Netherton Foundry Shropshire

Netherton Foundry Shropshire
Classic cookware, made in England

Saturday 30 November 2019

SOUR: Gobsmackingly good





"Unenthusiastically wash the outside of the pineapple" p262; the modern day equivalent of "first catch your hare", apparently a misquotation from Georgian food writer Hannah Glasse and a phrase that should be committed to the annals of food writing folklore.



This is just one of the stand out lines in Mark Diacono's latest book, Sour;  lipsmackingly lyrical, making you wish that the pages themselves were edible, such is the saliva stimulating content thereof.
Page after page of glorious writing, luring you away from the shallow temptation of sweetness, recipes seducing you to the delights of sour.
And as well as the recipes, the pleasure of discussion ranging from the banality and addictiveness of salt and vinegar crisps; the nerdy scientist appeal of kombucha and fermentation, with the ever present promise of a potential explosion; hippy, now hipster sourdough bread and the slap of a truly mouth tingling cocktail.  

I am dipping in and out of this, learning so much, following the trails left by Mark generously leading to other authors, other authorities and planning on making so very many of the recipes.

This is writing of pure joy, an author sharing his deep love of his subject, leading you line by line through a new world of flavour and taste experiences.


Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2019 ©


Wednesday 27 November 2019

Things we have learned

As we slide towards the meltdown of all human decency that is Black Friday, with all the grace and control of ducks landing on a frozen lake, we would like to pause and explain why we will not be part of the commercial clamour for quick cash and apparently stratospheric sales figures.

This is Carl, he is a member of the Netherton “family”. His name isn’t Netherton, but he is part of our small team making handmade, traditional cookware in the heart of the Shropshire countryside.


Carl spins the pan bodies by hand. And now he is teaching Anthony to spin too. We respect his skill, we value his talent, he spun pans last month and he will be spinning more next month. And that is why we won’t be offering discounts on Black Friday, because our pans are each made by hand, by Carl and he is worth just as much on a Friday as he is every other day of the week.

This is Mandy, her other name isn't Netherton either, but she is also a part of the Netherton family. 


Once Carl has done his bit, Mandy takes over and finishes the process. Here you can see her operating a drill, putting the holes into the oak handles for the brass inserts.
She is multi-skilled, multi talented.
As far as we know, Mandy is the only person outside China who is making slow cookers. That makes her special, very special indeed. If you buy or own one of our slow cookers, you can say "Mandy made that", can you name the maker of anything else in your house?
We value her skill, respect her talent. She has been making pans for us for years, we rather hope she will continue for years.
She does other things too.
When she is not making Netherton cookware, she takes the most amazing photos, especially of spiders and the robin that lives next to the workshops.
And these are just a few of the reasons that we won't be offering silly deals on Black Friday. We value Mandy, we think you should too.


And so, to conclude: we will not be offering Black Friday deals and ask you to consider the following:


  • You can't please all the people all the time, be kind be courteous; they may have had a bad day, you can make it better; they may be nervous, you can put them at ease; they may simply be horrible, you can’t win so don’t stoop to their level.
  • Rude people are not worth arguing with – see above.
  • A little courtesy goes a long way, like Marmite or Gentlemen’s Relish. Say "please" and "thank you" and, when necessary, "sorry".
  • Treat others as you would be treated, see above
  • Take time to do things properly
  • Buy well buy once, and if you can't afford. Buy once, then save up to buy well the next time.
Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2019 ©

Friday 8 November 2019

Zaika - packed full of flavour

Adding another string to her bow, Romy Gill has launched her writing career and hit the bullseye!



For those of you who went to and those of you who never made it to Romy Gill's restaurant in Thornbury, here is a taste of what we are now missing.
Zaika - which means flavour, is a book of Indian vegan recipes - but not vegan in the strident, confrontational tones of the evangelists.  Whilst there is no apology for the non meat content, nor does there need to be; this is simply gloriously tasty food that incidentally happens to be vegan.  Much like a bowl of tomato soup, there is no need to sweat about its credentials, just prepare, eat and enjoy.
And that preparation - if you have ever worried about Indian cooking, scared of the long ingredients list, the complexity, the skills needed, fret no more.  These are easy to follow, easy to source, easy to make - you don't need any special equipment or a lifetime's experience in the kitchen, most of the ingredients can be found on the supermarket shelf and you can go on-line for any that are not.  And they won't break the bank either!

This is fresh writing about fresh food and flavours, imbued with the warmth of family history, tinged with the sadness of her mother's recent death, uplifted by the love of father, husband, children and culture.
It has a feeling of heritage, home and grounding; a pulling together of emotion, memories, ambition - lots of ambition - and a sense of place.

This is a book for anyone and everyone who enjoys tasty food.  

When/if Romy opens a new restaurant, we will be at the head of the queue for a table and we are really looking forward to seeing her on the new series of Ready Steady Cook next year.

Meanwhile, we will keep cooking from the book, here are a couple of the first dishes we have made at home.

 

Netherton Foundry Shropshire ©
www.netherton-foundry.co.uk