Christmas Miscellany

Local Foods ­ This christmas don't find yourself dreaming of menus that involve impossible to source foods such as prawns, foie gras, truffles and other imports. You'll inevitably be disappointed. Think local and buy the best.

Our nomination for best Irish Christmas food product this year goes to West Cork Herb Farm's Cranberry Sauce with Sweet Cicely. Sweet Cicely is a beautiful culinary herb, whose name is derived from the Greek word meaning "smelling of myrrh" ­ very christmassy! It is used by herbalists to remove tartness in food, which means less sugar. And this is exactly the principle behind Rosarie O'Byrne's pairing of the fruit and the herb. For information on stockists e-mail herbfarm@iol.ie

Organics  ­ organic birds and organic vegetables: The registered organic bodies have a database of organic foods in your part of the country ­ find out your local suppliers from Organic Trust Ltd, Tel: (01) 853 0271 or IOFGA, Tel: (0506) 32563. You may well find a local farmer who will put you on a box delivery scheme, thus ensuring you the best home-grown vegetables all year round.

Country Markets ­ we've found through experience that the very best places to source christmas foods are from your local country market, (see Paul Flynn's piece on Waterford) where you will probably find hand-reared turkeys and ducks, organic sprouts, christmas cakes and all the paraphernalia. Visit them as soon as possible to place your orders.

Local Shops ­ local shops beat the supermarkets hands down when it comes to sourcing foods for christmas. Shops like those mentioned in this newsletter always give a better service with local foods and special goodies served with great care and effort.

Oysters ­ the ultimate local luxury food. Try them breadcrumbed and deep fried, stewed with cream and cayenne pepper, or simply raw with nothing other than a squeeze of lemon and a glass of bubbly.

Smoked Foods ­ An essential christmas treat, and we have many favourites, one of which is Anthony Cresswell's noble Ummera smoked salmon. Ummera have a new smokehouse, a web site, a courier arrangement for worldwide delivery, often overnight. They even have a newsletter (we're all at it!). And best of all this was a (relatively) bumper year for salmon, so they have a good supply. www.ummera.com

email John and Sally | read other articles in this issue

text © John & Sally McKenna
illustrations © Ken Buggy