0:00:02 > 0:00:07You know, we believe that Britain has the best food in the world.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11Not only can we boast fantastic ingredients...
0:00:13 > 0:00:15'Outstanding food producers...'
0:00:15 > 0:00:17Oh, wow!
0:00:17 > 0:00:20'And innovative chefs...'
0:00:20 > 0:00:23'But we also have an amazing food history.'
0:00:23 > 0:00:26So it's safe to say that that's what the Romans brought to us -
0:00:26 > 0:00:28- the art of cooking itself. - Absolutely.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32- It's called sala catavia. - It's like a savoury summer pudding.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34'Now during this series,
0:00:34 > 0:00:38'we're going to be taking you on a journey into our culinary past.'
0:00:38 > 0:00:43- Everything's ready, so let's get cracking.- 'We'll explore its revealing stories.'
0:00:43 > 0:00:44SI AND DAVE: Wow!
0:00:44 > 0:00:48'And meet the heroes that keep our food heritage alive.'
0:00:48 > 0:00:50Pontefract licorice. It's been my life
0:00:50 > 0:00:53and I've loved every minute of it.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56'And of course be cooking up a load of dishes
0:00:56 > 0:00:59'that reveal our foodie evolution.'
0:00:59 > 0:01:01That's a proper British treat.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05Looks good, tastes good and that's going to do you good.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08- Quite simply... - BOTH: The best of British!
0:01:26 > 0:01:29'Tell you what, you know what bees have in common with people?'
0:01:29 > 0:01:32'Oh no, is this one of your jokes?'
0:01:32 > 0:01:36'Well, no. Well, since you ask, bees are the only animal other than humans
0:01:36 > 0:01:41'that treat their food to make it keep longer!'
0:01:41 > 0:01:45'Today's programme is all about preserving.'
0:01:45 > 0:01:51'The British have some of the best and most diverse preserving traditions in the world.'
0:01:51 > 0:01:54We've been preserving food for centuries.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58When supplies ran short in the winter months and fresh produce didn't keep that long,
0:01:58 > 0:02:01we became masters at conserving food.
0:02:01 > 0:02:07Some of Britain's best food products have emerged from our long tradition of preserving
0:02:07 > 0:02:12and it proves that practical can be very, very tasty.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14Your Janie's been busy, mate.
0:02:14 > 0:02:15She has, hasn't she?
0:02:17 > 0:02:21'Some of the flavours we enjoy most, like cheese, sweet jam,
0:02:21 > 0:02:24'and smoked fish come from ways of preserving your grub.'
0:02:24 > 0:02:28'We're going to explore those traditional methods, which were once
0:02:28 > 0:02:32'a way of life for thousands of British people.'
0:02:32 > 0:02:35'And open the lid on the ingenious idea,
0:02:35 > 0:02:38'which changed food preservation forever.'
0:02:38 > 0:02:41'We'll discover the unique flavours only preserving can develop,
0:02:41 > 0:02:46'by cooking up an old fruity classic and an Indian-influenced pickle
0:02:46 > 0:02:49'that sets dishes ablaze.'
0:02:49 > 0:02:52'We'll be showing you that Scotland has a surprisingly diverse and varied
0:02:52 > 0:02:55'tradition of making delicious cheese.'
0:02:55 > 0:02:58'And we'll uncover the story of a food icon
0:02:58 > 0:03:01'that's the very best of British.'
0:03:05 > 0:03:08'For our first recipe we're going to make piccalilli,
0:03:08 > 0:03:12'a pickled preserve that takes a succulent ham hock with a crispy skin
0:03:12 > 0:03:14'and totally transforms it.'
0:03:16 > 0:03:18'As with many British foods,
0:03:18 > 0:03:21'piccalilli is a recipe that is influenced from abroad,
0:03:21 > 0:03:23'in this case, by India.'
0:03:27 > 0:03:31It's not just any old piccalilli, this is our piccalilli.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33It's bouncing, banging hot.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36It'll set a ham sandwich alight.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40A little ham hock with a potato salad, you drizzle the piccalilli on and all of a sudden,
0:03:40 > 0:03:44- Whoa! You've have got a party. - You have. In your mouth.
0:03:44 > 0:03:49And because it's a preserve and a pickle, that party's going to go on for years.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52'To kick things off, we're going to prepare the ham hock
0:03:52 > 0:03:57'by rubbing them all over with oil and seasoning with salt and pepper.'
0:03:57 > 0:04:01'A ham hock is a cured cut of meat made from the leg, just below the knee joint.'
0:04:01 > 0:04:06Because it's cooked on the bone, it keeps the moisture in the meat and it's very gelatinous. Lovely.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09And all that skin's going to go lovely and crispy and gorgeous.
0:04:10 > 0:04:15'Piccalilli is what gives us the big flavour hit in this dish.
0:04:15 > 0:04:20'Our version uses green beans, courgettes and cauliflower.'
0:04:22 > 0:04:27Now, the first references that we can find to piccalilli is by Mrs Raffald,
0:04:27 > 0:04:32who in 1772, wrote recipes for Indian chutney or piccalillio.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36She said, "It's a chutney made with mustard
0:04:36 > 0:04:41"and you can use whatever's to hand, be it kidney beans, cabbage or indeed radishes."
0:04:41 > 0:04:43In the early 1900s,
0:04:43 > 0:04:47it was known as Indian pickle or English chow chow.
0:04:47 > 0:04:52The recipes twist and change depending on what you fancy and what your family's done
0:04:52 > 0:04:56because I always think there's a great family history when it comes to pickling
0:04:56 > 0:05:02and everybody's got their own little twists and recipes and I love that.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05'Depending on the size of your ham hock, cook it at 180 degrees
0:05:05 > 0:05:08'for an hour and a half.'
0:05:10 > 0:05:16- My friend, could you transform this cauliflower into a myriad of fine florets?- I can.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19We want dinky florets, bite-sized pieces,
0:05:19 > 0:05:23just ones that are going to get mixed up and burst on your tongue.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27By bottling and pickling, you actually create a different product.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31I mean, you don't just preserve it, you turn it into something else.
0:05:31 > 0:05:36Pickling! You're turning cauliflower into a relish.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39- Come on, these are getting bigger now.- That's only little!
0:05:39 > 0:05:44- Into four, like so. There is a piccalilli etiquette, you realise. - Oh, yes.
0:05:44 > 0:05:49Go on... And again, quadrants.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52You see? That's what you want for your piccalilli.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55- What about that, look? That's nice.- Too big.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00THEY LAUGH
0:06:03 > 0:06:07'That's all the veg done now. All we've got to do
0:06:07 > 0:06:10'is to salt them, using 100 grams of fine sea salt.'
0:06:12 > 0:06:15This is to dry out all the water from the said veg.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19When the water's out, we replace that with spice and vinegar
0:06:19 > 0:06:22and it becomes a pickle!
0:06:22 > 0:06:24Lovely colours, isn't it?
0:06:24 > 0:06:28I want to make sure all those little bits of veg are covered with salt.
0:06:28 > 0:06:33It may look as though there is a lot of salt there, but it's necessary.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37- We're going to wash it off. - We are, that's key.- So don't worry.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42Cover that with cling film.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46We put this in the fridge for 24 hours for the brining to happen.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48You'll be pleased to know that's the second batch.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51We got the first batch on yesterday.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55And here we are, brined!
0:06:55 > 0:06:59- It doesn't look appreciably different.- It doesn't, does it? - It stinks a bit though.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01- Ooh, yes.- Oh, aye.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03Basically we need to wash the salt off
0:07:03 > 0:07:06and that kind of sulphurous odour.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11'Honestly, don't worry about the smell. When you wash the salt off,
0:07:11 > 0:07:13'it freshens up a treat.'
0:07:17 > 0:07:20'Now we need to chop up three medium-sized onions
0:07:20 > 0:07:24'and boil them in 300 millilitres of malt vinegar for about 15 minutes.'
0:07:30 > 0:07:33'We'll also need 300 millilitres of white wine vinegar.
0:07:33 > 0:07:38'I'm going to use five tablespoons of it to blend the spices in.'
