A beginner's guide to juicing

If you’re planning a brunch it’s quite fun to lay on a DIY juice bar where your guests can run up their own fresh juices and smoothies. If you don’t already have a juicer you’ll probably have a couple of friends who have. Or you may feel that with the warmer weather coming up (though it’s hard to believe that today in the grey, drizzley UK) now’s a good moment to get into juicing.

Here are some basic tips on what to buy and how to get started - and just why juicing is so good for you:

To make the full gamut of juices you need a purpose made juicer which will tackle hard fruits and vegetables like carrots and apples.

Most juicers work by centrifugal action. You feed ingredients through a tube and a powerful motor spins them round. The juice is forced through a filter and the pulp is discarded. Machines tend to start at around 40 and go up to several hundred pounds for heavyweight American models that have the construction of a tank. But you don’t really need one of those unless and until you become a juice fanatic.

The big advantage of having your juice freshly made is that you don’t lose any of the nutrients. And compared to packaged or bottled fruit juice it gives you the most amazing lift. According to natural health expert Michael Van Straten, author of the best-selling Superjuice it’s because all the nutrients are digested immediately. “When you juice fresh produce you release all their ingredients in an easily absorbable form which goes straight through the stomach wall.”

“With sweet fruits you’re also getting a sugar explosion that gives you a burst of energy. It’s a bit like taking ten glucose tablets at once only much healthier. And because you get the pulp and fibre as well you get a secondary, slower release which boosts your energy over a longer period.”

As Van Straten points out that you couldn’t possible munch your way through the amount of solid fruit that you get in a glass. “A glass of carrot juice is equivalent to five or six carrots so you’re getting all that goodness in an instant hit”. And, he points out, raw fruits and vegetables offer significant protection against degenerative diseases like cancer and heart disease. “Citrus for example offers much more than vitamin C. There’s a substance called limonene which is a cancer and heart-protecting antioxidant which is very intensely concentrated in the pith which you get the benefit of if you juice whole segments rather than using a citrus juicer.”

It has to be admitted that there is a slightly anorakky tendency among hard core juicers who will pulverise almost anything including wheatgrass, a vile tasting, concoction which is enough to put anyone off juicing for life. It’s a personal view but with a few exceptions (notably carrots and tomatoes) I think most vegetables taste too bitter to be enjoyable though, as Michael Van Straten points out in his book, you can add them in very small quantities and still get a considerable health benefit.

If you’re a first time juicer though it’s better to concentrate on fruit juices which tend to have naturally sweet flavours. The trick is not to combine too many different kinds of fruit otherwise you can end up with a juice that doesn’t taste of anything in particular and which goes a strange muddy colour. (Remember mixing paints? Red and yellow is great. Red, yellow and green makes khaki) It’s hard for example to improve on the perfect pairing of carrot and apple or watermelon and strawberry, beautifully clean flavoured juices that enable you to really taste and enjoy the fruit at its best.

As you gain confidence you will undoubtedly want to invent your own concoctions though - not least to make use of the seasonal produce which is available. Here a few tips that may come in handy.Apples, pears and melons for example make useful bases because they produce a lot of juice. But because they don’t have a great deal of flavour of their own you need to add a lift with a more strongly flavoured fruit like strawberries or raspberries. If you need to add a touch of sweetness add a few grapes while a touch of of lemon or lime will add zest to a juice that is slightly bland. You can also add other ingredients for flavour like fresh ginger or mint and - though orthodox juicers might frown on it - even season them with a little sugar or, as I do with fresh tomato juice, salt, pepper and Tabasco.

You’ll undoubtedly get the best results (and save yourself money) if you use whatever produce is in season. For a start ripe fruit has more flavour. If you attempt to juice peaches or tomatoes right now in March they won’t taste nearly as good as a mixed citrus juice using ruby grapefruit or blood oranges. But vary your juices as much as possible to get the maximum health benefits.

Although you might think of juice as a natural breakfast time drink I drink it at any time of day - frequently as a meal replacement. If you’re working, a big glass of juice and a salad at lunchtime makes you feel much less sleepy than a carbo-heavy meal whereas if you’ve had a big boozy lunch with friends having juice instead of supper in the evening leaves you feeling bright-eyed the next morning.

