Tasting notes

Not so long ago, extra-virgin olive oil was the height of sophistication. Now make way for seaweed flakes…

The global tour of cooks’ ingredients

ELEVEN YEARS AGO, extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic glaze and tiny Italian capers were among the first products to be rolled out in Waitrose’s range of Cooks’ Ingredients. We were dishing up the Mediterranean, attempting recipes inspired by hot-weather holidays and seeking out the ingredients at their core.

This month, over 100 new additions have been launched and they illustrate, more than ever, the evolution of the nation’s adventures in the kitchen. Yuzu kosho and dried black limes make the list. The former is a blend of Asian citrus (yuzu) juice, chilli and salt for dripping over steak or sushi. The latter, having been brined and sun-dried to develop musky fermented notes, can be pierced by a skewer before dropping into sauces and tagines, or ground for fish dishes.

‘This is a step-change from basil pesto,’ explains Jonathan Moore, executive development chef at Waitrose & Partners. While the Med and its culinary components may now be mainstream, Japanese, Korean and Middle-eastern cuisines require specialist ingredients, available at online suppliers and now, increasingly, on the supermarket shelves. Product developer Michelle Gibbs and her team scour top-selling cookbooks and restaurant menus, not to mention social-media trends, for leads, knowing that when pul biber chilli flakes and shawarma seasoning become hot topics, customers will demand them.

‘We take into account where shoppers go travelling,’ she says. ‘The collection becomes a window to introduce them to new ingredients.’ And with Masterchef and The Great British Bake Off in the frame, cocoa nibs and mango dust are now in – though thankfully not, Gibbs assures me, to the detriment of hundreds and thousands.