0:07:38 > 0:07:41It's time to get things hot.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44Now to this, a tablespoon of turmeric.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48This is what makes a piccalilli a banging yellow colour.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52And add to the vinegar and turmeric a very heaped tablespoon,
0:07:52 > 0:07:56maybe even a little more, of English mustard powder.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58Yes. This one's a feisty one.
0:07:58 > 0:08:03To that, a heaped teaspoon of powdered ginger.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05And if that wasn't enough,
0:08:05 > 0:08:09a heaped teaspoon of chilli flakes.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13It's a bit nouveau this, but heck it works.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15Mustard, chilli, ginger!
0:08:15 > 0:08:18And when you eat it, you see that there, Dave's T-shirt,
0:08:18 > 0:08:20that's the reaction.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22THEY WHOOP
0:08:22 > 0:08:26'Finally, add 25 grams of cornflour
0:08:26 > 0:08:29'to thicken up the spice and vinegar mix.'
0:08:29 > 0:08:33Can you smell... hot vinegar, onion?
0:08:33 > 0:08:36- It's all starting to happen. - It is, isn't it?
0:08:36 > 0:08:38I love that smell.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42Right-oh. Now to that, we add the remaining white wine vinegar.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48'Next, add in 250 grams of granulated sugar.'
0:08:48 > 0:08:52And as we're finding in our odyssey of the best of British,
0:08:52 > 0:08:55the sweet and sour pops up all the time.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57- All the time.- We're mad for it.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01- My favourite, favourite taste combination.- Sweet as sweet. - Sour, ooh.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09- That's perfect. - It is.- Perfect balance.
0:09:09 > 0:09:14You've have got to get that balance right because if it's too sour, nobody's going to eat it.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17If it's too sweet, you might as well have made jam.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21That is the perfect balance. Ying, Yang, Fred, Ginger, cheese, bread,
0:09:21 > 0:09:23- that sort of thing.- Si and Dave!
0:09:27 > 0:09:30'Simmer the veg with the onions and vinegar for 10 to 15 minutes,
0:09:30 > 0:09:33'but look, don't over do it, eh?'
0:09:33 > 0:09:37When you put your piccalilli on your pork pie, or tureen, or ham hock,
0:09:37 > 0:09:39you just want it go crunch.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43The last thing in the world you want is to be able to spread your cauliflower.
0:09:43 > 0:09:50- What will we do?- Could go to the pub and get pickled?- Good idea.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54'The ancient methods of preservation like pickling were relied on for centuries,
0:09:54 > 0:09:59'but science has played its part in keeping food edible too.'
0:10:00 > 0:10:02'And in the 18th century,
0:10:02 > 0:10:07'there was a revolution in the way we preserved our foods.'
0:10:07 > 0:10:11FRENCH NATIONAL ANTHEM
0:10:11 > 0:10:14'In the 1790s, Napoleon had a problem -
0:10:14 > 0:10:17'how to feed his vast armies conquering Europe.'
0:10:17 > 0:10:20'And the solution came from an unusual source...'
0:10:20 > 0:10:22Champagne!
0:10:22 > 0:10:23DRUM ROLL
0:10:23 > 0:10:26Champagne!
0:10:26 > 0:10:27Champagne!
0:10:28 > 0:10:32'In 1795, the French government offered 12,000 francs
0:10:32 > 0:10:34'to anyone who could come up with a way
0:10:34 > 0:10:38'of keeping the food edible for the squaddies.'
0:10:38 > 0:10:42'Confectioner and brewer Nicolas Apert claimed the prize
0:10:42 > 0:10:47'by preserving food in champagne bottles.'
0:10:49 > 0:10:51'Apert put his prepared food into glass bottles,
0:10:51 > 0:10:57'sealing them with a cork and wax and then heating them up.'
0:10:57 > 0:11:01'It was an effective method, sort of.'
0:11:01 > 0:11:05The jars around me I've made according to Apert's recipe,
0:11:05 > 0:11:09including one that I have here, which I made 30 years ago.
0:11:10 > 0:11:15They may not look too appetising but I'm sure if you ate them, They wouldn't poison you.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18I don't think I can be bothered to eat them for you!
0:11:18 > 0:11:20'Don't blame you, mate!'
0:11:20 > 0:11:23'After 15 years of intensive research,
0:11:23 > 0:11:25'Apert published a small bestseller,
0:11:25 > 0:11:31'excitingly named The Art Of Preserving Animal And Vegetable Substances For Many Years.'
0:11:31 > 0:11:35'His ideas fell into the hands of an Englishman called Peter Durand
0:11:35 > 0:11:37'and you can guess what happened next.'
0:11:38 > 0:11:40The tin can.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45'Early tin cans though, were far too expensive for the masses.'
0:11:45 > 0:11:48'And so their main market was the military
0:11:48 > 0:11:51'and specialist expeditions of the age.'
0:11:51 > 0:11:54'Although cans appeared in 1810,
0:11:54 > 0:11:58'nobody actually invented a can opener for another 40 years!'
0:11:58 > 0:12:00'But that wasn't the only problem.
0:12:00 > 0:12:05'Canning didn't always work. Errgh!'
0:12:05 > 0:12:07'It took another Frenchman, Louis Pasteur,
0:12:07 > 0:12:11'to figure out exactly why it was our food went off.'
0:12:13 > 0:12:16'In 1861, Pasteur showed
0:12:16 > 0:12:20'that it was micro-organisms in food that made it go bad
0:12:20 > 0:12:24'and that heating it to the right temperature killed them off.'
0:12:24 > 0:12:27'Suddenly, canned food took off
0:12:27 > 0:12:31'and one particular type was an instant success...'
0:12:31 > 0:12:33Bully beef, a corned beef.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37'In the First World War, bully beef was an essential ration for the troops.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39'It kept the army alive.'
0:12:39 > 0:12:42'As if the horrors of trench warfare weren't bad enough,
0:12:42 > 0:12:46'the delightful canned meals just kept on coming.'
0:12:47 > 0:12:49This is Maconochies,
0:12:49 > 0:12:53normally beef and vegetables, or beans and pork.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56They always called it the same thing, dog vomit.
0:12:56 > 0:13:02'But whatever they called it, there was no stopping our love affair with tinned food.'
0:13:05 > 0:13:09'Over the next century, mass production made canned food
0:13:09 > 0:13:14'cheap enough for everyone... and the food industry went canning mad.'
0:13:14 > 0:13:18Today they're making a traditional Scottish soup, Cock A Leekie.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22Each vat, by the way, contains 100 gallons,
0:13:22 > 0:13:24enough to fill 1,000 cans of soup.
0:13:32 > 0:13:37'Now if you can eat it, or drink it, it's being sold in a tin.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41'Thanks to canning, there's nothing that can't be preserved for years.'
0:13:41 > 0:13:46'And you can always find something to eat in the back of the cupboard.'
0:13:46 > 0:13:50- 'Very canny that.' - 'Oh dear!'
0:13:54 > 0:13:58'Back in the Best Of British kitchen, the veg for our piccalilli are ready
0:13:58 > 0:14:02'and it's time to add our blend of spices.'
0:14:04 > 0:14:06Now remember, in this cauldron of fire,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09it's good we've got white wine vinegar.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12Smell that! SIMON COUGHS
0:14:12 > 0:14:15Oh, it's like mustard gas! It'll be all right!
0:14:15 > 0:14:20Don't you worry at home, sitting, eating your tea. This will be great.
0:14:20 > 0:14:25- Here we go. I think we should kick off on the heat. - Yes, exactly that.
0:14:25 > 0:14:30- Now you, see that's where the piccalilli gets its colour from, the turmeric.- Yes.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34Turmeric is a vicious colour. Keep it away from your marble tops!
0:14:34 > 0:14:39Turmeric was probably first cultivated as a dye,
0:14:39 > 0:14:42but then interestingly enough, it was often used as a replacement
0:14:42 > 0:14:46to the more costly saffron in food because it gives it that sort of
0:14:46 > 0:14:50lovely yellow tinge which you can seen in our piccalilli. Fabulous.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54- It's beginning to smell like piccalilli, not mustard gas.- Quite!
