James Harland

Our tasty toppings and scrumptious sides promise burger success on the barbecue 

Vegan ‘ice cream’ just keeps getting better - now it even comes with added health benefits. 

Firstly excuse the forthcoming inverted commas, but if it looks like ice cream and tastes like ice cream but its vegan, then legally and technically it’s a frozen desert. The term ice cream remains jealously guarded by the dairy industry; just ask Unilever the multinational consumer goods giant, who earlier this year had to market the newly launched vegan version their best-selling Magnum ice cream as a ‘velvety plant-based product’ providing ‘a creamy experience without the need for dairy’. 

Yet despite the clumsy marketing ‘get arounds’ the sheer number of vegan ‘ice cream’ products and companies exploding onto the market in recent years could easily give the impression that vegan ‘ice cream’ is an entirely new product, but the fact dairy-free ‘ice cream’ recipes have been around since at least 1899, when a recipe for a peanut-based ice cream appeared in a Seventh-Day Adventist cookbook. 

However

Why we recommend Veliche™ Gourmet as the premium chocolate for professional confectioners and pâtissiers. 

With a catering supply inventory now encompassing several thousand items, from antipasti to antibacterial sanitiser, it’s sometimes easy to forget that Maws began life by supplying just one product; chocolate. 

However, the specialist, premium quality chocolate that we supply exclusively to some of the UK’s most talented confectioners and patisserie chefs provided the cornerstone for creating the Maws of today, and we firmly believe that both the range of specialist patisserie products and expertise we’ve accumulated in this field over the last 30 years, allows us to offer a unique service, unmatched by many other whole food sales companies. 

To this end we remain as dedicated as ever to sourcing and endorsing the very best products this specialist luxury sector has to offer, which is why, since its launch we’ve be proud to recommend and supply Veliche™ Gourmet’s superlative chocolate

Small plates of sunshine, we’ve got the ingredients and the recipes for amazing antipasti this summer. 

Italy’s less fussy answer to French hors d’oeuvres, antipasti are the original appetisers, and these simply delicious simple dishes arguably work even more effectively than Mediterranean counterparts such as Spanish tapas or Turkish mezze by relying on the vibrant complement one or two fresh and preserved ingredients. 

The term antipasto, first coined in the 16th century, refers to the first course of a traditional Italian meal and literally means ‘before the pasta’. Confected to stimulate the taste buds without filling the stomach, these mouth-watering small plates featuring myriad combinations of cured meats and fish, fresh fruits and herbs, rich cheeses and marinated vegetables are so vibrant in flavour its no surprise that they’ve become popular as a meal in themselves, and for many far beyond the borders of Italy, there’s nothing quite like antipasti for evoking the pleasure of

A great cheeseboard deserves to be adorned with something a little more imaginative than apple and grapes… 

We all know there are some fantastic artisanal cheeses out there these days, and although they all have enough flavour to stand alone on a cheese board, when cleverly paired with the right accompaniment they can take a cheese platter from simply satisfying to instantly sublime. 

Today, whatever’s found on a cheese board that isn’t cheese needs to be more than casual fruity decoration, but ingredients of equal quality that provide truly exciting compliment and contrast. Finding more unusual accompaniments to adorn your cheese board can also be especially gratifying, when unlikely cheese pairings such as speciality honey and guava paste deliver diners an end of meal revelation. 

With all this in mind, Maws are glad to offer some of our favourite cheese pairings, combinations sure to surprise and delight diners and guests, proving you’ve put as much care into what’s going alongside

What you choose to serve can have a dramatic effect on warm summer days

In weather like this it certainly doesn’t hurt to take a few dietary tips from our neighbours in warmer countries bordering Mediterranean, not to mention the advice of some nutritionists who’ve recently compiled a ‘does and don’ts’ list of what to enjoy and what to avoid on your plate when things get hot. 

According to experts, tucking into watermelon, turmeric and reducing the carbohydrates and protein in your diet are all sure-fire ways to create dishes that help customers beat the heat. 

