New foodie discoveries - Dairy edition

In the last few years dairy has been getting a bad rap. Celebs and health food gurus proclaim dairy is not good for you and wear their plant-based credentials as a badge of honour.
The research on dairy is constantly going back and forth, with theories in favour of dairy or against it. I respect anyone's decision to stop drinking and eating dairy for whatever reason (health or ethical), but I am against virtue signalling and psychological manipulation that comes from certain quarters of the so called clean eaters.
The plant-based business is exploding with choices, and kudos to everyone who makes it happen.

Yet the dairy farming has been part of agriculture for more than 7,000 years, and won't disappear any time soon. If anything, the selection of dairy products is expanding.
I'm particularly impressed with the latest additions from around the world, and wanted to show some of the best new dairy products on the market.

Danone Lassi (inspired by India) (£1.50 in Ocado) is a sweet and refreshing drink. It's not as sour as kefir. Quite high in sugar - 19.8g per pot. Made with skimmed milk, water, sugar (5%), cream, natural flavouring and live cultures, it tastes lovely, but I do wish there was less sugar.
In fact my favourite lassi is a salty variety.

Danone Ayran (inspired by Turkey) (£1.50 in Ocado) is a savoury fermented milk drink. Perfect for hot weather, it is refreshing, with a clean taste. It is like a mix of yogurt and buttermilk, with a mild level of acidity.
It is made with milk, water, cream, salt, live cultures, and that's it. There is a subtle hint of salt, which gives it a unique flavour. Add a sprig of mint, or a slice of lemon, for a tasty aperitif on a hot summer day. You can enjoy it with any meal.
88kcal and 7.3g of sugar per 250ml pot.

And my top favourite from The Danone of the world range is Straggisto (inspired by Greece) (£1 in Ocado). It is a wonderfully creamy thick yogurt. It's a mix of milk, cream and live cultures.  130kcal per 140g pot.
Very moreish, it is great on its own, or with a drizzle of dark Greek honey.

It is perfect for breakfast, or as an afternoon treat. A little gem.

I believe there are other products in the Danone of the World range, but I haven't tried them.

Granarolo Formaggio Croccante Cotto al Forno (96p in Waitrose) or Oven Baked Cheese Snack - are crispy bites of mature hard cheese for snacking and eating in salads, and soups.
Made with 100% Italian aged cheese, this snack has a high protein content - 11g per 24g bag.
Nutritional values: 572kcal per 100g or 137kcal per bag
These snacks are gluten free, lactose free, vegetarian.

Granarolo Oven Baked Cheese Snack Pizza (96p in Waitrose) is made with 100% Italian aged cheese. It's gluten free, lactose free and vegetarian, great for snacking, in salads and soups.
These crunchy cheese snacks are so good, it's hard to stop at one or two pieces.
A small 24g bag comes at 140.6kcal. High protein content - 11g per bag.

I opened a small bag just to sample it, and haven't even noticed that I ate the cheese bites all on my own, oups.

Another Italian brand which produces quality dairy products is Galbani. Its mozzarella, ricotta, mascarpone and other cheeses are a big part of the Italian diet. I often buy Galbani products, and was pleased to see the latest addition to its range - Galbani Freschetto Classico with olive oil (found in Waitrose recently for £1.50).

This medium fat soft cheese with olive oil is delicious. It's great on crackers or fresh crusty bread, and will be lovely added to any cheese pasta sauce. This soft cheese is actually produced in France, which was a surprise, as I thought all Galbani products were Italian.
Nutritional values: 280kcal per 100g

Nestle La Laitiѐre le Petit Pot de Crѐme Saveur Pistache (4 pots x 100g at £2.80 in Waitrose) is a baked milk dessert with eggs and pistachio flavour. Made in France.
Nutritional info: 184kcal per portion.
Very delicate, and not too sweet, lovely flavour.

Jazz it up with roasted and crushed pistachios and serve as a dessert for a posh dinner.

Nestle La Laitière Crème aux Ouefs Saveur Vanille - Baked milk dessert with egg and vanilla flavour (£2.80 in Waitrose)- is made from whole milk, cream, eggs, sugar and vanilla.
Nutritional information: 174kcal and 17g of sugar per 100g pot.
Creamy, rich and delicate in texture, it tastes like creme brûlèe without the sugar crust.