0:14:54 > 0:14:57And you see the sauce has gone really, really thick now.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01- The chilli flakes are clinging to those little bits of veg.- Should we?
0:15:01 > 0:15:03After you.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06Just trace that over your gammon joint.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11That...is gorgeous.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16'But you can't eat it now. It needs to mature.
0:15:18 > 0:15:23'Fill some sterilised jars with the piccalilli mixture.'
0:15:23 > 0:15:24Lovely.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27- It's lovely, that.- Look how it's filling the jar up.
0:15:27 > 0:15:32- That's handy.- It looks so good, it could have been bought.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35'Then put them in a cool, dark place for at least a month.'
0:15:35 > 0:15:41- Oh, it's so worth it.- Oh, it is. It's lovely, this.- This is relish gold.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45Imagine a smearing of this on your burger. It'd raise Lazarus, that.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48'We've still got ham hocks waiting in the oven, though.'
0:15:48 > 0:15:50Look at this.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53'But luckily piccalilli is something
0:15:53 > 0:15:56'you can always have tucked away in your cupboard...'
0:15:56 > 0:15:58- Ahhh, yes!- Look at them!
0:15:58 > 0:16:01'..for just such an occasion.'
0:16:01 > 0:16:03- You were made to be together. You and you.- Fred and Ginger.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11'Ham hocks and piccalilli might be the perfect couple
0:16:11 > 0:16:14'but to make a meal of it
0:16:14 > 0:16:17'we're inviting the potato salad to the party as well.'
0:16:17 > 0:16:21- Now, shall we unleash the beast? - Yeah, go on!
0:16:27 > 0:16:28Ha-ha-ha-ha!
0:16:28 > 0:16:30Look at that.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33# Yeah, everybody
0:16:33 > 0:16:36# Let's have some fun
0:16:36 > 0:16:37# You only live but once... #
0:16:37 > 0:16:40That is right good pickle.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47I'll shut the lid just in case it escapes!
0:16:50 > 0:16:53- I can't wait to taste this pickle. - Go on, go on.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06It's safe to approach.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10# Let the good times roll! #
0:17:17 > 0:17:20That piccalilli, it was a bit raw when we first made it.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22But it has matured, settled down.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28The lovely thing about it...
0:17:28 > 0:17:31is that it's got a real sweet and sour to it
0:17:31 > 0:17:34but also a lovely, but subtle, hit of chilli.
0:17:34 > 0:17:40- Nice. Really good.- It's not all mustard. Bit of ginger going on.
0:17:41 > 0:17:46- It's quite a complex little thing. - Absolutely wonderful.- Yeah.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50Preserving isn't simply about making food last longer.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53Some methods of preserving food, you can take something quite simple
0:17:53 > 0:17:56and make it very, very special.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59The great thing is, with a ham hock, because the meat's so unctuous,
0:17:59 > 0:18:02we have got all the combinations that your palate loves.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06You've got a savoury note, a sweet note,
0:18:06 > 0:18:09a sour note, and then a little bit of heat with the chilli.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11- It's a perfect combo, man.- Yeah.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15'This is piccalilli for the 21st century.
0:18:15 > 0:18:20'It's cheap to make and lasts for ages but, most importantly,
0:18:20 > 0:18:23'it adds a huge depth of flavour to the right dish.'
0:18:32 > 0:18:34Making vegetables last is one thing
0:18:34 > 0:18:37but when it comes to meat, and especially fish,
0:18:37 > 0:18:41there's a method of preserving that you just can't beat.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43Smoking.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47On the Suffolk coast there's a family business that knows
0:18:47 > 0:18:50a thing or two about preserving fish.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54Pinney's catch their own fish and seafood,
0:18:54 > 0:18:58smoke it on site and even serve it up in their family restaurant.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04Best-of-British-food hero Bill Pinney is the manager.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07He's been smoking fish by hand since he was a boy.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11The secret of his success is the blackened smokehouse
0:19:11 > 0:19:15built around the back of the family home by Bill's dad.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19What we do here is almost totally different to how salmon is smoked
0:19:19 > 0:19:21in a factory nowadays.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25There's no buttons you press here, no fans, no electricity involved.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28It's the oak smoke and how the box is handled.
0:19:28 > 0:19:32To produce the smoke at the right temperature,
0:19:32 > 0:19:34you need to know how to handle the box.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36You need to get smoke at the lower temperatures,
0:19:36 > 0:19:38where the alcohols and ethers,
0:19:38 > 0:19:41the sweet-smelling smoke in the wood, comes off.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44And this method produces a smoked fish that is different
0:19:44 > 0:19:46than you'll get anywhere else.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49It's still an art, it's not an industrial process.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52You can really taste the difference.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56In the smokehouse the mackerel and trout are treated by a process
0:19:56 > 0:20:01called hot smoking, during which the fish are cooked.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04We've taken the lid off and opened up the air vent at the bottom.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07The smoke is now being consumed as flames.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10The hot smoking end then becomes in effect an oven.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21The smoke boxes are fuelled by burning whole oak logs,
0:20:21 > 0:20:23but not everything is hot-smoked here.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27Some fish, like salmon, are coal-smoked,
0:20:27 > 0:20:31which preserves the flavour of the fish without cooking it.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34In these two bays we've got smoked salmon,
0:20:34 > 0:20:36or salmon that's being smoked.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39That has now been in there for about 12 hours
0:20:39 > 0:20:43and it's probably going to be in there for possibly another 24.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46It's quite soft at this stage and you can see by the touch that,
0:20:46 > 0:20:49although the skin has dried off and you've got a bit of colour on there,
0:20:49 > 0:20:52it's still got quite a long way to go.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55# Come here, my little Jackie Now I've smoked me baccy
0:20:55 > 0:20:58# Let's have a bit of cracky Till the boat comes in. #
0:20:58 > 0:21:00Although nowadays people think of smoking for flavour,
0:21:00 > 0:21:04it was originally a method of preserving fish
0:21:04 > 0:21:05to make it last longer.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08For generations along the east coast,
0:21:08 > 0:21:11fleets of trawlers landed huge catches of herring
0:21:11 > 0:21:15to be split in half and coal-smoked as kippers or left whole as bloaters.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22The herring fleet was made up of ships from across Britain,
0:21:22 > 0:21:25who followed the migration of the herring shoals
0:21:25 > 0:21:28from Stornoway down to Great Yarmouth in the autumn.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31It was accompanied by armies of women from the villages of Scotland,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34who travelled down the coast
0:21:34 > 0:21:37to work long and dirty hours skilfully gutting the herring.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39Then the fish would be salted
0:21:39 > 0:21:43and hung in the smoker for a long, long time.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48And it would still be fit to eat eight months later.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50Rather you than me, though, mate.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56Sadly, the east coast herring industry is long gone,
0:21:56 > 0:21:58but Billy's smoking another delicacy
0:21:58 > 0:22:02that has been gathered in these waters since Roman times.
0:22:02 > 0:22:03Oysters.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08What we're doing at the moment is dredging for oysters.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12The oysters lie loose on the sea bed or the river bed
0:22:12 > 0:22:16and we're using a dredge which scoops the oysters off the bottom
0:22:16 > 0:22:18and then catches them in a bag net.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22And hopefully when I haul up we'll have a nice bagful of oysters.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28The oyster beds at Butley Creek had fallen into disuse
0:22:28 > 0:22:29in the early 1900s.
0:22:29 > 0:22:34Bill's dad resurrected them by seeding them with fresh stock.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36And Bill's still farming them today.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39Nice bagful.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46We've got some lovely oysters here for smoking.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50Some of these are just perfect, lovely sized oysters.
0:22:50 > 0:22:55- These are a few years old now. - Ah, man, I love oysters.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58They're little bundles of loveliness.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02In fact, at Bill's family restaurant they've got a great recipe
0:23:02 > 0:23:05that'll tango on your taste buds.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10First up, the oysters have to be smoked for a couple of hours.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14Then it's over to the restaurant in Orford, where daughter Jodie
0:23:14 > 0:23:19takes the oysters and turns them into angels on horseback.