And there’s no reason why you shouldn’t use your juices as the basis for some stunning cocktails or drinks when you’re entertaining. Fresh peach juice for example is sensational topped up with champagne - or any sparkling wine, tropical fruits like pineapple, papaya and mango are great with a dash of rum and a Bloody Mary made with fresh tomato juice is - well, like no other Bloody Mary you’ve ever tasted.

Top juicing tips and techniques

• Cut fruit and vegetables into chunks that will fit the feeder tube. Press down firmly but steadily. Don’t rush or you’ll force through too much peel.

• Most fruit - other than citrus - doesn’t have to be peeled but wash or scrub it thoroughly before you use it.

• Stone fruits like peaches, apricots and cherries

• Juice soft and harder fruits alternately. Harder fruits like apples and pears help to force softer fruits like strawberries or mango through the filter

• Very soft fruits like banana or ultra ripe peaches or mangos are better liquidised than juiced.

• Small hard fruits like grapes, cherries, cranberries and cherry tomatoes can come jumping back at you out of the feeder tube. Pack in a chunkier piece of fruit on top.

• Adjust the temperature of your juice to the time of year. If it’s winter serve them at room temperature. In hot weather add ice (though not too much or you’ll dilute that lovely intense fruit flavour)

• Don’t attempt to prepare your juice beforehand and store it. You should drink it immediately

• Don’t overload your machine or it won’t juice as efficiently. If you’re making a lot of juice do it in batches, emptying the filter in between.

• Clean your machine immediately after you use it. It’s much harder to remove bits of pulp once it’s dry.

Here are a couple of easy juices and a delicious smoothie to get you going. All make 2-3 glasses.

Carrot and apple juice

Carrot and apple is the juice everyone starts with and you can hardly better it. The exact balance will depend on what type of apples you use. Use organic produce for preference.
2 medium or 3 small flavoursome apples (Cox’s are ideal)
4 medium sized carrots
1/2 a lemon (optional)
Cut the apples into quarters or pieces that will fit the feeder tube. Scrub and top and tail the carrots and cut up as necessary. Peel the lemon removing as much of the pith as possible. Push through the feeder tube alternately.
Alternatives: you could add a stick of celery and replace the lemon with a small cube of fresh ginger.

Pineapple mango and lime juice

One of my all time favourite juices
1 small to medium pineapple
1 large ripe mango
1-2 limes
Peel the pineapple and remove the hard core. Peel and stone the mango. Peel and cut up the limes. Juice the pineapple and mango alternately then finish with the lime.

Strawberry and orange smoothie

This can be made in an ordinary blender.
1 ripe banana
100g ripe strawberries
The juice of one orange
150ml carton natural yoghurt
Peel and slice the banana. De-stalk and halve the strawberries. Place both in the liquidiser goblet with the juice of one orange and whizz until smooth. Add yoghurt and whizz again.

This article was originally published in Sainsbury's Magazine

The tricky task of pairing wine and citrus - wine matches for orange and lemon

This is the perfect time of year for buying oranges and lemons but what effect do they have on the recipes you’re making? Quite a marked one, if truth be told. Lemons in particular have a high level of acidity which will make any wine you drink with them taste sweeter. If that’s counterbalanced in the recipe by sugar as in a lemon tart or lemon meringue pie, for example, the result is a dish that’s really quite hard to match.

Wine with lemon

Many wines have some citrus notes in them of course but I find the lemon flavours in the dish are usually stronger. So a lemony chicken or pasta dish, for example, can make a citrussy Sauvignon Blanc taste flat. Or, if it holds its own, can unbalance the dish by creating an overload of citrus flavours.

Surprisingly the answer is often to pick a red, particularly a red with marked acidity of its own. The Italians do that instinctively when they reach for a bottle of Valpolicella with a spaghetti al limone or squeeze lemon over a bistecca alla fiorentina and pair it with a tannic Chianti. The acid in the fruit subdues the acid in the wine. Lamb cooked with lemon and herbs tastes great with a rustic red. I’ve even found oak-aged Spanish reds such as Rioja reserva taste good with a chicken and lemon tagine.

There are occasions when red doesn’t ‘feel right’ though, especially with seafood and here I find a neutral Italian or Spanish white can work well - something like an earthy Verdicchio, an Albariño or Spain’s up and coming white Godello. A good Pinot Grigio can also do the trick.

