that is rather beautiful. My God.

Beautiful. Oh, beautiful fish. Sea trout.

Where's it been caught? Where?

This was caught in the River Towy here this morning.

We need to take a length of the fish.

Lift the fish up...and then we need to put the fish down on the board

with its snout right up against there

and then we measure it to the fork here.

So this is a 72cm fish.

I shall let you take some scales from our fish.

Then - as many as possible.

Voila.

Understanding sea trout is critical

if we're not going to over-fish a species.

So in addition to collecting data, in England and Wales

the fishermen tag every fish they catch.

This tag shows us that it's a wild-caught sea trout.

Caught in 2012.

The fisherman who caught it is licensed by the environment agency

to catch salmon and sea trout,

and each fish has an individual tag,

so each fish has a number associated with it.

What does that mean to the consumer?

They're safe in the knowledge that we know where they've been caught,

that they're coming from a sustainable source.

So, I believe that the consumer should be eating this fish.

And that's it, so now that we're building a management plan

that's another reason for the consumer to enjoy that fish

and of course it is so delicious.

It is one of my favourite fish as well.

This Celtic Sea Trout Project is marvellous

because it teaches a lot about sustainability.

If we keep this trout in the sea,

that means those fisherman will go on to fish them.

That means people like me and all the consumers in Britain

will be able to go on to enjoy it as well, and that is marvellous.

Tagging and responsible fishing means we can buy sea trout with confidence,

and my next delicious dish proves exactly why we should be eating it.

And now I'm going to show you a classic technique

on how to cook this fantastic sea trout.

Poached Sea Trout Steak.

Sea trout is from the same family as salmon

making it a great alternative fish.

It's much larger than rainbow trout with a denser flesh

but also very easy to cook.

The difference between a salmon and a sea trout is easy.

It's in here. That is a flat fin.

A salmon will have a fin, which is much more elegant,

OK, and concave. Whereas here it is completely flat.

So, going to cut the tag.

You'll find sea trout in your local fishmonger, which is perfect

as they'll prepare the fish and cut it into steaks

if you're worried about doing it yourself.

But look how easy it is.

Look at the colour.

That's through the fillet, OK, of the sea trout.

A beautiful shape here, a beautiful flesh.

Very firm, and a lovely wonderful colour of the sea trout.

That is ready to be cooked into a court bouillon.

I'm poaching my sea trout steaks in a court bouillon,

which sounds very fancy - but I'll let you into a secret.

It's just a simple vegetable stock.

And in it I'm going to put in leek, some onion,

zest of lemon, or a whole slice of lemon.

Cut very, very thinly.

OK, black pepper so they can defuse that spice during the cooking.

Carrots that we have here and celery.

Be careful the celery is quite strong so that's plenty.

Tres bien. And here we've got the bouquet garni.

Bouquet garni is again herbs, OK, which are a bay leaf, thyme

and parsley just tie them together.

Or you can just throw them in here

and the object of these vegetables within the water...

You start cold. Very important, cold.

Is to create a wonderful fusion of flavours between the water,

the vegetables and the bouquet garni.

Which will create the fantastic delicate...liquor, OK,

which is going to perfume the fish.

Not forgetting one final magical ingredient.

As a Frenchman I should know better

because I've forgotten the white wine.

OK, to go into it. And the white wine will provide the acidity.

Never buy an expensive wine, OK, to cook.

You want a nice dry, bone dry white wine.

No more than four quid a bottle, that's plenty.

And believe me, you can always trust a Frenchman when it comes to wine.

I simmer the stock for 20 minutes, to allow the flavours to infuse.

And, voila! It's ready for my two sea trout stakes.

So, I'm going to hold them here with the skewer.

Through the flesh, here...

So, to hold them nicely together,

so it doesn't open up during the cooking.

There you go! How simple is that?

It only takes five minute to poach the steaks, and produce

a delicious, healthy meal bursting with natural flavours.

OK, my plate is warming here.

Voila.

And, very carefully, I slide my dish here...

Ah, ha ha! Don't forget to remove the cocktail stick.

That's a classic.

Bof! C'est la vie.

Even an experienced chef like myself can get carried away.

Cocktail stick removed, what does it taste like?

That looks very appetising.

Very herby, very fresh, very clean flavours.

I think you'll enjoy it very much.

It's really stunning. Trout.