Kefir is very popular in Russia and many other Eastern European countries, and has been enjoyed around the world for over two thousand years. but until recently it was hardly known here, in the UK. In the last couple of years though it is gaining the recognition it deserves.
The Collective Great Dairy offers three flavours of kefir. Mango'n'turmeric Kefir (£2.50 in Sainsbury's) is a cultured milk drink, with 13 different strains of live cultures. It is quite similar to a mango lassi - sweet and refreshing, with a mild note of turmeric which also adds a beautiful colour.
Nutritional info: 129kcl and 15.2g of sugar per serve (250ml)
It is a source of protein, calcium, vitamins B2 and B12.

One more kefir which deserves a special mention is Bio-tiful Dairy Kefir/Honey & Mint.
I have already written about this brand in the past - see my posts Cultured milk drinks from Bio-tiful dairy and New Food discoveries (July 2017).

Bio-tiful Dairy Ltd uses authentic natural recipes to create an excellent range of organic cultured milk drinks.
I often buy the produce of Bio-tiful Dairy Ltd, and can say that it is excellent. The quality of ingredients and sustainable production process speak for themselves.
Bio-tiful Kefir Honey & Mint (£1.60 in Sainsbury's) is a pure delight. Mildly sweet, with a crisp note of mint, it is very tasty and refreshing. I have tried most flavours of Bio-tiful kefir and smoothies, and I think I found my new favourite.
Nutritional values: 159kcal and 14.8g of sugar per 250ml bottle. It's a good source of vitamins B2 and B12, calcium, phosphorus and zinc.
I would also love to try a mint kefir with salt, as a base for summer soups.

And that's it, my top ten dairy discoveries of the summer.

Is there a dairy product you have come across recently that you love and would recommend?

Cottage cheese biscuits

Whenever Mum stays with us, I ask her to cook something special for me. She did cook pirozhki twice (with mashed potatoes and wild mushrooms, as well as cabbage with egg and dill), and aubergine ikra (a Russian caponata). She also promised to make some cottage cheese pastries but got too busy and never made them.
I bought a pack of Polish cottage cheese, and it was getting too close to expiry date. Rather than make pastries, I decided to bake a batch of soft biscuits.
This is not an authentic Russian recipe, but the first stage of making dough from cottage cheese is (before adding all the extra bits and bobs, lurking in kitchen cupboards).
I didn't have enough sugar left, so to sweeten the biscuits I used the remaining 2tsp of salted caramel and also white hot chocolate/raspberry ripple, which we recently bought in Whittard's.
Eddie loves that shop and got easily persuaded that he liked the flavour of the hot chocolate when he sampled it in the shop. When I made it for him at home, he said it was too pink to his liking. Sigh.
Thus I thought I'd try to add it to bakes, as I didn't quite fancy pink hot chocolate either (due to a very sweet taste rather than colour).

Cottage cheese biscuits
Ingredients:
250g cottage cheese (I used half fat)
250g self-raising flour
150g margarine (Flora)
a pinch of salt
1tsp vanilla paste
1 medium egg
50g caster sugar
2tsp salted caramel (optional)
4tbsp white hot chocolate (optional)
1tbsp cocoa powder
Vimto-flavoured Millions (optional) and/or almonds

In a big mixing bowl mash cottage cheese with a fork, sift in the flour and add margarine, mix well. Add salt, vanilla, beat in egg, and mix in salted caramel and hot chocolate powder. Dip hands into flour and then pinch walnut-sized pieces of cookie dough, roll and flatten them slightly, and place them on a parchment paper in a baking tray.
Use Vimto-flavoured Millions (found in the latest Degustabox) to decorate the biscuits.
Bake for about 12-15 minutes at 180C.
After the first tray went in, I decided to add 1tsbp of "normal" cocoa to the dough. so the second batch were dark in colour with almonds on top.
They will be still very soft, when you take the tray out. Transfer them carefully on a cooling rack.
Eat warm or cold.

The biscuits are rather squishy. They were not overly sweet. If you have a sweet tooth, add more sugar to the dough.

Since I used all sorts of bits and bobs in this recipe, plus cottage cheese near its sell-by-date, this recipe is a good candidate for #KitchenClearout linky hosted by Cheryl at Madhouse Family Reviews.

