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Ever Wondered about Food? - Complete Series 3 - XS017/VIDEOThis Video contains all 6 programmes in the series
Ever Wondered about Cheese?
This programme brings you a slice of the history of cheese revealing the legend of it being accidentally discovered over 5,000 years ago by a nomad travelling across the desert with a saddle pack filled with milk. Also that Samuel Pepys made time to bury and save it from the Great Fire of London, and that the expression, big cheese came from medieval times when a large round of cheese signified higher social standing. Ever Wondered also looks at how processed cheese revolutionised the lunchbox, asks just why port is associated with stilton and finds out why artisan cheese has become so popular. In the kitchen, Paul Merrett shows us an Italian twist on the cheese fondue, the science behind making a great sauce to give an ultimate macaroni cheese and a delicious ricotta and lemon cheesecake. He also reveals his private passion for having strawberry jam in his cheese sandwiches.
Ever Wondered about Seafood?
This programme dives to the bottom of the ocean to bring to you the story of seafood. The Romans had a particular passion for oysters but is there any truth behind oysters being an aphrodisiac? Casanova is said to have eaten 50 a day. In the 19th century a new age of transportation dawned and seafood stopped being just a coastal food - trains allowed it to be readily available in towns and cities. London was literally awash with seafood. Rich and poor alike would eat it and it became the staple diet for the working classes.
Today it is as popular as ever - but what technology allows seafood to be transported from faraway places onto your plate? Also Ever Wondered reveals the secret and the story behind our love of prawns. Globally we spend a whopping US$20,000 million on prawns a year- they are Britain’s biggest shellfish export. Ever Wondered tells the story behind the great prawn favourites - scampi and prawn cocktail. In the kitchen, Paul Merrett reveals what chemical reactions happen to prawns when they change from grey to pink when cooked. Also how to cook fantastic 'unchewy' calamari , a classic Moules Marinere and the best way to eat oysters.
Ever Wondered about Eggs?
Eggs are a truly universal food and the world tucks into nearly two billion of them every day. We love them scrambled, boiled, poached, baked, fried, beaten, whipped and even raw. In this programme, Ever Wondered places the humble egg on a spoon and takes us on a race through the 5000 year story of nature's perfect meal. On the way we discover how to make powdered eggs palatable, why the Lion brand saved the British egg, and the truth behind the salmonella food scares. In the kitchen Paul Merrett makes an authentic Spanish Omelette, he explains the science behind cooking a perfect poached egg to use in Eggs Benedict, what the secret is behind creating superb soufflés and how to rustle up scrumptious Eggy Bread
Ever Wondered about Potatoes?
From chips to gnocchi to saag aloo, potatoes have been around for about 6000 years and are the most popular vegetable on Earth. Globally we grow 293 million tons a year in thousands of varieties. After discovering potatoes at the foot of the Andes, the Inca Indians were the first to cultivate them and they were brought to Europe from South America by 16th century Spanish explorers. One story has it that the crisp was invented in 1853 by a disgruntled chef reacting to a diner who complained that his potato chips weren’t thin enough. We now eat more than 12 billion bags of crisps a year. In the kitchen, Paul Merrett makes twice-fried chips with garlic mayo, potato pancakes and potato wedges pronto and explains why you need science and a potato ricer - to create the perfect mash.
Ever Wondered about Chicken?
From the classic British Roast to the traditional French Coq au Vin, chicken is a staple food the world over. In today's modern mass-producing world, chicken is cheap, it blends with hundreds of different flavours and it has a very healthy image. All this makes it one of the most popular meats on the planet. Britain eats around 16 million chickens per week and they form a whopping 40% of the UK’s overall meat intake.
On Ever Wondered we meet chicken lovers from Henry VIII to Mrs Beeton, we find out just how nutritious chicken soup really is, and why it’s a fast food favourite. In the kitchen, Paul Merrett shows how understanding science and a good red wine can produce a great Coq Au Vin, what’s needed to create a spicy marinade for Chicken Kebabs, cooks the perfect Roast Chicken, and reveals the secret bit of chicken that all chefs love to eat.
Ever Wondered about Mushrooms?
From the classic Italian risotto to the exotic Mushroom Bhaji, Ever Wondered unearths the true magic of mushrooms. Mushrooms have been seen with awe and suspicion for centuries the Aztecs saw them as food of the gods and the Romans liked eating them with honey. Also, for the Romans, mushrooms could be used for a darker purpose than eating. Emperor Claudius was poisoned by his wife when she slipped him a toxic mushroom in order to ensure her son Nero’s accession to the throne. Ever Wondered reveals why Asian civilizations have understood the properties of mushrooms and have cultivated them for food and medicine for thousands of years and how unusual Japanese mushrooms such as shimeji, nameko and eyringi are being cultivated in Britain today. Also what is a mushroom flush, how do mushroom growers cultivate mushrooms all year round and what is the technology behind Quorn a £100 million brand of mycoprotein produced from a fungus? In the kitchen, Paul Merrett shows how to achieve a perfect warm mushroom salad, reveals the science behind some of the spices used in a mushroom bhaji, what the secret is behind cooking the ultimate mushroom risotto, and how to create the best ever mushrooms on toast.
VIDEOS - LIMITED STOCK AVAILABLE
Publication Year: 2005
Length: 180mins
ISBN: 9780749224745