Essential Ingredients

Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil

Our extra virgin rapeseed oil is grown and cold pressed in Dorset from a single variety of seed. It is low in saturated fat compared to olive oil and contains naturally occurring Omegas 3, 6, 9 and Vitamin E.

Dorset Honey

Honey is a natural sweetener which is fat free, cholesterol free and contains fewer calories than sugar. Its sweetness comes from its high fructose and glucose content. It has been used as a natural source of sweetness since ancient times. Our honey is produced in Dorset by the bees which pollinate our rapeseed crop.

Wild Garlic

Found throughout lowland Britain and in dense beds on the woodland floor in Dellcombe Bottom, we hand pick this delicate herb during one single month of the year. Wild garlic is a relative of the commercially grown garlic and can be added as a salad ingredient, wilted over new potatoes or freshly steamed salmon. It is low in fat, has no cholesterol and is believed to have a range of therapeutic properties.

Jalapeño Peppers

A member of the Capsicum family, the jalapeño is a red chilli with a mild to hot flavour, depending on how it is cultivated. The peppers are initially green, turning red towards the end of the growing season. They are named after the Mexican city of Jalapa in the Veracruz region where they are thought to have originated.

Chipotle Chillies

This is traditionally a jalapeno pepper which is smoked over oak chips to give the traditional chipotle flavour. Widely used in Mexican cuisine, our chipotle chillies are grown and smoked for us by a local company. Chillies are a perfect all season food – they warm you up in winter and cool you down in the summer.

Black Peppercorns

These are the dried berries of the flowering vine Piper nigrum which grows in tropical regions, particularly in India, on the Malabar coast. The berries are picked red and left to dry in the sun where they crinkle up and turn black. Nothing else can quite imitate the aromatic punch of freshly ground black peppercorns.

Black Peppercorns

These are the dried berries of the flowering vine Piper nigrum which grows in tropical regions, particularly in India, on the Malabar coast. The berries are picked red and left to dry in the sun where they crinkle up and turn black. Nothing else can quite imitate the aromatic punch of freshly ground black peppercorns.

Pink Peppercorns

Not actually a peppercorn at all, these exotic dried berries are from the plant Schinus terebinthifolius, and are commonly grown in Brazil and Madagascar. A beautiful, bright and shiny pink, these are a visually attractive addition to any dish and impart a delicate peppery flavour with fruity overtones when cracked.

Ginger

Ginger is one of the most ancient spices in the world, and is a popular ingredient in European and Asian cuisine. Freshly grated root ginger has a hot, sweet, perfumed taste that makes it suitable for sweet biscuits, cakes and savoury dishes alike. Ginger is rumoured to have therapeutic properties including aiding digestion and flu prevention.

Vanilla Pods

One of the most expensive ingredients we use, the seeds of the vanilla pod give a unique flavour to any dish. The pods come from the vanilla orchid, native to Mexico, and each plant is pollinated by hand. The green pods are harvested by hand too, and cured in the sun before being sweated in cloth to produce the characteristic combination of flavours and sugars of the vanilla pod. Introduced to Europe in the C16th by the Spanish conquistadors, vanilla has become a staple ingredient in European cuisine.

Cinnamon

A warm and fragrant spice, this has been used in human cultures since antiquity, and is even mentioned in the Bible. Harvested as the inner bark from trees of the genus Cinnamon, it can be used to flavour a wide range of sweet and savoury dishes, and is a core ingredient in mulled wine and apple drinks.

Parsley

The world’s most popular herb, parsley is a relative to celery. It contains three times as much vitamin C as oranges, twice as much iron as spinach, is rich in vitamin A and contains foliate, potassium and calcium. Easy to grow in your garden, it is an essential ingredient in many tomato based dishes.

Coriander

Coriander is another versatile herb, commonly used in salads, and in Indian cooking, where it combines well with turmeric, pepper and cinnamon. It has eleven components of essential oils, six types of acids (including ascorbic acid, better known as vitamin C), minerals and vitamins, all having a number of beneficial properties including the aid of digestion and reducing cholesterol levels.

Mint

Mint is so versatile, it grows almost anywhere. Thought to have originated in Asia and the warm shores of the Mediterranean, it grows just as well in the garden at my watermill in Dellcombe Bottom. It is widely used as a refreshing flavour in teas, ice-cream and sweets. It is also good for digestion.

Basil

An essential ingredient in Italian and Asian cooking, particularly in Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan, basil has a sweet perfumed taste that combines well with lemon, garlic, chilli and tomato.