Intensely lemony desserts are harder as you have to contend with both acid and sweetness, qualities you need to find in any wine you choose. I find top quality late-harvest Riesling does the job best but even then it’s a struggle. Some advocate ice wine but that can add to the intensity of an already intensely flavoured dish. I still have to find a perfect solution - mint tea, maybe. Or perhaps one of the orangey liqueurs mentioned below - orange and lemon being natural bedfellows. (Though I'm not sure it would work the other way round - Limoncello with an orange-flavoured dessert.)

With a lighter lemon dessert like a souffl or mousse a sweet sparkling dessert wine like Asti or Clairette de Die generally works well.

Wine with orange

Orange is easier and more forgiving. I’ve noticed a lot of chefs putting orange into savoury dishes this winter and it almost always enhances the match with an accompanying red wine. Usually they’re meat-based such as the tagliatelle with duck livers, trompettes de la mort, orange and marjoram I had recently (ideal with a Barbera) but I’ve also had a couple of robust fish dishes with orange such as sea bream with hazelnut crust, fennel, chard, orange zest, capers and parsley and braised squid with fennel where a Mediterranean red also proved a good match. (Syrah, Mourvèdre and Tempranillo all seem to pair well with orange)

With lighter dishes such as some lightly cooked fish with a salad of fennel and orange I’d go for a light, lush white with some acidity such as a Semillon or Semillon-Sauvignon blend, in the latter case one without too many herbaceous notes. A fruity Australian Colombard can also work well with chicken dishes that are flavoured with orange.

With orange-flavoured desserts, one’s instinct is to think of matching orange flavoured wines such as an Orange Muscat but I tend to find that the orange in the dish wipes out the orange in the wine. For orange-flavoured cakes and richer puddings I find sweet - even cream - sherry a great match. With lighter dishes such as an orange fruit salad try a Champagne - or Cava - cocktail or a frozen shot of Cointreau (also a good match in dishes where chocolate and orange are paired together).

My 25 top food and wine pairings

How on earth to whittle the great food and wine combinations I’ve experienced down to a mere 25? And not to base them all on a few favourite wines and foods?

Some criteria had to be set. Nothing too blindingly obvious, or if, well established, some new insight or refinement to add to the subject. Nothing so obscure that you couldn’t possibly replicate it like the remarkable 1820 Bual I once drank with a sabayon of pruneaux d’Agen.

There are obviously omissions, some deliberate. No chocolate (wine matches can be workable but are rarely great). Not much cheese (again, seldom sublime). No offal (a minority taste, great though it can be with wine)

Few of the very simple pairings that can be pleasurable given the right moment and the right company - a simple crisp white with a grilled fish that’s jumped straight from the sea . . .These are the matches that survived, listed in alphabetical order:

Apple tart and sweet Chenin Blanc
A classic-style French apple tart is of course one of the most wine-friendly of desserts but I think it has a particularly affinity with the best Loire dessert wines such as Bonnezeaux and Quarts de Chaume. Don’t be tempted to overelaborate the dish - add cream, if anything.
Other good options with apple tart: Sauternes or similar sweet Bordeaux, Vendange Tardive Gewurztraminer

Caviar and champagne
I did dither over this match both because it’s so well known and because there is a sizeable number who prefer vodka but it’s one of the pairings where texture is key. Only champagne - and top quality vintage champagne at that - can still leave you with the taste of each individual egg intact - vodka is too ‘hot’, even when served ice cold. And if you’re paying that much for the real thing you want to appreciate every mouthful.
Other options with caviar: I originally said none but see my latest reflections here

Chinese food and Bordeaux rosé
There might be better individual matches within the Chinese canon (dimsum and champagne, duck and Pinot Noir) but if you want one wine to take you through the meal Bordeaux ros with its bright, sweet berry fruit handles the combination of sweet and sour particularly well.
Other good options with Chinese: other Merlot or Cabernet-based ross, off-dry German Riesling

Chicken with morilles and Vin Jaune
A classic dish from the Arbois region of France - the chicken (generally a poulet de Bresse) is cooked in a creamy sauce made with morilles mushrooms and the local Vin Jaune, an acquired taste but which gives the dish a lift you wouldn’t get with less intense wine.
Other good options with creamy mushroom sauces: a Viognier, an Alsace Pinot Gris, a top white burgundy or other good quality chardonnay,

