Nothing bundt the best at Hunters…

You may remember that back in September we announced a partnership with the wonderful Bakehouse in the Barn.

The very talented (and award-winning) Sophie Smith whipped up a storm with her pecan, date and banana muffins, which flew off the shelf here in store, but were also a huge hit in terms of getting people in their kitchen to give baking them a go themselves.

The aim of the partnership is to create seasonal products using local ingredients, with the finished bake, made by Sophie’s own hand, sold exclusively in our deli - but with the recipe available to anyone who wants to have a try. We’ve kept them simple (but utterly delicious) so anyone can give them a go – children, grown ups, those who shy away from baking in any way – you don’t have to be Mary Berry to give them a whirl. And you can always come and talk to Sophie when she’s in store, if yours don’t turn out quite the way hers did. But, if you really don’t fancy donning a pinny, come in store and treat yourself – Sophie’s always turn out perfect every time!

So, excitingly, Sophie has developed her second recipe for us – which we’re delighted to say has a definite seasonal appeal! Welcome to the festive Cranberry and Orange Bundt – a delicious Christmas treat, which is suitable for vegans and those with a dairy intolerance.

Using locally-produced Yorkshire rapeseed oil as the fat and a plant-based milk (Sophie recommends almond but you might have a personal favourite), the cakes make a light and fruity treat jam-packed with seasonal flavours. Just the smell of these takes you straight to Christmas – if you had these baking in the oven your whole house would smell like Mrs Claus’ kitchen! 

The cakes can be bought in store for £1.85 until the end of December, but you’re welcome to whip up a batch to try with your family and friends – we have copies of the recipe in store as well as below.

Happy baking – and eating!

Rise to the occasion

15th to 21st October marked National Baking Week. We have to agree with the timing on that, there’s something about October and November that makes you want to head to the kitchen and whip up some nice comforting cakes, pies and crumbles. Although we’re pretty happy to eat any of those at any time of the year, to be honest.

Perhaps that’s why the Great British Bake Off hits our screens this time of year too? Watching it certainly helps build up an appetite – although it might be just as likely to put us off baking for ourselves given the pressure of trying to create a showstopper we’ve never even heard of in a few short hours (korovai anyone?)

Last year, The Grocer reported that the number of households buying home baking products during Great British Bake Off season jumped by more than 1.1 million (almost 10%) - the sharpest spike of recent years. Its research also showed that the proportion of Brits baking on a weekly basis had risen (excuse the pun) to 34% who were donning their apron at least once a week. One in 10 women say the show inspires them to bake – especially those aged 25 to 34.

However, other research from Statista shows 48% of the population never ever bake at home from scratch – it’s not everyone’s cup of tea of course. Although enjoying a slice of something freshly baked with a cup of tea is, usually.

The research revealed our favourite bake to be – unsurprisingly – is cakes (75%), followed by cupcakes (39%), biscuits (37%), pies (33%) and then bread (29%). It seems those bread makers everyone had on their kitchen worktops a couple of decades ago may now mainly be gathering dust…

Baking as a family is something many of us will have warm memories of – whether it was our grandma teaching us how to make scones, or parents passing down a family recipe. Cooking is a great thing to do with kids – a bit of maths, a bit of science, a lot of fun – and potentially a good way to get them to try new things. But it’s not just for kids. How long is it since you’ve tried your hand at making a cake, or have you been tempted to use the delicious fruit falling from the trees at the moment to make a pie or tart? Why not call in and see us for all the ingredients you might need? And if you have any dietary requirements to work around (even Bake Off had a dairy-free vegan week this year), we can help with that too. We have the best quality ingredients we’ve tried and tested ourselves, so we know you’ll get the best results. From using Yorkshire Rapeseed oil instead of butter, to coconut flour instead of the run of the mill kind (geddit?) we can help recommend our favourite swaps.

Of course, we all have our strengths and weaknesses – and not everyone is a gifted baker. Have no fear, there’s no need for you to miss out on handmade goodies – we have plenty in store! We currently have the rather wonderful partnership with Bakehouse in the Barn, and there’s a new recipe about to hit the shop – watch this space…

So, whether you’re the baker, or the enjoyer of someone else’s baked goods, it all sounds pretty tasty to us!