0:23:19 > 0:23:20It's really simple.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23Add a pinch of parsley and chopped onion to some bacon
0:23:23 > 0:23:26and wrap it around the delicious oyster.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28The oysters have only been smoked for a couple of hours
0:23:28 > 0:23:32so they're not too overpowering and they have a delicate sweet flavour,
0:23:32 > 0:23:35so once they're grilled they'll be delicious.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37When I was a child Mum and Dad always tried to get me
0:23:37 > 0:23:40to eat oysters but I wasn't having any of it,
0:23:40 > 0:23:42so the only way they could do it
0:23:42 > 0:23:46was to try and, well, sneak them in by cooking them in a bit of bacon.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48Yeah, that's how I got into eating oysters.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52After eight minutes under the grill, they're ready to pop on a bit of toast.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Top nosh.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01We're one of the very few places that actually grow our own oysters,
0:24:01 > 0:24:04catch our own fish, smoke our own fish
0:24:04 > 0:24:07and serve it in our own restaurant.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10Traditional smoked seafood made the family way.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14- It's authentic and it's as good as it gets.- Aye, just like us.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24In Britain we've traditionally employed
0:24:24 > 0:24:26an array of preserving methods
0:24:26 > 0:24:29to ensure we've eaten well all year round.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33What could be more quintessentially British than marmalade?
0:24:36 > 0:24:40As well as being a classic preserve, marmalade is big business.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44We spend around £60 million a year on it in Britain,
0:24:44 > 0:24:48eating our way through 30 million litres' worth.
0:24:48 > 0:24:54To find out more about the origins of the marmalade we know and love today, we're off to Dundee.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05Dundee is legendary as the birthplace of marmalade
0:25:05 > 0:25:10but, as with many legends, there's more than a bit of myth involved.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17The story goes that in the 18th century a Spanish ship
0:25:17 > 0:25:21containing Seville oranges was forced into port during a storm.
0:25:21 > 0:25:26The fruit ended up with a local sweetmaker called Janet Keiller,
0:25:26 > 0:25:30who chopped them up and turned them into a kind of orange jam.
0:25:30 > 0:25:31It was called marmalade
0:25:31 > 0:25:35and the name of Keiller's was made famous all over the world.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40Well, that's the story,
0:25:40 > 0:25:44but to find out the truth we've come to the McManus Museum
0:25:44 > 0:25:48to meet the curator of social history, Rhona Rodger.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50What's the story?
0:25:50 > 0:25:55Yes, well, there's a few myths surrounding marmalade in Dundee.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58Keiller's, although they didn't invent Dundee marmalade,
0:25:58 > 0:26:02- they produced what we now know today as marmalade.- Right.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06So they took old recipes that would have been available at the time
0:26:06 > 0:26:11and changed it into what was more sort of a jam-based consistency
0:26:11 > 0:26:14and added the chips, as they're called, the peel.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18What would marmalade have been before it was marmalade
0:26:18 > 0:26:22and Keiller's took it and...made it into something.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25- What would it have been?- Well, before, in the 1700s and things,
0:26:25 > 0:26:28there were recipes for marmalade, erm...
0:26:28 > 0:26:31but it would have been a more... it would have been a dessert.
0:26:34 > 0:26:39The dessert was based on a Portuguese delicacy called marmelada.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41It was a kind of cake made from quince.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45This ancient preserve goes back a long way.
0:26:45 > 0:26:50Henry VIII was given it as a gift in the 1500s but over time it evolved
0:26:50 > 0:26:55and by the 18th century in Scotland they were making it using oranges.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00When Keiller's turned it into something you could spread on your toast,
0:27:00 > 0:27:02it became a bestseller.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06They were the largest confectioners in Britain
0:27:06 > 0:27:09and marmalade became probably their main product
0:27:09 > 0:27:13and Scottish people stopped having it as a dessert and they liked
0:27:13 > 0:27:17to have it, this warming, sort of tangy flavour, for their breakfasts.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21It was cheaper than butter, so it was available to everyone,
0:27:21 > 0:27:24and then it sort of spread out across the Empire
0:27:24 > 0:27:25and across the world.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28So it was exported to the whole of Asia, Australasia,
0:27:28 > 0:27:30there was a big export business to New Zealand,
0:27:30 > 0:27:32where there were a lot of Scottish people.
0:27:34 > 0:27:39This huge marmalade empire relied on Seville oranges from Spain.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43They were once the only orange available in Europe.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47Their bitter and sour taste was perfect for marmalade
0:27:47 > 0:27:50but meant that they weren't much use for anything else.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55And Keiller's were producing marmalade by the bucketload.
0:27:55 > 0:28:00Where did they store it? Because clearly it's a huge, huge industry.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03Yes, well, when they made it they would just put it in its pot
0:28:03 > 0:28:06straight from being hot and it was, erm,
0:28:06 > 0:28:09a woman's job then to come along and cover all the pots.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12Originally they were covered with bladder
0:28:12 > 0:28:15and then it went on to be covered with a parchment paper
0:28:15 > 0:28:19and tied, so that's why we have no surviving lids.
0:28:19 > 0:28:24This is the preserves department, where they make jams and marmalade.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26Today it's marmalade.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30Marmalade production was seasonal, running from December to around March.
0:28:30 > 0:28:35Once it was over, the factories would switch their processes to making jam.
0:28:35 > 0:28:41This girl's job is to keep feeding empty jars onto the conveyor line. The jars are automatically filled.
0:28:41 > 0:28:46By the 20th century, marmalade was an essential food on breakfast tables everywhere.
0:28:46 > 0:28:51Famously the favourite preserve of British icons like Paddington Bear
0:28:51 > 0:28:52and Winston Churchill.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55This magnifying screen lets you see
0:28:55 > 0:28:58if there's any burnt peel or foreign bodies in the marmalade.
0:28:58 > 0:29:02Keiller was bought out in the 1900s, but marmalade has
0:29:02 > 0:29:06continued to be made in the Dundee area right up to the present date.
0:29:08 > 0:29:13Mackays are the last producer of Dundee's iconic marmalade.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17It's a family run business and we have come to meet managing director Martin Grant.
0:29:17 > 0:29:21- Welcome to Mackays.- Hello, Martin. - Very nice to meet you, sir.
0:29:21 > 0:29:25Good to meet you. Come on through. Last pours are about to start.
0:29:25 > 0:29:26Brilliant. We will follow you.
0:29:28 > 0:29:32The company makes its marmalade the traditional way,
0:29:32 > 0:29:34so we are going to see how it is done.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38Making marmalade at home might be a bit of a peaceful process,
0:29:38 > 0:29:42but producing it on an industrial scale, well, it is a bit noisy.
0:29:42 > 0:29:47These are the vats that you pour the marmalade mixture in?
0:29:47 > 0:29:52Yes, this is the original style, so this is as close to home-made as you'll get in a commercial world.
0:29:57 > 0:30:02Their marmalade is made in a series of small vats rather than a single large one,
0:30:02 > 0:30:08which allows them to control the cooking more easily.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12The copper bottomed vats are steam heated, which gives a constant
0:30:12 > 0:30:16temperature to allow the flavours to cook slowly and intensely.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22It does not take long to make a jar of marmalade.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25First off, you need to add liquid cane sugar.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30Then comes the orange pulp.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35Depending on what time of year the marmalade is being made,
0:30:35 > 0:30:37you might need to add more pectin.
0:30:37 > 0:30:41This is the substance in the oranges that makes the marmalade thicken.
0:30:41 > 0:30:45How much extra you need depends on when the oranges were good.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48You want to make sure the marmalade is the same
0:30:48 > 0:30:52whether it be January or December, all the way through.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55You have to moderate the pectin levels,
0:30:55 > 0:30:58so early crop fruits is really, really high in pectin, so we use less.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01At the end of the season, it is really low in pectin,
0:31:01 > 0:31:04so we have to add it to get it to set.
0:31:04 > 0:31:06That is how we have to do it.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09So we change depending on how old the fruit is.
0:31:13 > 0:31:17When it starts to boil, the mixture is stirred with a paddle.
0:31:17 > 0:31:23Then it is boiled vigorously for a full 18 minutes.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29It boils up like molten lava.
0:31:29 > 0:31:31So you certainly wouldn't want to do this at home.
