River Cottage SPRING

Trailer for this Channel 4 series caught my eye so thought I might check it out, particularly as it included use of seasonal produce. Looking through the listings I saw it was scheduled for 9 pm so switched channels to view it.

Some very interesting items included in this episode.

I particularly applauded the butchery trainee for her fortitude in tackling a distasteful task ............... and even more for her skill in butchery. On the same subject, I was interested to learn that meat is hung in a chiller to age it and that there should be no blood. Not something I have ever thought of before, but explained why the 21-day+ dry-aged steak I enjoyed last month
seemed drier in texture and beautifully tender.

Next was the Bristol small-holding. Pleased to see it is to feature in another episode, look forward to following their progress. Good that some costs are mentioned, particularly when
considering the purchase of livestock and "housing" for them..

Then the Kennet crayfish invasion. I suspect many like myself were unaware of quite how serious the impact of that introduced species has been. Quite a conservation opportunity - trapping these introduced crayfish and supplying the restaurant trade could help fund some employment for reducing the numbers.

Several recipes looked simple and tasty. Tested the roast honeyed rhubarb today and found it very straightforward and nicely flavoured. Helped make better use of the oven by cooking it with a lamb casserole. Not Ivan's neck of lamb recipe which looks very flavoursome, unfortunately did not have the ingredients. Hugh's creamed spinach looked delicious, another
one I look forward to attempting.