So, by now you should know how delicious and sustainable trout is,

but I think I still have one major hurdle to overcome.

It's still bothering me as why British people are not cooking

and eating trout.

I even wonder if they know what a trout looks like.

Salmon is the top-selling fish in the UK,

but when it comes to buying fish that aren't one of the big five,

you Brits are being a damp squid.

So I'm taking direct action to champion trout

and I've come to Carmarthen to set the shoppers a little test.

Well, first, thank you very much to welcome this little Frenchman

in your beautiful town.

I'm here to test if you know your fish.

I've got five fish. A local sea trout...

Farm rainbow trout...

Farm salmon...

And a sea bass,

and actually a lemon sole.

If they can spot the trout, they'll get one to take home.

Easy, n'est pas?

Which is the trout?

So, you come with me, and if you win you'll have a beautiful trout.

What a prize! Or maybe a bit of chocolat.

OK. So which one is the trout?

A tough test for one so young.

Ah...no.

It looks like it. Have another try.

Ta ta ta ta, look at them.

How do you know?

She has won! She has won!

Tres bien. So, now, can an adult do as well as a child? Let's see.

Monsieur. S'il vous plait.

I'm going to show you now two trouts.

-Two trout...

-Are you sure?

You have to decide, OK?

It's this one, it's that one.

Yeah I'll go with them two.

You got it wrong! Ha ha ha.

And he's a fisherman.

And you're a fisherman! Shame on you.

Terrible. Call yourself a fisherman?!

Next up.

That one. And this one.

-Twice wrong. But it's OK, you don't cook.

-Oh!

Can no-one here spot my two trouts?

I would say that's a trout and I would say that one's a trout.

-Wrong.

-Wrong again.

My God, three. Only that gorgeous little girl has got it right.

Look at that. These big adults they got it all wrong.

She knows her fish and you don't.

Zut alors. Surely someone must know their fish.

-OK, show me two trouts.

-Er, these two.

Bravo, we have a winner!

It seems the children know their fish better than the adults.

My test has netted quite a crowd,

so I have a final trout trick to reel everyone in.

OK, let's cook.

And now the final stage of my campaign.

If they can't spot the trout, I can at least show them how to cook it.

Look. Smell that. Oh, smell that. Oh, la la.

You can hear that lovely noise.

Beautiful.

Great you hardly - you hardly need anything at all.

Ooh yes.

That's perfect. Let's have a look.

Voila. Look, the lovely caramelisation here. Look at that.

But is my fish delicious enough for these young

and discerning taste buds?

Don't you feel your tummy going, "Oh my god, I want that trout"?

OK that's ready. You're the first, huh. Tell me.

Oh, look at that. She's so brave.

Wonderful. A big round of applause.

Oh! Ha ha! I got it.

Let's be very honest OK. Children always speak the truth.

Do you like?

-Mademoiselle, do you like it?

-Yeah.

Have you eaten trout before? You see, never.

You see we have two little kids here who have never eaten trout

and they love it.

Voila. Oh! Ha ha ha.

-Ten out of ten.

-Ten out of ten, here! Whoa.

If I can convince the next generation,

then surely I've inspired you at home.

I've got one final recipe to show you in the revival kitchen

and even though I say it myself, c'est formidable.

This recipe is so delicious and so simple that soon you will be

all joining my trout revival campaign.

OK, the dish I'm about to do is a smoked trout

with a beautiful beetroot salad and horseradish gravy.

Simple, delicious.

So, of course the main component of the dish is smoked trout.

And I must tell you it's as tasty as salmon

and it's slightly cheaper as well.

You will find smoked trout readily available in supermarkets

and delicatessens.

But I begin my dish with a bowl of chopped up beetroot

which I've cooked from fresh.

So the beetroot salad, make sure they're slightly warm here

so the dressing can permeate the beetroots better.

Beetroot is packed with natural vitamins and antioxidants.

It's a perfect healthy companion for my smoked trout

which is rich in omega-3.

I add diced shallots, balsamic vinegar and olive oil to my beets.

So there is a range of sweet and sour flavours.

It's always contrast which creates flavours together.

If you put sweet with sweet it doesn't work.

If you put sweet and sour it does work.

Sweet and acid, it works. Sweet and herb, it works.

OK, that's what I'm doing here.

I'm building up all those flavours for that simple beetroot salad

to be remembered for a lifetime - at least.