Saying the right thing

Another day, another food story which caught our eye.

Apparently many of us are struggling to pronounce some of our favourite foods. And we’re not talking about scone. We all know how that should be said!

According to a new study, some of us are getting it so wrong, we’re being served the wrong things when we’re trying to buy food in shops or restaurants – although we’re struggling to think of another word that even sounds like mispronounced quinoa, if we’re being honest. But that said, it seems one in five people have been served something totally different to what they wanted because their mispronunciation got confused for something else.

The research by French bakery brand Brioche Pasquier found that actually, brioche was a word a third of us struggled with. Other words we weren’t sure how to say included tzatziki, camembert, chorizo, quesadillas, salad Niçoise, Jalapeño, macaron, soufflé and fajitas. Quite a tongue twister if you try to say them all together! One in 10 of us has no idea how to say chipotle.

Even more understandable perhaps is that we’re hesitating over words such as Vichyssoise, bouillabaisse and bourguignon. Like anything language wise, it’s often a case of practice makes perfect, and depending on the kinds of food you like to eat, they may not be words you’d need to attempt daily, weekly or even annually!

Apparently we’re twice as likely to have a go at pronouncing a word we’re unsure about than to admit we don’t know how to say it.

It got us thinking, we hope people don’t get off put asking for something they want to try because they’re not sure how to say it. It seems a third of the population has struggled to complete a food order because they couldn’t figure out how to communicate their choice. Whether you give it a go and get it wrong, or ask how to say it, there’s no embarrassment!

We’d hope at Hunters that our staff were always approachable enough to ask – in fact we can probably have a giggle together over some of the trickier words! We all have something we struggle to say and sometimes it’s not even a word that seems very complicated to anyone else!

So, don’t be shy…if there’s something you’ve always wanted to try but you’ve been too nervous to ask for it – come and chat to us. No one should miss out on good food (or drink) because it’s too tricky for most of us to say!

Banish lunchtime boredom and say farewell to food envy!

Have you got ‘déjà-food’?

If you have, you’re not alone. According to new research from The New York Bakery Co, one in three Brits face ‘déjà-food’ on a daily basis by eating the same lunch on repeat.

It’s probably something we’re all a little bit guilty of – grabbing something quick or easy or falling back on old favourites. And there’s nothing wrong with that sometimes – but isn’t it good to mix things up from time to time? The research revealed that 80 per cent of us are bored by our lunchtime choices and one in 10 went so far as to say a bad lunch ruined their day. A tad dramatic maybe, but as food lovers we can sympathise.

Food envy was something the research covered and half of us admitted to suffering from the green-eyed monster. Seeing Susan from accounts tucking into last night’s leftover paella, suddenly your limp salad seems a bit dull. Not that we don’t like a salad, we love them – but you know the kind we mean, all soggy lettuce and no substance.

12.55pm is the time we’re all tucking in. There’s nothing worse than eating your lunch at 11.30am and then realising by 2pm that you’re ravenous again. Apparently three quarters of people take their lunch to work from home. Does that include people who work from home? And one in five admit to munching their lunch at their desks every day – which EVERYONE agrees is never a good idea. You’re never going to enjoy your lunch if you’re eating it one-handed whilst emailing your boss (or even surfing social media). Good food deserves your full attention. Sixty one per cent confessed to skipping lunch on a regular basis because they were too busy, which just makes us sad.

The research even revealed the favourite lunches from different cities around the UK. Who ate all the pies? Leeds apparently.

·        Manchester – just love a jacket potato

·        Leeds – pick up a pie (5 times a month)

·        Birmingham – bound to want burgers

·        London – love last night’s leftovers

·        Nottingham – so into sandwiches

·        Edinburgh – scoff sushi

·        Belfast – perfect lunch = pizzas

·        Cambridge – prefer paninis

·        Liverpool – have a passion for pasta

Helmsley didn’t feature in the list (how rude!). But if it did, we know exactly what would take top spot for lunchtime. Roast Beef and Horseradish deep filled sandwich on brown. Closely followed by our home roasted ham with salad on white. They’ve been our best sellers ever since we can remember. Closely followed by pies, sausage rolls and pasties. And rice and pasta and salads. Or soups. In fact, if you come to Hunters, there’s no need to have the same lunch two days in a month! ‘Déjà-food’? I don’t think so!