0:31:31 > 0:31:33That vat there, with the steam going,
0:31:33 > 0:31:36it is like Willy Wonka's chocolate factory.
0:31:38 > 0:31:43Martin believes cooking marmalade slowly for 18 minutes gives a better flavour.
0:31:43 > 0:31:48Larger manufacturers cook theirs in pressure cookers for just three minutes.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53Just degrades the quality of the fruit, the flavour and the taste.
0:31:53 > 0:31:58But the trick with this is knowing when to shut it off.
0:31:58 > 0:32:03To make sure the marmalade is reaching the right consistency,
0:32:03 > 0:32:06its thickness is tested. If it boils for too long,
0:32:06 > 0:32:09it'll taste like burnt candy floss.
0:32:09 > 0:32:11What do you reckon?
0:32:11 > 0:32:18- It's perfect.- Perfect. See, the lass from Mackays, she says yes.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22Once it's cooled a bit, it's ready to go,
0:32:22 > 0:32:27though sometimes you might want to add a little bit of something extra.
0:32:27 > 0:32:31- They must trust you.- Just.- They've got to, he's signed a pledge.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38That is amazing.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41It is good to know, though, when you treat yourself to a nice,
0:32:41 > 0:32:45posh jar of marmalade, with a bit of the good stuff in,
0:32:45 > 0:32:49this is the good stuff that's going in.
0:32:49 > 0:32:51- All that, seven bottles. - Seven bottles?
0:32:51 > 0:32:54It is getting better all the time! Fantastic!
0:32:54 > 0:32:58- That is another good product. It is good here, isn't it?- It is.
0:32:58 > 0:32:59It is interesting.
0:33:01 > 0:33:07- Here we are, guys.- Great.- Heaven. - Toasted by you guys today. Well...
0:33:07 > 0:33:11Now the best bit - marmalade tasting.
0:33:11 > 0:33:13It is the most wonderful, great,
0:33:13 > 0:33:18traditional pleasures in life, isn't it? Toast and marmalade.
0:33:18 > 0:33:23It is great ingredients, not messed about with, equals a brilliant product,
0:33:23 > 0:33:25and that in essence is the best of British, isn't it?
0:33:25 > 0:33:29It is very heart-warming to know that the marmalade traditions
0:33:29 > 0:33:32and industry is alive and well in the north-east of Scotland.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35It is a preserve that can bring sunshine to a winter's day, can't it?
0:33:35 > 0:33:38- Absolutely.- That is the idea of preserving.- Absolutely.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41You have your oranges, it's one thing eating them in the sun,
0:33:41 > 0:33:43you can have a little bit of it every day.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50Jams and marmalade aren't the only useful way
0:33:50 > 0:33:52of preserving citrussy fruit.
0:33:52 > 0:33:57We're going to make some deliciously British lemon curd.
0:33:57 > 0:34:03And then we are going to bring a bit of excitement to some lemon and blueberry muffins.
0:34:03 > 0:34:07I'm going to make the lemon curd and I'm just going to make
0:34:07 > 0:34:09a couple of jars of it and keep that for my tea.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13With the leftovers, Mr King is going to apply them to make
0:34:13 > 0:34:17the most delicious blueberry and lemon muffins you have ever tasted.
0:34:17 > 0:34:21Our lemon curd is basically made using a combination of eggs
0:34:21 > 0:34:24and lemons cooked over simmering water.
0:34:24 > 0:34:29To start with, you need four whole eggs, then four egg yolks.
0:34:29 > 0:34:31While Dave's doing that,
0:34:31 > 0:34:35I am going to start melting 100 grams of butter for the muffins.
0:34:35 > 0:34:37These are American muffins,
0:34:37 > 0:34:40which basically is a puffed-up fairy cake in my eyes,
0:34:40 > 0:34:43and muffins should be English, soft and doughy.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47In the 19th century, we used to have muffin men that wandered round the streets.
0:34:47 > 0:34:51But somebody moaned and complained that the bell was too loud
0:34:51 > 0:34:55because that's how they used to tell the muffin man was in the street.
0:34:55 > 0:35:00Then there was a decree from the government to say, "Excuse me, muffin man, stop ringing your bell."
0:35:00 > 0:35:03- Some people moan about everything! - Don't they?!
0:35:03 > 0:35:06Beat the egg mixture together with a whisk
0:35:06 > 0:35:09and grate in the zest of three lemons.
0:35:10 > 0:35:15While Dave's zesting his lemons, I'm putting in some self-raising flour
0:35:15 > 0:35:20and sifting it into a bowl with a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27'Mix two whole eggs together...'
0:35:27 > 0:35:29One.
0:35:29 > 0:35:35'..then add two tablespoons of milk and 150mls of yoghurt,
0:35:35 > 0:35:40'and whisk until it is really smooth.'
0:35:40 > 0:35:44Then I've melted some butter in a pan and we add that as well.
0:35:47 > 0:35:48Once that's done,
0:35:48 > 0:35:52you're ready to add 100 grams of caster sugar to the flour
0:35:52 > 0:35:55with 100 grams of blueberries.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59- Do you want a lemon, mate? - Go on, mate.- Incoming.
0:35:59 > 0:36:00And the zest of a lemon.
0:36:02 > 0:36:06Mix all the dry goods together and just make sure that you get
0:36:06 > 0:36:09all of those blueberries evenly distributed in the flour.
0:36:09 > 0:36:13If you don't, somebody will feel cheated when they eat the muffin.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17Pour the eggy mixture into the flour and blueberry mix. Look at that.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20Lovely, silky, smooth.
0:36:20 > 0:36:27Now, combine the wet with the dry to make the cake mix.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31Now for the curd.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34We need the juice of six lemons...
0:36:34 > 0:36:37Funny thing is, you call lemon curd a preserve.
0:36:37 > 0:36:39It is really, but it was never as popular as jam
0:36:39 > 0:36:42because jam always kept better than lemon curd.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47Pour this lemon juice into the eggs with the zest.
0:36:47 > 0:36:53Yes, it really does need all that lemon juice.
0:36:53 > 0:37:01Then add 100 grams caster sugar and the same amount of butter.
0:37:01 > 0:37:02This is where the fun starts.
0:37:02 > 0:37:07We mustn't put that bowl into direct contact with the boiling water,
0:37:07 > 0:37:10or else our lemon curd will become lemon curdle.
0:37:10 > 0:37:14But as it goes, the sugar will melt, the butter will melt,
0:37:14 > 0:37:17the eggs will cook and I will end up, with a bit of luck,
0:37:17 > 0:37:22with a bowl of lovely, glossy, lemony lemon curd.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25I just stand here like a lemon stirring this
0:37:25 > 0:37:28until magic happens in the pan.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35Our muffin mix is ready to go in its cases.
0:37:35 > 0:37:39I find an ice cream scoop works quite well for this.
0:37:44 > 0:37:49With the back of a spoon, I'm going to make a little well
0:37:49 > 0:37:55in the top of our muffins to take a teaspoon of this lovely lemon curd.
0:37:55 > 0:37:59The lemon curd is going to sit on the top with a sugary crust,
0:37:59 > 0:38:02so that when you bite into the muffin you get this lemon burst that
0:38:02 > 0:38:05tickles your tonsils.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07Wait until the muffins are cold,
0:38:07 > 0:38:09because you may get a mouthful of lemon napalm.
0:38:11 > 0:38:16For the lemon curd, it is a waiting game.
0:38:16 > 0:38:18Stir it for five minutes until the butter has melted
0:38:18 > 0:38:21and it has started to thicken.
0:38:21 > 0:38:26- How is the curd going, mate?- As you can see, it is beginning to thicken.
0:38:26 > 0:38:30At this point, use a whisk to stir the curd continuously
0:38:30 > 0:38:34for about 12 minutes until it's the consistency of custard.
0:38:34 > 0:38:40It is going. Do you want a grab a spoon, see what this is like when it cools? I think I might be there.
0:38:40 > 0:38:45You can tell it is ready when it clings to a cold spoon like this.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48Upside down, that is what you want from your lemon curd.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50Off we go, Mr King.
