The Perfect Bacon Butty

Having spent more than 1,000 hours testing 700 variations, scientists at Leeds University claim to have come up with a formula for the perfect bacon butty.

This was an in-depth study, with fifty volunteers judging each sandwich according to its taste, texture and flavour. The results show that the key is the crispiness and the crunch of the bacon. Dr Graham Clayton, who led the research team, said "We often think that it's the taste and smell of bacon that consumers find most attractive. But our research proves that texture and sound is just as, if not more, important".

The team's findings are that two or three back bacon rashers should be cooked under a preheated oven grill for seven minutes at about 240C (475F). The bacon should then be placed between two slices of farmhouse bread, 1cm to 2cm thick.

I am surprised that there is no mention of the all important sauce and although quality and type of bacon was studied there is no conclusion given on that rather important point. I think I’m just going to have to keep making and eating bacon butties until I find the answer myself. It’s a hard life.

Oh, by the way, here’s the winning formula:

N = C + {fb (cm) . fb (tc)} + fb (Ts) + fc . ta, where N=force in Newtons required to break the cooked bacon, fb=function of the bacon type, fc=function of the condiment/filling effect, Ts=serving temperature, tc=cooking time, ta=time or duration of application of condiment/filling, cm=cooking method, C=Newtons required to break uncooked bacon.

I’ll let you study that while I tuck into the rest of this butty.

Source: BBC News

In the Bag: Cooking the Month of May!

I’m delighted to announce that I’ve teamed up with Cherry from Cherry's English Kitchen and Scott at Real Epicurean for a regular blogging event based around seasonal produce. Each month we will select three seasonal products and put them in a bag for you to create your own dish with. We will be hosting the event in rotation and I’ll be hosting the first one, which will be held in May.

The May bag contains:

Asparagus
Eagerly awaited by foodies all over the country, asparagus is surely the cream of the crop of spring vegetables. English asparagus is considered to be among the best in the world so we are very fortunate to have such easy access to it. The Asparagus season runs from May to June.

Sea Trout
This pink-fleshed fish is full of flavour and in season from March to July.

Spring Onions
These are delicate young onions with a mild flavour. They are perfect raw in salads and are in season from May until September.

Entry Details

Send an email with ‘In the Bag in the subject line to asliceofcherrypie@yahoo.co.uk by Saturday 26th May with the following information:

• your name
• the name of your blog
• a link to your post
• the name of your dish
• a picture of your dish

I’ll post a round up of all entries by Thursday 31st May.

Rules

Here are the rather loose rules - remember the objective is to have fun whilst highlighting seasonal food:

1. Entries must use (or attempt to use) all of the ingredients "in the bag" for that particular month. The dish should be based around the seasonal ingredient, rather then just including it as an afterthought.

2. Participants can include any "extra" ingredients that they see fit.

3. Entries should include a link back to the host for that month, and the post should be tagged "in the bag" and "itb". Use of the "In The Bag" logo is allowed (and encouraged) but not required.

4. Entries can be written any time during the month, as long as the URL is emailed to that month's host before the round up date.

5. Particpants from outside of the UK are most welcome to join in and substitute an item from their own local seasonal produce if necessary.

That's all! Any deviations from the above are at the discretion of the host. Have fun!

"In The Bag" is a food even ran monthly by Real Epicurean, A Slice of Cherry Pie, and Cherry's English Kitchen.

A Long, Hot Soak and a Speedy, Tasty Dinner

After immersing myself for some time in a steaming bath full of rose-scented water with a book and a glass of merlot, I wrapped myself in a bath robe and padded into the kitchen to cook a quick and effortless dinner.

I took the lamb leg steaks from the fridge and marinated them in olive oil with fresh rosemary while I heated a griddle pan and sliced a courgette, red onion and yellow pepper. A brush of oil and in went the vegetables to char grill. The lamb steaks went into another pan with the rosemary and oil from the marinade. Ten minutes later dinner was ready to go.

Ahh…that’s better.

Two Ingredients, One Light Brunch

Simmered purple sprouting broccoli, poached egg with a soft and creamy yolk, a sprinkling of sea salt, eaten in the garden late morning on a sunny bank holiday Monday. Perfect.