Move over Paul and Prue – there’s a new baking partnership in town!

Anyone who knows us knows we love nothing more than collaborating with other local businesses. Whether it’s through the wonderful Helmsley in Business Group, working with bakers and cider makers to create THE best pie available or partnering with ice cream aficionados and Sloe Gin specialists to sell the most mouth-watering soft serve in the North, we know we have some of the best food available on our doorstep and we want to celebrate it.

Selling exclusive products made by talented local businesses using local Yorkshire Ingredients? It’s what makes us Hunters.

So, we are delighted to announce that there’s an exciting new partnership between Hunters of Helmsley and Bakehouse in the Barn which will see us creating seasonal products using local ingredients, to be sold exclusively in our deli. We’ll also be giving our customers the recipe so they can try a spot of baking for themselves!

Bakehouse in the Barn, which is based in Hovingham, launched earlier this year to great acclaim, with award-winning baker Sophie Smith at the helm. Some of our regular customers might recognize Sophie, as she sometimes works with us in store.

The first item created specially by Sophie for Hunters is Pecan, Date and Banana Muffins, made with Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil from Thixendale. The bright yellow flowered rapeseed, highly visible across the region, is usually harvested around August and September in the Wolds. We’re going to be selling the muffins throughout September and October.

These lovely autumnal muffins are absolutely delicious – anyone who knows Bakehouse in the Barn and Sophie will know what a talented baker she is. They are dairy-free, making them suitable for those with a dairy allergy or vegans, and they are also free from refined sugar.

We asked Sophie what made her want to get involved: “It’s always a pleasure to work with Christine at Hunters, and I know they feel as passionately as I do about using wholesome and local ingredients where possible. These muffins are incredibly moist and moreish, with the lovely autumn flavours of dates and spices, but without being tooth-achingly sweet. It’s nice to be able to enjoy a cake without feeling like you’re being really naughty! The Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil is an excellent alternative to butter to make the muffins dairy-free, making them suitable for even more people to enjoy.”

Jennie Palmer at Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil added: “It’s always great to see our product being used in a wide variety of ways. People aren’t always aware of the multitude of delicious uses rapeseed oil has – and these muffins are some of the best we’ve tried! We were delighted when Hunters of Helmsley and Bakehouse in the Barn got in touch, as it’s always great to work with other local businesses to support each other. There’s so much great food in Yorkshire, and we’re always happy to be championing it!”

We’ll be introducing a new product every couple of months, with new local ingredients, so there will be lots of lovely new things to try over the coming year. Apparently Sophie is already thinking about the next idea – perhaps something festive for the run up to the Christmas season. Watch this space!

Recipe: Pecan, date and banana muffins

200g pitted dates

80g toasted, chopped pecan nuts, plus extra for topping

60g Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil

200ml water

200g very ripe bananas (3-4, depending on size)

100ml almond milk, unsweetened

2 tsp lemon juice

2 eggs, lightly beaten

130g wholemeal plain flour

1 tsp mixed spice

1½ tsp baking powder

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tbsp honey

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with muffin cases.

In a saucepan, cover the dates with the water and bring to the boil. Simmer until all the water is absorbed. Remove from the heat. Add the bicarbonate of soda; the mixture will froth as you stir it in.

In a separate bowl, mash the banana. Add the honey, oil, almond milk and eggs. Whisk to combine.

Pour the sludgy date mixture into the banana bowl. Sieve in the flour, spice and baking powder, add the nuts. Mix well.

Divide the batter between the muffin cases. Scatter the remaining pecans over the top of the muffins.

Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown and springy on top.

Get your bake on!

The Great British Bake Off is (nearly) back!

Tuesday August 28^th is B-Day – 8pm. Put it in your diary!