White chocolate Oreo fudge

We are just back from a week-long holiday in Cornwall. Every day, walking to the beach we passed by a house which had a mini-counter with homemade jams and fudge on offer.
It had an honesty box with an amusing warning along the lines "Underpaying equals stealing" or something like that. Though we paid in full for our treats, I can see why someone might have been tempted to pay less. Each small jar of jam was priced at £3, and a pouch of fudge costs £2.
We've seen big boxes of fancy fudge in Penzance for the same amount.
I suppose, one can only commend them for the capitalist initiative.

One day we bought a small pouch of white chocolate Oreo fudge. My guys gobbled up all fudge in five minutes. The next few days it was rainy, and the mini-shop was not operating.
Eddie was distraught that we couldn't buy any more Oreo fudge, and I promised him that I'd make him some fudge when we come home.
Just how difficult could it be? I googled for the recipe, there are dozens of identical recipes online, so it's not quite clear who was the original author. But whoever you are, thank you from the bottom of my heart for this easy recipe, you are a genius!

All you need is a pack of Oreos (12), 5 bars of white chocolate and a tin of condensed milk (397g).
If you have a microwave, follow the recipe as, for example, found on AllRecipes.

I don't have a microwave, so I have melted 5 bars of white chocolate (a mixed bunch of Waitrose 1 white chocolate, Milky bars and cooking white chocolate) in a big bowl, which I put over a pan of simmering water. Once the chocolate melts, add a tin of condensed milk and mix well.

Place a piece of parchment paper inside a brownie tin and layer half of broken Oreos (not too small chunks).
I used a pack of double Oreos. I think strawberry or mint Oreos will look very pretty too.
Spoon in the chocolate mix, top up with more broken Oreos and slightly push them in.
Let the mix cool and set for at least 4 hours.

My guys were all impatient to try it so I have cut a few pieces after 3 and a half hours, and the fudge was still soft in places. The remaining fudge stayed covered with film in the fridge overnight, and was perfectly set by morning.

It is so easy to make this fudge, yet it's so moreish. A lovely treat to go with tea or coffee.

Now that I have discovered this recipe, I imagine I will be making it again very soon.

You might like to experiment with different flavours of Oreos - double, blonde, mint, strawberry, original.
There is a variation of the recipe on CreateBakeMake blog, where the author adds less chocolate (4 bars rather than 5).
The Happier Homemaker makes very pretty fudge, by layering very big pieces of Oreos. She is obviously an Oreo lover, as in that post she adds several links to recipes made with Oreos (cupcakes, truffles etc).
I am still trying to dig out who was the original creator of the recipe to link up with them, so if you know, please give me a shout!

New flavours from EasiYo

Making your own yogurt is a doddle when you have an EasiYo Yogurt Maker. The beauty of this kitchen gadget is in its simplicity. You just need to mix a sachet of a powdered yogurt with plain water, shake the tub, insert it into a bigger insulated tub, add hot boiling water, secure the lid and leave overnight to set. And it sets beautifully.

Image credits: EasiYo

Thick, creamy yogurt for breakfast is not only delicious, it has great health benefits, being a good source of calcium.
What I love about EasiYo yogurts is that there is a big range of over 30 flavours to choose from, and from one sachet you get 1kg of yogurt. Having a big pot of yogurt is convenient for a big(ger) family. You can scoop out as much as you need. With little pots that we buy in the supermarkets I find that they might not be finished in one go, and then I end up binning them.
EasiYo yogurt keeps well in the fridge for several days.

It is not cheap, you can find them in Lakeland for £13.99 per 5 sachets so it comes to £2.79 per kilo of delicious yogurt, which is pretty reasonable. You might compare it to a good quality yogurt (like Rachel's) priced in supermarkets at £2 for 450g. And you can buy them in bulk at Easiyoshop at lower prices.

The new model of the yogurt maker had its first redesign in the brand's 23 years of history. It is simple yet stylish. There is no electricity involved, no moving parts, just two containers. It's very easy to clean, it has an easy grip handle and non-slip feet. The redesign sees the old polystyrene insulation replaced with a layer containing New Zealand wool which allows the yogurt to be fermented at the right temperature.

EasiYo yogurts have no artificial colours or flavours and no stabilisers. EasiYo is also gluten free and vegetarian.

Two new flavours have been recently added to the EasiYo range - Strawberries and Cream and Greek Style Passionfruit.

