There is a very large variety of pasta around the world. They differ firstly in their composition, often made from durum wheat semolina in Europe or from soft wheat or rice flour in Asia. Some pasta is made from whole wheat. We then distinguish between fresh pasta and dry pasta. And the forms of pasta: spaghetti, noodles, macaroni, lasagne, penne, tagliatelle, farfalle... Pasta is usually cooked in a large volume of boiling salted water. It can also be cooked in a sauce, as the Italians do.
Pale salmon in colour, a basket full of freshly-picked summer berries backed by the tell-tale, mouth-watering English acidity – these pink delights are wines made for summer and glorious celebrations. In fact, rosé is likely to become ‘one of the most important styles made in Britain over the next 10 to 20 years,’ as Oz Clark put it in his 2020 book on English wines*. The top examples of English sparkling rosés tend to be made mainly from the red Champagne grapes using the traditional method, wi ...
What kind of wine should you serve at a BBQ? With the weather (hopefully) on our side, there are few things better than a barbecue in the sunshine accompanied by a delicious glass of wine. Choosing a good bottle for your barbecue can really elevate the occasion, although for something a little less formal, there’s plenty to choose from in terms of canned or bag-in-box wines instead. Forget those days of washing down a burnt burger with warm Chardonnay or a ‘cooked’ red served in a plastic ...
Tongue firmly in cheek, I sometimes define ‘wine consultant’ as ‘someone lacking employment who will work for whoever pays them’. Although meant in jest, the implied question is valid: just what does a wine consultant do? More importantly, in this age, when every assistant in a retail shop styles him- or herself a sales consultant, who would hire one? The short answer is this: a wine consultant is someone who advises wine lovers about their passion. He or she advises buyers on what to buy (and a ...