To really bring this dish alive, I have the ultimate salad dressing.

Just take some sour cream, mix with grated horse radish,

lemon juice and finally something to give it a little joi de vivre.

Now to make it last a little bit longer.

A tiny little bit of cayenne pepper

which will carry that gorgeousness of flavours.

And taste, taste, taste all the time.

Voila. And now what you have is these wonderful waves.

You have the horseradish,

you've got the lemon with the cayenne pepper,

the sour cream and just...are merging into something rather nice.

Very special.

Almost as special as the time I cooked my first fish.

Remember, I'm a fisherman - and every fisherman has got a tale.

The biggest fish I have ever caught, I was seven years of age.

It was my birthday and I received my beautiful canne a peche,

and I was the happiest young man on earth.

I was so happy. When I saw that fish.

It was looking at me. It was going....

So I gave it a great big kiss

and that's where my romance with fishing started, really.

A long, long time ago.

I think what is really quite extraordinary in many ways

is that my first kiss at the age of seven was actually given to a fish,

not to a lovely girlfriend.

Well, here it is. It came later.

You can never say we French aren't creatures of passion.

Anyway back to my dish, which will have you kissing me, it's so tasty.

I'm putting the base onto my plate which is the fire, OK, here,

and the beautiful sour cream.

And now I'm going to...

Oh they're so gorgeous.

What beautiful colours. Oh.

And then...just a little slice.

Look at that, you can see through them. Beautifully cut. Perfect.

Very important the cut

because the texture also represent the flavour so if you have a

too thick slice, it'll be too salty, too smoky in your mouth.

The thickness of the slice is so important.

And how good does it taste?

I'm not saying I'm a genius but it's very good.

I assure you, it is so delicious.

There you have a super healthy meal, perfect for lunch or a quick supper.

My smoked trout with beetroot salad.

So, I'm at the end of my trawl celebrating this fantastically

tasty and versatile little fish.

I hope my scrumptious recipes have convinced you to enjoy your trout.

So next time you go to supermarket,

fill up your baskets with trouts and cook them for your family.

They're absolutely delicious.

They're simple to cook and they are fantastically nutritious.

So long live the British trout.

Now, a good friend who is passionate about reviving

a classic British home-made product.

For me this is one of the most evocative foods.

It brings back childhood memories of long, hot summers.

But this stuff of childhood bliss has changed completely in my lifetime.

It's gone from very simple, natural ingredients to the bulk of it

being over processed and synthetic.

And now I think it's time we got back to basics

and chucked out the junk.

Ladies and gentleman, I give you real, dairy ice cream.

In search of the secrets of perfect dairy ice cream

I get blinded by the science.

Oh, it's cold. Take a step back in time.

Just walking in here on a hot summer's day,

it suddenly becomes much cooler.

Instigate a dairy revolution.

Now I know the ingredients,

I think I'd probably go for the more natural one.

And in the revival kitchen I celebrate real, dairy ice cream,

proving there's life beyond the wafer cone.

That reminds me of my childhood.

Real, proper, dairy ice cream.

On a glorious day like today you should only be eating

the very best dairy ice cream.

But what makes a good ice cream?

Well, for me, the basic ingredients couldn't be simpler.

Egg yolks, sugar, milk and cream - that's it.

It's certainly a different kettle of fish

when it comes to bought ice creams.

Skimmed milk concentrate.

Glucose syrup, emulsifiers.

The list of ingredients seems endless.

Palm oil, whey powder, dextrose, emulsifier, fatty acids.

But surely all ice cream is a dairy product?

Well, you might be surprised.

By law, it only has to contain 2.5% milk protein to be called ice cream.

Reconstituted skimmed milk, vegetable fat.

I'd rather not have vegetable fat in my ice cream.

Only if your ice cream is labelled dairy,

can you guarantee that you're eating a true dairy product.

If it's just ice cream, then your family may well

be tucking into a cornet filled with a cheaper vegetable fat or palm oil.

But you don't have to settle for second best.

I'm going into the revival kitchen to show how easy it is

to make delicious, home-made, dairy ice cream.

I use this ice cream for knickerbocker glory,

which is a wonderful fusion of ice cream and fresh fruit

and a nice bit of mint on the top. Truly delicious.

This is my basic ice cream that I make time and time again.

Very, very simple and you don't need an ice cream machine.