There was a lot of chat before last year’s series about how it would fare on Channel 4, with the loss of the hilarious Mel and Sue, and of course the baker supreme that is Mary Berry.

But much to our surprise, we all loved it. Despite the annoying adverts. At least they gave you time to grab a cuppa and a biscuit to stave off the rumbling stomach brought on by looking at cakes and pastries for an hour.

There’s nothing like the Bake Off to get people talking – kids, parents, grandparents – a love of baking surpasses all genders and ages. Even if we’re no good at it, we can still appreciate when other people are. And who doesn’t love a great cake – from both a visual and gustatory perspective. We love the adverts for the GBBO, with Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful” accompanying a series of sorry looking bakes, which slowly change into an absolute masterpiece. Maybe the message is practice makes perfect and encouraging us all to don an apron and give it a go.

A recent report from social media experts Immediate Future, revealed that last year there were over 941,000 mentions of Bake Off just on Twitter alone, not even taking into account the other social media channels. People love to chat about the good and the bad, picking things up through the show, but also carrying on the conversation through the week – and throughout the entire series. In fact, the report demonstrated that the programme drives many wider conversations about baking and cooking all the way through until Christmas. 

We’re pretty sure that most offices experience an increase in home-made baking brought in during the series’ duration, as people are encouraged to dust off their mixing bowl and sieve and give baking a whirl. How hard can it be? Well, pretty hard if you’re looking at a technical challenge from Paul or a showstopper from Prue, but of course there’s no one timing you or insisting you don’t refer to a recipe in your kitchen. Unless it adds to the fun for you!

So, if the new series inspires you to give baking a go, come in and see us for some great ingredients to help make your own great signature bake. And if your baking is more about the taste than pristine appearance, we have some great decorations to add that finishing touch!

If you’re really more about the eating than the producing – never fear. We’ve got plenty of cakes, bakes, biscuits and pastries to keep you happy too. After all, an appreciation of baking has to work from both sides!

The last supper – what would you choose?

Some research caught our eye the other week about people’s ultimate ‘last supper’ meal.

We’ve certainly had this conversation many a time on long car journeys – if you were to know you had one meal left (or were to dine on just one meal for the rest of your life) – what would it be? Add in a starter, a dessert and drinks, possibly even create a whole day’s menu, and you’ve got yourself decision making and conversation to last from Helmsley to at least the Scottish border.

Anyway, in a poll of 2,000 people conducted by a company called wishLockr, the humble Sunday roast was named as Brits' ideal last supper. It’s a good call – it’s hard to beat a great roast with all the trimmings!

To be honest, everyone was playing it pretty safe with the top 10 choices with steak, fish and chips, a full English Breakfast and lasagne all scoring highly. No one wants to be counting the calories or worrying about the carb content if you know it’s the last meal you’re going to enjoy. Comfort food is definitely the name of the game it seems.

Takeaways also scored highly – pizza, curry, Chinese, KFC and MacDonalds. For your last ever meal?? I mean everyone likes a takeaway on a lazy Friday evening in front of the TV – but the last thing you ever eat, with money no object? (well if we’re letting our imagination run wild, why would we let bank balances get in the way?!)

In fact, the top 10, in order, were as follows:

1.      A roast dinner with all the trimmings

2.      Steak and chips

3.      Fish and chips

4.      Full English breakfast

5.      Chinese

6.      Pizza

7.      Curry

8.      KFC bucket of chicken

9.      McDonald's

10.   Lasagne

Apparently, and unsurprisingly, the results varied by age, with pizza topping the list for those under 25 and older respondents adding more traditional foods like pie or bangers and mash.

But it got us thinking about what we at Hunters might choose, so we asked the team!

Eliza – her Dad's homemade Moussaka 

Snowy – Steak & chips with mushrooms

Sarah - Italian feast of pasta and pizza

Bridget – Homemade lasagne

Margaret – Beef Bourguignon (don't forget the chilled Sauvignon on the side!)

Sue - Roast goose with all the trimmings

Luckily there’s no one telling us we can only eat one thing for the rest of our lives, so we don’t need to worry! There’s too much great food and drink out there to always have the same. Might go check out our shelves for some inspiration…