Crab and Australian riesling
Ever since I ate Neil Perry’s blue swimmer crab omelette.at Rockpool in Sydney some 10 years ago I’ve been obsessed with the combination of spicy crab and Australian riesling. Crab lends itself particularly well to flavours such as lime, chillies and coriander while Australian - especially Clare Valley riesling - adds a vibrant zest to the dish without overwhelming the delicate texture of the crabmeat.
Other good options with crab: dry German riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, champagne

Duck and Mourvèdre
Mourvdre is a sleeping partner in many southern French reds such as Faugres but always leaves its exotically scented footprint. When it dominates, as it does in Bandol it can be an excitingly sensual partner for duck, especially cooked Provencal style with olives.
Other good options with duck: Pinot Noir, Merlot, Barbera

Foie gras and Jurançon
There are those who disagree but I find starting a meal with Sauternes too overwhelming Jurancon, while sweet, has a rich, sundried apricot and quince character that enables you to segue comfortably into a red. It also handles seared foie gras which can be challenging for Bordeaux-style dessert wines. And of course it comes from the south-west, the heart of foie gras country.
Other good options with foie gras: Tokaji, Vin Santo.

Game pie and 1st growth Bordeaux
One of the best food pairings I ever experienced was at the Connaught in London - a hot, rich ‘pithivier’ of game with a glass of 1979 Chateau Lafite Rothschild. No vegetables, not even potatoes. Perfection.
Other good options with game pie: other less elevated clarets, Cote Rotie and other Northern Rhone reds.

Goats cheese and Sauvignon Blanc
One of the all-time great food and wine matches. It doesn’t seem to matter how old the goats cheese is - a few days or several weeks - or what type of Sauvignon Blanc (though I prefer more austere, minerally styles), it works. The ultimate match is probably a Sancerre with a Crottin de Chavignol which comes from the same region.
Other good options with goats cheese: Loire reds and dry ross

Lamb cutlets with Rioja gran reserva
Lamb of course goes with most reds but when it’s cooked as it is in Rioja and elsewhere in Northern Spain, as herb-strewn cutlets of baby lamb grilled for a few minutes over vine cuttings you don’t want a blockbluster wine to trample all over them. A mature gran reserva has both the power and the finesse to handle the delicate sweet, smoky flavours
Other good options: similar-styled wines from Navarra

Lobster with ginger and Gewürztraminer
A combination I would never have thought of from a wildly flamboyant restaurant called Everest on the 40th floor of the stock exchange building in Chicago where it’s one of the Alsace-born chef, Jean Joho’s signature dishes. Ginger and gewurz is a great combination
Other good options with lobster: Viognier, Meursault and other fine white burgundy, top quality Chardonnay.

Oysters and Chablis
Whether it’s the fossilised remains of oysters that can be found in the soil of the Chablis region or simply the severe steely dryness of the wine there are few purer, more reliable combinations than oysters and Chablis. My own preference is for native oysters, totally unadorned with lemon, shallot vinegar or any other condiment and young premier cru Chablis
Other good options with oysters: Muscadet de Sevre et de Maine, Picpoul de Pinet

Pork belly and dry German riesling
Ubiquitous in gastropubs and other modern British restaurants, roast pork belly works best with a wine that has a high level of acidity plus a touch of sweetness - always good with pork. Cue dry German riesling, especially if apple is served alongside. It provides welcome freshness, cuts through the fat and doesn’t detract from the crispness of the crackling.
Other good options with pork belly: Alsace or Austrian riesling, young red burgundy

Salade niçoise and dry rosé
What to eat with the oceans of ros that are now engulfing the shelves? What better than a classic salade nioise - if you can agree on what the classic recipe is. (Mine includes tuna, anchovies, tomatoes, green beans and hard-boiled eggs with some warm new potatoes on the side) With that I want a strong dry ros from the south of France or Spain
Other good options with salad nicoise: a dry earthy Rhone or Languedoc white

Salmon and chilled Pinot Noir
With most salmon these days being farmed and consequently coarser in taste and fattier in texture than wild salmon it a) tastes better seared than poached b) generally pairs better with a red wine than a white. The obvious choice being a chilled Pinot Noir which picks up perfectly on the richness of the fish and the caramelised crust.
Other good options with salmon: Chardonnay

