Jus-Rol™ MultiAccess, This Month's Star Ingredient

For Summer we have chosen cherries, fennel, strawberries and tomatoes. Please read on for further information on each main ingredient including interesting facts, background information and of course a great selection of recipes for you to try.

Cherries

Home-grown cherries have long signalled the arrival of summer. The scent of Cherry blossoms in the orchard has long been a favourite time of year.

Varieties
There are more than 1,000 varieties of cherry, all of which tend to fall into one of three main groups: sweet, sour, and the ‘in-betweens’ known as Duke cherries. The sweet varieties and sour varieties have their own types depending on skin, flesh and juice. Sweet cherries can be firm and dry, as in the white-fleshed Napoleon used for candying into glacé cherries, or soft and juicy such as the popular Sunburst variety. Sour cherries, of which the Morello is the best known variety, range in colour from pale to those with an intense crimson glow.

Sweet cherries
Poach cherries in kirsch for a glorious cherry hit or delight in seeing the claret skins poking through the top of a classic French clafoutis. Maraschino liqueur, an ancient fruity liqueur from Dalmatia (now Croatia), made from very sour Marasca cherries, is ideal for making into an alcoholic syrup with which to douse fresh sweet cherries. Neither the stones nor stalks should go to waste: the crushed pips can infuse a bitter almond flavour to jams and syrups and the stalks can be dried and used in tea for their diuretic properties.

Sour cherries
The tartness and complexity of flavour of Morello cherries works well in cooking. These are not grown in Britain so look for fresh imports or tinned and bottled cherries. Many specialist shops will also sell them in dried form. Particularly popular in Middle Eastern dishes, dried sour cherries lend a contrasting note to meats and in desserts.

Fennel

The Latin name for fennel is foeniculum which means ‘little hay’ and most likely refers to the aroma that fennel generates. It is often confused with anise as in many languages the name for anise is synonymous with fennel. The seed is oval in shape and green or yellowish brown in colour and is the dried fruit of foeniculum vulgare which is a member of the parsley family. In terms of flavour, fennel has an anise like flavour but is more aromatic, sweeter and less pungent. Most, if not all of the fennel plant can be eaten. The leaves and stalks can be eaten as a vegetable or the leaves can be chopped and added to a dish at the last moment to provide flavour. Fennel can be used in salads, dressings, dips and sauces and added to other herbs to add a zing to the taste. The bulb can be eaten raw or lightly cooked in salads and stews. If a stronger flavour is required in a dish, the seeds can be used. These seeds are most frequently used to spice up sausages, pickles, red meat as well as fish dishes.

Fennel grows best in the heat although the soil should be moist. It can however, thrive in dry soils too. It requires very little water once established and can grow up to 7ft tall. The best time to plant fennel is in early spring or fall. It takes about 2.5-3 months for the stems to reach their full size and then the seeds take a further few weeks to form. One important factor is that fennel, like mint should not be grown too close to other plants as it inhibits their growth. This is because it cross-pollinates with them and the output is useless. It is therefore, best grown away from the herb garden with lots of space around it. The plant will be ready when the seeds start to turn brown and it is at this point that the plant needs to be cut. It should then be hung to dry over a cloth and once completely dry thrashed so as to release the seeds. The seeds should then be stored and used as and when required.

Strawberries

If there’s any one fruit that symbolises the British summer, it’s the strawberry. This succulent, fragrant fruit is as beautiful as it is flavourful. It has long been a key ingredient in classic British summer foods such as Eton Mess, Summer Pudding, Strawberry Tart - or simple strawberries and cream, long associated with the other great British tradition Wimbledon.

Strawberries were seen as a healthy food as long ago as 200BC, when the Romans cultivated them for their medicinal qualities. They believed the strawberry could bring relief from depression, infections and fevers, as well as ailments of the kidneys, liver and blood. Centuries later, Madame Tallien, a prominent figure at the court of Napoleon, was reputed to bathe in the juice of strawberries for its healing properties. It’s doubtful, though, that a long soak in a strawberry bath is the best way to enjoy the fruit’s nutritional qualities. Stick to eating them: eight strawberries contain as much vitamin C as an orange, a mere 50 calories per serving and a host of antioxidant chemicals that are believed to help protect against heart disease and cancer.

Click here for some sumptuous recipes using strawberries

Tomatoes

The tomato is a member of the nightshade family and originates from South and Central America. Nowadays the tomato is grown world-wide for it’s brightly coloured (usually red) edible fruits. The word tomato is of Aztec origin.

As tomatoes are a sub-tropical fruit and dislike the cold, they should be stored at room temperature. Storing them in the fridge impairs natural ripening and flavour. Remove tomatoes from their plastic bag or packaging and place them in the fruit bowl. Over-ripe tomatoes will go soft even more quickly in the refrigerator. Tomato pulp is very good for the skin. It refreshes, tones and aids circulation and will restore acidity to the face after cleansing. To make a tomato face pack, make a paste by mixing tomato pulp with yoghurt. Apply to the face and leave for 10-15 minutes, then wash off.

Tomato juice is an excellent hangover remedy. Liberally applied tomato juice is also considered a sovereign remedy for counteracting the sulphurous stench of skunk spray, should you be unfortunate enough to come into contact with one of these beasts. Although this is unlikely to happen in Britain, you may come across a related problem, badger breath. Volatile sulphur compounds (VSCs) are also responsible for most cases of bad breath - halitosis - when bacteria in the mouth break down food debris. Compounds in tomatoes convert VSCs into odourless sulphides. So skunk or badger, tomatoes could be the answer. Natural herb partners for tomatoes are mint, parsley, basil and oregano. To ripen home-grown tomatoes, place them in a paper bag with a ripe tomato and keep at room temperature.

Use under-ripe, green tomatoes for making chutney. Use up over-ripe tomatoes to make soups or sauces which can be stored in the freezer for up to six months. To skin tomatoes, place them in a pan of boiling water for 15 seconds and the skins will then peel off easily. The tomato's size should be a good guide to its culinary use. Large ones are good for stuffing and smaller ones for garnishing or using whole in salads. Plum tomatoes of varying sizes are good for barbecues as their firm flesh keeps them on the skewer, rather than slipping off between the bars. How irritating can that be! When selecting tomatoes for salads, look for firmness and a bright, unflawed skin. If tomatoes are soft they can be used for sauces.

Click here for some tasty recipes using tomatoes

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