Strawberries & Cream Yogurt - Fragola e Panna - is a classic combination of flavours. It sets perfectly. It is sweet, slightly tart and flavourful. It makes a lovely dessert or breakfast. You might eat it as it is, unadorned...

...or with fresh or stewed fruit. For example, I served it with a simple apple, dried apricot, vanilla and cinnamon compote, and it was very nice indeed.

This delicious yogurt is 112kcal per 100g. It is gluten free, vegetarian and a good source of calcium.
One 100g serving has a good amount of calcium - 154mg (reference intake is based on an average adult daily diet requirement of 800mg calcium).

Greek Style Passionfruit yogurt is another delicious flavour. The aroma is lovely, as soon as you open the sachet. While I also liked Strawberries and cream, Greek Style Passionfruit was an absolute winner for me. It is so moreish - creamy, smooth, fragrant and utterly delightful.
I must buy another sachet soon. I wonder if I can freeze it and turn into an ice cream.

This yogurt is even less in calories - at 105kcal per 100g.
I would have preferred it to have less sugar - 13.7/14g of sugar per 100g of yogurt is not ideal, as grown-ups are advised by the NHS not to eat more than 30g of sugar per day, but with a balanced diet this should not be a problem.

Visit EasiYo for stockists, information and recipe ideas.

Disclosure: I received two sachets of EasiYo new flavours for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are mine.

Milky days and milky ways

From my childhood days I remember the times when I was poorly with a cold, and my Mum would always offer me a cup of hot milk with honey to sooth that sore throat. These days the advice in media ranges from Yes, the warm milk is great for sore throats and for helping to sleep to No, it's all old wives' tale. We belong to the first camp of warm milk drinkers. Both my younger son and husband often request a cup of warm milk with honey before bedtime.
And if you ask them, they will swear it makes them feel better when they are unwell. Just a couple of weeks ago my little man had a middle ear infection, and though he had no appetite and didn't fancy eating anything, he drank hot milk with honey.

I confess I don't often drink milk in its pure form, but I love a good cup of latte, the milkier the better. We have a decent Italian coffee machine (though temperamental as many Italians, it brews a great cup of coffee), and I am always generous with a frothy milk when I make a cup of latte.
In summer my men enjoy a milkshake with berries.
I'm glad none of us have issues with dairy, as we use milk extensively, and it would have been a difficult adjustment not to use it in our meals. I have tried most non-dairy milk products, and they just don't appeal to me.
Every morning my husband has a bowl of granola or muesli, and out comes the big bottle of milk from the fridge. If I fancy a bit of porridge for breakfast, like today, I also cook it with milk.

When I was reading about farmers who work with Cravendale milk, it made me think about my own grandmother. Baba Zhenya (as we used to call her) held cows, and treated them with great love and care. She lived in a remote village in the south of Russia, and I remember how every evening she would go out of the house to meet her cows returning from the pastures, herded by the end of the day back home.
I remember the smell of the fresh hay in the barn and the warm breath of cows, their big soulful eyes and sandpapery tongues. A townie, I wasn't very enthusiastic about the fresh warm milk, and preferred the cold milk from the fridge.
My grandma made her own cottage cheese and other dairy products, and she would ride in a little two-wheel horse-drawn carriage called brichka, selling the milk and dairy products to the other villagers. Her dairy products were much admired and appreciated, and people always asked her if she had more milk to sell.

My grandma is long gone, and those milky days are just a distant memory.

I have a huge respect for the dairy farmers, theirs is not an easy life. With the milk prices going down, it's not a surprise that you hear about farmers' protests. I am totally on the side of the farmers. The milk shouldn't cost less than bottled water.
I am happy to pay more for the milk and support the British farmers.
Cravendale is produced by 3,200 British farmers who are part owners of Arla Foods. I hope these farmers stand up for themselves and get their fair share.

Cravendale milk is pure and tasty. It is delicious cold or hot, on its own or with a little bit of honey. Great in coffee or tea, it is a versatile ingredient in cooking a huge variety of dishes.
Often referred to as the milk-drinkers' milk, it is a good product to start a day with, or even end the day with.
How do you enjoy your milk? Warm, cold, with cookies or bread with honey?

Disclosure: I received a few vouchers to purchase Cravendale milk. All opinions and stories are mine.