Scallops and oaked Chardonnay
There’s a delicious caramelised sweetness about seared scallops that harmonises perfectly with the creamy, almost nutty taste and texture of a mature oak-aged chardonnay. To fine-tune the experience, the scallops should be fat, fresh and diver-caught and the Chardonnay at least 2 years old. A little crisp pancetta doesn’t go amiss.
Other good matches for scallops: oaked white Bordeaux, vintage champagne

Seabass and Albarino
The combination of the restaurant world’s most fashionable fish with one of the wine world’s most fashionable wines might be terminally trendy but it’s none the worse for that. Seabass is a delicate fish, often served simply with Mediterranean flavours such as olive oil, tomato and basil and Albarino is the perfect, clean seafood white
Other good options with seabass: Chablis. Loire Sauvignon Blanc

Smoked salmon and manzanilla sherry
Not the most usual combination with smoked salmon but the most reliably consistent one whatever the smoke and whether or not you add lemon. It goes without saying that the sherry should be served chilled from a freshly opened bottle . . .
Other good options with smoked salmon: Sauvignon Blanc, dry Riesling and malt whisky

Steak and Californian Cabernet Sauvignon
I agonised over whether to make my ideal pairing an Australian shiraz (I remember a wonderful match with Grange) or an Argentinian Malbec but in the end it was the vision of a perfectly cooked chargrilled steakhouse-style ribeye with, say, a 4-5 year old Stags Leap Cab that won the day.
Other good options with steak: Any medium to full bodied red you enjoy (the rarer the meat the bigger the tannins it can take on (though see also my recent experiment with different steak cuts)

Stilton and Tokaji
Yes, vintage port is the more classic combination but you should try Tokaji, a pairing I discovered a few years ago at London cheesemonger Paxton and Whitfield. How many putts? Five would be ideal. And a five to six year old wine.so that the rich caramelised orange flavours are fully developed. It’s also fantastic with Cashel Blue from Ireland.
Other good options with stilton: Sauternes, vintage port, sweet oloroso sherry

Strawberries and cream with Muscat de Beaumes de Venise
There’s a sentimental aspect to this pairing - the first time I realised that food and wine could interreact with each other in such a way that both tasted better than they did on their own. Muscat de Beaumes de Venise isn’t a great wine or even particularly fashionable these days but it’s a charming and simple accompaniment to one of summer’s great desserts.
Other good options with strawberries and cream: Sauternes, demi-sec champagne

Thai food and Pinot Gris
Rarely do you find a wine that handles a whole cuisine better than Pinot Gris and Thai food. Like most Asian cuisines dishes are placed on the table at the same time so one wine has to do duty for all. The crispy acidity of Alsace pinot gris makes it a reliably good match but the new wave of pinot gris from New Zealand and Tasmania with their opulent fruit and beguiling sweetness are particularly impressive
Other good matches for Thai food: none are quite as flexible but gewurztraminer works with many dishes.

Tuna and Loire reds
Tuna is often served as rare as a steak these days so like seared salmon suits red wine better than white. The grape variety I think works best is Cabernet Franc especially from the Loire which has a delicious mulberry fruitiness but also a dryness and acidity that works well with the often fragrant spicing of the fish. (It isn’t as good with tinned tuna, though)
Other good options with tuna: Pinot Noir, strong, dry ros

Truffles and Barbaresco
The idea of pairing a full-bodied red with an ingredient as evanescent as white truffles might seem foolhardy but if you’ve been to Piedmont you’ll know just how sublime it can be, especially with the ultra indulgent tagliolini (tajarin) which can be enriched with up to a dozen egg yolks per 500g of flour.
Other good options with truffles: vintage champagne

Veal and Chianti Classico
One of my pet hates is the intensely reduced ‘jus’ that so many chefs now insist on serving so a typically Tuscan roast of veal with a light white wine and stock-based sauce and maybe a few wild mushrooms is right up my street. The entirely natural match is a mature Chianti Classico riserva, intense enough to shine in its own right, subtle enough to enable you to appreciate the flavour of the meat
Other good options with roast veal: old red Bordeaux, Rioja gran reserva

Vietnamese spring rolls and Gruner Veltliner
I like Gruner Veltliner with Vietnamese food in general but its clean, green peppery flavour is quite sublime with the country’s crunchy fresh mint and coriander-laced spring rolls which are not fried and served cold rather than hot. You want a young quite simple grner rather than a mature one
Other good matches with Vietnamese food: dry Austrian or German riesling, Australian VerdelhoThis feature was first published in the June 2007 issue of Decanter.