0:38:51 > 0:38:58So, just on the top, one little teaspoon of lemon curd, like that.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01This is perfect.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04It is probably a bit zingier then the commercial lemon curd,
0:39:04 > 0:39:07which for these muffins is perfect.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10It is just when you want a sharp hit on the top.
0:39:10 > 0:39:14Finally, sprinkle some granulated sugar on the top of the muffins
0:39:14 > 0:39:16and they're ready for the oven.
0:39:16 > 0:39:20190 degrees, depending on your oven, for 20 minutes.
0:39:20 > 0:39:24That's Celsius, not Fahrenheit. I'd better bottle up my lemon curd.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27That would be a shame not to.
0:39:31 > 0:39:36A great present, isn't it, this? Again, we've sterilised these jars.
0:39:37 > 0:39:41A little bit of greaseproof on the top, like that.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44And that will do us for a good couple of cream teas.
0:39:50 > 0:39:56- Oh, yes! Lovely.- Look at the sugar, it's caramelised on the top.
0:39:56 > 0:40:00There is a temptation to put them straight into your mush, but don't.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03Remember to let them cool down properly before you do.
0:40:03 > 0:40:04Look at that.
0:40:04 > 0:40:09- It's all sticky on the outside. - Look at that.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13It's like mining for coal, that. Oh, they're springy. Lovely.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17It's really good, isn't it? I want to taste the top.
0:40:24 > 0:40:25- What is it like?- Super lemony.
0:40:25 > 0:40:29The thing about preserving is by preserving something
0:40:29 > 0:40:32you change the nature of it and, in a funny sort of way,
0:40:32 > 0:40:36you always seem to give whatever you're preserving more flavour.
0:40:36 > 0:40:38You can liven up something plain.
0:40:38 > 0:40:42A simple muffin, lemon curd on the top - it's a bit special.
0:40:44 > 0:40:47Our muffins are great to have with a brew.
0:40:47 > 0:40:51The lemon tanginess adds a real zest to your afternoon tea.
0:40:54 > 0:41:00Lemon curd is something you can use with cakes, tarts, toast or scones.
0:41:00 > 0:41:01Marvellous!
0:41:01 > 0:41:05From one type of preserved curd to another...
0:41:05 > 0:41:08Cheese!
0:41:08 > 0:41:11It's one of our great preserving traditions and my personal favourite.
0:41:11 > 0:41:16And I'm not alone, We Brits are mad about cheese,
0:41:16 > 0:41:20even holding a world-famous cheese rolling festival,
0:41:20 > 0:41:22where people risk life and limb, race down a steep hill,
0:41:22 > 0:41:25to catch an eight pound Double Gloucester.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28In the early 19th century,
0:41:28 > 0:41:31all manner of cheeses were being made
0:41:31 > 0:41:34in farmhouses across the land.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37But then two things happened to threaten our beloved cheese.
0:41:37 > 0:41:39The Industrial Revolution
0:41:39 > 0:41:41made it more profitable
0:41:41 > 0:41:44for farmers to sell milk to large-scale dairies,
0:41:44 > 0:41:46than make cheese.
0:41:46 > 0:41:49And local cheese-making took a nose dive.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52But worse was to come. In World War Two,
0:41:52 > 0:41:55the Ministry of Food decreed only one type could be manufactured.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58Depressingly named The National Cheese,
0:41:58 > 0:42:01- it was bland and uninspiring. - So when rationing ended
0:42:01 > 0:42:04and a new product processed cheese hit our shores,
0:42:04 > 0:42:07we lapped it up.
0:42:07 > 0:42:08# One for daddy
0:42:08 > 0:42:09# One for mummy
0:42:09 > 0:42:12# Here's Dairlyea for everyone. #
0:42:13 > 0:42:16Invented in America by a pioneering food manufacturer
0:42:16 > 0:42:18named JL Kraft,
0:42:18 > 0:42:20the Dairylea triangle became
0:42:20 > 0:42:22a British best seller.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26With so little choice and new mass production techniques taking over,
0:42:26 > 0:42:30cheese, and British cheese at that, just wasn't the same.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33You could neither wash nor eat this, you know.
0:42:33 > 0:42:35'Did you get that, Dave?'
0:42:35 > 0:42:37It's like soap.
0:42:37 > 0:42:39This junk, what goes in, call it cheese...
0:42:39 > 0:42:41it's not mature, there's no rind...
0:42:41 > 0:42:43I think they said modern cheese
0:42:43 > 0:42:45doesn't taste very nice!
0:42:45 > 0:42:47They don't know what the taste of cheese is.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50In fact, decent cheese became so scarce,
0:42:50 > 0:42:53that getting hold of it was a clandestine affair.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56Where on earth do you get hold of this?
0:42:56 > 0:42:59I've been round Dorset for several days and haven't found any.
0:42:59 > 0:43:03Don't ask me where because I haven't got a clue.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05So on the following Tuesday evening,
0:43:05 > 0:43:07we lay in wait for the unorthodox coming,
0:43:07 > 0:43:09of the mysterious Blue Vinny.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12- These are the Dorset Blue Vinnies. - That's right, yeah.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14Where on earth do they come from?
0:43:14 > 0:43:16I don't know where they come from.
0:43:16 > 0:43:17He had two big cheeses,
0:43:17 > 0:43:20which he said he got from you.
0:43:20 > 0:43:23They tasted very nice.
0:43:25 > 0:43:28No, Sid is new to me. Probably got them
0:43:28 > 0:43:31maybe another man of my name.
0:43:31 > 0:43:35- The sources are pretty secret. - They are.
0:43:35 > 0:43:39Traditional British cheeses might have been lost forever,
0:43:39 > 0:43:41but for a small group of artisan producers.
0:43:41 > 0:43:44Old recipes and methods were resurrected,
0:43:44 > 0:43:48and brand new varieties hit our supermarket shelves.
0:43:48 > 0:43:52These days, British cheese rivals anything from the continent.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55And with more varieties made here than in France, yes, really...
0:43:55 > 0:43:58it's time to celebrate the treasures
0:43:58 > 0:44:01of the great British cheese board!
0:44:04 > 0:44:06We're heading to Scotland next,
0:44:06 > 0:44:10where in the last 20 years, traditional farmhouse cheeses,
0:44:10 > 0:44:11as well as new varieties,
0:44:11 > 0:44:13have been enjoying a huge revival.
0:44:15 > 0:44:19There are parts of Britain that are synonymous with great cheesemaking,
0:44:19 > 0:44:22Leicester, Cheshire, Cheddar, Gloucester!
0:44:22 > 0:44:24But Scotland?
0:44:24 > 0:44:26It's not the first place you think of
0:44:26 > 0:44:28when it comes to great British cheeses.
0:44:28 > 0:44:31We've come to discover the secrets of great Scottish cheesemaking.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34And we're about to take a tour
0:44:34 > 0:44:36of the finest,
0:44:36 > 0:44:39from the Borders to the Highlands.
0:44:39 > 0:44:41Our journey begins in Edinburgh,
0:44:41 > 0:44:43at a specialist cheese shop
0:44:43 > 0:44:47founded in 1993 by Scottish cheese guru,
0:44:47 > 0:44:48Iain Mellis.
0:44:48 > 0:44:51- Iain, hello, I'm Si! - I'm Dave. Pleased to meet you.
0:44:51 > 0:44:54Any tastes we could have...
0:44:54 > 0:44:57- We're always tasting! - ..from the Borders or Highlands?
0:44:57 > 0:45:00A little tour, a coach trip around the world of cheese.
0:45:00 > 0:45:03Normally when we're tasting,
0:45:03 > 0:45:05start with a milder rather than stronger one.
0:45:05 > 0:45:07You'll never taste the milder one.
0:45:07 > 0:45:08This one here,
0:45:08 > 0:45:10Cambus O'May,
0:45:10 > 0:45:12this is an old Aberdeenshire cheese,
0:45:12 > 0:45:16and it's made just like Lancashire cheese with two day curd.
0:45:16 > 0:45:18- It's a lovely texture.- It is.
0:45:21 > 0:45:22Wow!
0:45:22 > 0:45:24That's beautiful!
0:45:24 > 0:45:25It just disappears.
