Allergy sufferer and author Chupi Sweetman examines what's in the food we eat, and suggests some healthier alternatives
WHITE SLICED PAN
To be as simple as possible we're avoiding artisan baking and just targeting basic, mass-produced, white sliced loaf.
INGREDIENTS: Wheat flour, water, yeast, soya flour, hydrogenated vegetable fat, vegetable oil, emulsifiers (mono- and di-acelyltartaric esters of mono- and di-glycerides of fatty acids, sodium stearoyl lactylate), dextrose, flour treatment agent (ascorbic acid), preservative (calcium propionate). Wheat flour: In Ireland we have the highest prevalence of coeliac disease, the inability to digest the gluten in flour, in the world. This is most likely influenced by the amount of white flour we eat, so you could be happily munching your toast and poisoning yourself simultaneously. Even if you are not coeliac, or gluten- or wheat-intolerant, white flour is a nutritionally depleted food. All the healthy bran and germ has been stripped (that's why white flour is also called refined flour) leaving the basic starch. Yeast: Our particular nemesis. Although high in B vitamins, yeast can be dangerous to those who are already sensitive. Yeast intolerance is on the rise, and can be masked by gluten or wheat intolerances. It is linked to a whole range of nasties such as: candida, irritable bowel syndrome, thrush, and multiple digestive problems.Hydrogenated vegetable fat: Hydrogenation turns oil into solid fat, creating harmful trans fats, which raise cholesterol. A fancy name for a sugar derivative, used to mask any less than pleasant flavours.
Get yourself to the nearest bakery - even if it's in the supermarket and check out: Soda bread, really good baguette, soda farls for fantastic sandwiches, those lovely little loaves of crunchy wholemeal bread, chapati or tortillas. Remember, always check the ingredients, or make your own.
BAA BAA ORGANIC SHEEP
Ten years ago Dubliners Garry and Martha Crocker left a clothing business in Dublin and headed for the country, to a 120-acre farm in Glenealy, Co Wicklow. Both loved the outdoor life and for Garry, it was a fulfilment of a teenage ambition. Today they keep sheep and grow wheat, oats and five varieties of potatoes on their organic farm, which is fully certified by IOGFA. Those who have tasted their quality spring lamb which they sell through farmers' markets know just how sweet, tender and full of flavour it is.
Butchered whole or half lambs ready for the freezer are sold by the Crockers in small, compact plastic crates for less than €4 a pound. We bought a half lamb recently which consisted of six cutlets, rack, three side loins, five gigots, fillet, shoulder, liver and kidneys - just over 20lbs of meat - for around €80, a fraction of the cost you'd pay in a supermarket for such quality. Deliveries are made to a number of depots in the Dublin area and potatoes can also be purchased at around €2 a kilo. Contact 0404-44854 or 086-8188440. - Deirdre McQuillan
APRON OPTIONAL
While the Quay Food Company continues to provide the basic ingredients for Kinsale's keen cooks, newcomer Mange Tout sells the finished product for those who would rather not slave over a hot stove. The overlap is in the fine range of French and Irish cheeses stocked by both, and their take-away exotic sandwich trade.
Chef Guillaume Lequin (below), previously of Rathsallagh House in Wicklow and Kay Harte's Farmgate Café in Cork's English market, was looking for a job that would allow him to spend more time with his young children. His mother-in-law, Colette Boland, volunteered a corner of her legendary Craft Shop, which has been fitted out with a restaurant-standard kitchen, fronted by a deli counter and its own street entrance. Bayonne ham, anchovies in vinegar and oil and home-made tapenade sit alongside Guillaume's famous chicken liver pâté, which fans travel down from Cork to buy.
Brownies and quiche are baked daily, as are additions to the range of cook-and-chill and frozen meals. The latter are a hit with yachties, who can now dine aboard on pork with apple and Calvados, chicken chasseur, vegetarian risotto or Thai green curry. A range of wines from Joe Karwig, and a small selection of desserts, including summer fruits in mint jelly and a signature lemon mousse completes a scrummy picture. Mange Tout Delicatessen, Pearse Street, Kinsale, 021-4772161, is open Monday-Saturday, 9.30 a.m.-6 p.m. - Alannah Hopkin