Photo by Elle Hughes

How to organise a beer and cheese tasting

Today my son Will and I did an artisan cheese and craft beer tasting at the Great British Beer Festival to promote our new book An Appetite for Ale (due out at the end of September. Hint.) It seemed to go down well so I thought it might be something you’d enjoy trying at home with your friends.

What we were aiming to show was not only how good beer is with cheese but to come up with some unexpected pairings that might impress any non-beer drinkers in the party. Here’s what we tasted and why.

Goats’ cheese and wheat beer
An ideal pairing to kick off this kind of tasting, both goats cheese and wheatbeer are very versatile, ideal for this time of year. The goats’ cheese was a Golden Cross from Sussex - a goats’ cheese log that was quite well matured and the beer a bière blanche called Colomba from Corsica flavoured with the wild plants of the Corsican Maquis (densely wooded hillsides). The lemony herbal notes of the beer picked up perfectly on the slightly acid cheese. It’s a style of beer I really like to drink with goats’ cheese salads. Any witbier or bière blanche would work equally well.

Camembert and Kriek
Kriek is the famous sour Belgian fruit beer made with cherries. We used Liefman’s for the tasting which has a particularly refreshing sour (but not sharp) cherry flavour. The Camembert we paired it with was an artisanal cheese from Normandy, again well-matured which meant that the rind was a little bitter for the beer. A younger example would have been a better match. The fresh fruity flavours of the beer are a great contrast to the creamy paste (the central part of the cheese).

Cheddar and American IPA
Cheddar is generally paired with pale ales or bitters in this country but they can get overwhelmed if the cheese is very strong. This was the case with this award-winning unpasteurised Montgomery’s cheddar from Somerset which was about 14 months old. I like this style of cheese better with an American IPA which are stronger, sweeter and more hoppy than their typical British counterparts. The one we used at the tasting was a great favourite of Will’s and mine, Goose Island. We were amused to see on their website that they also recommend it with Cajun food and carrot cake!

Washed rind cheese and strong Belgian Trappist ale
A classic pairing from Belgium. The beer we used was Chimay Blue which at 9% is the strongest beer in the Chimay range. The monks also make a washed rind style of cheese but we chose a British example from Gloucestershire, Stinking Bishop from Charles Martell. So called not because of its odour (which has been compared to unwashed socks) but because the rind of the cheese is washed with perry made from the Stinking Bishop pear. It’s the kind of cheese-lovers’ cheese which totally annihilates red wine but the sweet, strong Chimay more than held its own. You could also try it with a French cheese like Epoisses or Livarot.

Stilton and porter
The first of two pairings with Stilton. This, on the face of it was the more unlikely combination. Anchor Porterfrom San Francisco with its dark, bitter flavour of coffee grounds and mature Colston Bassett, one of the most highly regarded Stiltons, the kind of cheese with which you’d normally reach for the port. But in fact the two got on like a house on fire, the bitterness of the blue-veined cheese rounding out the flavours of the beer, the beer providing a refreshing contrast to the cheese. They looked great together too. Magic.

Stilton and Barley Wine
With the same cheese we then put up a barley wine, a Thomas Hardy Ale from O’Hanlons of Devon. At a stonking 11.7% it’s not for the fainthearted - wonderfully rich and sweet with intense dried fruit flavours. The brewer says it will keep for 25 years. It behaved much more like a port with the cheese, providing a rich, sweet contrast. Personally I would have liked some kind of dried fruits like raisins or Medjool dates to nibble with the combination but it was pretty good on its own.

When we asked the audience which beer they preferred with the Stilton about 60% preferred the porter and 40% the barley wine so which way you go is a question of personal taste.

We finished off the tasting (and you could finish off your evening) by showing how well three of the beers also went with desserts, partnering the Kriek with a creamy cheesecake (one of my favourite pairings), the porterwith a70% dark organic chocolate (which it offset like an espresso coffee) and the barley wine with a classic English fruitcake. The last two were uncannily alike but the great thing about beer is that its palate-refreshing carbonation enables you to partner it with a similar ingredient without one cancelling out the flavour of the other.

The Great British Beer Festival is on at Earl’s Court until Saturday evening. Visit www.gbbf.org.uk

Image by Orna from Pixabay