0:45:25 > 0:45:28This one here, Isle Of Mull, which is from the West Coast.
0:45:28 > 0:45:32This is more of a cheddar style cheese, which has probably
0:45:32 > 0:45:35been made in Scotland for the last couple of hundred years.
0:45:35 > 0:45:38This has just been made, June, July, because it's yellow.
0:45:38 > 0:45:40All the other Mull cheese,
0:45:40 > 0:45:43when the cows are inside,
0:45:43 > 0:45:46they're fed on the spent grains from the distillery,
0:45:46 > 0:45:50but for two months of the year, they're allowed on the very little
0:45:50 > 0:45:52amount of grass there is on the islands.
0:45:52 > 0:45:55It's nearly all heather and it becomes...
0:45:55 > 0:45:57it gets that yellow colour from the grass.
0:45:57 > 0:45:59This is a brand new cheese in Scotland.
0:45:59 > 0:46:01The goats' milk Cromarty,
0:46:01 > 0:46:03more like a Camembert recipe,
0:46:03 > 0:46:05but using goats' milk.
0:46:05 > 0:46:08That's more Camembert than Camembert.
0:46:08 > 0:46:10It's just... Oh, it's fabulous!
0:46:10 > 0:46:13Do you think Scottish cheese deserves a better platform,
0:46:13 > 0:46:15it deserves to be better known?
0:46:15 > 0:46:18I think Scottish cheese makers have been working
0:46:18 > 0:46:20really hard in the last 15 years.
0:46:20 > 0:46:22They've come a long way, since I have started the shop.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25I would say British cheese is some of the best in the world now
0:46:25 > 0:46:30and Scottish cheese are now as good as every other British cheese.
0:46:30 > 0:46:32Every cheese we've tasted here has been world-class.
0:46:32 > 0:46:36So what kind of really old varieties of Scottish cheese are there?
0:46:36 > 0:46:40Crowdie is still... I mean, I'm from up the north of Scotland
0:46:40 > 0:46:43and crowdie is still a big thing in the north of Scotland.
0:46:43 > 0:46:45In the Lowlands it was never really big.
0:46:45 > 0:46:47In the Highlands it really is,
0:46:47 > 0:46:50I mean, that's the oldest variety of cheese.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55- We shall go search some crowdie. - I think we should.
0:46:55 > 0:46:59Introduced by the Vikings in the 8th century,
0:46:59 > 0:47:00crowdie is a soft curd cheese
0:47:00 > 0:47:05originally made from slightly soured milk whey and rolled in oatmeal.
0:47:05 > 0:47:07Traditionally, it's eaten with oatcakes
0:47:07 > 0:47:11to alleviate the effects of whiskey drinking.
0:47:11 > 0:47:14Our quest for this special cheese with an ancient history,
0:47:14 > 0:47:17takes us to just outside Inverness
0:47:17 > 0:47:19and the Connage Highland Dairy,
0:47:19 > 0:47:21run by the Clark family.
0:47:21 > 0:47:24- Hello, Callum. Dave. - Dave, nice to meet you.
0:47:24 > 0:47:26Good to meet you, I'm Si. How are you?
0:47:26 > 0:47:29Is it crowdie or crawdie?
0:47:29 > 0:47:32Some people call it croodie
0:47:32 > 0:47:35but we call it crowdie and most people do now.
0:47:35 > 0:47:38Do you want have a wee look?
0:47:38 > 0:47:41A decent sized batch in here today.
0:47:41 > 0:47:44First thing this morning, I skimmed off the cream
0:47:44 > 0:47:47and then I start to mix it and bring it up to temperature.
0:47:47 > 0:47:51- Is that curds and whey? - Curds and whey we've got here, yes.
0:47:51 > 0:47:55- It's a proper cheesecloth. - Proper cheesecloth.
0:47:55 > 0:47:58All that cheesecloth you were wearing in the '80s, Kingy!
0:47:58 > 0:48:00I thought I smelt funny!
0:48:05 > 0:48:08So from here, we go over here...
0:48:10 > 0:48:13And this is called bagging off?
0:48:13 > 0:48:16This is called bagging off so, we'll leave that to drain away
0:48:16 > 0:48:21till tomorrow morning and then we had a little bit of salt,
0:48:21 > 0:48:23mix it in, and then pot it off
0:48:23 > 0:48:25and it's ready tomorrow afternoon.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28- And that's it? - That's it. Couldn't be simpler.
0:48:29 > 0:48:32So what does this Scottish delicacy taste like?
0:48:32 > 0:48:34There's only one way to find out!
0:48:34 > 0:48:37We're meeting cheese-maker, Helen Ross,
0:48:37 > 0:48:41who's found a use for crowdie in just about everything!
0:48:41 > 0:48:43The bread is made with the whey from the crowdie
0:48:43 > 0:48:46which I take home and I just use as a base for my bread.
0:48:46 > 0:48:49- Would you like to try some? - I'd love some! Absolutely!
0:48:49 > 0:48:51- Wonder if it would work with scones? - Yes, I have heard,
0:48:51 > 0:48:53though I've never actually tried it.
0:48:53 > 0:48:56- You do buttermilk, don't you?- Uh-huh.
0:48:56 > 0:48:57This is cheese and onion bread
0:48:57 > 0:49:01and the cheese in it is our hard cheese, Dunlop.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04Look, you see, you get northern portions up here!
0:49:04 > 0:49:08None of this frugal southern muck down here, look at that!
0:49:08 > 0:49:12- None of your mealy mouthed slivers! - Oh, no! Big portions here!
0:49:12 > 0:49:15This is the very dry crowdie,
0:49:15 > 0:49:18- and it's got toasted pinhead oatmeal round it.- Lovely!
0:49:18 > 0:49:20Look at that!
0:49:20 > 0:49:23Happy days!
0:49:25 > 0:49:27We don't get it in Northumberland that much,
0:49:27 > 0:49:30and I forget about it. And it's salt and creamy,
0:49:30 > 0:49:32oh, it's gorgeous.
0:49:32 > 0:49:33This is Scottish cheese,
0:49:33 > 0:49:37but we're proud to say it's a British cheese as well.
0:49:37 > 0:49:41So for our final homage to the great preserving tradition
0:49:41 > 0:49:45of cheesemaking, we're returning to the Best Of British kitchen,
0:49:45 > 0:49:47where we'll be knocking up another Celtic classic -
0:49:47 > 0:49:50the Welsh rarebit.
0:49:50 > 0:49:53Which is cheese on toast, by any other name!
0:49:54 > 0:49:59There is one fundamental ingredient in said rarebit. It's toast.
0:49:59 > 0:50:01Aye, but it's not just putting the cheese on.
0:50:01 > 0:50:05A real Welsh rabbit, or rarebit, you make a really thick cheese sauce,
0:50:05 > 0:50:09and that contains beer, cayenne pepper, English mustard,
0:50:09 > 0:50:13Worcester sauce. You put it on your toast until it's bubbly.
0:50:13 > 0:50:15It's special and it's worth it.
0:50:15 > 0:50:17So don't just turn off, thinking,
0:50:17 > 0:50:22"If they think I'm going to pay good money, waste my eyeballs watching two
0:50:22 > 0:50:25"daft beggars make cheese on toast, they've got another think coming."
0:50:25 > 0:50:29- Give us a chance.- Bear with us, bear with us! Ah, ba, ba!- Love it!
0:50:29 > 0:50:34- You're going to love it. Right. We start off with a pan.- Pan!
0:50:34 > 0:50:38- That's ja-pan!- Ah-ha(!)- A tray. I'm going to line this with foil.
0:50:38 > 0:50:43Obviously, you have to make the toast under a grill, because it bubbles.
0:50:43 > 0:50:47You know, if you put your sauce in a toaster, it wouldn't work, would it?
0:50:47 > 0:50:49- It'd be messy, wouldn't it, really?- Butter.- Thank you.
0:50:49 > 0:50:54Now, we go to a little butter shop where there is a little man
0:50:54 > 0:50:57who takes little knobs of butter and wraps them up
0:50:57 > 0:51:00in lovely greaseproof paper.
