Latest news with #Lea&Perrins
Daily Maverick
14-07-2025
- General
- Daily Maverick
Lekker Brekker Monday: Welsh Rarebit
The Welsh Rarebit we make today probably has little in common with the original dish, first called Welsh Rabbit, that was conceived in the first half of the 18th century among Wales' peasantry. Even some of its components are undeniably English. Welsh Rarebit actually was once called Welsh Rabbit. If you follow the lore of the dish you will find that once upon a time, in the early 18th century, Welsh peasants were supposedly somewhat peeved that they could not afford to eat the rabbits that their masters and mistresses enjoyed at their groaning dinner tables. So they made do with what they had, and made a nice cheesy sauce with a good dose of flavour, and called it their own kind of Welsh Rabbit. Maybe it's apocryphal but it's a good story and there aren't many 18th century Welshmen around to contradict me. The origins of the term 'Welsh Rabbit' have been traced to 1725 and the same dish, but called 'Welsh rarebit', only appears in 1785, with observing that there is no known use of the word 'rarebit' outside of this dish, then or now. It is generally described as toasted bread with a cheese sauce on top flavoured with stout or strong ale, mustard and Worcestershire sauce, having been made with a roux base, and finished in the oven. Given that Lea & Perrins launched their Worcestershire sauce to the British general public in 1835, that could not have been an original ingredient as early as 1725, or even in 1785, but all recipes evolve over time. Certainly today you will be hard-pressed to find a recipe without it. And Worcester, of course, is in England, not Wales, so there's a whole story right there with the potential for war and bloodshed or at least scathing anti-Welsh barbs being countered by anti-English jokes from the other side. As for the kind of beer that goes in it, it would seem wise to use a Welsh ale of some kind or other, but many recipes call for stout, and some specifically for Guinness, which of course is Irish. The cheese? Well now, many recipes today call for Cheddar, and Cheddar is a little village in Somerset, which of course is in England, so… oh and almost every recipe today calls for Colmans Hot English mustard. Seeing as Welsh Rarebit hasn't yet ignited a tribal war between Wales, England and Ireland, perhaps we could see it as a great unifier and celebrate the modern day hybrid that it has become. Here's my take on how to make it, but the recipes do vary very much, with some including Cayenne pepper, others leaving out the beer and using milk or white wine, and yet others not even using a roux (flour and butter) base at all, but starting instead with simply melting cheese in a pan with wine, then adding the other ingredients. But let's go with the broad consensus that it should have beer, Worcestershire sauce, hot mustard and of course a good mature cheese. (Serves 2 or 4) Ingredients 4 slices firm bread, cut thickly 50 g butter 3 Tbsp flour ½ cup/ 125 ml strong beer or stout (I used Guinness) 1 tsp mustard powder or Colman's Hot English prepared mustard 1 tsp Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce 1 egg yolk, beaten 300 g mature cheese such as Cheddar, grated Salt and pepper to taste Method Preheat the oven to 220℃ and place a flat, heavy cast-iron pan in it to get hot. When it's hot, put slices of bread in it and return to the oven for the underside to toast. Don't use a soft, commercial sliced loaf. You need something more hardy and substantial. I used The Foodie's Wife's Herbed Buttermilk Bread. Melt the butter in a pan and, once melted, remove from the heat and stir in the flour until combined thoroughly. Return to a low heat and add the beer a little at a time while stirring, until well combined. Add the mustard and Worcestershire sauce and stir to combine. Take it off the heat for five minutes, then quickly whisk in the beaten egg. Return to the heat and stir in the cheese a little at a time, stirring until melted and combined, and season to taste with salt and a little pepper. Once the cheese is all incorporated, remove the pan from the oven and spoon the mixture on top of the slices, smoothing it so that it reaches all the edges. Some of the sauce dripping over the edges is a good thing. Return to the oven until it becomes bubbly and starts to brown a little.
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
12 Grocery Splurges That Are Worth Every Penny
Many grocery shoppers default to tried-and-true shopping hacks to save money, like buying generic brands over name brands. But just because there's a generic option available doesn't mean it's worth the money spent. Sometimes it's worth it to pay more for good taste. See More: Read Next: 3 Things You Must Do When Your Savings Reach $50,000 In 2024, a thread on Reddit's r/Cooking subreddit revealed the types of groceries ordinary Americans are willing to spend more money on because the quality is ROI-positive. Here are their top grocery splurges. Multiple Reddit users agreed that it's better to spend more money on Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce than settle for another name brand or generic version. At Sam's Club, shoppers can bulk buy two 20-ounce bottles for $9.38. Delicious taste aside, user Plane_Practice8184 said it's worth it to buy the Lea & Perrins brand because the company has made the sauce for more than a century and ferments it in barrels. For You: Explore More: All kinds of cheeses were mentioned throughout the thread as a grocery splurge worth spending more money on. In particular, Reddit users recommended paying more for parmesan (shop for wedges over shaken cans) and ricotta for the best taste. Trending Now: The type of mayonnaise you use can make all the difference for flavoring in mayo-heavy dishes. While Reddit users debated whether Best Foods, Hellmann's or Duke's was the superior brand, all were in agreement that these brands taste better than generic mayonnaise. According to Reddit user MikeOKurias, imperfections in the bronze die allow more surface areas on the noodle in the form of little jagged ridges. This creates more starch, allowing for more sauces to stick to the pasta. Bronze die-cut, or extruded, pasta is also not as expensive as you might imagine. At Target, a 16-ounce bag of Good & Gather bronze-cut stelline retails for $3.89. This is just a few dollars more than what you might pay for cheaper pasta. Consider spending a little more money for a fresh cut of deli meat at the deli counter, even if the prepackaged name brands are on sale. 'In my experience, prepackaged [deli meat] is outrageously worse and more expensive,' wrote Reddit user front_torch. Find Out: The next time you need tomatoes from the store, add San Marzano tomatoes to your shopping list. A 28-ounce can from the Cento brand retails for $5.99 at Target. This is a little more expensive than what you might pay for another brand, but the taste of these plum tomatoes come highly recommended from the Reddit community. If you're not able to find San Marzano tomatoes for sale at your supermarket, keep your eyes peeled for vine-ripened tomatoes instead. Shell out more money for high-quality extra virgin olive oil whenever you can — and beware any olive oil that comes in clear bottles. This ties in with overall health and wellness as much as it does taste, according to the Reddit community. If you're able to financially swing it, explore DOP traditional balsamic or other types of aged balsamic to pair with meats, cheeses, fish and salads. For You: While margarine might be cheaper, real butter makes a huge difference for baking and cooking meals. 'You use so little at a time that it's way worth the upgrade. It's significantly cheaper than the average grocery store if you get the big jug at Costco or Sam's Club,' wrote Kairos_Wolf. Unable to bake your own bread? Several members of the Reddit community recommended splurging on crusty bread from the bakery instead of buying prepackaged loaves. View Next: If quality ice cream brands, like Jeni's or McConnell's, are not on sale, most Reddit users would rather go without than substitute in a cheaper carton. 'I splurged and bought a half-gallon of the good chocolate ice cream for the first time in my life,' wrote Most-Ad-9465. 'My mindset was always 'chocolate is chocolate, get what's cheap.' I was so wrong. I'd rather eat ice cream less often than get the cheap stuff now.' Editor's note: Prices and availability are accurate as of Jan. 30, 2025, and are subject to change. More From GOBankingRates How Middle-Class Earners Are Quietly Becoming Millionaires -- and How You Can, TooThis article originally appeared on 12 Grocery Splurges That Are Worth Every Penny