It's just those magic ingredients -

eggs, cream, sugar plus vanilla.

Meringue is the base of this ice cream.

To begin the meringue, start whisking the egg whites.

Add the sugar gradually.

By using meringue as a base, we're adding the air at the beginning

and then there's no more need for whisking.

There we are. Not coming out.

Very, proper, meringue.

The next move is to whip the cream.

Real cream.

Never use substitute.

This looks just about right.

Take ALL the cream and put it on top of the meringue like that.

Fold it in, keeping as much air in as possible.

So that is beautifully smooth now.

In goes the egg yolks and at the same time vanilla extract.

About a teaspoon full.

I know that this is going to be simply delicious.

And when it freezes, because it's all so frothy,

you don't get any of those ice crystals.

This is ready for freezing.

This is now the base for any ice cream flavour.

Why not try stemmed ginger, fruit, raisons or even a drop of brandy

and it's that easy to make your own ice cream.

I've got one in there all ready.

A good tip is to actually chill the glasses in the fridge first

and I'm going to start off by putting some pineapple in the bottom.

Then a little raspberry puree.

Then I'm going to put a scoop of ice cream right in the middle like that.

This really is a very simple, back-to-basics ice cream.

And I think that...

is good enough to eat right now.

Mmm.

So how do you think I'm doing

with my great revival of real, dairy ice cream?

I bet you can't wait to have a go at home.

But what did people do before every home had their own fridge freezers?

After all, British ice cream recipes go back to the 1680's.

Well, the rich and grand built themselves ice houses

and here at Syon House in west London is one of the grandest.

A good friend, Robin Wear,

whose passion for ice cream has made him one of its leading historians,

has agreed to meet me and act as my guide.

Well, the house is about 100 yards over there and behind us

is a conservatory and this was a nice, shady place

to build the ice house and this one was built about 1820.

The ice stored here was used to cool wines and champagnes

but its most important use was for making ice cream.

Then we'd get the ice from the lake at the back of the house

and they would also get it out of the Thames because in those days

the Thames used to freeze and they were very efficient at keeping ice.

And they would pack between the doors with straw

to act as extra insulation.

Because the walls and the roof, the insulation was unbelievable.

And would that ice last the whole year?

-Probably until about August.

-Let's get off then.

Then Robin takes me into the bowels of the main building to one

of the most secretive rooms in Syon House - the confectioner's kitchen.

It was only in the grand houses that you had ice cream?

Oh, yes. Initially it was only monarchs who had it

and then the very wealthy had it.

Because you had to, first of all, have an ice house

and ability to get ice and secondly, you had to be able to afford a

confectioner and they were expensive people and there were few of them.

Unlike the main kitchen,

it was situated beneath the grand dining room.

This allowed speedy service for their show-stopping ice cream creations.

Ice cream moulds, you can always tell from chocolate moulds,

because they close completely.

I mean, that's a very nice orange mould.

Most of them are related to fruit.

There's one here that is a fig and there are apples and oranges.

Yes. The easiest one here to open up is this pineapple one.

It's in three pieces - that's a very rare mould.

The confectionist concocted elaborate designs but

one of their secrets was how easy it was to actually make the ice cream.

The principle of this is very simple.

Explaining it scientifically is very difficult

but if you put salt on ice it reduces the freezing point.

This is probably now about minus 15 degrees centigrade.

Now we pour the mixture....

The method Robin's showing me

was used in some of the earliest British recipes.

And then you keep on moving it around and revolving it

and then...

it will start solidifying inside.

This takes me right back to my childhood

when dad bought an old ice cream maker at an auction

and mum made ice cream in the exact same way.

It was just after the war and we had goats and we used

to do it from goat's milk and goats cream

and it was a huge treat.

The very first ice creams were just frozen cream and sugar.

Hardly a complicated recipe

but the confectioners didn't want this secret getting out either.

I mean the confectioner used to lock the door to his confectionary when

he made the ice cream because he didn't want anyone else to see it.

Because it's actually very simple.

So simple that after half an hour of gentle mixing

we're seeing results all ready.

-Well, we're getting there, look.

-OK, yes.

Doesn't that look good?

Do you know...

that is absolutely perfect?

It's better than all the others

because it's made in the old fashioned way.

But I'll be honest, while I'm familiar

with the salt and ice freezing method,

I don't understand how it actually works.

So I'm heading off to the University College London for a lesson

in the science of ice cream.

My teacher today is Andrea Seller,

a professor of chemistry.

He also happens to be a big fan of ice cream - a winning combination.

Hello, nice to meet you at last.

Nice to see you, Andrea.

I haven't been in a science lab since I was at school.

It's got the same sort of feeling.

The odd Bunsen burner about?

We've actually got a Bunsen burner sort of ready.

Come on then, let's get going.

Now, ice cream is particularly fascinating because it combines all

kinds of aspects in both chemistry and physics all in one place.

But no chemicals needed here.

Like all the best dairy ice cream,

this recipe starts with three simple ingredients -

egg yolks, sugar and milk.

What we'll do now is we'll put it into one of the oldest pieces

of chemical apparatus and that's the Mary bath, the bain-Marie.

Once the mixture is heated through

and we're left with a smooth, custard consistency,

it's ready for the next stage.

OK, well, at this point we have to cool things down.

So we're going to need...

quite a lot of ice to get us going.

What we're trying to achieve is really a temperature

which is somewhere around minus 10 or thereabouts,

in order to really achieve efficient cooling.

Now ice and water on their own just aren't good enough.

So what we have to do is to add salt.

And so this is simply dishwasher salt.

-Coarse salt.

-Nothing special, coarse salt.

I'm a bit puzzled at this stage because when it's snowing

and our back-door step becomes icy,

I put salt there and it melts the ice away

and yet you're telling me that it's going to lower the temperature.

Well, this is the extraordinary thing.

It's completely the opposite of what you expect.

It actually costs energy to actually melt the ice.

Now what the salt does is something very, very clever.

It dissolves in the water and it essentially

gets in the way of water that wants to freeze back onto the ice.

So that means that the ice continues to melt

and so the temperature is going to continue to drop.

You can see there, right, that we're all ready well below zero, right?

Simply by putting in the salt and the ice, right?

-Yes.

-This mixture is at about minus 10 degrees.

It may seem unbelievable but there's the evidence.

We've made our own deep freeze with no electricity or chemicals.

Just some ice and a handful of salt.

Our mix is kind of getting close but we're not quite there.

This takes quite a time, doesn't it?

It does take a moment

and so there is a much faster way, which is to actually use a coolant.

But when impatient Andrea talks about coolant...

We should probably get safety specs on at this point.

He's not talking about your average freezer.

This is liquid nitrogen.

We're going to pour the liquid nitrogen directly inside

so I need you to get your hands in there.

Um, you need to stir like crazy and I'm going to pour.

Ooh!

-It's cold!

-It is quite cold.

It's at almost -200 degrees but you can feel it stiffening.

It's... Yes.

It's most exciting.

And what we have is a lovely, basic...

It's almost like magic, isn't it?

By cooling it so very, very quickly, the ice crystals that

are formed are very, very small and so it gives it a special creaminess.

Well, I'm the privileged one to try first.

Do you know that is just like velvet?

There is not a crystal in sight.

It's the smoothest, softest thing that you could possibly have.

This next dairy ice cream is also smooth, soft and delicious

and won't require salt, liquid nitrogen or even a professor.

So simple to make - just five ingredients.

Lemon, yoghurt, ice cream.

So up with the...

beater.

No, I'm not going to do it by hand.

No wonder those Victorian cooks had such muscles.

They had to do so much beating with wire whisks.

I'm using an electric one.

I'm now going to whip the cream until it becomes just floppy.

I'm going to take the zest off those lemons.

This is one of my favourite recipes for ice cream.

I got it, I suppose, 20 years ago.

Um, from another mum at school. I've been making it ever since.

I'm going to add the lemon rind, the lemon juice...

..the sugar...

..milk...

last of all the yoghurt.

Using yoghurt in an ice cream, instead of all cream,

makes it sharp and less rich.

Ice cream is one of my most favourite things to eat

and it's something that the whole family enjoy.

All I have to do now is to freeze it until it's solid.

To break up any ice crystals, once its frozen,

take it out then process and return it to the freezer.

Here's one...

that's been in about 12 hours to be sure to make it frozen.

This is delicious in a cornet.

Everybody likes a cornet.

I somehow wish that Robin Wear was here

because I bet he'd like this one.

Just real, dairy ice cream with lots of lemon in.