0:51:00 > 0:51:02Do you ever think maybe that butter's normal-sized
0:51:02 > 0:51:04and it's you that's got super-humongous?
0:51:04 > 0:51:07THEME FROM "The Twilight Zone"
0:51:07 > 0:51:09- Yeah.- You'd be 20ft tall.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14Maybe you are. It's all relative.
0:51:15 > 0:51:18- Yeah.- Yeah. Right.
0:51:19 > 0:51:25Could this really be a very small cheese triangle, and I've shrunk?!
0:51:27 > 0:51:28HE SHRIEKS
0:51:31 > 0:51:35Sauce. We use flour. We put that in there and make a roux.
0:51:38 > 0:51:40- Now, not a kangaroo. - Or a Michel Roux. No.
0:51:40 > 0:51:42Not even a roodly-doo-doo-doo.
0:51:42 > 0:51:47- A roux - a mixture of butter and flour that acts as a thickener.- Ooh!
0:51:47 > 0:51:52We melted 25 grammes of butter and mixed in 25 grammes of plain flour.
0:51:54 > 0:51:58This cheese sauce - it's thick.
0:51:58 > 0:52:00- Lovely.- Look at that.
0:52:00 > 0:52:03Now, to that we add some milk. Just drizzle the milk in.
0:52:07 > 0:52:12And the other liquid component is beer. Heavy beer.
0:52:13 > 0:52:17'We've used 100ml of each.'
0:52:17 > 0:52:20Excuse me! Would you mind awfully passing me a whisk?
0:52:20 > 0:52:26Oh, dear, you haven't got it into lumps, have you? You naughty boy!
0:52:26 > 0:52:28You can't help it, can you? You know.
0:52:28 > 0:52:32'For the toast, cut four thick slices of wholemeal bread
0:52:32 > 0:52:35'and then grate 150g of mature cheddar cheese.'
0:52:35 > 0:52:38We're using good old cheddar.
0:52:38 > 0:52:42- Caerphilly would be good, especially if you're Welsh.- Look at that!
0:52:42 > 0:52:46- It's thick.- Who you gonna call?! Ghostbusters!
0:52:46 > 0:52:49- Looks like one of those things... - Ectoplasm.- Yeah, look at that.
0:52:49 > 0:52:53One of the theories for the term Welsh rarebit, or Welsh rabbit,
0:52:53 > 0:52:56is that poor people in England would have to survive on rabbit.
0:52:56 > 0:52:59The poor people in Wales, who were considerably poorer
0:52:59 > 0:53:01than the English, had to survive on cheese,
0:53:01 > 0:53:05so the cheese on toast became known as Welsh rabbit.
0:53:05 > 0:53:07It's a bit condescending, really.
0:53:07 > 0:53:12Now, you're looking at this, thinking, "He's not going to put all that cheese in?"
0:53:12 > 0:53:14- Do you know what? I am!- He is.
0:53:14 > 0:53:18All of it. That's enough for four large slices.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22You've worked hard. Be kind to yourself.
0:53:23 > 0:53:24Now, let's make toast.
0:53:24 > 0:53:28'Prepare a baking tray by lining it with tin foil.
0:53:28 > 0:53:31'This will keep it nice and clean from all the melted cheese.
0:53:31 > 0:53:35'Then arrange the bread onto the tray.' Lovely job.
0:53:35 > 0:53:38Time to start building up the flavours.
0:53:38 > 0:53:42To that, we have mustard, Worcestershire sauce
0:53:42 > 0:53:46and cayenne pepper.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50One teaspoon of English mustard, or Welsh mustard,
0:53:50 > 0:53:52but something bearing on the hot side.
0:53:56 > 0:54:00A pinch of cayenne pepper or chilli powder. Now, this is optional.
0:54:00 > 0:54:03A nice pinch, give it a lovely red colour.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08And four teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce.
0:54:08 > 0:54:10One,
0:54:10 > 0:54:11two,
0:54:11 > 0:54:13three,
0:54:13 > 0:54:15four.
0:54:17 > 0:54:21One egg yolk.
0:54:22 > 0:54:23Stir that in.
0:54:29 > 0:54:32To make toast, you cut slices off a loaf.
0:54:32 > 0:54:36You put it under the grill. When it's golden, you turn it over.
0:54:36 > 0:54:41- When both sides are golden, you've got toast.- Have you got that?
0:54:41 > 0:54:42You have. Good.
0:54:44 > 0:54:46Do you know what I'm going to do?
0:54:46 > 0:54:48I'm going to go outside and give it a whisk
0:54:48 > 0:54:52and then it might thicken up a bit, cos that's hot.
0:54:52 > 0:54:53Aye, it's cold out.
0:54:56 > 0:54:58Ah! Lovely job.
0:55:06 > 0:55:10- Are you chilling? - Dude, listen, look at that, man.
0:55:11 > 0:55:14Look...thick as... Look.
0:55:14 > 0:55:17- Whoa!- It's like Caramac. - It is, isn't it?- It's brilliant.
0:55:17 > 0:55:19And that's what you're looking for.
0:55:19 > 0:55:24So, take a ladleful and divide it between your toast.
0:55:24 > 0:55:27And be generous with this.
0:55:31 > 0:55:32Unctuous.
0:55:32 > 0:55:35It does look strangely like Plasticine that's been
0:55:35 > 0:55:37melted in front of the fire.
0:55:37 > 0:55:41Now, we're going to give you a Hairy Bikers top tip.
0:55:41 > 0:55:46What you need to do is make sure you spread it,
0:55:46 > 0:55:48but spread it properly, right to the edges
0:55:48 > 0:55:51so the edges of the toast don't burn.
0:55:51 > 0:55:53I remember my mother used to say
0:55:53 > 0:55:56when I was making the sandwiches as a kid, putting the butter on,
0:55:56 > 0:56:00I'd miss the corner, she'd say, "Son, you'd never make a window cleaner."
0:56:02 > 0:56:07- Oh, man.- Pop that under the grill, and in about three minutes,
0:56:07 > 0:56:12it'll be bubbling up like a rabid warthog. And under the grill.
0:56:26 > 0:56:32# It's good to touch the green, green grass of home. #
0:56:32 > 0:56:38Oh, what?! Look, you, you lovely cheese on toast.
0:56:38 > 0:56:40Look, you, isn't it?
0:56:40 > 0:56:44- That's not cheese on toast. That's a Welsh rarebit.- Ah, man.
0:56:45 > 0:56:48One, two...
0:56:50 > 0:56:54- Shall we cut it diagonally? You know, posh-like.- Aye.
0:56:56 > 0:57:01- That's proper Welsh rarebit. - Beautiful.- Shall we?- Oh, yes.
0:57:01 > 0:57:03- This is going to hurt.- Yeah.
0:57:03 > 0:57:07It's one of those things that's just a comfort, isn't it?
0:57:10 > 0:57:15I like the cayenne and the mustard. It just gives it a zing.
0:57:15 > 0:57:17- And the beer as well.- Hmm. Beautiful.
0:57:20 > 0:57:22That's really very good.
0:57:23 > 0:57:27- Ah, look at those beauties! - Thank you, Wales!
0:57:27 > 0:57:29And you don't have to stick to cheddar.
0:57:29 > 0:57:33The topping can be made from any other hard mature cheese.
0:57:34 > 0:57:39Preserving has been a great British tradition for centuries.
0:57:39 > 0:57:43In the past, it provided a livelihood for thousands of people
0:57:43 > 0:57:46and has given us some of our most distinctive foods.
0:57:48 > 0:57:54And the quest to make our food last longer has led to some huge advances in science.
0:57:55 > 0:57:59But in this age when we can get fresh produce all year round
0:57:59 > 0:58:02we no longer preserve out of necessity...
0:58:02 > 0:58:06We do it for the sheer love of the flavours and textures it brings
0:58:06 > 0:58:11to our dinner plate and long may it continue, because it's fabulous!
0:58:12 > 0:58:16And to find out how to cook the recipes in today show,
0:58:16 > 0:58:20visit -
0:58:20 > 0:58:25to discover some amazing facts about the history of food.
0:58:31 > 0:58:34Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:34 > 0:58:38E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk