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Donegal Rapeseed Oil | Spotlight Sunday

June 5, 2017Leave a comment

Welcome back to Spotlight Sunday! This week we’re shining the light on a food producer from Co. Donegal. Introducing Donegal Rapeseed Oil !!! We met them at a charity event in Limerick. They had a stand with samples that we were extremely impressed with. SO we couldn’t help but pick up three of their different flavours. We chose garlic, chilli and lemon. Here’s how we got on…

donegal-oil

top-of-donegal-oil oil-from-donegal

There are lots of benefits to choosing the Donegal Rapeseed Oil Companies oils, full of goodness. donegal-oils

Rating – The DEMC Food Scale!

Appearance – The oils are vibrant in design and add a splash of colour to any kitchen top. They can be used as dipping oils, for cooking, stir fries, marinades or dressings. 4.5/5

Taste – The oils are delicious with strong spices and can be used to impart flavour to meat and vegetables or as a dressing for salads. 4.5/5

Smell – Strong scents of the spices and flavours used in these oils. They will tantalise your taste buds and awaken your senses. 4.5/5

Easy to Use – These oils can spice up any meal or salad. We used the lemon oil to create a delicious chicken and lemon salad which was enjoyed by all of the DEMC taste team. 5/5

Overall DEMC Food Rating is…. 4.625!!!

Check out their website to find out more!

http://www.donegalrapeseedoil.ie

Bluebell Falls | Spotlight Sunday

January 3, 2017Leave a comment

Welcome back to Spotlight Sunday! This week we’re shining the light on a food producer from Co.Cork. Introducing Bluebell Falls!!! Bluebell Falls is 100% Irish hand made artisan cheese. We met Victor O’Sullivan at a charity event in Limerick (Clare’s Wish Foundation) and picked up three of the choices available. Victor was very knowledgeable and passionate about his products. We bought

Soft Goats Cheese with Cranberry

Soft Goats Cheese with Pepper, Mixed Herbs & Garlic

Soft Goats Cheese with Honey, Garlic & Thyme

Here’s how we got on…

bluebell-cheese cheese peppered-cheeses-bluebell-falls

Here’s what Victor says on his website about the benefits of eating and using Goats Cheese in your cooking:

“It’s so Healthy!

Half the fat, double the protein

Goats cheese is not only half the fat but also double the protein, when compared to cows milk!

Low in salt
It also contains less than 1% of salt.

Rich in minerals & vitamins
Goat’s milk is richer in essential nutrients vitamin A, vitamin B, riboflavin, calcium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium.

Easier to digest
Goat milk has less lactose and a slightly different protein structure than cow’s milk. These subtle shifts actually make a big difference: Even people who are allergic to cow’s milk can usually drink goat’s milk without issue.

Now that is what we call HEALTHY!”

We mixed the Soft Goats Cheese with Pepper, Mixed Herbs & Garlic with pasta as a main meal and used the Soft Goats Cheese with Cranberry spread nice and thick on fresh bread.

Rating – The DEMC Food Scale!

Appearance –Fresh and creamy with obvious herbs and spices throughout. 4.5/5

Taste – Rich and creamy, nicely flavoured with the added herbs and spices. The flavour of the Goat’s Cheese itself was not too strong, and did not overpower the taste of the other ingredients. Sometimes there can be a sour tang from Goats Cheese which can be quite bitter and unpleasant, but not this cheese! The pepper was slightly strong in the Soft Goats Cheese with Pepper, Mixed Herbs & Garlic but not too pungent. 4/5

Smell – The cheeses have a distinctive, tart and earthy aroma to them with savoury notes of garlic and sweet notes of honey and cranberries. 4/5

Easy to Use – The cheeses when cooked with the pasta melted and mixed easily. As shown in the picture, the cheese cuts slices easily. It can be placed on top of freshly cut bread and served as a starter or placed on top of dishes as the main event! 4/5

Overall DEMC Food Rating is…. 4.125 !!!

Why not check out these delicious cheeses, look at the website for where you can buy them!

http://bluebellfalls.com/

Lisduff | Spotlight Sunday

December 1, 2016Leave a comment

Welcome back to Spotlight Sunday! This week we’re shining the light on a food producer from Co.Tipperary. Introducing Lisduff!!! Lisduff is a traditional fine foods business. Their products range from sausages and rashers to puddings and bacon. We met them at Limerick’s Milk Market and picked up their Loin of bacon marinated in Caribbean sauce as well as their pork & leek grills. Here’s how we got on…

We set the oven too high at the start, 180°C and then turned it down as we realised the plastic was burning. Then we did as the cooking instructions said and turned the oven down to to 140°C. We roasted the meat in the bag for 130 minutes in the oven. After wards, we removed the bag and this is what we were greeted with.

Rating – The DEMC Food Scale!

Appearance –As you can see from the photos, the loin of bacon was succulent and full of delicious juices. The scoring on the top of the meat and the colour from the sauce added to the aesthetics of the meat. Size was great! It could easily feed a family of four to five and have enough for sandwiches after. 4.5 /5

Taste – The loin of bacon tasted delicious, mouth watering, great flavour from the spices in the Caribbean sauce. The spices were not hot or harsh, with a pleasant tang. Would recommend this to everyone to try! . 4.5 /5

Smell – The Loin of Bacon had a strong aroma of herbs and spices and was quite porky. 4/5

Easy to Use – The Loin of Bacon has a cooking instruction to oven cook at 140C, I had set the oven too high and burnt the plastic. I feel that the packaging should state very clearly in bigger text not to go over that temperature. Although I did it wrong, I feel it was easy for me to do it wrong. However as a roast in the bag product, it was very clean and easy to handle in the raw state. 3.5/5

Overall DEMC Food Rating is…. 4.125!!!

As for the Pork & Leek Grills, we followed the instructions and sliced the meat thinly & grilled them for 3-4 minutes on each side!

Rating – The DEMC Food Scale!

Appearance – The pork and leek grills were slightly overcooked and looked a little dry, but they could easily have been cooked a little less and not been dry. You need to vary the cooking instruction based on how thick or thin you cut the slice. 4 /5

Taste – The pork and leek grills had a strong herby and porky flavour, a little overpowering. 3.5 /5

Smell – The pork and leek grills were very strong and pretty herby. 3.5/5

Easy to Use – The grills were reasonably easy to slice but were quite sticky in the raw state. It is important to cut the slices to an even size as this does affect cooking times. 3.5/5

Overall DEMC Food Rating is…. 3.625 !!!

Have you tried anything from Lisduff?

Thanks for reading!

The DEMC FoodTeam

Loughnane’s Family Butcher | Spotlight Sunday

October 31, 2016November 11, 20161 Comment

Welcome back to Spotlight Sunday! This week we’re shining the light on a food producer from the West of Ireland. Introducing Loughnane’s of Galway, who have a rich history as artisan butchers in Co. Galway! They have an array of products and we tried out their newest creation produced in their factory on the Tuam Road, Galway. The GUINNESS SAUSAGES. They come in two different flavours, Guinness & Onion and Guinness & Leek. Here’s how we got on…

We liked the packaging for this product, simple, practical and slick. They were very easy to remove from the packaging and all relevant information was correctly displayed.

We cooked each set of sausages thoroughly on a preheated medium grill for 12 – 15 minutes, turning them occasionally. This was what the cooking instructions outlined.

Rating – The DEMC Food Scale!

Appearance – Sausages filled the trays, before cooking, well presented in sleeve and tray. Once cooked, rich glossy finish, good particulates within the sausages. 4.5/5

Taste –Strong Guinness flavour which complements the onion and the leek. Good bite with a firm eat, yet succulent. Really enjoy the flavour of these sausages. 5/5

Smell – Great smell around the kitchen, with a pungent aroma from the Guinness. 4/5

Easy to Use – Cooking instructions were easy to follow and sausages cooked up really well 4.5 /5

Overall DEMC Food Rating is….4.5 !!!

Have you tried either of the Guinness Sausages?

http://www.loughnanes.ie

Thanks for reading!

The DEMC FoodTeam

N.B. Please note that although this is not a sponsored blog post, the DEMC Food Team have worked with Loughnane’s of Galway.

NutShed | Spotlight Sunday

September 25, 2016September 25, 2016Leave a comment

Welcome back to Spotlight Sunday! This week we’re shining the light on a food producer from Limerick. Introducing NutShed!!! They sell nuts, seeds, fruit, superfoods, wholefoods, raw vegan and wholefood treats. We met them at Limerick’s Milk Market and tried out their beetroot brownies. We were very impressed with the staging of the stall in the milk market, there were lots of options of nuts and healthy cakes. Here’s how we got on..

nutshed

They were put into a box for us to carry home, the box was a little too big and the brownies ended up sliding around & getting a little squashed! Nothing major but just something to note!

Rating – The DEMC Food Scale!

Appearance – The beetroot brownies looked extremely fresh, vibrant in colour and very appeasing. 4/5

Taste – The eat was very moist, not too heavy and lingered in the mouth. The brownies may not be to everybody’s taste, we would have expected them to be a little sweeter. 3/5

Smell – There wasn’t an overpowering aroma of chocolate or beetroot, slightly bland to the senses. 3/5

Easy to Use – Extremely easy to use, packaging was slightly too large and therefore difficult to carry home without squashing the product within. 3.5/5

Overall DEMC Food Rating is…. 3.375 !!!

Look forward to calling back to try other products.

Have you tried anything from Nutshed?

Find them on Twitter : @NutShed_

Thanks for reading!