Many also believe that a spicy chilli is an excellent choice in hot weather explaining that the capsaicin found in the food sends a signal to your brain that your body is overheated. As a result, you will sweat more to cool your body down. 

Working Up A Sweat 

Spicy and chilli may seem counter-intuitive, but the part it plays at the heart of cuisine on the searing sub-continent proves otherwise. Opt for traditional tandoori dishes,

Introducing some of our favourite herb and spice mixes for perfectly seasoning the summer season. 

At Maws we stock a truly comprehensive array of over 150 different dried herbs and spices cultivated and collected from every corner of the globe, not to mention classic blends, from Herbs du Provence to Garam Masala. 

As we mentioned in our previous blog, pre-making your favourite spice mixes is great way to save precious time in a commercial kitchen, and we’d like to share some more unusual blends from around the culinary world, all of which we’re convinced will become ‘go-to’ summertime staples whether you’re grilling or stewing, marinating or barbecuing. 

Ras el Hanout 

If you love North African cuisine but are tired of staple spice blends such as harissa then you need to add some Ras el Hanout to your spice rack right now. 

The name in Arabic means ‘head of the shop,’ and literally refers to the best spices the store has to offer. You’ll find Ras el Hanout prevalent throughout

A proper cream tea is one of summer’s indispensable indulgences, and Maws are pleased to provide every mouth-watering component; from crumbly scones, sticky fruit jam, and lashings of clotted cream to a perfectly brewed pot of tea. 

It’s hard to believe weren’t always a nation of tea-drinkers, but until Catherine of Braganza arrived from Portugal with a casket of tea to marry Charles II in 1662, and established a ‘tea court’ for her noble ladies, the ‘Chinese drink’ as Samuel Pepys described it two years earlier, had been virtually ignored in Britain since the first green variety had arrived from Japan via The Dutch East India Co. in 1610. 

Today we consume 60.2 billion cups annually (making us the third largest tea-drinking nation, just behind Turkey and The Irish Republic). Moreover, since being adopted by Lady Bedford in 1830 the English tradition of ‘Afternoon Tea’, to fill the peckish gap between lunch and supper, has become a cultural institution recognised around the world. And

The ‘orzotto’ trend for using the little pasta ‘grains’ as an alternative to risotto rice continues, and inspirational recipes abound.

Amongst the some 350 different varieties of pasta available today, not to mention the myriad of grains being ‘rediscovered’ by chefs each year, orzo, one of the tiniest pastas in the Italian repertoire, is easy to overlook. This short-cut pasta is almost the exact shape and size of wild rice grains, so it’s not surprising that many people outside the culinary world mistake it for something else entirely. 

However, once discovered, most will agree that orzo falls into the ‘small but mighty’ category on pure versatility alone. It’s a great addition to hearty soups, perfect for pasta salads and provides a fantastic accompaniment to rich, braised and roasted meats, mingling with and soaking up all those flavourful juices. 

Not only, but orzo 

As if all that wasn’t enough to convince you to skip the spaghetti in favour of the little pasta morsels with a lot

 There’s so many ways to use this versatile ingredient and more than just the traditional variety to enjoy, whether is tossed through pasta, spread over grilled meat and vegetables, or simply slathered onto good toasted bread. 

Pesto, it’s yet another of those Italian culinary inspirations that goes way beyond the sum of it’s parts – a simple (yet brilliant) aromatic concoction of vivid green, the discussion of which can instigate almost religious fervour in its devotees. 

The most ardent of these are natives of Liguria, he northern Italian region where pesto was first conceived. The word itself comes from the verb pestare, which meaning to step on, or to pound – preferably in a traditional marble pestle and mortar. The Ligurians are rightly proud of their pesto, a sauce originally created by the peasants from the least expensive and most easily available ingredients. While the nobles of nearby Bolognia feasted on their rich, meaty ragus, the workers of Liguria stirred a few spoons