Well, I'm not going to eat all three but I can't wait.

Mmm.

It's just...

scrumptious.

You can really taste the lemon coming through and the zest too.

Traditional dairy ice cream.

You really can't beat it.

The ice cream market is a busy one.

From the budget soft scoop to the more expensive premium ranges.

But in actual fact, the majority of ice cream consumed in the UK

is made by just four companies, who own all the big brands.

However, there's a growing breed of artisan ice cream makers,

fighting their corner and waving their dairy flag.

Mary, very nice to meet you.

Alastair Jessel is a former city stockbroker.

He now owns Taywell Ice Cream

and is one of Europe's fastest-growing artisan producers.

But can manufactured ice cream, on any scale,

ever measure up to home-made?

We make ice cream as it used to traditionally be made,

actually by people like yourself.

Using egg yolks, milk, cream,

sugars and whatever flavours are going to go into it.

So they're all dairy ice creams?

We make dairy ice creams and we also make sorbets here.

By law, anything labelled dairy ice cream can only contain dairy fats

and can't contain cut-price alternatives.

Unfortunately, many ice creams are made with palm oil.

It's a much, much cheaper ingredient.

It gives the fat content but you don't have the flavour.

You don't have the flavour and everything is all about flavour.

We have to keep banging on about flavour.

Music to my ears but I must remind myself not to get too carried away.

I'm trying not to put my finger in it as I go by.

If I lift that up...

So that really is a sort of creme anglaise.

A good and rich, dairy custard.

Absolutely.

It's fantastic to see Alastair making ice cream

with the same principles I use in my kitchen.

But when it comes to some of the large-scale ice cream manufacturers,

it's a different story.

What you do if you're making it on a big scale is probably

remove the milk and use powdered milk.

You would add in water.

You would also remove some of the cream.

You would remove as many of the egg yolks as possible.

For a light texture a certain amount of air in the mixture is essential.

By the time we've finished potting these smaller tubs,

there's probably less than 10% air.

Normally an ice cream manufacturer would be

pumping in at least 100%,

sometimes up to 200% air into these ice creams

and making it go twice as far and one of the interesting things

about it is that ice cream is sold by volume not by weight.

It's one of the rare foods actually sold that way.

But of course the customer doesn't know that.

You see the size of the tub and you think, "Oh I'll have that one."

-Pick it up and if it's heavy it's good.

-Exactly.

To earn myself a taste, I offer to put my piping skills to work.

-Lynn, can I have a go?

-By all means.

I don't think I'll be as good as you.

Oh, that's fun. Well, that persons going to be lucky.

You're going to have to adjust these, Lynn. They're not exactly easy.

After doing my bit for portion control, it's finally time

to see how Alastair's ice cream measures up to my own high standards.

It's really wonderful.

-Mmm.

-Thank you.

What a pleasure it is to see dairy ingredients all going in.

Proper egg yolks, cream, milk.

Natural flavourings and the results are perfect.

What a treat.

It's heartening to see it's not just me

pushing for a revival of real, dairy ice cream.

But artisan producers like Alistair are very much in the minority.

I worry that the British taste buds have got used

to the cheaper kind of ice cream.

They wouldn't know the good stuff if it came up and bit them.

Take some and try both.

I'm putting these seasider's taste buds to the test.

See what you think. There. Here's a spoon.

In the blue bowls is my very own vanilla dairy ice cream,

made with just five natural ingredients.

How about that?

In the red bowl is one of the biggest-selling vanilla ice creams

with its 15 ingredients including vegetable fat, colours

and emulsifiers but no mention of cream, eggs, or even vanilla.

-Right.

-I think I liked this one because it tasted better.

I like this one but I like this one even better

because it's really rich and creamy.

It tastes different from the ice cream we have at home.

-We all agree we like the blue one the best, don't we?

-Yeah.

-Much, much more.

-A promising start for my dairy ice cream.

I like this one better because it's creamier and sweeter

but I would say that this is the one that we're more used to.

-That one's smoother.

-This one's delicious.

-That's lovely.

Does it taste different to the ice cream from your normal ice cream?

-It tastes creamier.

-That one's much better.

-Which one?

-This one tastes nicer.

This one tastes more vanillay...and creamy.

You've got very good taste.

My blue pots are certainly taking the lead

but some die-hards seem to be sticking with what they know.