The DEMC FoodTeam

OSS Food | Spotlight Sunday

September 18, 2016December 5, 2016Leave a comment

Welcome back to Spotlight Sunday! This week we’re shining the light on a food producer from Clare. Introducing OSS Food!!! OSS Food is a baking business with a healthy twist.All products are made with healthy nutritious ingredients, gluten free, grain free & refined sugar free. They sell brownies (available in Joes Cafe – Lahinch or Doolin Cafe), blondies, muffins, scones, protein bars and balls and other healthy treats at local Farmers Market every weekend. We met them at Limerick’s Milk Market and met the lovely Andrea, owner of OSS Food. We tried out their protein balls and two of their Sun dried Tomato & Basil loaf. Here’s how we got on…

oss

As you can see the loaves came wrapped in some paper (€2.50), which was ideal as we ate them the minute we finished taking these photos! The protein balls were 8 for €10 so we tried out….. They were put into a small box with some paper to protect them. Very easy to carry and open!

protein-ball

Rating – The DEMC Food Scale!

Appearance – The loaves look extremely appetising, ideal size for a one person eat with some wholesome soup. The protein balls look a little like raw dough balls and were slightly greasy in appearance. 5/5

Taste – The Sun dried Tomato & Basil loaf was delicious, moist and light. The protein balls despite their greasy appearance did not taste greasy at all slightly sweet but not too sweet. The flavours that we tried were: Almond & Choc Orange, Cashew & Cranberry, Crunchy Peanut and Cinnamon & Raisin. A good selection that should satisfy most tastes, handy size to take on a cycle or to the gym for an energy boost. 4/5

Smell – Both products had a strong aroma, the bread had both a herby note and a sweet note from the sun dried tomatoes. The protein balls had a sweet note but were not strong smelling of any of the separate components. 3/5

Easy to Use – The sun dried tomato and basil bread was quite crumbly and could easily be pulled apart by one person to crumble over / with soup. However I tried to slice it and it was quite difficult to spread with butter. The protein balls were an ideal size to fit into a lunchbox as a quick boost during the day or at the gym, they can also be kept in the fridge for use later in the week. 3.5 /5

Overall DEMC Food Rating is…. 3.875 !!!

Have you tried anything from OSS Food? Find them in

Ennis Farmers Market: Friday

Limerick Milk Market: Saturday

Killaloe Market: Sunday

Find them on Facebook : goo.gl/hBqWXU

Thanks for reading!

The DEMC FoodTeam

The Butcher’s Daughter | Spotlight Sunday

September 11, 2016September 10, 2016Leave a comment

Welcome back to Spotlight Sunday! This week we’re shining the light on a food producer from Cashel in Co.Tipperary. Introducing The Butcher’s Daughter! They produce a range of artisan food products. In their range they have, Traditional Butcher Sausages, Speciality Varieties and Puddings. We tried out two of their speciality varieties, the Smoked Bacon & Cheese Sausages along with the Sun dried Tomato & Basil Sausages. Here’s how we got on…

While we liked the packaging, we felt as if the material of the box could have been a bit stronger. The box itself got a little squashed in our shopping bags. However we did like the feeling of the material & the branding. The colour scheme was apt for each product and its great to see so much of the actual sausages on display in the packs. Lots of relevant information was provided as well as information on how to contact them and their social media!

We followed the cooking instructions. We grilled the sausages under a preheated medium heat grill for about 14-15 minutes, turning them occasionally.

Rating – The DEMC Food Scale!

Appearance – Aesthetically pleasing, both raw and on cooking. Although the sausages looked a little greasy,they didn’t feel that way. The sausages showed off their individual components through vibrancy of colour and even dispersion throughout. They definitely looked good enough to eat and we had difficulty stopping people taking them before we could take their picture. 4.5/5

Taste – The smoked bacon and cheese sausages were smoky and porky, not a strong flavour from the cheese. The strong flavour from the bacon slightly overpowered the cheese. The sun dried tomato and basil sausages had a well balanced Mediterranean flavour, good seasoning and were succulent and moist. 4/5

Smell – The kitchen was filled with the aroma of these sausages sizzling in the oven. There was a strong savoury pork aroma from the Smoked Bacon and Cheese sausages. The Sundried Tomato and Basil sausages had aromatic herby notes. and definitely appealed to the senses. 4/5

Easy to Use – We could imagine eating and sharing these sausages on a summer night straight from the hot coals of a barbecue or as comfort food on a cold winters evening. Sunday morning breakfasts just got upgraded! 5/5

Overall DEMC Food Rating is….4.375 !!!

Have you tried anything from The Butcher’s Daughter range?

thebutchersdaughter.ie

Thanks for reading!

The DEMC FoodTeam

Spotlight Sunday |The Galway Food Co.

September 4, 2016September 5, 2016Leave a comment

Welcome back to Spotlight Sunday! This week we’re shining the light on a food producer from the west of Ireland. Introducing The Galway Food Co. They produce savoury biscuits in four different flavours, Seaweed, Lavender, Classic and Chocolate. We tried out their Seaweed and lavender flavoured biscuits, here’s what we thought….

We were quite impressed with the packaging. It was very easy to open up and take out the biscuits as well as being aesthetically pleasing. All the information on the back of the boxes were easy to read & understand. We also liked the fact that they have their website & social media on the packaging.

Rating – The DEMC Food Scale!

Appearance – The biscuits are housed in calming almost sedate packaging but ooze quality. The biscuits were uniform in shape with even colouring and plenty of Lavender and Seaweed dispersed throughout. 5/5

Taste –Well, what can we say, the Lavender biscuits were truly sublime and we were extremely disappointed when the pack was empty! The seaweed biscuits were interesting to say the least! A mixture of savoury, saltiness followed by a sweetness. Of the two, the Lavender was definitely the favourite, but these biscuits could sit comfortably at any table. 5/5

Smell – Sweet buttery aroma, notes of Lavender and Seaweed 4/5

Easy to Use – Open the packet and just eat! These biscuits however would be ideal used in desserts, with cream and fresh fruit, or the seaweed biscuit could easily grace the cheeseboard. 5/5

Overall DEMC Food Rating is…. 4.75 !!!

Have you tried any of The Galway Food Co. Biscuits?

thegalwayfoodcompany.com

Thanks for reading!

The DEMC FoodTeam

Spotlight Sunday | Cully & Sully

August 28, 2016August 29, 20163 Comments

Welcome back to Spotlight Sunday! This week we’re shining the light on the brand Cully & Sully whose origins were in Co.Cork. They provide pies and soups and today we’re trying out three of their soups. Two tubs (Smoked Haddock & Salmon Chowder and Chicken & Vegetable) and a family sized carton ( Creamy Tomato & Basil). So what did we think….

The Instructions!

Microwave: Remove lid and place loosely on the top of the tub. Heat at 800W for 2 minutes. Remove and stir. Put back in for a further 2 minutes. Leave to stand for 1 minute.

Cooker: Pour into a pan, over a medium heat bring to the boil stirring occasionally

We chose to use the microwave and followed the instructions perfectly. The soup was definitely steaming hot so maybe give it more than a minute to cool down a little.

Rating – The DEMC Food Scale!

Appearance – Straight from the microwave or off of the hob, the soups look vibrant and nutritious! Flavours for all of the family, great for lunches and the bigger cartons are ideal for sharing. There are other flavours than the three we tried so look out in store to see full availability. 5/5

Taste –Good full flavours, not too spicy, intense or hot. You do have to stir them, especially the chowder with some good fish pieces. The Thai chicken was just like chicken soup with a kick, could be a little spicier! Tomato and Basil was the favourite! 4/5

Smell – No strong or overpowering aromas, although there was a lovely creamy smell from the chowder. 2.5/5

Easy to Use – Very easy to heat up in the microwave, great if you have ravenous children just home from school as it is so quick to prepare. Be careful when taking it out of the microwave as it can be extremely hot. 4/5

Overall DEMC Food Rating is…. 3.9 !!!

Have you tried any of the Cully & Sully soups?

http://www.cullyandsully.com

Thanks for reading!

The DEMC FoodTeam

Spotlight Sunday | Nomadic

August 21, 2016August 19, 2016Leave a comment

Welcome back to Spotlight Sunday! This week we’re shining the spotlight on a company called Nomadic who are based in Co. Donegal. They specialise in dairy products, yoghurts and yoghurt drinks to be exact. Their products can be bought in the likes of Tesco, Costcutters, Asda, Morrisons, Boots, Superdrug and WH Smith! So how did we get on with them…

First of all we loved the packaging! Really smart, easy to use and clean packaging, essentially there are two plastic bowls, one containing yoghurt and the other containing oat clusters. You simply pull a tear strip, remove the outer packaging and remove the film from the oat clusters, dig around for your spoon and pour the yoghurt in!

Mix the yoghurt & oat clusters around and dig in!

Rating – The DEMC Food Scale!

Appearance – Smooth creamy yoghurt with crunchy oat clusters and pieces of chocolate or strawberries. If you prefer the oat clusters to be softer, mix them into the yoghurt and leave for a few minutes before you eat them. 4/5

Taste – A not too sweet yoghurt with authentic tasting strawberry and chocolate. 4/5

Smell – Creamy aroma with sweet notes 4/5

Easy to Use – Foolproof instructions that are easy to use 5/5

Overall DEMC Food Rating is…. 4.25 !!!

Have you tried anything from the Nomadic range?

Thanks for reading!

The DEMC FoodTeam