This post is an entry for BritMums #MilkDrinkersMilk Linky Challenge, sponsored by Cravendale 

Cultured milk drinks from Bio-tiful Dairy

There are moments, when you see something online and exclaim with joy "What a blast from the past!". I was reading how Natasha Bowes, the founder of Bio-tiful Dairy Ltd couldn't find any familiar Russian milk products in this country and decided to solve the problem by founding her own dairy business. Like Natasha, I grew up in Russia, and have been enjoying kefir and the other cultured milk products as a kid. Cultured dairy drinks are very popular in Russia and Eastern Europe, and are a part and parcel of a healthy lifestyle.
As a student, I remember popping into the shop to buy a loaf of rye bread and a bottle of kefir or riazhenka for my lunch. It costed pennies (or kopecks, to be precise) but was tasty, filling and healthy.
My grandma who used to keep her own cows, always made a variety of fermented milk products including prostokvasha (which is similar to the plain unsweetened yogurt drink).

Kefir has been almost unknown in the British supermarkets until recently, but with the arrival of a big wave of the Eastern Europeans, it is becoming popular. This is a refreshing drink which perks you up. It is fantastic for your digestion (especially if you needed to take the antibiotics) as it helps to maintain a healthy gut microbiota.

I was delighted to discover the Bio-tiful Dairy Ltd which uses authentic natural recipes to create an excellent range of organic cultured milk drinks.
I have tried the produce of Bio-tiful Dairy Ltd, and can say that it is superior. The quality of ingredients and sustainable production process speak for themselves.

Kefir has a very long history. The kefir grains which helped to ferment the milk into the refreshing drink, were kept as a family treasure, and the new brides would bring it to their new home as part of their dowry.
Full of essential vitamins and minerals, this drink is a great source of protein, and is also low in lactose naturally.
It has a distinct tart taste and a texture of a smooth yogurt drink.
Kefir and riazhenka bottles come in two sizes: 500ml for a sharing bottle, and a 250ml which is a full cup size.

Its typical values are: 58kcal per 100ml or 145kcal for 250ml bottle. It could be a great part of a diet, much better than those diet shakes which have a list of ingredients that reads like Mendeleev's table of elements and taste quite artificial. I say, go for kefir. Much tastier and healthier.
You can also use it in recipes, like, a Russian cold summer soup okroshka, which could be a vegetarian dish or might include meat.
I made a floral vegetarian version of okroshka back in April, when my garden was covered with a carpet of primroses and wild violets. I scattered a handful of flowers on my cold soup, and it looked pretty and tasted lovely too. The ingredients included a cooked carrot, potato, hard boiled eggs, wild garlic leaves and ca ucumber, plus kefir. I have also added a bit of water to get a slightly runnier consistency.

If you are not a vegetarian, you might enjoy a version of okroshka which includes cold ham (or chopped frankfurters). For a full recipe, please visit my older post Okroshka, Russian cold soup.
This is a perfect summer soup. I must pop into the local health shop to buy kefir for this soup, as the weather is just right for enjoying a light cold soup in the garden.

Or be super healthy with a kefir and spirulina smoothie. Just blitz together half a banana, a handful of blueberries, 1/2tsp of spirulina nibs and 2/3 of a standard sized glass of kefir.

Kefir and spirulina smoothie

While kefir is becoming well known on the British shores nowadays, riazhenka is more of a mystery product. As a kid, I absolutely loved it, probably more so than kefir, because it has a sweeter taste and a very distinct flavour.
I am so glad that Natasha decided to leave her high-flying corporate career and fulfill her dream by founding the Bio-tiful Dairy because as far as I know nobody else in the UK produces riazhenka (at least, I haven't come across it).
It's like going back to my childhood for the unforgettable taste of delicious cultured milk drinks.

The taste of riazhenka is acquired via a process of baking the milk before the special live culture of beneficial bacteria is added.
Typical values: 61kcal per 100ml or 153kcal per 250ml portion
Ingredients: organic pasteurised & homogenised whole cows' milk, fermented with live cultures including Bifido bacterium.
It is a delightful refreshing drink, perfect for breakfast, lunch or any time of the day really.

While checking  the nearest stockist, I was very happy to find out that one of the local health shops is stocking Bio-tiful Dairy's products. That is simply marvellous news. Can't wait to buy these excellent dairy drinks locally.
Have you tried Bio-tiful kefir or riazhenka?

Disclosure: I received a selection of dairy products for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are mine.

Vegetarian kefir-based cold soup okroshka