I love both of them

but I'm probably going to have to go for this one

because it's tastier.

Which is the one you're used to?

This one.

But will knowing more about what's in the ice creams change their mind?

That is the real thing.

It's just five ingredients...

and in the other one there are 15.

-Oh, my God.

-Oh, my gosh.

-Wow.

-Does that tempt you?

-No, not really, no.

I'd definitely go for that one.

Now I know the ingredients, I think I'd probably go

for the more natural one.

-Did you make this one?

-That's my recipe, yes.

It's very nice.

"A resounding success" I'd say.

The people have spoken out for proper, home-made, dairy ice cream.

So I've proved that there's a taste out there for dairy ice cream

but I want more than that.

I'm determined that I'm going to get you making real dairy ice cream

at home and this time I'm making a proper custard ice cream

and I'm going to use it for Baked Alaska.

An arctic mountain. A layer of sponge underneath.

Lots of ice cream in a huge pile.

Then sealed with a meringue on top

and baked in the oven for a very short time,

just a little tinge of brown and serve it.

So first of all I'm going to infuse the milk and cream

with a vanilla pod.

I'm going to bring that just below the boil and leave it for an hour.

Now the egg yolks and I'm going to whisk them with the sugar.

Until it's light and foamy.

Put all that together.

This is the same principal we saw Alastair using in his recipes

but on a much smaller scale.

It was lovely to visit a small, artisan ice cream maker

and he was using the real, dairy ingredients

and just the sort of thing that I've been using today.

I don't buy ice cream because it's so easy to make

and it's good to have in the freezer.

After all doesn't apple pie taste that much better

with a lovely scoop of home-made ice cream with it?

I'm using an ice cream machine to save time but you can get

similar results by freezing it and processing it once or twice.

Custard is the original ice cream.

If you look into the early ice creams in Mrs Beeton,

they were always made from the basic creme anglaise or custard

and we leave that just until it's set and firm.

It's a good idea to freeze your sponge base

before you start assembling.

This is for grown ups, so how about a little bit of booze on it?

Because we're putting cherries in, it could be, this is Kirsch.

It could be one of the orange liquors.

Have a look in the cupboard and see what you've got.

Something that goes well with a fruitiness.

Then I'm going to put cherry jam over the top of that.

Next is the ice cream.

So scoopfuls all the way round.

This may be the adult version but leave out the alcohol

and you've got a feast fit for everyone.

This is a huge family favourite.

The grandchildren absolutely love it.

So there we are we're making our mountain

ready for the arctic...

covering of meringue.

The meringue we used in our first recipe

and I'm putting it over the top.

Start from the outside

and make sure that you seal every little bit.

If you don't seal it, the ice cream will melt.

This is what I would call a show stopper.

It only needs a few minutes in the oven until it's lightly golden.

So there we are - baked Alaska.

It looks even better with a few cherries on top.

That reminds me of my childhood.

Real, proper, dairy ice cream.

Well worth reviving and making at home.

I'm in for a second bite.

All over the country people are joining a dairy ice cream revival

and a new generation is pushing it to its limits.

There you go, thanks a lot.

Manchester-based Clare Kelsey spends her summers

hitting the festival circuit.

She has an ice cream van named Ginger

and an interesting collection of flavours.

There you go, lovely.

I have got salted caramel and peanut butter.

It's very good.

It's fairly spectacular.

Peanut butter being the greatest thing in the world, so yeah.

Rhubarb crumble, which is delicious.

Very rhubarby.

This is olive oil and sea salt ice cream. Let's try it.

It's quite hard to describe, it's definitely moreish.

I think it's the salt that's making it moreish, it's not very salty.

It's delicious.

People are a bit shocked at first when they see certain things

on the menu like marmalade on toast

or the extra virgin oil flavour and they're surprised

but then when they try a little bit, they genuinely quite like it.

It works.

No ice cream I've had before has tasted like that.

It was really good.

With ingredients including olive oil, peppercorns, toast,

salt, chestnuts and even rosemary, you might well think that

some customers would be scared off but far from it.

Mmm. I can hardly talk because I just want to lick it.

-Happy days!

-Wowzer.

Once this takes off nobody will want anything else.

So I think ice cream's ingredients should always be simple

and should always be dairy.

I've shown you with those three recipes,

it's really easy to make it yourself.

So have a go and you won't regret it.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd